Barcelona
 

OK. I'm going to Barcelona for a few days, does anyone have any suggestions about places to visit or avoid that are not in the normal tourist brochures?

Any suggestions will be gratefully received.

I was told to go to that church that isn't finished yet by that genius architect guy that died. I didn't have time to though, we got in late because of delays at JFK and had to go directly to the cruiseship :(.

There was also this huge cemetary carved into the side of a large hill that looked amazing.

The Sagrada Familia is already on my list, but I hadn't heard about the cemetery before. Thanks.

If you have any problems with vertigo, DO NOT go up the spire of Sagrada Familia.

If you don't mind being a bit touristy, make use of the hop-on-hop-off bus tours that go from the centre of the city. They run three circuits, and the north one is a very good way of getting to see all the sites. The south one is quite good, but not as good.

And it goes without saying, go to the Nou Camp and take the stadium tour. It's worth visiting the Olympic stadium too, for the views.

Sorry that my stuff is all touristy, but I only had two days there and that was all we had time to do.

Check La Rambla, the wonderful wide boulevard in the heart of the city. Crowded as hell, but still worth seeing.

And, as sonicl pointed out the Olympic Stadium is a great place to check out, too.

Cheers for that.
We're quite lucky, our hotel is pretty close to the Gothic Quarter and that tourist bus stops right outside. I'm looking forward to doing the night tour on the bus - should get some interesting pics.
Not sure about the Nou Camp - Barcelona are not my favourite team at the moment, for obvious reasons. :(

Thanks.
BTW what is that photo in your sig? It's awesome!

I can't remember what it's called, but if you go to the catherdral in the gothic quarter, go early in the morning. Once the tourist hoardes get in there it ceases to be a cathedral and just becomes a big room full of people.

It's Bratislava, the town I live in. It's got quite a creepy aura.

Lucky you!
Palau Güell, really impressive + Parc de la Ciutadella, wonderful places not to miss!
and sangria, sangria!

And don't forget the tapas!

When I went to La Sagrada Familia, I didn't take my own advice about not going up the spires, and after coming back down from on high I desperately needed to sit down for a while and stop shaking. We left the building from the end where the spires that you go up are, and sat down in a square behind the cathedral (not the square where the buses all drop off, the one at the other end). Once my legs had turned from jelly back to bone, we went to a small cafe which, if you stand and face the cathedral, is on the right hand side of the square. It looks like nothing special, just the Catalan equivalent of a greasy spoon, but it served the best Patatas Bravas and Tortilla that I have ever eaten. If you can find it from my description, I recommend that you go there to grab some lunch rather than to some overpriced glossy tourist trap.

Mmmmmmmm......Patatas Bravas!!
Mmmmmmmmmmm......Sangria!!

I feel like Pavlovs Dog!!

if you have time for a day trip, take the train to figueres and see the dali museum. it was about a two-hour train ride, but well worth it.

and parc guell is awesome, even if it is touristy.

most beautiful city in all of europe, in my humble opinion.

I'll second that.

Hmmmmm. Not sure about that.

I'm not a big fan of Dali.

does anyone here live in barcelona? what is it like? any info?

its a nice place, the architecture is quite nice in some parts. home to scott herron (prefuse 73) and the sonar festival, althoughh you just missed it, sorry!

http://www.sonar.es/portal/eng/home.cfm

worth a look though, nice place.

try to see mercat de la boqueria, it's amazing, tru their fruit juices.

also, if you want to do some shopping, look for the small shops around the cathedral, they are very cosy and more unique than the ones on the ramblas.

if you like art, visit the museum of catalonian art, take some time for this, it's very impressive and definitely worth a visit.

sagrada familia looks wonderful at night.

and yeah parc de la ciutadella to relax when the weather is nice.. parc guell is a bit too much going upwards to be relaxing.. all of gaudi's architecture is worth a visit though.

barcelona is a great city.. i went there this year on a school trip and it was love at first sight. i want to go back when i have time / money.

Thanks for the input guys.
Sounds like a really nice place. Can't wait to visit.

When do you go?