If you are planning a trip to Barcelona, the first thing you need to decide is where to stay. If you aren’t familiar with the city yet, check out this Barrio Guide to get familiar with the different neighborhoods in Barcelona and to figure out which area would be the best fit for you. Once you’ve chosen where you’d like to stay, use the Barcelona Hotel Guild website to book a hotel: they guarantee the lowest prices and have venues classified by category (luxury to bed&breakfast), as well as type of facilities (with pool or spa, pet-friendly, with parking, etc.). You can even choose by location in their map including the main tourist sites.
Next you need to figure out some great places to eat. One of my favorite websites for local eateries is Chowzter because it doesn’t only recommend places to eat but also what to order. They also have smartphone apps available (Android / Apple). If you need more choices, check out the (rather adorable) Ultimate Barcelona Food Guide for some good general tips and recommendations.
And if you are a wild spirit ready to go off the beaten path, you might want to know that there are a few bars in Barcelona that will give you a free tapa (small bite) when you order a beer or glass of wine. The Plataforma Pro Tapa Gratuita has them listed in this very helpful GoogleMaps. (By the way, if you order another drink, you’ll get another free tapa better than the first one. The more you order, the better they get!)
If you need some ideas for things to do, don’t miss Time Out Barcelona (apps available for both Apple and Android), Metropolitan Barcelona (they edit a free magazine that can be found in many cafés of the Old Town), and the magazine Guia del Ocio (it has a section in English at the end of their printed weekly edition, and it can be bought in press kiosks, but some hotels have complimentary copies).
As for sightseeing, most local monuments and museums have nice websites where you can even buy tickets online (so you can forget about the lines), but only the Picasso Museum has an app (Apple only). For interesting and off the beaten path itineraries, check out the BCN Design Tour app (for design and architecture lovers), Drakcelona (to get your kids involved discovering dragons hidden in the city buildings) and BCN Paisatge (to find out curious architectural and art elements near you – use the maps and go have fun exploring!).
Or if sightseeing planning isn’t your thing, then let the professionals do it for you: The city has a broad range of tours to choose from: from the “free” tours (which not really free because you’ll be asked to pay a “tip” equivalent to what you’d have paid for any non-free step-in walking tour), to the walking tours arranged by the city council, to group bus tours organized by tour agencies, to exclusive licensed private tour guides. There are also bike tours, Segway tours, running tours, motorcycle tours… even helicopter tours!
Need even more ideas? Check out the following Barcelona A to Z wanderlist in Afar. Whatever you decide to do, Barcelona will never disappoint you!
Marta is the founder of ForeverBarcelona.com, a leading team of Barcelona private tour guides, and author of the Barcelona Travel Blog.