Barcelona (City Guide) (Paperback)

by Damien Simonis (Author)
Key Phrases: modernista buildings, menú del día, Passeig de Gràcia, Avinguda Diagonal, Plaça de Catalunya (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
...for the adventurous traveler who wants to live like a native.' --Real Simple Magazine, June 2005


Product Description
Bordered by Mediterranean beaches and packed with beguiling architecture and stunning art, Barcelona is the Catalan capital of cool. Whether you're here for the world-renowned restaurants, funky tapas haunts, lively festivals, or to find your favourites among the traditional bodegas, cocktail lounges and late, late clubs - our insider's take on every aspect of the city is all you need for a smart and stylish stay.

o EXPLORE the backstreets of the most distinctive neighbourhoods with our easy-to-follow walking tours and detailed colour maps
o SHOP IN STYLE with our area-by-area guide to the city's retail treats
o DRINK IT ALL IN - follow our resident author to the hottest nightspots
o SLEEP WELL in hostels by the beach or the hippest boutique hotels
o GET OUT OF TOWN - sip cava in the Pened's, tour medieval Girona or seek out the hidden gems of the Costa Brava

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Product Details

• Paperback: 306 pages
• Publisher: Lonely Planet; 5 edition (October 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1740598601
• ISBN-13: 978-1740598606
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 4.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #460,003 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This item is part of The Lonely Planet Spain Series Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lonely Planet Barcelona Guide Let Me Down, January 23, 2001

By	"eh1265" (NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lonely Planet Barcelona (1st ed) (Paperback)

I am generally a big fan of the Lonley Planet series, having used several of their country guides (Mexico, Central America, and Switzerland). This was my first experience using a more specific, city guide for travel, and I was dissapointed in the overall usefulness of this book.

My main concern with this book was its organization and ease of use. I found that the way in which the information was organized made it difficult to navigate the book and coordinate the various entries for restaraunts and attractions with their map locations.

The guide is organized by topic - general info for the tourist, getting there and away, where to stay, eat, and things to do. With regard to the hotel, restaraunt and attraction sections, the information is further divided by city section. Once you have decided where you want to eat or what you want to see, you have to turn to the back of the book and find the corresponding map section. As is typical with the Lonley Planet maps, attractions are given number and symbols on the map with the corresponding key on another page. These maps were so full of detail and information that it often became difficult to quickly find a location on a map. This guide would have been greatly enhanced if entries in the book were better cross-referenced with the maps at the end of the book, and if there had been some kind of index that tied it all together.

On a more positive note, the entries for museums and other city attractions were very good, often as good as any brocure that you would recieve on a given attraction.

I did not look at any other Barcelona guide books, so I cannot say how this one compares with others. I did, however, have to buy a better city map when I got there (the AA Map of Barcelona)in order to find my way around the city. The Lonley Planet maps (7 in all) in the back of the book were simply not sufficient.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sound guide to a fanbulous city, February 11, 2007

By	saliero (NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

I went to Barcelona recently, and in the planning of the trip I consulted four guide books:

Lonely Planet's Barcelona City Guide
Dorling Kindersley Eyewitness Barcelona and Catalonia
Cadogan Guides Barcelona (Dana Facaros and Michael Pauls)
Time Out Barcelona

All of them were good. I took two with me: Lonely Planet and Eyewitness.
The reasons I chose those two:

LP specialises in listings, which seemed to be more up-to-date and comprehensive than either Time Out or Cadogan, It also had a good Excursions section which helped a couple of times when I travelled beyond the city. I also liked a couple of the walking routes they recommended. Information on matters such as public transport is comprehensive and detailed. I like the chapters on history, architecture and food as well.

I took Eyewitness because it unfailingly has a good quality map, which in my view is LP's downfall. Eyewitness always includes a Street Finder Index which LP does not, and LP often misses out on streets other than the major ones, which can be very frustrating, especially in a city like Barca where there are many alleyways. I never use Eyewitness for hotels - the information is scant and usually more expensive than my (more Lonely Planet) budget, but it has fantastic colour photos and cutaways of buildings, and illustrations which place buildings within their streetscapes. It's a nice book to read on the bus or train going somewhere.

Time Out's great strength was in helping to plan. It had a huge array of hotels, and if you were especially interested in nightlife, I would take Time Out. I was there primarily for a conference, and many of my evenings were organised. And I'm also night a great nightclubber, perhaps contrary to Barca lifestyle!! If you are - consider Time Out. Its maps were pretty good, but not comprehensive for the area I was staying in, beachside Barceloneta.

That is where the Cadogan guide excelled. Its maps were so good that I pulled them out of the book and took them with me. I would have taken the whole book, but for the weight in my suitcase! Its info about places and sights seemed accurate and comprehensive.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Helpful, August 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Lonely Planet Barcelona (1st ed) (Paperback)

I found this book helpful and easy to use. I liked it better that Fodor's. Those travelling in Barcelona should be warned against the muggers. I was violently mugged less than a block from my hotel off of La Rambla. I heard many other similar tales from those who were in Barcelona at the time or have been there at other times.