Hotel Majestic Rooftop – The Hotel Majestic is where we stayed. The view from the rooftop bar/lounge is breathtaking. You can literally see the whole city from the ocean to the mountain range. Look for the Sagrada Familia – perhaps Barcelona‘s most iconic piece of architecture by famed architect Antoni Gaudi. The rooftop is a hidden local gem, but it’s open to the public. Just walk to the elevators and hit the 10th floor, and walk out to the right.  It closed at 9PM while we were there but may be open later in the summer. I’d get there in the day anyway to enjoy the sun.

Botafumeiro (restaurant) – This is where I had my best meal of the trip. They’re known for their seafood and paella (I’m still thinking about the paella I had there). This place seemed the equivalent of a 5-star restaurant (it’s apparently where Bill Clinton eats his Paella when in Spain), but you’ll see that your dollar goes far (relative to a 5-star American restaurant. This is still a pricey experience by Barcelona standards). A single paella dish can easily feed two of me (I’m a big boy) and costs 34 Euro – about $50. Everything there is made fresh to order as opposed to a lot of other paella places. It’s also the only place that all the other patrons were locals. So basically you’ll be with locals and Bill Clinton. Man, I want more of that paella!

The Paella and Seafood at Botafumeiro are fresh and made to order

Palacio del Flamenco – The equivalent of a local Jazz bar, but with a live flamenco performance. We went with low expectations mostly to say that we had an authentic flamenco experience. But I was blown away. The whole time I kept thinking that these people need to be on a larger stage. With some polish and money, the show could be the equivalent of Lord of the Dance, Spanish style.  The cost was $35 per person with a drink included and the perfect length of time, about 45 minutes.

Sagrada Familia – We ran out of time before we could visit, but it’s in the area I believe. Supposedly among the most impressive architecture in Europe. Construction began in 1882 and it’s still not complete! There’s a lot of other Gaudi architecture in the area too.

If I were to go back, I’d explore the Sagrada Familia, move to the Majestic rooftop for drinks and a break in the lounge chairs, walk to Botafumeiro (about 7 minute walk) for a late lunch/early dinner, followed by a show at Palacio de Flamenco (also within walking distance).

Then I’d rest before heading to the beach.

This is the trendy/touristy party center of Barcelona (think South Beach Miami). We went there all three nights starting with dinner around 10PM (which is considered early). This may not be your scene, but don’t skip it . You’re on vacation and Barcelona is a European party mecca, so you need to experience the nightlife to truly get the full experience. Plus, you’ll already have taken a siesta, and you’ll be sipping high octane European coffee all day. Anyway, start there with dinner.

CDLC (AKA Carpe Diem) – Along the beach you’ll find a strip of swanky restaurants that turn into trendy lounges/clubs later in the night, and Carpe Diem is at the center of them all. Make a dinner reservation for 10 or 11 PM and enjoy a surprisingly tasty dinner with an ocean view in one of the trendiest environments that Europe has to offer. There will be a live DJ all night. You’ll start seeing groups of really ridiculously good looking, young, and tan French, German, Albanian, Dutch, American, Croatian, Italian, Irish, Spanish, etc people seemingly come out of nowhere. Some of them will forget to wear most of their clothes. These are the socialites who come to Barcelona almost exclusively to party. They lay on the beach some, but mostly just sleep all day and come out at night. Anyway, the meal there is surprisingly really good, and people watching will be on another level. I’m almost embarrassed to admit that the steak there is the best I’ve had in recent memory. Make sure you reserve a seat in the back patio area and stay there long enough to watch the place transform into a club around 1AM, but really close to 2AM.

Popular beachfront restaurant Carpe Diem (CDLC) turns into a nightclub around 2AM which includes a live performance of dancers and musicians before the DJ takes over

Opium, The after Club – What, you thought you were going home? So did I. Surely paying a $50 entry fee at 3AM we’re either getting swindled or being taken to a brothel I thought. Thankfully I was wrong. The place is an underground part indoor, part outdoor shoulder-to-shoulder packed, fist pumping, full-out nightclub the size of a football field. Perfect venue for a bachelor party, not so much for a married couple on vacation. Tread at your own risk. I’ll forgive you if you skip this part.

Barcelona has a thriving nightlife which includes popular beachfront club Opium pictured here

Top Floor at W Hotel – On the other end of the beach, another option for post dinner nightlife. It’s a little isolated from the other venues, but the club is on the top level with great views of the beach.

If you’re coming from a major American city, you’ll be pleased to find that the VIP tables for bottle service are considerably cheaper in Barcelona.

I really don’t know where this is (we ended up in this neighborhood a few hours into day-drinking), but it was a really cool part of town and memorable enough that I wish we had spent more time there. It was sort of a Soho meets Little Italy type place. We went out in this area during the day after the FC Barcelona game to go “tapas hopping.”

Llamer it Llamar (tapas bar) – We went here on the recommendation of another friend and it was very good. So were many of the other tapas places we went to throughout the weekend though. Start here for some tapas and wine, then get lost in the many alleyways and side streets until you find a nice gelato shop or cafe you like. Sit there, drink coffee, puff cigarettes, and turn your nose up at any Americans that walk by. But seriously, I wished I spent more time in this area exploring the maze of streets and outdoor markets and sitting at outdoor cafes. This is the type of place I expect when I think of Europe. The Picasso Museum is also nearby.

That’s a big chunk of what we did during the three days there. We were actually really productive, but it took two near all-nighters to pull it all off. One of the highlights was definitely the FC Barcelona game, but the season will be over by the time you get there. Other than that, the only things you should know is that English is MUCH more prevalent than in South America and tipping is not required. They’ll still expect you to tip because you’re american, but 10% is considered generous.

Have fun.