The beach is definitely the best thing about Barcelona. It's a great city, fun, vibrant etc. with the usual European cultural/sightseeing distractions, but it's not really different from other European destinations. The beach changes everything, though, as I can't think of anywhere else with medieval palaces and cathedrals, and beach volleyball.



We walked outside our hotel and stopped at the first beachside restaurant we came across. There are about fifty all around our neck of the woods, but they're more or less all the same, mediocre food, great weather and great peoplewatching.