It's called the Palace Hotel now, but all the websites also use the name Ritz to prevent confusion. The rooms are 38 squre meters, as opposed to the 20 Hotel Majestic. Claris didn't mention the size of their rooms. The guidebooks refer to the Ritz as their pick for the best in the city, along Hotel Arts, but the Ritz has a far better location for us.

While I loved the Hotel Arts it is a two metro stop or a brisk walk until you are in the Barri Gotic, the Ritz is located right between the Gotic zone and the Eixample, in other words right in the middle, ideally located. I have not been inside in quite a few years, so that is why I have no updates. My wife stayed in a new trendy little boutique hotel across the street from the Cathedral, The Grand in January, said it was okay.
Have a great time.

We stayed at the Hotel Arts in 2002, and had a great time (it definitely is a lttle out of the way, though). We had a wonderful experience with a casual tapas restaurant called Cal Pep. No menu, little English, lots of pointing and great eats. Truly an experience. Very crowded, so make rezzies (if they take them) or get there early.

Thanks. We expect to have several tapas meals.

One of the world's most charming cities. Cover all that you can, Board_O, all that you can. Don't waste a single min while in Barcelona.

You have a lot of great advice from people. I will mention 2 things. If you are a Dali fan, it is about a 2-3 hour ride to his Museum & another hour or so to his house. That's my fav artist so that's something I had to visit. We rented a limo & visited both.

His museum kills any other museum in Barcelona & Spain in general. But, I may be biased. Nevertheless, if a Dali fav - a MUST.

Les Rambles: if I remember correctly that is the name of that famous street/center. While in that area, watch your wallet, bag, money, valuable. If someone asks for your time, pen, directions ... you don't know. Our New York thieves/pick pockets have nothing on some in Barcelona. They are true professionals & work in groups.

Also, when/if leaving a tip (in cash) in some small joint/bar/restaurant, hand to the waiter directly. Don't just leave the cash on the table & walk away. A good chance that the waiter will never see that money that was intended for him.

P.S.: some good Cubans for good prices to be found in Barcelona (real Cubans, rare/hard to find Cubans).

Thank you for the advice. We're spending three days in Priorat and two in Barcelona, so once we get to Barcelona, we won't be leaving town. I'm aware of the pickpockets. I was once pickpocketed on a subway with my sons standing next to me and none of us knew anything happened til I reached for my money.

I loved Landshark's photos and we want to see some of Gaudi's work. I also want to see the Picasso Museum. My wife has found some great sounding tapas restaurants/wine bars in some of the guidebooks, plus several people have also recommended some. The seafood restaurant that Edward mentioned has gotten raves in the guidebooks and from other forum members who've been there.

Board-0

There is a great tour agancy that is one lblock east of the Ritz, and 1/4 block north. Concierge at Ritz can direct you. Forgot name, but they have a great tour of Gaudi. Various sites in city, Parc lGÜELL PAVILIONS [good walk-a-bout with guide], Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia, and also a main park by the waterfront, and a walking tour over to the Picasso musuem. PS: Bring a lot of film, and a good telephoto lens for getting some of teh great details on the buildings.

Down by the waterfront there are many intersing light stantions that he designed when he was an architect working for the city. They also claim in Spain that they wish Gaudi to be a saint.

Thanks. I'll check that out. My wife doesn't walk too well, so long brisk walks are out of the question, but if we can do it at her pace it'll be fine. I though Landshark's photos of the Gaudi buiildings was outstanding.

The bus is easy.

At Guell there will be walking, albeit slow, and a few hills. You will be inside a few of the structures, and on some others. Views are fantastic. Great photo and hands on possibilities.

At the familia, you will stop, and have about 45 minutes to walk around the site. Again a good lens [300 mm] or binoculars will be REQUIRED to see the expressive detail on the towers. Its amazing.

As a preview check this site out.
Gaudi buildings in Barcelona


Also even better: MAny buildings in area available for viewing

Couple of side notes after a week here, in case anyone is searching in the future. Aside from the traditional stuff (sagrada, palao de musica, cathedrals, etc.)... if you have a couple of extra days, consider taking Renfe (train line) to Sitges and Girona. Sitges is about a 50 minute ride south for 5 euros and has one of the most popular beaches in Catalonia. Girona is a 90 min ride north and has one of the oldest cathedrals (parts dating to 1011) and a walled "old city." Very, very narrow streets and stairwells. Wife had a menu del dia and I had beef carpaccio with truffles at La Penyora, a really, really small little restaurant tucked down a back alley. Both were nice changes from the walk-a-thons in Barcelona.

If you really want to experience a traditional tapas place, try Taktika Berri on Valenica. The city'sSan Sebastian football club hangout, it's one of the "local" places, so at best you'll have to know Spanish to do much. Up to you to grab tapas from the bar and then save your toothpicks to cash out later. Each tapas runs 1.15-1.25 euros, and the bartender guesses/breaks down the types of tapas you had later. Smoking there is AWFUL, but the tapas were incredible. Was very, very packed from 10-12, and that was on a Thursday.

Good comment on the side trips. We enjoyed visiting Monterrat (easy train ride to an amazing place)

Also second the Cal Pep rec (eiger). Couple notes - Restaurant is divided into the bar and a dining room. Definitely need reservations for dining room, but I think I still would prefer the bar. Seating at the bar is different than the normal Barcelona hover and steal; you line up behind the bar seats in order and the cooks will tell you when to sit. This isn't readily apparent... The tuna tartare is FANTASTIC, as were the peppers (pimiento a la plancha, I believe). For dessert, you have to try the infused whip cream dishes.

Driving from Barcelona to Gibraltar:
Montserrat - awesome church with spectacular mountain views and you see the black virgin. Took the tram up the side, which appears to have saved a lot of time.
Salou - ok beach, ok food. I would not return. Did visit the Roman ruins in Tarragona, which was cool.
Benicassim - resort/beach area. Not bad, but a lot of better destinations. Little crowded for me.
Javea / Xabia - Stayed at Hotel Javea, more of a house than a hotel. Gravel beach with restaurants that have outside seating right against the beach. Attico is a fantastic cafe (main restaurant was in our hotel, but closed) and we went back twice. PX 1927 was 6 euros for a glass, 18 or so for a bottle. More of an adult destination (lot of bars, etc.), lot of Brits here.
Torremolino - Hotel was 75% German, and most of the people we ran into spoke German or English. Looked like they dumped A LOT of sand on the beach to fix it up. Not a bad stop if you're flying out of Malaga (which we did).
Granada - Wow. Alhambra was amazing, and I found good wine and tea shops. Gypsies were lined up outside the cathedral selling spices out of burlap sacks. Stayed at Alhambra Palace and thought it was a little overpriced for what you get. Service was great, however, and majority of the staff spoke English.
Gibraltar - Didn't stay overnight, but visited the rock and played with the apes, checked out the caves and siege tunnels, etc. City itself wasn't all that exciting, with too much traffic.

General Notes - street names are posted on little tiny placards on the sides of most buildings. It's especially bad in Barcelona because most intersections are octagonal for more storefront space, which means the signs are way out of view. Toll roads are "AP" (ex. AP-7) vs "A." Tolls run between 1.5 and 3.5 euros for ~25kms. Be sure to check a map, because the freeway will split with little notice and give you "AP-7 Alicante" on the left, "A-7 Alicante" on the right, but the A-7 option will take you 100 km off track to get there (voice of experience). Speed limits on AP/A routes were usually posted at 120 km and I drove at 140. Did not see a single police vehicle on the road, and I was getting passed like I was standing still. Neatest part of the drive was seeing castles on every other hill or mountain range. Most of the beach towns were more English/German than Spanish and the hotels included breakfast and dinner buffets in the price (almost defeating the purpose of going to each of the little towns). Maps to the hotels are abysmal, so plan on heading in the general direction of where the hotel should be and then get ready to practice your Spanish on people walking down the street to find the exact spot.

Montserrat - awesome church with spectacular mountain views and you see the black virgin. Took the tram up the side, which appears to have saved a lot of time. <-----we did it this way too. definately recommended.

DREW, did you drive stick or automatic? Has anybody used GPS in Europe?

I have to learn driving stick one day....the prices are much cheaper and selections are bigger with stick in Europe

Tonight's dinner was at Balthazar (http://www.restaurantbalthazar.com)

My god, I'm going to pop. We pre-partied with another 04 Embruix, than walked 6 blocks to Balthazar. Oh heavenly Foie Gras. Here's what we had:

Crema de berenjenas con queso ahumado y aceite de oliva (eggplant soup that was awful, tasted like gerber food - I argued against ordering it and then we actually tried it. Yech.)
Lentejas estofados con langostinos y aceite de gambas (lentil soup with shrimp and some oil - good, but I had lentil soup for lunch, so I didn't eat much)
Hojaldre con butifarra de Perol, cebolla confitada y manchego fundod (bread with sausage, cheese and some onions - OMG fantastic)
Magret de pato asado, compota de peras y salsa Oporto (duck "Magret") - fabulous
Foie fresco a la plancha, manzas cramelizadas y flor de sal (grilled Foie Gras with carmelized apples and something else - I slipped into a foie coma at this point, fell off my chair and begged god to take me after having this)

Total bill, with a bottle of grenacha de Priorat (mediocre) was 74 euros. Would go back in a heartbeat and not order the damn eggplant)