May
24
Barcelona travel tips for large groups
My chiropractor, Tim, is off to Barcelona for a 50th birthday year celebration with a dozen of his 50-year-old mates. He asked me for some tips, these are what I remembered from my friend Paddy’s stag do earlier this year:
- Toc de Mar is a good place for large groups to eat, food is OK, prices reasonable, waiters accommodating and friendly, we ended up eating there several times “by default”. It’s on the port front (opposite the sea-end of Las Ramblas) on a long street called “Passeig de Joan de Borbo”, with dozens of other restaurants.
- Avoid el Rey De La Gamba (there are two of them on the same strip) which rips you off - you have to watch the bill like a hawk. I would never eat in these places again and tell everyone the same.
- I recommend the tourist bus, we enjoyed the one that goes up the hill to the Olympic Village.
- The Park Guell is a great half day out - Gaudi-designed, get the Metro to it and walk the final 10 minutes (you’ll need a map). There is a terrace bar that looks over the park and the whole city, we ended up spending hours all sat there catching up, watching the kids play in the park and enjoying beer and baguettes.
- Watch the pickpockets on Las Ramblas and the sleazy streets between the cathedral and the port - they are the craftiest I’ve ever seen. Zip pockets are the way forward.
