Barcelona Itinerary – The Insider Guide to 3 Perfect Days

I’ve taken their tours (and counting) in six cities around the globe. They are intimate tours that, in my humble opinion offer the best way to learn about a city and its history. They are food and journalist journalists, and have therefore been able curate and research the restaurants that they select. It’s wonderful that the tour guides are real people who have built relationships with restaurant and shop owners. They also have interesting histories. Even as a native, I always learn something about Barcelona when I go on their tours.

The restaurant is also a lover of seafood. Everything that comes from the sea is prepared brilliantly. Get the “huevos rotos con gambas al ajillo”—they are forever etched in my memory.

Every detail in the restaurant reflects the chef’s passion, from the food to the plates. He modernizes the best of Mexican food. The corn-based dishes (corn cake and pancakes as well as the tortillas used for the chilaquilles), are also delicious.

VASTO Gallery is worth a visit. I think it is the most beautiful gallery in Barcelona. The openings and other events there are amazing.

You would not expect to have one of the most delicious dahls of your life if you saw this metal-brick-art-gallery-esque spot from outside.

La Fabra offers a chance to experience more modern, contemporary art. Their current exhibit, “Stones on Their Palms Embers and Flame”, is so powerful and relevant.

The green velvet seating is just one example of how the restaurant respects history while adding modern touches. I’ve tried probably 90% of the dishes on the menu, and they are all delicious and comforting. My Catalan friends have told me that these dishes are the best that they have ever eaten, even better than their grandmothers’ and mothers’. Places like this that preserve Catalan food and culture are even more valuable and important in an ever-gentrifying neighborhood and city.

La Paloma is the place to be on a Sunday evening between 6 pm and 9 pm. A century-old ballroom, this is where people of all ages gather to dance to Latin music—especially salsa. It’s a magical space, but seeing people from all generations dance together so freely and joyfully is even more amazing. They also have live shows on other evenings that cover different genres if you can’t make it Sundays.

You can tell by the energy in this place that creatives and artists gather here. The baked goods and interior patio are the best places to enjoy them.

Time moves at a different tempo here, away from the busyness of the nearby streets—it kind of feels as if your lunch were a private, prolonged aperitivo into the afternoon. You can see the pasta being made right before your eyes. The food is Tuscan. Also, the hostess (Flori) is a breathing gem—her energy will make you feel so very at home.

The hostess in one of my favorite restaurants told me that there were other local restaurants with a similar style (local, fusion Spanish/Catalan tradition with modern). It was the answer she gave, a place that she would go eat outside of their restaurant. This is a pretty good answer.

Some people might not consider going to a movie in a new town, but that’s me. Zumzeig is a neighborhood cinema—it only has one room showing one film at a time. Here you won’t see the big Hollywood movies, but more rare and precious ones from around the world. In the lobby there is a café/bar where you can stay before or afterwards.