1. INFORMATION

1.1 Palau Robert (Centre d'informació turística de Catalunya). Passeig de Gràcia 107 (Subway Diagonal). Also at the Airport. Touristic information about Catalunya (excluding Barcelona).
1.2 Oficina d'Informació Turística i Ciutadana, Ajuntament de Barcelona. Sants Station (Subway Sants-Estació). Also at the Feria grounds. Touristic information about Barcelona.
1.3 Palau de la Virreina. La Rambla 99. (Subway Liceu). Barcelona cultural information
1.4 Bookstore Altair. Balmes, 69 (Subway Passeig de Gràcia). Specialists in travel guides, they have a good section on the city.
1.5 Bookstore/shop of the Centre de Cultura Contemporània-Casa de Caritat. Montalegre, 5 (Ciutat Vella, Subway Catalunya or Universitat). They have a wide variety of books (including books of photographs) on the architecture, history, etc. of Barcelona.
1.6 Guía del ocio. Weekly sold at any press point: movies, entertainment, music, plays, art, restaurants, bars, nightlife (in spanish).

2. SIGHT-SEEING

2.1 Architecture
2.1.1 Gaudí
A park: Parc Güell (Subway Vallcarca or Alfons X and a long walk!). Take a breather and a refreshment when you reach the upper square.
A religious building: La Sagrada Família (Pl. Sagr. Fam., Subway Sagr. Fam.). Our advice is to take the lift to the tower, then go down on foot, exploring the nooks and crannies.
A civil building: La Pedrera (Casa Milà), Passeig de Gràcia, 92 (Subway Diagonal).
2.1.2 Domènech i Montaner
Palau de la Música Catalana, St. Pere Més Alt, 13 (Subway Urquinaona). We suggest attending a concert (see 1.6): the first rows of the 1st or 2nd balcony are ideal.
2.2 Paintings
2.2.1. Museu Picasso. Montcada, 15-19 (Subway Jaume I). In a palace of the Gothic quarter; the area has much appeal.
2.2.2. Fundació Miró (Montjuïc) and Fundació Tàpies (Aragó, 255; Subway Pg. de Gràcia). For admirers of these painters. In both cases the buildings themselves are interesting. Permanent collections and prominent exhibitions (see 1.6).
2.2.3 Monestir de Pedralbes (near Campus Nord of the UPC). This nice monastary contains the part of the Thyssen Collection on religious subjects.
2.2.4 Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya. Palau Nacional at Montjuïc (Subway Espanya). The most important collection of romanesque art.
2.3 Other
There are numerous museums generic or special topics (maritime, on shoes, on geology...) that you can find in the guides. Here we just mention one:
2.3.1 Museu de la Ciència. Teodor Roviralta,55 (Subway Av. Tibidabo and walk). Scientific ideas and principles are demonstrated by exhibits that interact with the visitor. The shop is also very interesting.

3. TAKING A WALK (AND MORE)

3.1 By day
3.1.1 Rambles. The heart of the city, brimming with natives, visitors and street performers. Do not miss the Boqueria market, halfway along the Rambla.
3.1.2 Gothic quarter. Take a placid walk in this area of medieval palaces surrounding the Cathedral, the Generalitat and the Picasso Museum. Many handicrafts shops are located here.
3.1.3 Passeig de Gràcia - Rambla Catalunya. The zone bounded by these two streets, with the transversals connecting them, the Diagonal at the North, and Plaça Catalunya at the South, is the backbone of the Eixample, and bustles with activity during the day, particularly from the abondance and variety of the shops; it contains also many architecturally interesting buildings.
3.2. By night
3.2.1 Rambles. Still lively in the evening, even without florists and pet shops. A good moment to visit the Plaça Reial for a beer in the open air. If you are interested in flamenco music, you should go on Friday or Saturday to Los Tarantos, at one of the corners of the square, for the midnight show, never earlier.
3.2.2 Port Vell (Subway Drassanes). Following the seaside, from the statue of Columbus towards the north, the docks have been transformed to a pedestrian zone, with plenty of bars and restaurants. Through the dock at the north extreme or the movable bridge you can reach a completely new area for entertainment.
3.2.3 Port Olímpic (Subway Ciutadella-Vila Olímpica). Recently constructed, this is a novelty in town. Dozens of restaurants of every kind have their terraces near the water. Not to be missed if the weather is nice.
3.2.4 Poble Espanyol (ascent of Montjuïc). Entertaining on summer nights, particularly on week ends. Many kinds of ambiances. The ticket usually includes some drink and/or show.
3.2.5 Eixample. The quadrilateral bounded by the streets Aragó, Diagonal, Aribau and Muntaner houses many restaurants (especially the last two streets) and popular bars.
3.2.6 Carrer Marià Cubí and adjacent zone. Similar to 3.2.5.
3.2.7 Gràcia. This singularly attractive quarter was used to be a village, but later became absorbed by the expanding city. In the terraces of its quiet squares one can forget the large Metropolis. Countless bars and restaurants, speacially around Plaça del Sol.
3.2.8 Grec (july). Big festival of art, theater, music, cinema ... See 1.5.

4. THE VIEW FROM THE TOP

For capturing the structure of a city, nothing beats a view from the heights. Here you have some possibilities.
4.1 Top of the Statue of Columbus.
4.2 Towers of the Sagrada Familia.
4.3 Torre de Collserola. Neighboring the Tibidabo It is a broadcasting tower that was built for the Olympics. One of the floors now offers a panoramic view.
4.5 Montjuïc. The view from the bar at the Castle is splendid, as well as from many points on the mountain. An amusing combination for going up is Subway Paralúlel+Funicular+Cable Car.

5. RESTAURANTS

Naturally, Barcelona abounds with nice restaurants from the various regions of Spain, in addition to its many restaurants from foreign countries. The guide 1.6 contains a long list. Some areas of the city with a high density of restaurants are 3.2.2, 3.2.3, 3.2.5, 3.2.6 and 3.2.7. In general, reservation is essential on Friday and Saturday evenings. Usually restaurants are open from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. (5.7 is an exception). For sandwiches and snacks go to a "cafeteria" or to a bar.
Remember that four different languages (besides dialects) are spoken in Spain, so there is no such thing as "Spanish" cuisine, but rather, many extremely different regional cuisines. The most famous dish, the paella, which comes from the Valencian area, is reasonably served at 5.7. Here you have a few suggestions (far from exhaustive):
5.1. Aitor. (Basque style). Passatge Carbonell, 4 (Subway Barceloneta). Tel. 3199488.
5.2. Carballeira. (Galician style). Reina Cristina, 3 (Subway Barceloneta). Tel. 3101006
5.3. El Yantar de la Ribera. (Castilian style). Roger de Flor, 114 (Subway Arc de Triomf). Tel. 2656309.

Now we focus on Catalan cooking. Popular dishes as butifarra con judías (sausage with beans), pan con tomate y jamón (bread with tomato and ham) and some others, can be found everywhere. But in addition, there are not so well known dishes that are very elaborate and very traditional. Some examples are: oca con peras (goose with pears), pollo con cigalas (chicken with shrimps) and sepia con albóndigas (cuttlefish with meat balls). We suggest the following restaurants (all affordable), whose menu is at least partially devoted to Catalan cuisine:
5.4 Quatre Barres. Quintana, 6 (Subway Liceo. No credit cards). Tel. 3025060.
5.5 Senyor Parellada. Argenteria, 37 (Subway Jaume I). Tel. 3105094.
5.6 Agut. Gignàs, 16 (Subway Drassanes). Tel. 3171709.
5.7 Set Portes. Pg. Isabel II, 13 (Subway Barceloneta). Tel. 3193033. Open for full meals from 1 p.m. to 1 a.m.
5.8 Els Perols de l'Empordà. Villarroel, 88 (Subway Urgell). Tel. 3231033.
5.9 L'Olivé. Muntaner, 171 (Subway Hospital Cl¡nic). Tel. 4309027.

6. FOR THOSE WITH A SWEET TOOTH

6.1 Cake shops. To the delight of visitors, good confectioners are abundant in the city. Here you have a few of them (ranked by centrality of location):
Mauri. Rambla Catalunya, 102 (Subway Diagonal).
Escribà. Gran Via, 546 (Subway Urgell). Also on Rambla,83.
Baixas. Calaf, 9 (Subway Muntaner).
Foix de Sarrià. Major de Sarrià, 57 (Subway Sarrià).
Vilaplana. Plaza S. Gregori Taumaturg (Subway La Bonanova + walk).
6.2 Ice Cream.
From Jijona (most classic in Spain): Sirvent. Parlament, 56 (Subway Poble Sec).
From Barcelona: Farggi. Passeig de Gràcia (and in many other places).
Italian: Dino. Corner Consell de Cent-Pg. de Gràcia (Subway Pg. de Gràcia).
International: Hägen-Dazs. At Rambla Catalunya (and in many other places).

7. SHOPPING

7.1 Souvenirs. Shops ("botigues") at museums and monuments offer T-shirts, some jewellery and anything one can imagine that has to do with city views (particularly Gaudi's buildings) or painters (especially Picasso and Miró).
7.2 Fashion. We have already mentioned zone 3.1.3. In particular, the Bulevard Rosa is the most reputed shopping centre. At the Diagonal (between Entença and Numància), there is a big, new, complete and very popular shopping center, called La Illa.
7.3 Things, design. A very interesting shop is Vinçon (Pg. de Gràcia, 96), where you can find every kind of object, say from a pencil to a wardrobe. Beauty and originality are the selection criteria. Don't miss the second floor. There is another similar shop nearby, also splendid for the quality and variety of its selection: Pilma (Diagonal, 403).
7.4 Wines. The wine lovers will be happy at El Celler de Gelida (Vallespir, 65) and at Lafuente (Joan Sebastià Bach, 20). In addition, don't forget the nice catalan cava (similar to champagne): one can get excellent cavas at reasonable prices. Ask always for a brut or a nature (very dry).
7.5 Handicrafts. Most handicraft shops are located in the Gothic Quarter, especially in Calle Montcada and around Plaça del Pi. At that square, on some Sunday mornings, a fair on natural and traditional products takes place. On Saturday and Sunday evenings, many artisans set up shop on the lower part of the Ramblas.