Experience in Barcelona, Spain by Alazne

How much does it cost to live in Barcelona?

Living in the city is not cheap: a decent apartment is above €600/month. This is why sharing an apartment is the best option for students.

What is the food like? What are your favorite dishes?

The food is great! Paella, fideuá, embutido, pan con tomate, tapas, salads... everything is very good and there is a lot of variety. It's a Mediterranean diet.

My favorite dish is fideuá. I also love pasta, but that is definitely not a Spanish or Catalan dish...

On Tuesdays, you can find fideuá in a lot of menus; Thursdays are for paellas.

What places would you recommend visiting in Barcelona?

I would recommend visiting:

• The Gothic Quarter: the Cathedral, la plaza del Pi, la plaza de Sant Felip de Neri, el Pont del Bisbe...
• Los Bunkers del Carmel. It has one of the best views of Barcelona and it is very nice to bring some beers with you and drink them while appreciating the skyline.
• La Sagrada Familia. It is worth going in regardless of the price.



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• Las Ramblas for a touristy walk with a lot of souvenir shops. Do not forget to see la plaza Real and, although I don't enjoy it, many tourists seem to like the Boqueria market.
• Plaza Cataluña.
• Paseo de Gracia for shopping and a nice walk with some Gaudí buildings (la Pedrera and la Casa Batlló), interesting Gaudí inspired benches and a peculiar pavement with the so-called "Gaudí tile".
• El Parque Güell.



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• El Parque de Horta. This one is not a touristy place but I really like it. It is peaceful, not crowded and it has beautiful gardens and a fun small maze.
• Arco de Triunfo and Parque de la Ciutadella.

Is it good to eat out in Barcelona? Can you tell us your favorite spots?

It is good to eat out in Barcelona, there are a lot of different bars and restaurants. Just walk around, look at the menu, see if they have enough people eating there and if it looks okay to you, just give it a try!

For tapas, I like to go to Bar LaFuente, which is close to the Besós metro stop. I think it is an underrated tapas bar, but they usually have a lot of people, so having to wait to be sited is not uncommon. Do not forget to try their delicious patatas bravas and patitas de calamar. I also like their pincho de bacon, which has a shrimp, cream cheese, cucumber and bacon over a slice of bread.

Is the nightlife good in Barcelona? Where is good to go?

Nightlife in Barcelona is quite good!

There are a lot of clubs in la Villa Olimpica, such as Opium, Pacha, Catwalk, etc. But those are not the only ones! Other popular ones are Otto, Bikini, Razzmatazz, and Apolo.

However, if you are not into clubs and you like rock music I recommend you go to Marina. There, I recommend la Ovella Negra and BB+ to drink, as much as you want to, for an affordable price. El Raval also has good places, such as Bollocks, Nevermind, another Ovella Negra, and Polaroid. I personally like going to Polaroid because they play music from the 80s and 90s. Moreover, on Thursdays the host a language exchange meetup, so if you want to meet new people and practice your Spanish or English, that's the place to go to.

Barcelona also has great cocktail bars, but of course, they are a little bit up there in price. I have personally been to Dry Martini, Milano Cocktail-bar and Bobby's Free. The latter is a clandestine cocktail bar behind a barber's shop. You even need a password to come in! And if you would like to see a blues or jazz performance live, Milano Cocktail-bar is the place to go to.

You can also find pubs with live music on Fridays and Saturdays. The Michael Collins Irish Pub and The George Payne are two of them that I like.