Have a look at this nice video of Barcelona and its sightseens. Looks a great place to travel to!

Barcelona, Spain’s second city, bubbles with life in its narrow Barri Gòtic alleys, along the grand boulevards, and throughout the chic, grid-planned, new part of town. This top Mediterranean trading center is also the capital of the proud region of Catalunya. With Franco’s fascism now history, Catalunyan flags wave once again and the stirring, patriotic Sardana dances are a weekly event at the cathedral. While Barcelona had an illustrious past as a Roman colony, Visigothic capital, and 14th-century maritime power, it’s most enjoyable to throw out the history books and just drift through the city. If you’re in the mood to surrender to a city’s charms, let it be in Barcelona.

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Barcelona is Spain’s second city and the capital of the proud and distinct region of Catalunya. With Franco’s fascism now history, Catalan flags wave once again and the city is vibrant as never before.

The spine of the tourists’ Barcelona is its main drag, the Ramblas. More colorful than the Champs-Élysées, this grand boulevard takes you on a one-mile downhill stroll — from ritzy at the top to rough-and-tumble at the port below. You’ll raft the river of Barcelonan life past elegant cafés, street mimes, pickpockets, a chirpy bird market, chic shops, and a chance to pay more for a shoeshine than you paid for the shoes. The Ramblas (Rambla means stream in Arabic) exerts a powerful pull, causing many visitors to spend a major part of their time here doing laps. Here are the highlights:

Barcelona’s vast central square, Placa de Catalunya, caps the Ramblas. Cluttered with skateboarders and statues of Catalan heros, it divides old and new Barcelona. Kick off a Ramblas ramble from here. Got some change? As you wander downhill, drop coins into the cans of the human statues (which often jumpstarts them into entertaining motion). But beware: wherever people stop to gawk, pickpockets are at work.

You’ll know when you’ve entered a stretch called the “Rambla of the Little Birds.” Traditionally, kids bring their parents here to buy pets, especially on Sundays. Living quarters in Barcelona are tight. Local apartment dwellers find birds, turtles, and fish easier to handle than dogs and cats.

Halfway down the Ramblas at #91, a century-old iron gateway to La Boquería — Barcelona’s lively produce market — invites explorers with an appetite for edible adventure. The Boquería is a commotion of chicken legs, bags of live snails, stiff fish, sugary cafés, and sleeping dogs. One shop sells 25 kinds of olives, the next sells full legs of ham (the best go for around €120 each). And be warned: the huevos del toro are bull testicles — surprisingly inexpensive… and oh so good.

For a quick bite, visit the Pinotxo Bar (just to the right as you enter the market), where flamboyant Juan and his family are busy feeding shoppers. (Getting Juan to crack a huge smile and a thumbs-up for your camera makes a great shot…and he loves it.) The stools nearby are a great perch for enjoying both your coffee and the people-watching (Mon-Sat 8:00-20:00, closed Sun.

Or, for something more exotic, Taverna Basca Irati serves 40 kinds of hot and cold Basque pintxos for €1.70 each. These are open-faced sandwiches — like sushi on bread. Muscle in through the hungry local crowd. Get an empty plate from the waiter, and then help yourself. Every few minutes, a waiter prances proudly by with a platter of new, still-warm munchies. Grab one as they pass by…it’s addictive. You pay on the honor system: you’re charged by the number of toothpicks left on your plate when you’re done. Wash it down with a €2-3 glasses of Rioja (full-bodied red wine), Txakolí (sprightly Basque white wine), or sidra (apple wine) poured from on high to add oxygen and bring out the flavor (daily 11:00–24:00, a block off the Ramblas, behind arcade at Carrer Cardenal Casanyes 15, Metro: Liceu, tel. 933-023-084).

An arcaded lane at #46 leads to the palm tree-filled Plaça Reial. This elegant, neoclassical square comes complete with old-fashioned taverns, modern bars with patio seating, a Sunday coin and stamp market (10:00–14:00), Gaudí’s first public works (the two colorful helmeted lampposts), and characters who don’t need the palm trees to be shady. Herbolari Ferran is a fine and aromatic shop of herbs, with fun souvenirs such as top-quality saffron or safra (Mon–Fri 9:30–14:00 & 16:30–20:00, closed Sat-Sun, downstairs at Plaça Reial 18). The small streets stretching toward the water from the square are intriguing, but less safe.

Return to the Ramblas. The towering Columbus Monument marks the trendy, restaurant-packed place where the Ramblas hits the Mediterranean. Your Ramblas ramble’s over. Rest on the steps leading into the sea and imagine the scene right here as Ferdinand and Isabel welcomed Columbus home after that 1492 voyage.

A sweep through five centuries returns you to the present, listening to the faint roar of thousands of happy Barcelonans enjoying one of Europe’s liveliest cities. Over your shoulder, Columbus points toward the New World…America. Looking up at his floodlit face, tell him, “Not yet, sailor.”

If you like wild architecture, make a point to see the routinely overlooked Catalan Concert Hall (Palau de la Música Catalana) while you’re in Barcelona. This concert hall, finished in 1908, features the best Modernista interior in town (by Lluís Domènech i Muntaner).

Inviting arches lead you into the 2,000-seat hall. A kaleidoscopic skylight features a choir singing around the sun, while playful carvings and mosaics celebrate music and Catalan culture. Admission is by tour only and starts with a relaxing 20-minute video (€10, 50-min tours in English, daily every hour 10:00–15:00, tour times may change based on performance schedule, about 6 blocks northeast of cathedral, tel. 932-957-200). Women usually wear formal dresses and various evening dresses. Also dresses knee length is a common piece of cloth in Spain. To get a spot on an English guided tour you must reserve in advance: You can drop by earlier in the day or up to a week in advance (ticket office open 9:30-15:30). Ask about concerts (300 per year, inexpensive tickets, www.palaumusica.org).

Barcelona is tight and pricey when it comes to accommodations. For the best value, reserve a room as far in advance as possible. I found these top deals in the elegant and boulevardian Eixample neighborhood — a 10-minute walk from the Ramblas action.

Hotel Granvía, filling a palatial 1870s mansion, offers Botticelli and chandeliers in the public rooms; a sprawling, peaceful sun garden; and 54 spacious, comfy, quiet, air-conditioned rooms. Its salon is plush and royal, making the hotel an excellent value for romantics (Sb-€80, Db-€130–or €110 July–Aug, Tb-€150, these rates promised with Rick Steves’ Spain in 2009 if you reserve directly by phone or email–not on their website–and mention my name, breakfast-€11, air-con, elevator, Internet access and Wi-Fi, Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes 642, tel. 933-181-900, fax 933-189-997, www.nnhotels.es, hgranvia@nnhotels.es, Juan works the morning shift).

Hotel Continental Palacete, with 19 rooms, fills a 100-year-old chandeliered mansion. With flowery wallpaper and cheap but fancy furniture under ornately gilded stucco, it’s gaudy in the city of Gaudí. But it’s also friendly, clean, quiet, and well-located. Guests have unlimited access to the extravagant, “cruise-inspired” fruit, veggie, and drink buffet — worth factoring into your comparison-shopping (Sb-€97, Db-€132, €35-45 more for bigger and brighter view rooms, extra bed-€45, 5 percent discount with Rick Steves’ Spain in 2009, includes breakfast, air-con, Internet access and Wi-Fi, 2 blocks north of Plaça de Catalunya at corner of Carrer Diputació, Rambla de Catalunya 30, tel. 934-457-657, fax 934-450-050, www.hotelcontinental.com, palacete@hotelcontinental.com).

Hostal Residencia Neutral, with a classic Eixample address and 28 very basic rooms, is a family-run time-warp and a fine value(tiny S-€35, Ds-€60, Db-€65, Ts-€75, Tb-€80, Qs-€80, Qb-€85, €8 continental breakfast in pleasant breakfast room, request a back room to avoid street noise, thin walls, fans, elevator, elegantly located 2 blocks north of Gran Via at Rambla de Catalunya 42, tel. 934-876-390, fax 934-876-848, hostalneutral@arrakis.es, owner Ramón, Lino works the night shift).

Sleep Code
(€1 = about $1.40, from U.S. or Canada, dial 011-34 plus 9-digit number)

S = Single, D = Double/Twin, T = Triple, Q = Quad, b = bathroom, s = shower only. Unless otherwise noted, credit cards are accepted.