Written by locals, Fodor's travel guides have been offering expert advice for all tastes and budgets for over 80 years. Barcelona is a top European destination for American travelers, and this stunning full-color guide covers the city's biggest draws, from cutting-edge cuisine to the dizzying heights of Gaudí's La Sagrada Família. From the sun-drenched Mediterranean beaches to tempting cafés and markets, visitors enjoy a beguiling mix of ancient and modern that maintain Spain's second-largest city among the favorite destinations in the country. Fodor's Barcelona
Fodor's Travel Publications is a United States-based producer of English-language travel guides and online tourism information. It was founded by Hungarian Eugene Fodor in 1936. Fodor’s was acquired by Random House in 1986 and sold to Internet Brands in 2016.
Barcelona is full of enough information to keep you busy for a year on your trip to Spain. The maps are fantastic and this guide is very well laid out, making it easy to find the information you require. Obviously, Barcelona has a lot of offer the traveler, the only question is: Will you be prepared for your experience? My favorite thing that the book tells you to do is to get lost. That is when the real adventure begins. Don't take me wrong, it is important to have an itinerary, but give yourself time to explore by wandering aimlessly around. You may just stumble upon a jewel of Barcelona that is not listed in this book.
All I know is that if I were heading out to Barcelona, I would definitely plan my trip by using Fador's Barcelona as my guide.
I liked how in depth the book was with information and background about Barcelona. At one point, it was truly overwhelming but for me, it was a great introduction into the Catalan culture and it's picturesque landmarks. I did a few hours of research before committing to certain guide books and I found this and the Rough Guide to Barcelona to be the best at organizing essential information. Not to mention, the beautiful colored pictures throughout the book helped to whet my appetite even further. However, if you plan to travel to Barcelona, DO NOT rely on the map given in this book but I did find the map of the Metro system very handy as you cannot find this anywhere in the train station. My recommendation is to map out your route on Google Maps before you go off on a trip as I was able to find recommended restaurants within a matter or minutes. I wished that this guide book provided more information about places off the beaten path and found that certain districts of Barcelona in this book were not covered very well or not updated. Lastly, I found the recommended restaurant list to be lacking as they do not provide any of the traditional Catalan cuisine or famous restaurants in general. Overall, I found this guide book to be very helpful in planning my trip to Barcelona and providing me with some insight into the culture.