Fodor’s BarcelonaPLAN YOUR PERFECT TRIP
Full-color guide
• Make your trip to Barcelona unforgettable with maps, illustrated features, and color photos.
Customize your trip with simple planning tools
• Convenient overview of each region/island/neighborhood and its highlight
• Best bets for local dining
• Easy-to-read color neighborhood maps
Explore the Sagrada Família, the Boqueria market, Park Güell, and beyond
• Discerning Fodor’s Choice picks for hotels, restaurants, sights, and more
• “Word of Mouth” tips from fellow Fodor’s travelers
• Illustrated features on the Gaudí’s sites, Spanish wines, and Spain’s food revolution
• Best tapas touring, museum hopping, and beachcombing
• Tips for making the most of your euros
Opinions from destination experts
• Fodor’s Barcelona-based writers reveal their favorite local haunts
• Frequently updated to provide the latest information
NOW IN FULL COLOR Filled with color photos, this dazzling revamped edition captures the incredible allure of one of the world's most popular cities.
About This Book ............ 6
Chapter 1: Experience Barcelona ............ 7
Barcelona Planner ............ 8
Top Barcelona Attractions ............ 10
Great Itineraries ............ 12
Whats Where ............ 1416
Quintessential Barcelona ............ 18
If You Like ............ 20
Barcelona Today ............ 22
Chapter 2: Exploring Barcelona ............ 23
The Rambla: The Heart of Barcelona ............ 26
The Barri Gòtic: Medieval Splendor ............ 44
The Raval: West of the Rambla ............ 55
Sant Pere & La Ribera: The Medieval Textile & Waterfront Districts ............ 62
La Ciutadella & Barceloneta: Near the Port ............ 74
The Eixample: Moderniste Barcelona ............ 81
Gràcia: Radical Chic ............ 101
Upper Barcelona: Sarrià & Pedralbes ............ 107
Tibidabo, Vallvidrera & the Collserola Hills ............ 114
Montjuïc ............ 117
Chapter 3: Where to Eat ............ 123
Where to Eat Planner ............ 124
Best Bets for Barcelona Dining ............ 126
Cafés & Tapas Bars ............ 156
Wine Bars ............ 164
Chapter 4: Where to Stay ............ 167
Barcelona Lodging Planner ............ 168
Chapter 5: Nightlife & the Arts ............ 197
Nightlife ............ 198
The Arts ............ 209
Chapter 6: Sports & the Outdoors ............ 217
Chapter 7: Shopping ............ 225
Chapter 8: Catalonia: The Costa Brava to Tarragona ............ 251
The Costa Brava ............ 256
Inland to Girona ............ 288
Southern Catalonia ............ 300
Catalonia Essentials ............ 310
Chapter 9: Excursion to Bilbao ............ 315
Exploring Bilbao ............ 316
Where to Eat ............ 337
Where to Stay ............ 343
Nightlife & the Arts ............ 348
Sports & the Outdoors ............ 351
Shopping ............ 352
Bilbao Essentials ............ 353
Barcelona Essentials ............ 357
Getting Started ............ 358
Booking Your Trip ............ 363
Transportation ............ 372
On The Ground ............ 385
Spanish Vocabulary ............ 399
INDEX ............ 405
About Our Writer ............ 416
BARCELONA IN FOCUS
Exploring Barcelona
Gaudí: Architecture through the Looking Glass ............ 8893
Where to Eat
Spains Food Revolution ............ 141145
CLOSE UPS
Catalan First, Spanish Second ............ 28
La Diada de Sant Jordi: Barcelonas Lovers Day ............ 37
Barcelona: An Architectural Toy Box ............ 39
El Call: The Jewish Quarter ............ 48
The Fragrances of Sant Ponç ............ 59
The Barrio Chino ............ 61
Picassos Barcelona ............ 71
On the Menu ............ 133
Refuel Around Town ............ 139
Barcelonas “Must-Eat” ............ 146
With Children? ............ 152
Ground Rules for Coffee ............ 157
Tapas: The Ultimate Movable Feast ............ 161
Lodging Alternatives ............ 178
Care to Order a Beer? ............ 201
Move Over, Milan ............ 232
Savory Souvenirs ............ 243
On the Menu ............ 277
Farmhouse Stays ............ 295
Abandoibarra: Bilbaos New Heart ............ 327
MAPS
The Rambla ............ 32
Barri Gòtic ............ 46
The Raval ............ 57
Sant Pere, La Ribera, La Ciutadella & Barceloneta ............ 65
The Eixample ............ 84
Gràcia ............ 102
Sarrià & Pedralbes ............ 109
Montjuïc ............ 119
Where to Eat in the Barri Gòtic & Born-Ribera ............ 130131
Where to Eat in the Rambla, Raval & Poble Sec ............ 135
Where to Eat in Barceloneta & the Port Olímpic ............ 138
Where to Eat in the Eixample, Gràcia, Sarrià, Pedralbes, Sant Gervasi & Tibidabo ............ 148149
Where to Stay in the Ciutat Vella, Barceloneta, Port Olímpic & Fòrum ............ 173
Where to Stay in the Eixample ............ 185
Where to Stay in Upper Barcelona: Gràcia, Sarrià, Sant Gervasi, Putxet & Pedralbes, Tibidabo & Vallvidrera ............ 192
Catalonia ............ 258259
Girona ............ 289
Bilbao ............ 322323
Where to Eat in Bilbao ............ 341
Where to Stay in Bilbao ............ 345