MemberHi Bees,
My Fiance and I just booked our early November trip to Paris and Barcelona for three nights each and we are thrilled. We are from Chicago, so we are expecting some chilly weather (nothing a fabulous trench coat won’t be able to solve).
Any tips, advice, must-sees, etc. that we may not think of?
We have our hotels and flights booked and everything else is open.
Thanks!
MemberMontserrat outside of Barcelona is a monk retreat with mountain views. It is beautiful. They also, I believe, make their own chocolate and it was delicious. Obviously see La Sagrada Familia and any Gaudi architecture that you can. See the Picasso Museum, definitely. Parc Guell is also really pretty. (I can’t wait to go back to Spain, can you tell?)
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MemberI loovveeeddd Barcelona! Such a beautiful city.
Check out La Champagneria – http://www.yelp.com.au/biz/la-champa%C3%B1er%C3%ADa-barcelona-3 You can only order champagne but its great champagne and really yummy sandwiches. Its a local fave
El Bixto – http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Restaurant_Review-g187497-d1933502-Reviews-El_Bixto-Barcelona_Catalonia.html This was near where we were staying and we were super hungry after skipping lunch. The owner / chef / bartender was fantastic. She is super funny and made delicious food. She’s got a lot of personality and will tease you but its all in good fun. Its only small but so yum
Try the Fat Tyre Bike Tour – we did this in Berlin but kicked ourselves for not having done it in the other cities. They are super fun, teach you the history and show you the main sites.
MemberFor our honeymoon last March, we went to Rome-Barcelona-Paris.
Try the many different tapas in Barcelona, they’re so delicious and we loved it! Also, we didnt book any tour and instead bought tickets for the “hop on – hop off tour bus” when we got there, and it was great because we only went down to see what we actually like and saved time by skipping the others. We also went to the Montserrat Monastery by ourselves and it was so easy (train and cable car) and we saved more than half the price of the tours we saw 🙂
A word of warning about Barcelona though.. while researching for our honeymoon, i learned that Barcelona is the world capital for snatchers. So be very cautious, keep your things close and you bags secured. We didn’t feel it when we were there, but it’s always better to be aware so you’re prepared.
In Paris, we also didnt take any tour. About a couple of months before our trip, we bought our tickets online for the Louvre Museum and the Eiffel Tower summit. The train system is also very simple there. At the Louve, they have this museum guide for 5-euros and it was very useful, makes you appreciate the art more if you know the story behind them, and tells you directions to what art you wanna see since the museum is huge. We also went to Chateau de Versailles by ourselves and we didnt have any problem finding the place 🙂
Have fun!!
MemberIf you didn’t book your accom in Barcelona yet… try getting an apartment. They’re often cheaper actually than a hotel, yet far more space and enables you to have your own breakfast eg. cereal. Most advertise through booking.com, and have various locations throughout the city. I’ve stayed in 2 different apartments, no more than 6 blocks to Las Ramblas.
MemberParis is beautiful, it is where my Fiance proposed so will always have a place in my heart. One thing which is a must is is a dinner river cruise along the River Seine on the Bateaux-Mouches, can’t beat when it is dark seeing the illuminated historic buildings and the Eifel Tower and on the hour it sparkles which you can see from the boat, everyone has a window table and listening to the pianist and violinist is lovely. We went at the end of October last year and even though chilly the sun came out and no rain.
MemberSuch beautiful cities to honeymoon in! Apartments are amazing as PP said if you’re staying at least a week in each place. I really enjoyed my last trip to Paris when I had an apartment near Les Grands Boulevards right in the heart of everything, and I could walk to the market around the corner in the morning to pick up some eggs, cheese, wine, and bread for the day.
It’s tempting to do a lot of scheduling to try and see everything in each of those cities, but try to leave it a little loose. Pick one or two things per day to do (take the train to Versailles, go to the beach or to Gaudi architecture, cathedrals, the Louvre, the Picasso Museum, etc.), then leave the rest open for exploring. A lot of the romance and fun of these cities is strolling along the water, stopping into a bakery for a pastry, enjoying lunch while people watching.
For example, go to the middle of Paris one day to see Notre Dame, but you might also stumble into a cafe overlooking the seine for croque madames, into the French flower market, etc.
MemberI lived in France for a year, and visited Paris several times. My advice would be to stay away from the major tourist attractions in Paris, like Notre Dame, Arc deTriomphe and the Eiffel Tower. They are a total waste of time, kitchy, and really not as special as you would expect them to be. If you’re into art, check out some museums instead. While the Louvre is the one everyone says you MUST see, personally I’d avoid it. Far too big, too many people, and not really a very pleasant experience. I would much rather wander through the Jardins des Tuileries next to it and have a picnic. Musee d’Orsay, on the other hand, was well worth a visit and was by far my favorite. I could spend hours there.
If you’re not into art, spend your days in the cafes and the gardens. Paris is a beautiful city you can easily spend hours wandering through and soaking up the local culture. Don’t spend it rushing around trying to cram everything in. It’s just not worth it. Be more like the Parisians yourself, and approach it with a “laissez faire” attitude. You’ll enjoy your time there much more, especially with only 3 days.
And one final tip: learn at least a little bit of French. If you approach people and at least make an effort to communicate with them in their language, even if just a few words, they will be much more inclined to help you than if you didn’t try at all.
Member@summerSmile: +1 on the Barcelona hop on and off tour bus! Soooo useful and we managed to see all the tourist spots we wanted 🙂 And also for the pick pocketers. You have to be so careful! I spoke to a couple of people and they even saw that tourists were getting in trouble for complaining to the police, so just make sure to take precautions. Watching youtube videos of how people pickpocket there seems to help
Depending on what you like to do/see I really liked going to the las ramblas market AND LOVVVVED Gaudi’s park more than Sagrada Familia :S but i’m more into everyday culture as well as nature/scenery over architecture! You can see most of the architecture from the outside and the buses. But sagrada familia is definitely worth seeing! My fiance and his family absolutely loved it! I also loved the tapas that we ate while watching a flamenco show 🙂
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Member@graceolivia89: I’ll be having my honeymoon in Barcelona/Paris as well. Do you mind sharing any pointers on your experience and must-see places??
MemberParis! Rue Cler on a Sunday for lunch. its a flea market the rest of the week but on Sundays the restaurants all have food carts on the street. Buy a bunch of different hot items, grab some cheese and wine from one of the stores nearby and walk to a park and sit and picnic!
MemberLove Paris! My husband and I were just there in early December.
Musee L’Orangerie is my favorite museum – a smaller museum with Monet’s water lillies. They only allow a certain number of people in at one time so it was a much more enjoyable experience than the crazy Louvre.
Shopping in the Marais was so cool, and I got the cutest dress. I hadn’t been there before and it reminds me of a smaller less crowded Soho in NYC.
Restaurants: Little Breizh for crepes. Les Cocoettes was awesome and they serve everything in these little crocks, also walking distance to the Eiffel Tower. Also had a great meal at Verjus but it wasn’t as ‘French’ and is a farm-to-table atmosphere.
Definitely try to do a day trip to the country! Versailles was out for us since we were there in December. Instead we went to Reims (pronounced raunce, rhymes with France) in the champagne region. We toured 2 champagne houses and their caves, followed by champagne tasting and a wonderful lunch at Le Jardin at Les crayeres.
You really can’t go wrong, Paris is such a great city! Definitely download the Paris Metro app, was a lifesaver for getting around.
Have a great time!
Member@graceolivia89: aahhh!!! Thats exacrtly where we went!!!!
Paris – please do yourself a favor and make a reservation for a restaurant called Spring. Its near the Louvre, its fine dining, the experience and of course the food is unlike anything you have ever had. You have to make a reservation at least 2 months in advance, thats how booked they get. You HAVE to have a reservation, walkins are not welcomed. When you get there, they will buzz you in.
If you are looking to see something beautiful and amazing and breathtaking, take a trip to Versaille. Its the estate of Marie Antoinette
The Eiffel Tower lights up every hour on the hour, its also another beautiful thing in Paris
Eat as many pastries as you can, anywhere you go is delicious.
Bring a lock woth you so you can put it on the Lock Bridge and throw the key in the river
Barcelona – where exactly are you staying? If you are near the La Rambla, which is the main strip, its always crowded witb people, so make sure your purse is in front of you at all times. Its very easy to be pickpocketed.
Have gelatos!!!!! If you like chocolate like me, get the darj chocolate one, it was like having an orgasm in my mouth
There are soooo soo many tapas restaurants, but our favorite was Ciutat Comdel, its always busy
If you can, take a trip over to Sitges, its a beachy area, but they have a lot of cute shops where you can get nice handmade gifts for yourself or as souveniers and inexpensive.
Go and see a Flamenco show!!!!! The best one, is at the Tablao, when you walk in you think “huh” but its aunthentic and the singing and dancing is so passionate.
There was a bar we went to often called the L’Ovella Negra ( Black Sheep) cool spot and cheap drinks!
I dont remember where exactly, but there was an area along the La Rambla, down one of the side streets (which there are tons of), there was a big square and music was played at night and peoe would just gsther around
You are going to have sooooo much fun!!
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