"Time Out" Barcelona Guide ("Time Out" Guides) Book

Barcelona is well suited for the Time Out treatment. Even the paperback size of the Time Out Guide Barcelona is compact enough to tuck into your pocket during a week of Catalan sightseeing. Led by editor William Truini, the writers give the guide a strong sense of authority, particularly for the cafés and the museums. Unlike the Rough Guide to Barcelona's focus on the cheap and cheerful, Time Out Barcelona goes for a wide range of prices in its hotel and restaurant recommendations. The strength, though, is in its ability to recommend tapas bars, theatre, festivals and tours that have the potential for becoming the defining moment of a holiday. The guide rightly points to the Picasso museum, a must for an exceptional display of the 20th century icon's development from youthful artistic discipline to cubism. Gaudi, on the other hand, is everywhere, as are the buildings of his less-celebrated colleagues and competitors during the city's amazing architectural boom. Trying to capture the quintessential Gaudi in a photo is worthy way to spend a day-or a week. (Pay attention to tips on avoiding theft and muggings, rampant in some tourist areas.) The restaurant choices are good but, apart from recommending a two-hour pilgrimage to El Bulli, the guide is light on hyper-modern cuisines that are the rage in the UK. Time Out's compact format doesn't lend itself to the writing style of Eyewitness Travel Guides: Barcelona and Catalonia but there's a synergy between the tiny typeface and the intended (under bifocal age) audience: the recommendations are well suited to any savvy traveller. --Kathleen BuckleyRead More