Barcelona Spain

There are plenty of fun and safe things to do in Barcelona. My favorites were the Gothic Quarter walking tour provided by the Tourist Information center, walking the beaches to the Olympic Village, and walking through the Modernist buildings/Parc Guell/Sagrada Familia. There are a lot of sights to choose from, the TI can give you the latest open hours information. The Ramblas is safe enough for a walk but don't carry a purse or something in your pocket you can't stand to lose, it's pretty infamous for pickpockets.

Hi Susan,
In our stay in Barcelona we stayed at Hotel Inglaterra (check Trip Advisor for recent reviews for a better perspective and not just my experience) and it was just the right place and cost for us. It had d rooms and included breakfast. It is a walking distance to Placa Catalunya where you can pick a hop on/off bus if you wish to have an idea of the must sees and go back to it on your time to explore in-depth. It is also near to alot of metro stops. Also walkable nearby is Las Ramblas which a long stretch of blvd all the way to the marina where the cruise ships dock and so full of colorful characters, restaurants and shops. Don't miss to see the La Boquiria or St.Joseph Market here, we had tapas inside at a place called Penotxo. For a day trip we went to Montserrat for the Black Virgin up in the mountains in a church of the Benedictine Monastery. They have a lovely boys acapella choir at 1 PM daily, after the mid-day mass so if you wish to hear them make sure you arrive at the monastery at that time since it is only once a day. We bought our combo train/cable car ticket (what a thrill ride and spectacular views) at the FGC Station for 22.50E in the El Triangle Building near Placa Catalunya--it is worth skipping the long lines at Montserrat Aeri Station for the cable car tickets.

We stayed at the Hilton Diagonal Mar Barcelona in July. I am a Hilton Diamond member, so we had access to the executive lounge. It's a nice hotel right across the street from a mall. Quite a few places to eat nearby and the beach is only 2 blocks away. The hotel is not located near any of the main sights, though. Taxis are readily available right outside of the hotel and you can go to the heart of the city for around 10 euros. The hop-on / hop-off tour buses have a stop a block away, so you can use them as transportation and to get a good overview of the city. Sagrada Familia is a safe bet as are the former Olympic venues, though these two are fairly far apart. We didn't have any issues or concerns while we were there. Just avoind being an easy target and you will be fine.

The architecture of Gaudi is a must-see in Barcelona. You might want to get tickets in advance for the Sagrada Familia, as the lines were very long when we were there in July. The homes, Casa Batllo and Casa Mila (La Pedrera), are fairly close to each other and were easy to get walk-up tickets the morning we were there. Park Guell is delightful. We took the Bus Turistic, one of the hop-on hop-off busses, from the Placa Catalunya, to make it easy to get to all these sights. Las Ramblas is an interesting walk. Make sure you stop by LaBoqueria Market. There's an excellent restaurant in the back called the Restaurant la Gardunya.
Have fun in Barcelona! Keep your passport and money in a money belt.

We quite liked the walking tours put on by the TI office. We did the Gothic quarter one at 9:30 in the morning (ideal because its actually quiet then) and the modernisme architecture tour on a Friday evening. Both were interesting and inexpensive (about 12 or 13 euros per person). We did all the recommended sites and honestly, I can say almost everything was worth experiencing, even though there are some things I wouldn't do again. For example, surprisingly I didn't particularly enjoy La Sagrada Familia, Montjuic fountains, or La Boqueria Mercat (all extremely crowded, stuffy/hot). My favorite experiences (besides the walking tours) involved wandering around our neighborhood of El Born where they have the stunning Eglesia Santa Maria del Mar, the Picasso Museum, and the Chocolate Museum. This is from the same era as the Gothic quarter, but feels more like a real neighborhood with boutiques, cafes, squares, laundry hanging off balconies, and actual quiet. We also liked Park Guell and the Miro Foundation (up on Montjuic). I didn't ride the cable car because I'm afraid of heights, but my relative did and thought it was great. The views from Montjuic, even on the ground (the Miro museum has a nice roof deck you can go out on with a sculpture garden), are pretty spectacular. We went to Port Vell one evening and had fun watching the skateboarders (very popular in Barcelona) too. Mercats Santa Caterina and El Born are both nice, if small, so you can experience some of the local market culture if you want. All the markets sell fresh squeezed juice in fun flavors like mango mandarine and strawberry kiwi, etc. and it was fun to try to talk to the vendors.