Lonely Planet Barcelona City Guide [With Map]

Is this book written in Spanish?

This is a nice, detailed map of the main part of Barcelona's city. It has all of the major sites labeled right on the map, and it includes all streets, even the very small ones. It also has a subway map, which is a necessity. It doesn't include much of the outskirts, but that is fine for a map of this size. The plastic covering on the map has come in handy, but it isn't completely sealed, so it did leak in a little water when I used it in the rain. Glad I bought it - I would buy it again!

My boyfriend and I had three days to spend in Barcelona and I'm so glad we had this book. It was super up-to-date (i.e., warning us ahead of time that the cable cars at Montjuic were under construction and non-operational) and the views on the suggested walking tours -- especially the Modernisme walking tour -- were gorgeous. Most importantly, the eating guide within was very helpful.

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.

We spent 3-1/2 months in Barcelona and almost wore out our copy of the Lonely Planet Barcelona 1st edition. We found so many fantastic restaurants that were recommended in Lonely Planet. This book is dead-on and gives an unbiased view of the city and the sights, good and bad.

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.