Spain - Barcelona
 

OK so im a lucky girl, ive been asked to DJ out in barcelona, all expenses paid! woohoo!free trip! he said i can stay as long as i want, and travel about to take advantage of the free flight, im looking at doing this in may/june, ill be able to spare about 100quid and 10 days or so...so advice please...whats there to do in barcelona and around? is there a cheap way of getting to the coast for a few days of sun?

any recommendations will be most welcome...havent been to spain in years will be great to get back.

Umm... Barcelona is *on* the coast, and there'll be plenty of sun that time of year, no matter where you are in the city. So if you're gonna stay a while, there's a lot of beachtime to be had.

To make your £100 go further, make sure you use your DJ connections and have the promoter introduce you to other DJs and promoters. Get yourself on guest lists and score drink tickets to make your partying as free (or cheap) as possible.

Congrats on the job. Are your accommodations included in this? I thought Barcelona was VERY expensive, as far as hotels/hostels go...

Cool town, though. Watch out for the pickpockets and purse snatchers -- the city has its share.

worldwidemike

Seconded...especially along Las Ramblas, Estacio Sants and in internet cafes. The Easy Internet cafe along las ramblas even has signs posted saying "Caution: Thieves at work!". No sooner did I see that than I turned to my left to see two guys eyeing my bag and camera.

I stared at them for the next 10 minutes which aggravated them and they left (the whole time keeping my valuables in a deathgrip ;))

Anecdotedly, every person I met who got something lifted (or shared a hostel room with someone who had something lifted) had it happen in Barcelona, Rome or Prague. My dad and I joke that whenever we are in crowds we put our wallets in our front pockets and go into "Barcelona mode".

--Joey

if you get some free time, def. make a trip to Valencia, which I enjoyed more than Barcelona anyway, but that's just me. :)

That's wicked, well done!! Been to Spain plenty, but never Barcelona and the surounding area I'm afraid, so you'll be getting no advice from me!!

aahhh didnt realise it was on the coast, score! ill have places to stays with mates and so on so accomedation isnt a problem, especially since i wont have to travel to reach the coast.

drinks wise well i dont drink! so thats no problem. and im not an 'eating out' person either, a bag of fruit from the supermarket does me fine, so im pretty cheap in thatsense too. and of couse ill be gettin in places for free to party if i wish :lol:

so what is there to see and do? im looking at having a nice realxing one, as for the two months after barcelona ill be travelling europe playing massive festivals and partying all week and weekend, so will be nice to relax after finishing uni. then after that, back off to asia of course :blink:

La Sagrada Familia, the still unfinished cathedral designed by Antonia Gaudi. It's an amazing sight.

You can also go to several other Gaudi designed buildings, such as La Pedrera, an apartment he had constructed. I've never been into architecture for its own sake, but this is really cool stuff. Oh, and there's this really wild park he designed, too.

worldwidemike

That park is "Park Guell" which is some crazy stuff indeed!

Unfortunately I am only familiar with it via photos but that'll change :)

--Joey

"Park Guell" reminded me of Alice in Wonderland somehow. Anyway, explore the park and then take the quick walk up the paths to get a great view of Barcelona and the coast.

skip the gondola ride up to the castle cos its pretty average, casa battlo is also real neat by gaudi it costs a bit to get in but i though it was totally worth it. just wandering through the old town and the market off las ramblas is really nice (a good place for fresh fruit too)

All the Gaudi stuff is mindblowingly cool - and yeah, Casa Battlo is definitely pricey, but a fascinating, closer look behind the madness of the architecture. Parc Guell is still tops on my list, though.

One good -and fun- way of seeing what's around and worth visiting is doing one of the Fat Tire Bike Tours. They convene a couple of times a day at the base of the Christopher Columbus statue and take you around to the sites, give you some history, as well as give you good advice on things that are worthwhile and things to watch out for.

If you're not big on eating out, check out the market (La Boqueria) just off the Ramblas, a few blocks from the ocean front. A massive selection of fresh fruit, veg, & pretty much anything else your heart desires - and often pretty cheap! It's one of my favorite open-air type markets in the world.

Ooh, I guess Kiwi just mentioned it too :)