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Friday, May 10, 2013

Discover the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona

 The Gothic Quarter of Barcelona

The Gothic Quarter is the oldest part of Barcelona, was built on the old Barcino, which is was the name of Barcelona in the Roman times, and is one of the most beautiful areas of Barcelona.


The Gothic Quarter is bounded from Plaza Catalunya, Las Ramblas, via layetana and Colon avenue, The Ramblas is the most famous avenue of theGothic Quarter and Barcelona, the boulevard was once a riverbed. not was until the first World's Fair of 1888 when the boulevards were built as we now know, in the Ramblas you can find  performers in the street, souvenir shops and many restaurants, the most famous of the Ramblas are the market of Sant Josep (La Boqueria) which is the oldest market in Barcelona and the opera house El Liceo Theatre, in the left side of the Ramblas as we descend to the sea is the famous old Gothic Quarter.



The Gothic Quarter is a maze of narrow streets set to get lost by the Barcelona From the Middle Ages, some of the most famous are the Plaza Real always crowded and with many restaurants and a busy place at night where you can find many places to have a drink or go dancing.

Another very famous place is the square of the Cathedral, where the Barcelona Cathedral is, built in the XIII to the XV century ,built over the old Roman  cathedral, the Cathedral is dedicated to Saint Eulalia patron of the city, now known as the merce virgin, Santa Eulalia was a young girl, that in the Roman time suffered various tortures, for refusing to adorate the emperor, and was crucified on an X-shaped cross, that is the emblem of the cathedral, as a tribute to the Saint.
The cathedral has a cloister where live 13 white geese  in Santa Eulalia tribute because it says he was crucified at the age of 13 years.



Another place that you don´t have  to miss is the royal square, where is the Barcelona History Museum, where you can visit some of the Roman ruins and the royal palace,was the residence of the kings of the Crown of Aragon and where Catholic Monarchs received Christopher Columbus after his return from the discovery of america.


Another landmark is the Gothic Quarter is the Portal del Angel Avenue, is the perfect avenue for shopping, here you can find all kinds of fashion stores for all styles and budgets.







If you plan to visit Barcelona please visit the Gothic quarter and lost in its narrow streets and squares and enjoy the whole story behind medieval Barcelona, and if you prefer not hesitate to contact with us to discover Barcelona in our Barcelona tours .

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Discover the gastronomy of Barcelona

Restaurants in Barcelona

The gastronomy in Barcelona is Mediterranean food, as Barcelona is a Mediterranean coastal city, this section will give a list of the best restaurants in Barcelona in my humble opinion where you can taste the best cuisine in the city and for all the pockets.

Seafood restaurants in Barcelona

The Good restaurants to enjoy seafood in Barcelona tend to have relatively high prices because their products tend to be fresh and of high quality, there are cheaper restaurants to enjoy seafood in Barcelona but its quality is low to the two restaurants that I offer below .

 

Barceloneta Restaurant 

For me one of the best restaurants to taste some great seafood and excellent paellas, is located in the district of Barceloneta, Barceloneta was once a fishing village, is now a popular tourist area right next to the beach and harbor the restaurant is at the end of the main avenue overlooking the old port of Barcelona, their prices are at around 50-60 € per person up.
Another good restaurants in Barcelona to enjoy good seafood is the botafumeiro restaurant , located in the quarter of Gracia, the Gracia quarter was once an independent town of Barcelona until the end of the eighteenth century, when they built the famous Paseo de Gracia was formerly a road that went from Barcelona to the people of Gracia, Botafumeiro was founded in 1975 and is currently considered one of the best restaurants to enjoy seafood in town, their prices are similar to the Barceloneta restaurant around 50-60 € per person up.

Seafood restaurants with cheaper prices

As I said before quality pays and of course the two restaurants mentioned are of the highest quality in Barcelona to enjoy seafood, but there are restaurants where you can enjoy fresh seafood at lower prices, in the quarter of Barceloneta in the main avenue find cheaper and many restaurants even when the food usually make special menus at a fixed price menus ranging between 14 and 16 € per person where they can choose between different menus, usually having 4 or 5 courses of first, 4 or 5 main course, dessert and drink, these menus are only available economic to lunch, to dinner is not usually offer such menus but there are some restaurants that if the offer but with higher prices .

Other seafood restaurants in Barcelona that was in vogue a few years ago is the restaurant La paradeta, is a relatively inexpensive restaurant because it works like a self-service, the restaurant operates in such a way as if you were to buy the market, you choose what to eat, give it a number and when your order is ready will be notified over the PA for pick-up at the the Paradeta  restaurant is a restaurant chain divided by Barcelona, his client is usually young people and their prices range from 20 to 30 € per person.


Catalan food restaurants in Barcelona

Barcelona offers a variety of restaurants offering typical Catalan cuisine and prices to suit all pockets.




La fonda restaurant

For me one of my two favorite restaurants in Barcelona, this restaurant is located in the Gothic Quarter close to the Ramblas, offering a varied menu at affordable prices, the restaurant is charming and the service is very good I recommend much to my clients and have always left happy, their prices range from 20 to 30 € per person, it usually have a lot of queue, but do not panic usually very quick to give a table.


Origens restaurant

This may be my favorite restaurant in what refers Catalan food, is located in the quarter of born, one of the trendiest quarter of Barcelona in the historic area near the Ramblas, also a very good area for tapas, the characterized by Orígens restaurant serving all-natural and organic products and everything that represents the culinary culture of Catalonia, is a very simple restaurant but the quality of their food is spectacular, with prices ranging between 20-30 € per person

Tapas restaurants in Barcelona

Originally tapas culture comes from the region of Andalusia in southern Spain, is also called pinchos but this kind of tapas is more common in northern Spain, tapas culture in Barcelona is a mixture between the tapas of Andalusia and pinchos of northern Spain, one of the places for tapas in Barcelona is the born quarter in the Gothic Quarter, where you will find different restaurants where you can enjoy tapas, I leave a link to a map of where you can discover some of the best places for tapas in the Born district. Tapas Map

Other restaurants in Barcelona for high quality tapas are the following which I quote below.

Cervecería catalana restaurant

It is one of the most famous tapas restaurants in Barcelona and is in the same Eixample, in the center of Barcelona, with prices ranging between 30-40 € per person.

Ciudad condal restaurant

Probably one of the best tapas restaurants in Barcelona, have a variety of tapas and large selection of imported beers, you should make reservations as usually always  many people , their prices range from 20-25 € per person.
In Barcelona there are restaurants can taste succulent meats miss fire and wood stoves, then I offer two restaurants in my opinion are the best places to taste this kind of meat.

Asador de Aranda restaurant

For me the best restaurant to taste difference Barcelona with grilled meat in town, have different restaurants around the city, for me the best by far is the one on the Tibidabo street, you need to take a taxi to go to this Restaurat as there is one in the center of Barcelona, with prices ranging between 50-60 € per person

La taberna del cura restaurant

This restaurant belongs to Botafumeiro, and is right next to the restaurant that cite above in seafood restaurants, the quality is excellent, it has a very rustic decor and the atmosphere is very nice, their prices are cheaper to rotisserie Aranda, between 30-40 € per person

I hope this little information of the Barcelona's cuisine has been helpful to them in their visit to Barcelona, also I leave two links where you can find different restaurants in Barcelona.


Bon Appetit !!!!!

Monday, May 6, 2013

Barcelona Private Tours

Differences between a private tour in Barcelona at grouped tour


This section will give an overview of what is a private tour and a link to a page where they offer a Barcelona private tours, and what are the advantages between a private tour and a grouped tour.


A private tour or a grouped tour ?


A private tour in Barcelona is a tour just for you and your friends or family, fully customized and the language that you want and grouped tour is a tour where the tour is standard and is usually very large group.

Private tours

Private tours are usually more expensive than grouped tours, but if you are a group of 4-8 people are very economical because the price is per person, say a private tour of Barcelona would have a price of 60 € per person per 4 hours of service, and you can decide what you want to visit and how long you want to be in that place, the explanation is more personalized venues as it is only for you and your guests, you can request a visit in the language want and end their tour in the desired location, the difference between a grouped tour is normally the tour party and ends at a specific time and place, while on a private tour you decide when to start and where to finish the tour.

Advantages to book a private tour


Imagine you arrive in Barcelona in the morning and have to start the evening cruise, hiring a private tour would save the transfer to the port because the service already includes a person will be waiting at the airport with a sign with your name , help him with his luggage and have fully equipped luxury vehicle and plenty of space for your luggage, you can start your tour from the airport and end your tour at the port, does not believe that is a good way to leverage your time?

Grouped tours

The tours are usually cheaper pooled from 12 € per person up depending on the tour you choose, but in this case there is no flexibility in the way, anyway is a more economical way to visit Barcelona. More information on grouped tours.