Barcelona + Sitges, Spain

Barcelona

Barcelona Google Map

Anything with a *, I highly recommend.

Where we stayed:

H10 Racó del Pi - Located in the Gothic Quarter
TOC Hostels + Suites (don’t let “hostel” turn you off) - Located between Raval + Exaimple.

Where we ate:

Restaurant Gabriel Barcelona - Tapas y paellas, patatas, chorizo, olives, cheese plate, spicy boms (croquetas), pan de tomate, tempranillo.
Bar Boquería* - Located inside Mercado de La Boquería towards the back. It was quite crowded but if you watch for someone who’s paying, hover behind them and then snag the seat when they get up. Seafood salad, patatas, padron peppers, olives, sangría.
Cerviceria Catalana* - This place can get very busy but don’t get intimidated by wait times, sit at the bar! Do the hover technique I mentioned above. Gamba al ajillo, seafood salad, mini hamburguesas, croquetas, patatas, lots of wine.
Santagustina - Cute restaurant in the Borne neighborhood. Croquetas, risotto, tacos, sangría.
Bar Mut* - Incredible! There is no menu. The server will ask you questions based on tastes, allergies, etc. and puts together your dinner and ours was amazing! Thin fried potatoes with egg yolk and shrimp and pine nuts and chorizo oil, scallops grilled in olive oil with fresh tartar sauce., turbot with organic veggies (potato, squash, leek, onion) in a garlic and ancho chili sauce and olive oil.
Satan’s Coffee* (called Right Side Coffee now) - Great coffee and really good Quiche Lorraine.
Vegetalia - Easy and delicious for brunch.
Tapas, 24* - Do not let the appearance fool you, the food is so good. Carles Abellan is an award-winning chef in Spain. Nuestras bravas, bombay de la Barceloneta, croquetas jamon iberico + pollo rustido, Bikini sandwich*, lentejas guisadas de la abuela, chocolate mousse with olive oil and toast*

Where we drank:

Milan’s Cocktail Bar
Cafe Schilling
Tandem* - GREAT cocktail bar. There is no menu, drinks are designed for you. Really cool space.
Sky Bar at the Axel Hotel - Rooftop bar at a gay hotel.
Dry Martini* - Iconic Cocktail Bar that has been listed as one of The World’s Best Bars for many years in a row. At the time we were there, they served 1,087,188 martinis (yes they have a counter!). 1/2 London dry gin, 1/2 French Vermouth, 1 dash orange bitters, squeeze lemon rind, green olive. Dry Martini Frappé - 1/2 frozen gin and tonic. Parmesan cheese on the bar that they serve you as a snack and to compliment your drink. They change it out every 15 days.
Versailles - Gay bar.
Le Chapelle - Gay bar.
Punto BCN - Gay bar.

What we saw/did:

Picasso Museum*
Mercado de La Boqueria*
Montjuic - Home of the 1992 Olympic Stadium + Museu Nacional D’Art de Catalunya. You can take a funicular to get to the top.
La Rambla Barcelona - Main street through the town filled with shops, cafés, etc.
La Ribera - Cool neighborhood that we walked through to get to La Sagrada Familia.
La Sagrada Familia* - DO NOT MISS THIS. Large unfinished Catholic Church designed by Gaudí. It’s mind blowing.
Raval - Cool neighborhood (NYC East Village feel) with a bunch of shops, cafés, artisans, etc.
Exaimple - Another cool neighborhood.

Sitges

Sitges Google Map

Sitges is a beach town west of Barcelona that is about a 40-minute train ride. Trains are like every half hour and at the time we were there cost 8.40 Euro. We were there in the off season (October), but I’d imagine in the summer town is quite busy and alive.