Jerry's Travel Tips
In Barcelona
Favorite Barca restaurants:
- Cal Pep is tiny but does magical things with seafood. Pep is the cook/owner, and he's terrific.
- Passadis dal Pep is larger and more upscale. You don't order, they just start bringing food till you say stop. It's hard to find. There's no sign at all outside.
- Los Caracoles in the Gothic Quarter (Barri Gotic) is a little touristy, but its twisty magical interior is worth it.
- Sagardi is a tapas bar in the Gothic Quarter that's pretty modern. I always liked stopping there for a beer and tapas.
Less-known local fun
- Sarria is an older neighborhood just outside the ring freeway. It has four or five nice restaurants, a quieter and quaint covered market and more. Walk downhill from the Peu del Funicular station.
- Then take the same subway up a couple stops to the Carretera de les Aigues, a wonderful flat dirt road that goes along the Barcelona side of the mountain ridge that hugs the city. Great for walks and runs; terrific view of the city
- Jonesing for a movie in English? Search for "VO" movies: version original, which means they have Spanish subtitles.
- If you go to the Verdi cinema in Gracia, a terrific old neighborhood, have tapas beforehand at a bar across the street
- The Vincon store on Passeig de Gracia is full of great things. I met the owner, Fernando Amat, who was great.
Day trips
- Drive into the Pyrenees up to Andorra; the cities along the way are great
- Like beautiful windy coastal roads? Head up to Perpignan in France. Read up on the Albigensian Crusade.
- Check out the older of Spain's 80-plus Paradores. They're fabulous.
Wish I had
- Attended a Barca game
- Learned more Catalan
- Learned more about the progressive Second Spanish Republic, overthrown by the Spanish Civil War
Other resources
- 36 Hours Barcelona - Great NY Times article on visiting Barca published March 4, 2007
- NYT Barcelona Travel Guide page
