Just back from a 1st time short break

the city bus tour is a must, if not only to get your bearings, but to find the right places to visit.

stayed at the Hotel Gran Ducat, just off the placa catalunya

PS Fountains where on at 8pm on the Friday night, same on the saturday the night before the Barcelona Marthon

I wouldn't say the Tour Bus is a must (especially in high season)

I used to live in Barcelona and was always amused by the massive snaking queues for the buses (though they were very regular)

Get yourself a TMB Day or Weekly card, around half the price of the tour bus at my last check and they'll take you where you want to be whether its short hops from Diagnol to Liceu or the longer runs out to the Camp Nou (use the tram!) or Parc Guell

Do your research or ask the hotel staff or superb tourist information staff and they'll help you

Barcelona has an astounding public transport system

I agree with public transport but If I were you I would buy T10 (10 trips ticket) wich is much better than day ticket or week ticket I guess because u won't spend as much trips as you'll pay with day ticket...

How much is the T10?

My pass was always done through work. Last time I visited Barca it was around 5euro for the day pass

Looking to go away for a short break in December but only have Saturday to Tuesday - daren't leave the kids for any longer!!

Is it worth going to Barcelona if we only have 2 full days to explore the city or should we save it until we have more time?

Hi Jan

It depends on how much you want to fit in and what you want to do. I stayed in another resort and went to Barcelona for the day and did a whistle stop of the sights, and loved every moment of it, although my feet were aching for days. I do plan to go back for a long weekend so from my view of yes it's worth it. If you are a shopper then you will love that too.

Thanks Miss Pink, think I'll go ahead and book the flights. It's hubby's 50th and it is a place he wants to visit - just daren't leave out teenagers alone for any longer !!!

No problem Jan. Hope you enjoy your stay - not sure whether you enjoy architecture but you may want to visit Sagrada Familia, it's pretty spectacular and also Park Guell, the structures in the Park Guell by Gaudi are something else. Oh and if you enjoy the footie there is always the stadium, personally I would rather visit the gardens but each to his own.

Oh and if you enjoy the footie there is always the stadium, personally I would rather visit the gardens but each to his own.

I'm with you on that one but seeing as it's a trip for my husband I don't think I'll get out of it somehow - just hope there's not a home match on that weekend!!!

In Barcelona this year, we stayed at the Hotel Principal, just off Las Ramblas. I had read conflicting reviews, with some people saying they had felt threatend walking back to the hotel at night. Well, my wife certainly didn't find that at all, although if you are the naturally nervous type, I could see where that might apply.

As for restaurants, there are many fine places to eat in Barcelona. My main tip would be to avoid eating on Las Ramblas. Due to the volume of tourists eating there every night, the service tends to be poor as they don't care of you don't come back - they will still be full of unsuspecting tourists every night.

In a conversation with a local taxi driver, I told him about one particularly bad experience my wife and I had the night before. He gave me the above reason for this, and suggested a restaurant called Botafumeiro.

I'm always wary of tips from taxi drivers, usually suspecting that the suggested bar or restaurant belongs to a family member. However, the way he described the place made us decide to visit it that night. We were certainly not disappointed. The food was wonderful, the atmoshphere just right, the service friendly & efficient, and it did not cost the earth.

The price, though not dirt cheap either, came as a surprise given the number of famous people who frequent the place. The walls are covered in photos of famous people eating in the restaurant, from Bill Clinton and King Juan Carlos, to the members of the band Queen, Rafael Nadal and several Hollywood actors too numerous to mention.

We liked it so much we booked again for the following night. I would recommend it to anyone, especially if you have a penchant for lobster or crab, although I had steak on both nights.

Restaurante Botafumeiro in on Carrer Gran De Gràcia, and cost about 7 Euros in a taxi from Las Ramblas.

Just a reminder to keep your wits about you and your money, cards, passport etc safe. I spent 6 hours in Barcelona and confronted 4 thieves attempting to open the zips of my shoulder bag, each one was a young woman looking like a tourist holding a map in their left hand which concealed what their right hand was doing and they all pretend to have just bumped into you

Having just come back from Barcelona i can confirm that Handyandy is right you do need to keep your wits about you. However, i would also say that some of the warnings on the internet are rather extreme - making Barcelona sound like a rather scary place to be. We stayed in Reial Square just off Las Ramblas and it was my experience that it was nowhere near as bad as some parts of the UK i have spent time in - compared to Kings Cross it is tame.

we are off to Barcelona in the morning

Have a great time

Thank you Glynis, its my 50th on Tuesday

Happy Birthday from us all at Holidaytruths

Can anyone recommend restaurant in barcelona please

Going next month for 2 nights..... i know, i know .... won't be long enough but that is better than not at all don't you think!!!

We know what we will be seeing during the day but I want to come away with a memory of a great dining experience.

We like local authentic food wherever we go so any thoughts and recommendations would be greatly appreciated?

Nikki

We've been there twice now and never had a good meal yet. Spain is no Italy

Avoid the Placa Reial. It might look busy with plenty of diners but they'll all come away lighter in the pocket and not too happy with the food.

Just back from Barcelona and finding your way from site to site is easy using info from the net and a free city map and metro map.

A T-10 ticket is currently €8.25 (71p per trip) and can be shared - one ticket will get you from the airport to the city centre which takes about 30 minutes. Compare this cost to the Heathrow Express!

The tour bus (there are three routes) is an eyewatering €23 per person.