Background

• I stayed in el Poblenou - up and coming place, and a little away from the main tourist areas. 15min lovely cycle from Las Ramblas (the main famous street in Barca)
• Rambla del poblenou is the main street. About 2km of nice restaurants and bars.
• Look out for 'Menu del dia' in any restaurant - which is the main Spanish meal at lunchtime. You can get 3 course meals for 12-18euro each, sometime they give you a bottle of wine with it. These deals are usually advertising on chalk boards on the street outside a restaurant. If eating at lunch as a restaurant always ask if they have 'Menu del dia'
• My fave beach was Mar Bella, although they're all great
• Use the Donkey Republic bikes to get around. It's an awesome city to cycle in, especially near the beach

Activities

• La Boqueria market - Las Ramblas food market
• La Sagrada Familia - the famous cathedral
• Cable car. This starts from somewhere near the beach
• Port Forum - check if there are any concerts on here. Even if not it's cool for a wander.
• Walk/cycle along the beach - you can do this all the way from Barceloneta (tourist area) to Poblenou
• Parc Guell - nice park
• La Monumental - Bull ring. See if there are any music gigs on.
• Gaudi House Museum - look to see if they have tickets with champagne on the roof
• Nou Camp - Look to see if the VIP tickets are on sale - they give access to the Barcelona dressing room, and were hugely reduced last summer cause there were zero tourists
• If you want a day trip, Badalona is also a nice beach area/town outside Barcelona
• Arte bar - boozy paint class. Great fun.