I found it incredibly boring.

---

sometimes

... The Dali stuff looks pretty cool (as does Surrealism in general, I think).
Thanks for the pointers.

 
Anything in particular to avoid that you found boring? Surely, not the whole city (and I'm not calling you Shirley)....

Actually looking forward to seeing Gaudi's architecture, enjoying the food, maybe check out Camp Nou (if they open to the public in off-season maybe?) etc....

Was there with my 16 yo daughter in the spring. She got tired of "old buildings" and museums. That said, it may be tough with younger kids. Here are a few things I think will be good.

• Park Guell - this is a city park with fun sculptures. Great for families.
• Beach - who doesn't like the beach? You can buy cloth for using as a beach blanket from street vendors for cheap, then you have a souvenir . Its a good beach, with lots of beach activities but will be very crowded.
• Eat one night at Opera Samfaina - The most unique dining experience you will ever have
• La Rambla is filled with street performers (just watch out for pick pockets, and be ready to be overwhelmed with crowds - I mean shoulder to shoulder packed!
• Get reservations late in the day to get a tour of Sagrada Familia - the crowds are a little lighter and having a guided experience makes a great impact - you and your kids will learn more about this one of a kind Cathedral.
• You can rent city bikes and ride along the waterfront- but there are soooooo many people, it might not be worth it. You will not get a workout.
• Steer clear of the red light district. We stumbled upon it (its easy to get lost on those streets) and I felt really gross walking my teenage daughter through there. I felt like it appeared I was her pimp because many of the prostitutes were about her age - depressing.

I echo someone else advice about going to the Dahli museum. It is so unique, that everyone will enjoy it. There is another nice beach near it i hear - but we did not go.

http://www.sagradafamilia.org/en/

http://www.casamuseugaudi.org/en/the-exhibition/

My daughter spent two school years working in Tarragona (hour south of Barcelona). Here is her blog about her journey through Catalunya https://expeditionerika.wordpress.com/...in/catalunya/page/3/

---

All I Wanted Was A Pepsi, Just One Pepsi

Team Zoot, Team Zoot Mid-Atlantic

My wife and I went 3 years ago as part of a Europe trip. I didn't really like the city that much. We went to paris, rome, Florence and Barcelona. I was least impressed with Barcelona and found the number of gypsies (thieves) to be very high. Watch your back at all times, and bags, and DO NOT trust any child there. They are literally trained to be the ones to steal things, right under your nose.

Not trying to be the one to rain on your parade. The beach was cool, but that was about it. However, don't go in the water as a group. Always leave someone to watch your things...there are a lot of people who work together to steal your crap. Sad but true, I learned the hard way after being diligent to protect our stuff all trip. We were at the beach and put ourselves right in a group of people and went in the water. We came back and our stuff was gone. One girl saw a kid take our stuff but she "didn't know what to do".

Needless to say, watch yourselves carefully, no one will help you. OR, if they are overly helpful they are sizing you up, or expecting something in return.

Hope it works out better than our experience.

Port Aventura, and the recently opened Ferrari Land. Sorted!

https://www.portaventuraworld.com/en - Shambala, was the highest rollercoaster in Europe, until Red Force came along in April 2017.

https://www.portaventuraworld.com/en/ferrari-land - Red Force, highest and fastest vertical accelerator in Europe.

I'll be taking the kids to Ferrari Land when the summer rush has passed. Shambala was excellent when I visited last year. Smooth and fast, went four times in succession until I realised I'd lost my wallet and had to go hunting for it.

ETA: urls.

Thanks for responses to date... Appreciate hearing the good and bad, pros and cons.... And always good when based on personal experiences.

Will be an opportunity for my daughter to be our translator - she's had Spanish as her school language for a few semesters now, really liking it, and has been speaking it w/one of her BFFs (who speaks it fluently). She's also got amazing art talent which we nurture - and doesn't mind museum trips and such. Wife works in the museum/art field too, so there's an appetite for doing all that although we try to find the right balance. And my son and I have usually been able to find a detour/diversion whenever we get museum'd out.

Appreciate the call out to be on guard for pickpockets etc. Something we always do whenever we travel.

Additional comments and suggestions always welcome.

Not directly in Barcelona - but one of these mountain biking trips is on my bucket list.

http://www.basquemtb.com/mountain-bike-holidays/

I'm surprised by all the negative responses so far. I loved the week I spent in and around Barcalona.

It is not a polished, clean city. There are a lot of pick pockets, prostitutes, etc. If you can look past that, I think you will really enjoy it. I found it very unique compared to other western European cities.

---

Long Chile was a silly place.

ya , you walk around and look at things, its pretty , but its not Chicago or NYC

---

sometimes

Been to Barcelona twice. Not a bad experience either time as described here, but a lot sounds like to have happened around the waterfront, which a beach is easy territory. The beach isn't that great in my opinion.

I can't believe no one has mentioned the Picasso museum; not to be missed. Then the Olympic Park ... nothing fantastic to see there, but I liked it just to see it. It's been a long time now, but when I visited, the locals were actually continuing to use the facilities, unlike other cities that followed like Athens! Montjuic fountain and light show at night. The gothic quarter and getting lost in the old town. Some mentioned Park Guell and La Sagrada Familia already, but I liked Casa Batllo and La Pedrera more.

---

Gnothi Seauton.

Agreed on Picasso. We went and I thought it was pretty cool.

Thanks again to everyone for suggestions and comments. We're back after spending a week there, and could have easily enjoyed staying longer.


Some highlights/recommendations....


Old town (Grazie neighborhood) was where we had an apartment -- great area to wander around the narrow streets, small stores, cafes, bars, plazas. Great to explore, hang/chat at a cafe, and repeat. Folks eat/dine late, and most places serve food/meals up until around 11. Beer/wine are served as soon as they open :-)


The main city has a nice vibe to it. Can imagine living there and liking it because it felt lively but also laid back (compared to other Euro cities). Very easy to walk around as well as drive around (more on that in a sec). The architecture of Gaudi is fascinating - checked out his stuff at La Pedrera, Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell. Tourist sites can get really crowded - a way to avoid lines are to get tix online, but that can be hard to do for the same-day, better to plan a day or two ahead. The Picasso museum was really crowded but the tix line moved quickly and worth the wait overall. The downtown beach/harbor/port area was totally crowded, and there are better options for a beach outing. Opted to skip the Camp Nou experience since we heard the field is being re-sodded (nothing to see), they only show you the visitor locker room (like any other locker room), more crowds, and pricey (for a family of four, with me as the only soccer fan).


We went out of town for the Dali stuff (which is spread amongst 3 towns, all bout 2-2.5 hours NE out of Barcelona) but worth the drive/visit. Dali's stuff is amazing - and his famous "Persistence of Memory" work is there as are a bunch of other strange pieces.


We had a car and it's an easy place to drive around (also because the Waze app works there!). But there's no place to legally park in the city other than parking garages which can be pricey when leaving the car for a few hours. Rates vary quite a bit, and not all garages are open 24/7, so double check when you may need the car back. In the old city, streets are essentially only a car-width wide, and its fun to zig-zag through the blocks. Rarely is it necessary to shift beyond 2nd gear (unless you imagine you're in a spy-movie-thriller-car-chase-through-narrow-European-alleys type of scene). For the beach, we just picked a random town right on the coast and headed there for a beach outing. A twenty minute drive gets you a beach town with an uncrowded beach, the Mediterranean surf, topless-optional sun bathing, and volleyball courts, soccer goals, or bball hoops waiting for you. Beach towns seemed to also be on a rail line, so I imagine it's easy to hop on from downtown as well.


More on driving - Lane discipline on the highways in Spain (and in Europe) is so well done. No one cluelessly blocks the left-lane causing problems! Speed limit is 120 kph, and driving 130, we had cars passing left and returning right. It's as organized/disciplined as a pace line. So nice to drive that way! Also noted that highways had wind socks out there (never saw that before).


Working out - DIR is a local gym-chain that has daily or monthly passes. Location near us had a 25m indoor pool, and full range of equipment. I opted to get morning or evening runs outdoors instead. Too hot, too crowded to run otherwise. Parc Guell is on a hill, and last half-mile of neighborhood streets even have outdoor escalators(!) leading up to the Parc For bike shops, I checked out "Tomas Domingo" on a recommendation, and purchased a souvenir jersey. They speak English and have a range of high-end stuff (Assos stuff is as pricey there as in US).

Misc unique things to do - Sign up for a photo lesson, where a local photographer/artist shares insights about the city and about taking photos (they have several cities they do this too). Also did a paella cooking thing, where a local chef takes you through a market and then we cook up a paella lunch.


Overall a great getaway. Definitely a destination I'd recommend.