#unmissable Barcelona

All my biggest favorites from the Catalan capital, from fine dining to simple cafés.

I loved Barcelona for a long time, it has beautiful sights, and the culinary culture is very high—it's hard to eat anything truly bad. Then mass tourism took its toll. As real shops disappeared from the trendy neighborhoods and everything turned into souvenir stores, as tourists (myself included) flooded every little authentic corner, the city inevitably lost some of its charm. No matter how wonderful (and #unmissable) places like Park Güell or the Sagrada Familia are—and I still return at least once a year—the city lost some of its appeal. [Early risers should head to the park early—no crowds, no entrance fee] Then came the rainbow waffles, the unicorn-themed breakfast spots, and perhaps even chimney cakes, which is the final sign of a city’s gentrification.

Photo by Zhiyuan Sun on Unsplash

Meanwhile, the real values started to disappear, or at least retreat. However, they haven't completely vanished. After taking a break for several years and preparing thoroughly based on suggestions from local foodie friends, I realized that even though mass tourism has now conquered 98% of the legendary market, La Boqueria, the situation is still great. You just need to know where to find the hidden gems among all the shiny goods. That's exactly what I'm helping with in this post (too)—featuring favorites that have been tested many times over.

The rest is for subscribers only, but the gist is: the annual fee pays for itself if I save you from just one bad meal... But I want much more than that: I want to ensure that you have nothing but fantastic experiences