Hi Travellers. I will be going to Barcelona in late October to go on a Meditterenean cruise - Italy, France, Greece, Ephesus. I will be in Barcelona for 4 days. Have the recent travellers to these countries experienced much high prices in food, merchandise, etc. due to the economic prices? How about an increase in petty crime? How do I maximize my time in these countries? I would also like your incite on places to dine in Barcelona - especially for a very picky eater who DOES NOT EAT SEAFOOD! Any advise, tips, would be greatly, greatly appreciated. Thanks all.
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Denver, CO, US
111 posts
We were in Spain last month and Italy the year before. I found Barcelona much cheaper than Italy. As to eating, I am a vegetarian (almost vegan) and I had NO problem finding food at pretty much every place we went past, tapas bars included. All restaurants seem to post their menus on the doors so you can check it out before you go in. If you are a vegetarian, check out Happy Cow for specific recommendations (I found I didn't need them). We stayed in El Born and ate at several places in the area. My favorite was Bubo, which is right outside Santa Maria del Mar church. There are two other cafes in the same square and we ate at all of them. We also got pizza from Pizzeria Toscana in the Barri Gotic and picnic supplies from the Mercat Santa Caterina, which was a great experience. We didn't experience any issues feeling unsafe in Barcelona either. We had one night where we were walking back from Plaza Catalunya at close to 1am and it was totally fine (I am 40 and traveled with my 68 year old mom on a mother-daughter trip). I didn't do much shopping so I can't speak to that, other than I bought some stuff at the FC Barcelona store and it was comparable to shopping here in the U.S. $20 for a pair of socks, LOL. As to maximizing your time, I recommend taking the Tourist Office walking tours. We did the Barri Gotic one and the Modernisme architecture one and raved about both. I would suggest the ArtTicket pass if you want to see a lot of museums because you can skip lines - important at the Picasso museum (ridiculous lines). We also bought skip the line tickets for La Sagrada Familia. The main thing though is to pick a few areas you want to see and not over do it. Barcelona is huge and you can't see it all.