With the weather warming up in Barcelona and along the coast of Spain, it´s the perfect time to take a day trip and see the fantasy Dali-land in Figueres, a small town about two-hours from Barcelona. The museu Dali is filled with some of Dali´s most famous works of art, and the renovated theatre is personally decorated and designed by Salvador Dali himself.  The museum is a surrealistic portrayal of Dali´s life, everything with no logical order and without any sort of audio guide, a request by Dali himself. You´ll be able to look closely into Dali´s personal life, specifically the boat hanging above the tire tower representing his soul mate Gala and the tears representing her death. Look next at the homage Dali paid to Mae West, a room where her face can be seen in the furniture only from a certain vantage point. You can spend hours in the surrealistic museum, looking at how Dali portrayed famous works of art in the most peculiar ways. 

If you haven´t had enough of Salvador Dali yet, take a trip from Figueres to Cadaques, about a 45 minute drive, to see the Dali House, his home where he created most of his bizarre artwork. His home, which he shared with Gala, proves how a person´s creativity can be expressed through all types of medium. His front door, a work of abstract art, was created when he asked the local fishermen to wipe their brushes on it when they finished painting their boats. The house is left almost exactly as it was when Dali moved out in 1982, after the death of Gala.

Dali´s house and museum are both reflections of Dali´s personality, fun and a little bit provocative. Before you leave Barcelona make sure a trip to Figueres or Cadaques is on your list of things to do, and don´t forget to book your Barcelona apartment today!

ComeToBarcelona awards every reservation made on its site with a Connect Club Discount Card.  This card enables you to save tons of cash throughout the city with killer discounts!  We want to help you take advantage of this great opportunity by starting you off with a place to use your card, The Chocolate Museum of Barcelona! 

The city´s pastry-makers guild opened the museum in 2000 in order to give the public a view into the history of chocolate.  In addition to the history of this sweet product, the museum also displays incredible sculptures made completely of chocolate.  Examples of some of the featured sculptures include a replica of Michelangelo’s La Pieta and a large figure of Homer Simpson! 

In addition to the normal exhibitions of chocolate, the museum also is currently showing an exhibit called, "The Bishop Celestial - 400 years of discovery of solar system.¨ The exhibition will last one year and gives the public a basic idea of our universe through both plastic and chocolate re-creations.  

We will keep you posted on various spots that are discounted by the Connect Club Discount Card, so come to Barcelona and let us find you an apartment!

Hungry for some Catalan Cuisine? Well, we have the tour for you!

In Spain dinner is often served quite late in the evening, usually between 9pm-11pm.  In order to pass the time between work and dinner time many Spaniards go to tapas bars.  ´What is a tapas bar?´ you may ask.  Tapas bars offer a variety of beers and wines as well as ¨tapas¨, the Spanish word for appetizers or snacks.  The tapas come in different forms, cold or warm, meat-filled or vegetarian.  What a better way to engage in Spanish culture than to eat when the Spaniards eat and eat what the Spaniards eat?

On the Tapas Evening Walking Tour of Barcelona you will be introduced to Catalan Gastronomy and culture.  The tour takes place in well-known places within Barcelona with stops on La rambla at La Boqueria and in the Gothic Quarter at a Basque Bar.  A English-speaking guide will lead you to the best cusine throughout the city, while adding information about the history of Catalan culture and architecture.  Book your tour today and allow us to help you find a beautiful apartment close to La Rambla and Barcelona´s most well-known tourist sites!

If you’re looking for great seafood at an even better price, we recommend you check out La Paradeta, a local chain of self-service seafood restaurants that features several lively locations- all of which offer high quality seafood at an extremely reasonable price.  

What makes this restaurant special is its unique system of ordering your food. When you enter the restaurant you see what appears to be a stall in a fish market., with the day’s catch laid out on ice and price tags indicating the cost per kilogram of each item. Orders are placed in the same manner that purchases are made in a market (i.e. by weight), but with a twist. In addition to ordering by weight (Half a kilo of prawns, please), you also choose the manner in which you’d like your food cooked (Grilled, steamed, fried, etc- the options vary based on the type of seafood cosen). Next you pay, take a seat, and wait to hear your number called on a loudspeaker. When you do- go collect your delicious platter of seafood and enjoy.

While La Paradeta is great for families, groups, and casual dinners out; it is not ideal for quiet romantic evenings. The restaurant is, due to the quantity and quality of the seafood offered for the price, always busy and this is reflected in the boistorous atmosphere to be found in the dining room.

Because of the nature of it’s product offering (freshly caught seafood), La Paradeta is closed on Mondays. (What, you didn’t know that fishermen took days off?)

La Paradeta does not accept reservations and is incredibly popular. Because of this, we highly recommend you arrive at an early hour to eat without waiting- whether during the week or on weekends. If you arrive too late, do not be surprised to see a line of hungry people winding its way onto the street in front of the restaurant. Don’t despair, however, the lines usually move at a fairly decent rate.

La Paradeta currently has 5 locations in and around Barcelona. One of these is in the picturesque neighboring beach town of Sitges, and two more of them are located in some of the most emblematic areas of Barcelona: the neighborhood of the Born and next to Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia. These locations provide you with the perfect opportunity to enjoy a good seafood meal at an incredible price while you are visiting and enjoying all that Barcelona has to offer.

Stay in an apartment in Barcelona in the Born or next to the Sagrada Familia and spend a night enjoying the delicacies of the Mediterranean prepared fresh at La Paradeta!

A meal at ‘Els 4Gats’ in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona will transport you to the beginning of Modernistic art and leads you to imagine a young Picasso enjoying evenings with his many contemporaries, discussing matters that transformed into some of the most famous works of art in the 20^th Century.

The history is rich with importance and intrigue, starting with its name. ‘Els Quatre Gats’, is Catalan for ‘The Four Cats’, and is a slang term meaning just a few people. It was chosen by Pere Romeu, the creator, in a self-deprecating play on words, as in: “Nobody was at the restaurant but four cats.”

Romeu was a successful performer in the famous cabaret bar ‘Le Chat Noir’ in Paris and he wished to establish a meeting place for him and his conversationalist companions in Barcelona that would resemble this restaurant.  ‘Els 4Gats’ was born in June of 1897 and it quickly became a favorite spot for poets, painters, musicians, and architects, the most famous being Picasso, who held his first public exhibition in the café. However, Romeu was overcome by his idealistic dream of owning the restaurant as a birthplace for artistic ideas rather than as a profitable business, and soon his generosity with bills and tabs forced him to shut it down in 1903, to the dismay of the people of Barcelona.

It was later reopened by another artistic circle and thrived until the Spanish Civil War changed the entire city until the 1970´s where it was once again brought back to life by three businessmen. Now it is a beautifully renovated restaurant with art hung on all the walls and even a menu depicting an original drawing by Picasso for that very purpose. The atmosphere is different than the numerous other cafes in the Gothic Quarter and the food is also of high quality and taste.

‘Els 4Gats’ is tucked away in the Gothic Quarter at Carrer de Montsió 3, just a couple short blocks away from Las Ramblas. The menu features a diverse mix of Catalan cuisine and an extensive wine list, and if you are interested in dining during for lunch, the Menu del Día offers a surprisingly diverse list of two courses and a dessert for a relatively inexpensive price of 12,50€.

Learn more about the history and menu of El 4Gats and also check out Las Ramblas apartments  near the restaurant.

Although the origins of la Boquería are not clear, it is sure that is a great walk in market located in the center of La Rambla.

Throughout the years, la Boquería has become one of the most symbolic structures in the city of Barcelona. The structure, the situation, and the salespeople are all reasons that attract many tourists today. Many of the people that work in la Boquería have had family members that have been doing it for many generations. This market is the perfect fusion between past and present along with a nice blend of culture.

In addition, visitors can check the rich cuisine which encompasses Barcelona and Catalonia as a whole. And there is no better way to give a short tour of its galleries and its more than 300 booths to enjoy a feast of colors, flavors and aromas.

The specialization of the booths is so vast that we can find shops that are dedicated exclusively to a single types of food: the case of bananas, eggs and cod. The greengrocers, fishmongers, delicatessen, butchers, etc. have  great expertise because this is their life.
El Mercado de la Boqueria (Boqueria Market) is located on La Rambla, 89 its doors open at 8 A.M. and closes at 8:30 P.M. from Monday to Saturday.

Address: La Rambla, 89 bis - Plaça de la Boqueria
Telephone: 933 182 584 / 933 182 017
How To Get There: Metro L3, parada Liceu. | Bus 14, 59 y 91.
Web: www.boqueria.info
E-mail: mercatboqueria@mercatsbcn.cat

If you desire an apartment in La Rambla area, you should check out our apartment Barcelona listings. This area is a great place to stay if you are looking to experience the city life to its fullest.

Located in the Gothic Neighborhood of Barcelona, and near the Wax Museum, you can find one of the most well-known and charismatic cafés in the city, El Bosqe de la Hadas or The Forest of Fairies.

The Forest of Fairies Bar has become a necessary stop for all those who wish to learn about the charm that surrounds Barcelona, and without a doubt, this bar is one of the most enchanted..

It was established in 1993 by the theatrical designer Víctor Alarcón, son of the creator of the design of the Wax Museum.

The Forest of Fairies Bar is not just a café or a bar. It is a magical and different place, whose ambiance and design will not be forgotten by adults or children alike. With a décor that simulates a forest of trees, we are submersed in a word of fantasy complete with gnomes and fairies. A perfect scene with an intimate framework is created and we are sure to be transported to an enchanted land where, even for just a moment, magic seems to exist.

The Forest of Fairies is a place that will not be forgotten by anybody, whether it is the many tourists who visit it because of its immense and renowned popularity or the inhabitants of Barcelona who cannot resist its charm.

The Café de the Fairies is open all year from 10:00am to 1:00pm and during weekends until 2:00pm. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays shows are also offered.

Without doubt, The Forest of the Fairies is a special place where having a drink or a coffee becomes an experience unique and different for everyone.

BAR EL BOSQUE DE LAS HADAS
BOSC DE LES FADES CAFÉ
Pasaje de la Banca 5-7
08002-Barcelona
Web Site: www.museocerabcn.com

Check out our Barcelona apartments located in the area of Las Ramblas near the Forest of the Fairies and many more tourist attractions.