Going to Barcelona - where do i go ?

Thank you to all those who replied,

I am landing next monday 2nd and whilst there for 3 days monday is my photo day, the other two are business. I have aquired a Crumplar bag for less attraction but my thoughts on barcelona are below

1. dont let people touch you
2. dont leave valuables in the open ready for plucking
3. Keep your bags across your body
4. Dress down
5. Avoid dark nighttime places or early morning ramblas
6. travel in pairs
7. dont drink the water
8. Dont be an idiot and take risks you would not take at home.
9. Expect to be a target but dont be paranoid
10. leave your valuables in the hotel if not necessary to carry

tony

ps thank you oscar for the offer of being around, next you will tell me you run a tour guide company ))

Naaah. I live in Madrid but my family is from Barcelona.

Just visiting them once a month. Have a nice trip.

Antony Blake said:

Thank you to all those who replied,

I am landing next monday 2nd and whilst there for 3 days monday is
my photo day, the other two are business. I have aquired a Crumplar
bag for less attraction but my thoughts on barcelona are below

1. dont let people touch you
2. dont leave valuables in the open ready for plucking
3. Keep your bags across your body
4. Dress down
5. Avoid dark nighttime places or early morning ramblas
6. travel in pairs
7. dont drink the water
8. Dont be an idiot and take risks you would not take at home.
9. Expect to be a target but dont be paranoid
10. leave your valuables in the hotel if not necessary to carry

tony
ps thank you oscar for the offer of being around, next you will
tell me you run a tour guide company ))

Click to expand...

--
"Say what you want! but my pictures will tell the truth!"
O.L.

I was in Barcelona this past summer and had a great time. Several other posters have given some good advice regarding safety. One other tip is to make sure you have copies of all important documents (passports, credit cards) in case they do get stolen. It'll make life easier. But also don't worry too much. My friends and I were all over the city well into the night and we never had a problem. Though that's not to say walking 5 miles home at 5am is a smart idea.

-Las Ramblas is a great place to get street photos. There's a very diverse crowd there. Yes, it is touristy so be careful.

-The Gothic Quarter had lots of hidden treasures. Try and get yourself lost by exploring these back alleys.

-The bullfights, though you won't be able to see them, are very gruesome indeed but worth the experience if you ever get a chance to go again.

-Gaudi architecture is very impressive and I wish I had the chance to go out to Gaudi Park.

-Castell de Montjuic is way out of the city but you can take the cable car up to it. At least I think you can, for some reason my friends and I tortured ourselves by walking from Placa d'Espanya. There is a little tourist train from Placa d'Espanya to the top also.

Here's some of the pictures I took while in Barcelona. Don't expect too much, these are from my old friend the Canon G1:
http://www.pbase.com/ryemac/spain

-Ryemac

Antony Blake said:

Looking at spending 1 day in Barcelona just to photgraph it, any
experts on the city there ?

Looking for the usual stuff but also anything that might reflect
spain etc given the constraints of 1 full day starting at 10am

thank you to all who repsond

tony

Click to expand...

very colorful area, full of interesting people. Explore the side streets and markets.

Jim

Antony Blake said:

Looking at spending 1 day in Barcelona just to photgraph it, any
experts on the city there ?

Looking for the usual stuff but also anything that might reflect
spain etc given the constraints of 1 full day starting at 10am

thank you to all who repsond

tony

Click to expand...

--
Canon 1D

I went, im back and everything was safe.

Basically thank you to the people who responded. I thought i would provide feedback for December 2002.

The city was brilliant, beautiful and small enough to walk around. The people were great and i saw few trouble makers in fact the only place i felt threatened in any way was 10.30pm at the bottom of La Ramblas were lots of casing was going on. If you walked around there with lots of gear around your neck i could see how you could and would become a target.

The rest of the time the gothic quater, gaudi bits and the churches and basilica were safer than most cities i have been to including london, in fact it had a distinct feeling of Paris, tidy and friendly.

Got some great shots as the weather was good. Still have not worked out how to emded pictures into post but hope to supply a web page at some stage.

Once again thanks to all who commented, common sense provailed but Barecelona definitely lists as one of my top 5 favourite and safest cities to photgraph.

tony

Thanks for the Barcelona feedback, some of the shots i managed. Feedback is always appreciated and i hope some shots bring back a few nice memories for some of you.

http://www.namastalien.co.uk/barcelona/index.html

Antony Blake said:

Thanks for the Barcelona feedback, some of the shots i managed.
Feedback is always appreciated and i hope some shots bring back a
few nice memories for some of you.

Click to expand...

Bravo! Bravo!

Mas! Mas!

Tony, Barcelona is a beautiful city, but watch out for pickpockets—there are more pickpockets in transit and tourist areas than in any other city I have ever visited, including those in South America, Asia, Africa etc. As long as you know they are there, they are not that hard to spot. After having been warned about thieves by a nice elderly gentleman at Parc Guell, my husband and I sat down at P. Catalunya, with the camera bag between us. Within minutes one man came up gesturing to a paper in his hand and wanted to know where the Banco de Bilbao was. We both realized immediately that we had been targeted, and I saw another man walking off with my camera bag. I was closest to him and gave chase, saw the guy walk into the crosswalk to go out of the square. I started yelling at the top of my lungs for the SOB to drop my bag (in English of course) and with everyone in the square looking at him, the guy set my camera bag down in the street and walked away. So I got my equipment back, but it was a close call. Be especially careful in Las Ramblas, Placa de Catalunya, Sagrada Famiglia, the Metro, even in hotel lobbies.

As far as photographic subjects, it is hard to beat the architecture. In addition to wonderful buildings by Antoni Gaudi, there are other nouveau buildings in the areas of Barcelona that were built around the turn of the century.
--
sasand