Barcelona + Portugal

[gqmw]

Going to Barcelona and Portugal (Lisbon and Porto are booked) for about 2.5 weeks total.

Looking for recommendations on what to eat, where to party, what to see.

Thanks in advance!

[GOnSHO]

the "party" scene in barcelona does not start until about 1:00 am... a lot of restaurants and bars dont even open until 10pm. I found it quite weird.

I hit up the beach every day, always a party of some sort going on. (dont buy the beer from the guys walking around, they hide the cans in the storm drains and dont clean them off before you get them. Just buy it from the supermercat off the beach, 6 beer for 2-3 euro.. hah!)

[DJ_NAV]

Las Ramblas! Kabul Hostel is great if you are into hostel style travelling!

[Mckenzie]

Stay at the W hotel for one weekend night if you can, or try to go down there for one of the evening parties. It's an incredible place to be and nice for a hangover right on the beach :thumbsup:

[Feruk]

Originally posted by gqmw
Portugal (Lisbon and Porto are booked)
Boo! You would've had way more fun in Lagos than Lisbon.

[phreezee]

Originally posted by GOnSHO
... a lot of restaurants and bars dont even open until 10pm. I found it quite weird.


I asked a waiter why and the answer was they take siestas midday, go back to work and don't get off work until later in the evening.

[gqmw]

Thanks for all the recommendations everyone!

Still got a few days unbooked in Portugal so maybe we can check out Lagos.

[ercchry]

what time of year are you going in?

[msommers]

Barcelona, one of my favorite places in all of Europe.

Where to eat: just find some paella and enjoy the hell of it because I can't find anything even close here in town. Lots of places are open, just depends on how touristy the area is or not.

Las Ramblas and the Gothic Quarter are where you're going to spend a lot of time. Park Guell is huge and beautiful. Sangrada Familia is likely still under constructing but a must-see. Take a tour of Camp Nou (soccer stadium). The History of Catalunya museum I found really interesting. Hit the beach, it's really close to a metro stop. The Magic Fountain is cool at night, and that area during the day.

Look up Gaudi walking tours.

I can't think of anything else specifically. Barcelona has an awesome vibe, people are friendly and food can be had for cheap.

However. Pick-pocketing is really common there so when you're on the bus and on the train, keep your shit in front and tight.

[Mckenzie]

^Agreed on the above post, but just be warned that Park Guell now requires reservations to view it, which was different from last time I went and it kinda FUBAR'd the day a little. You can make these online and you get a window to see the park which is more than enough time. I would suggest either morning or late afternoon as it is bloody hot in middle of the day there.

[phreezee]

You can get tickets to Sangrada Familia online to save waiting in block long lines. The outside is under construction, but the inside is stunning and still worth the trip.

Another pro tip: bring your sunglasses for the beach and don't stare too long :thumbsup:

[l/l/rX]

Like other people have said, barcelona is one of my favourite cities in europe as well. Opium night club is one of my favorite clubs to, lots of big time dj's roll through there, shoko is dope as well (dress code in effect).

There's a restaurant called aqua close to opium which is pretty good, higher end restaurant on the boardwalk.

In Las Ramblas, dip off into any of the side streets/ alleys and look for restaurants there, tons of great places to eat. Try avoiding walking through las ramblas alone at 5-7am, get's pretty hairy.

I don't know how we lucked out, but we only had to wait 10min to get into Sagrada familia, I'm not one to really appreciate temples and churches and all that jazz, but this place left me in awe. Absolutely stunning!

Spend a lot of time at the beach, I'd start at the W, check out the marina cause there's always lots of crazy yachts there, you'll have to walk by the gay section first, lots of old fat guys and cocks but then after that it's dimes everywhere!

[msommers]

Oh ya places to go out. I barely can remember much from those places but there was a sweet shots bar where they light everything on fire called Chupitos, it's in the Gothic Quarter somewhere. Then there was Apolo that had weird event name like Nasty Mondays but it was a blast!

[gqmw]

Originally posted by ercchry
what time of year are you going in?

April

Thanks for all the informative responses, will look them!

[ercchry]

April is pretty early for beach stuff, most of the seasonal stuff wont be open in the algarve so i dont think it would be worth the travel time to get to lagos

[Kobe]

Originally posted by gqmw
Going to Barcelona and Portugal (Lisbon and Porto are booked) for about 2.5 weeks total.

Looking for recommendations on what to eat, where to party, what to see.

Thanks in advance!

The drinks in the bars in barca are expensive it was like 12-20EUR a drink (if i remember correctly) and it was like 4EUR for a bottle of water at Opium. The bar was really cool and extremely classy, make sure to dress nice and wear black shoes! (They wont let you in otherwise!)

As others said the bars get busy around 1am, but getting there around midnight is fine too..

We went to Shoko as well and I thought I was going 2 die inside as it was +50 in there.

If you want to pre-drink make sure you buy alcohol at the store before 11pm since they stop selling it afterwards, also don't bother wasting money on that shit bar they sell to you outside it's usually half full and taste like shit.

We went to some other nightclubs there as well but I was pretty wasted non-stop to remember.

La Rambas is cool, but extremely crowded, watch your pockets with the gipsys throwing those stupid toys in the air all the time, and I heard when people look up they like to pickpocket you. (lucky for me I lost my wallet a couple days before Barca so I didn't have to worry about that.. Haha)


Enjoy it. I don't remember much from lisbon since it was soooo long ago, but I heard porto is really nice, can get you more information if needed since a couple of my friends live out there...


When In Portugal you should check out "lagos" I really regret not making it out there but I heard it's incredible but full of tourists as well..

[adamc]

Lisbon and Porto are both fantastic!

Lisbon has better/more varied night life, and the party is generally conducted in the streets, as every bar on the strip will allow you to walk directly out with your drinks in hand. Which is amazing.

I remember sitting with a group of friends in one square, having beers, and I noticed that there was a Metro/Subway grating in one very busy corner of the sidewalk. Every time a woman walked over this grating, her dress was blown clear up over her head. Giving everyone that cared to look quite the show.

And *all* the women were wearing dresses. That was a few hours of excellent cheap entertainment. :rofl: :hitit:


Porto was lovely as well. I spent a lot of time just swimming in the river with the local kids.

http://i60.tinypic.com/oqegz8.jpg

Bring your walking shoes. For real. :)

http://i59.tinypic.com/x2njpu.jpg

The hostel I stayed at in Porto was empty the day I got there, totally bummed me out. The next day, 10 spanish girls on a bachelorette showed up. We partied. :thumbsup:

http://i57.tinypic.com/23iwg1i.jpg



Any specific questions about Barcelona, Lisbon, or Porto, I would be glad to fill you in.

[Feruk]

Originally posted by gqmw
April
Wait, why would you go in April? Spain and Portugal are the wrong locations for that time of year. I'd look more at Morocco if you wanna be anywhere in that area. The earliest I'd even consider going to Spain/Portugal is mid May.

[deee_wreck]

Any feedback appreciated.

This is what i'm looking at for 3 weeks in may, rushed a bit , but get to everywhere of interest in 20 day.

FLy into Porto
2 Nights Porto - train to Lisbon
3 Nights Lisbon - train to Faro
1 Nights Faro - bus to seville
1 Nights Seville - Rent car and tour Andalusia
2 Nights Ronda - Day trip to Gibraltar, Costa del Sol
2 Nights Granada - Return car and fly to Madrid
3 Nights Madrid - train to Toledo (40mins)
1 Nights Toledo - back to madrid , plane to Santander ($120) 1 hr
1 Nights Santander - may 18-19 bus to bilboa
1 Nights Bilbao/San Sebastian - Rent car and explore Basque region
3 Nights Barcelona
FLy out of Barcelona

Only item not on the list is Santiago de Compostela , ANYONE been along the hike routes camino de santiago??

Its an exploring, site seeing and photography type trip.

[sputnik]

Holy "cheerleader effect" batman!


Originally posted by adamc
The hostel I stayed at in Porto was empty the day I got there, totally bummed me out. The next day, 10 spanish girls on a bachelorette showed up. We partied. :thumbsup:

http://i57.tinypic.com/23iwg1i.jpg