Barcelona recommendations

Me (on Facebook, now deleted):

Looking for recommendations for places to stay / see / eat in Barcelona. We will be there two nights in November.

Comments

• Hisop, Comerc 24

• I definitely second Hisop, which was terrific (albeit over a decade ago by this point).

• A friend of mine has an awesome, Michelin-starred restaurant there: cinc sentits

• If you only have two days, a lot of the usual park/museum/architecture spots will probably be worth your time. Definitely go to Parc Güell.

• Found the place we have often gone for family celebrations, close to Plaza Catalunya and the Ramblas: Ciutat Comtal

• I greatly prefer being in the Eixample to the old city, but it really depends on where you have to be and how much post-dinner walking you want to do.

• Usually we don’t stay in hotels there, a few times when we needed to be close to the airport for early flights we have stayed at the Tryp Hotel. It’s quite nice while not terribly expensive. Families stay there but it feels more like a business hotel. 2023 Update: Looks like this has been renamed to Barcelona Apolo.

• For one of the best Barcelona experiences stay in the Eixample neighborhood north of the plaza Catalunya to be close to the magnificent architecture by Gaudí. Maybe Hotel Casa Fuster.

• We stayed at Onix Hotel, near Plaça Catalunya. The hotel was nice, and the location was great - easy to walk everywhere we wanted to go. Had some excellent tapas at Cervecería Catalana, and at Cal Pep. Definitely hit Bar Pinotxo in La Boqueria - the market is amazing, and the food at this small bar is top notch.

• Travel Channel: Barcelona Room with a View

• This was the best meal I’ve had this year. Izakaya/Peruvian fusion. Pakta

• More traditional, but also a Vermuteria. They do have a menu (of vermouths), but you usually have to ask for it. elBarri Adriá 2023 Update: Appears this has permanently closed.

• Quimet y Quimet, a standing-only tapas bar where all the tapas are canned, jarred, or otherwise preserved, and you grab your own wine (or have them grab it for you) from the walls. Absolutely terrific.

• A somewhat upscale tapas bar, and certainly aimed more at an international crowd, but it’s far from just tapas and the wines are fantastic. Bar Cañete

• If you eat inside La Boqueria, the best of the old tapas bars are El Quim and Universal. But a ton more places (mostly ham-oriented) have opened since I last ate at either, so my info may be out of date.