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So in 3 weeks I’m gonna visit Barcelona. This is also my first trip to Spain in general and to be honest, I really don’t know much. Neither about Spain nor Barcelona.
I do know they speak Spanish or some Catalan version of it. Unfortunately I don’t know either.
I do know the typical good morning, good day, thank you, please, 1 2 3 that I know of pretty much every European language. How far will I get with English? Maybe with some hand-and-feet-talking?
I do know the Catalan are great fans and proud of their football team FC Barcelona and the Camp Nou. Now, the season is over of course. But that just means European Championships Whohoho. I do not know how they react to me cheering for Germany. Guess I’ll find out.
I do know a little bit about Spanish cuisine, like Paella, Gazpacho and Tortillas. Basically the stuff you get everywhere around the globe. And then there is Tapas which I have never done and have no idea how it works. I do not know what sort of food is special in this region.
I would greatly appreciate some pointers:
- What are some general No-Go’s? Stuff tourist can do wrong?
- How is the crime rate? I know big city attract criminals.
- What are the places that I MUST see? Maybe aside from the obvious “in-every-tourist-guide-book” stuff?
- Where can I go and get some really good food with fair pricing? Maybe something more hidden from the main tourist stream?
- Where can I watch some football (European Championship) with fair pricing of drinks and food? Do they play every match or just when Spain is playing?
If you have been to Barcelona or better, have lived there/ live there still please help me! :D
If you have any tips and pointers beside the listed, please feel free.
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I'm sorry I've been to Barcelona only 2 afternoon and one night, I don't know any thing about whart you are asking.
I just know about football (yeah I just wrote this), the european championship might not even be on spanish television because I read they are not ready to pay the fee for it (sad in a country that won so much in the last decade ...), I'm sure if you go in a bar they will likely transmit even if it's not in spanish.
If you stay in Barcelona itself be careful they might be thieves, and be ready to see some overpriced stuff, that's basically how it works for every big european city, but don't worry lots of people always have great experience anyway.
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Barcelona is amazing. I mostly went clubbing so I don't know a lot about the cultural part of it. The clubs are great but expensive. There are both clubs at la rambla and the beach. I recommend the beach clubs. Lots of prostitutes at la rambla at night who are pretty annoying. Barcelona is very touristic so you'll manage with English.
The city is also pretty well known for pickpockets so watch out for that. I never had any problems with it though. At night there are a lot of drug dealers on bikes too but they don't use force or anything so it's pretty safe.
Don't go into the Columbus statue at the end of La Rambla. It's boring as fuck. The Barcelona cathedral ( cathedral of the holy cross and saint eulaila ) is great though.
Anyway Barcelona is a great city I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
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I live near Barcelona so here are my tips for your trip.
Despite sounding similar to foreigners, Spanish and Catalan are two completely different languages. Catalans are bilingual and I'd say 40% of the population are able to keep up an understandable conversation in English. However, all catalans are able to speak the universal 'hand-and-feet' language 
Tapas comprise a wide range of appetizers and you can order many and combine them to make a full meal. If you like some sort of spicy food, I'd recommend ordering 'patatas bravas' as it is one of the most popular tapas. Also, you can find 'pintxos' which are Basque tapas (plates of bite-sized goodies served atop a piece of bread). In this case, they are usually served on the bar counter for you to pick and you will be charged for the number of 'toothpicks' that you have used/pintxos that you have eaten.
Traditional Catalan dishes are: tomato bread, beans and pork sausage, 'escudella', snails and cured pork meats (such as 'fuet'). Depeding on your taste in food, you can give them a try
Statistically, BCN is not different from any other major european city in terms of crime rate. So watch out for pickpockets in the most touristic areas (Ramblas) and, in particular, in the subway/bus/public transportation and bar/clubs/terraces.
I'd suggest visiting the Montjuïc Castle, walking around the Barcelona cathedral area, El Raval or La Barceloneta beach. For great views of BCN skyline, you could take a trip on the cable car or just visit the Montjuïc area. You can also find some good to places to eat in El Raval or in the Eixample area.
I heard that Spanish TV will only broadcast 1 match/day during the EURO 2016. I don't know any particular place where you can watch all matches but I'd suggest some of the pubs around Ramblas. Take a look at here. It seems like 'The George Payne' and Flaherty's are good options.
Hope you enjoy your time in BCN!
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First of: Thank you all for responding 
On May 23 2016 20:54 SMaD wrote:I live near Barcelona so here are my tips for your trip. Despite sounding similar to foreigners, Spanish and Catalan are two completely different languages. Catalans are bilingual and I'd say 40% of the population are able to keep up an understandable conversation in English. However, all catalans are able to speak the universal 'hand-and-feet' language Tapas comprise a wide range of appetizers and you can order many and combine them to make a full meal. If you like some sort of spicy food, I'd recommend ordering 'patatas bravas' as it is one of the most popular tapas. Also, you can find 'pintxos' which are Basque tapas (plates of bite-sized goodies served atop a piece of bread). In this case, they are usually served on the bar counter for you to pick and you will be charged for the number of 'toothpicks' that you have used/pintxos that you have eaten. Traditional Catalan dishes are: tomato bread, beans and pork sausage, 'escudella', snails and cured pork meats (such as 'fuet'). Depeding on your taste in food, you can give them a try Statistically, BCN is not different from any other major european city in terms of crime rate. So watch out for pickpockets in the most touristic areas (Ramblas) and, in particular, in the subway/bus/public transportation and bar/clubs/terraces. I'd suggest visiting the Montjuïc Castle, walking around the Barcelona cathedral area, El Raval or La Barceloneta beach. For great views of BCN skyline, you could take a trip on the cable car or just visit the Montjuïc area. You can also find some good to places to eat in El Raval or in the Eixample area. I heard that Spanish TV will only broadcast 1 match/day during the EURO 2016. I don't know any particular place where you can watch all matches but I'd suggest some of the pubs around Ramblas. Take a look at here. It seems like 'The George Payne' and Flaherty's are good options. Hope you enjoy your time in BCN!
The crime rate thing only came up cause i heard some ridiculous storys about Palma. But I guess thats a different story altogether
The Castle and the cathedral I've heard about. Is El Raval the "oldtown"?
And at La Barceloneta beach i will most definetely spend most of my day :D
Thanks a lot for the link, already bookmarked. The Belushi with 2-4-1 drinks all day everyday sound nice as well ^-^
"The George Payne" sounds nice if some language barrier comes up. I expect the staff there is fluent in English.
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Mainly, take it easy, it's Spain, a very safe, laidback and friendly country - it's really hard to do anything to regret in there (besides the usual issues with petty theft). If you don't speak the language, someone will help you - maybe they won't really rush from all directions to do so, but upon request, everyone is usually very friendly.
Incidentally, I'm gonna be in/around Barcelona June 17-22, but that's late than you I guess.
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The Castle and the cathedral I've heard about. Is El Raval the "oldtown"?
Actually, what you call the 'Old Town' is the Gothic Neighbourhood (the area around Barcelona Cathedral) and, by extent, the entire "Ciutat Vella" district (which literally means 'Old City' in catalan).
In this district, you would find the three most interesting neighbourhoods to visit IMO during your stay in BCN: Les Rambles, El Raval and the Gothic Neighbourhood, which are contiguous (try using GMaps). I'd rather visit Gothic as it is mostly known for its small strees, nice restaurants and shops while in El Raval you could find some nice bars and 'wild night life'.
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party scene is great and people are real friendly; Be sure to bump up your spanish when you go there; I comunicated in Italian, and people answered me in Spanish, but thats another story as the languages and customs are very close; since your going there in three weeks you would have time to bump up your language or vocabulary skills; People rellay appreaciate when foreigners make an effort to speak their language
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Unfortunately I never learned Spanish, instead I learned French...je deteste francais ^^
But i got down the mandatory: Una cerveza, por favor
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EPT
