Barcelona/Mallorca

We spent about a week in Spain between Barcelona and Mallorca over New Years. We did more than the below, but here are our recommendations:

Barcelona

  • Stay
    • Seventy Barcelona – Great hotel and location – the breakfast/drinks at the bar are soo good
    • Cava & Hotel Mastinell – 60 minutes outside of Barcelona. The rooms are designed to look like wine bottles. Good experience but not much to do in the area outside of visiting wineries 
    • Fairmont Juan Carlos – we booked here because we had an early flight. Good business hotel, but wouldn’t book if you want to really be in Barcelona
  • Eat
    • Brunch & Cake – Best food of the trip – we went 3 times. Must gets: peanut latte, detox juice, any of the food
    • Cerveseria Catalana – well known place with a huge menu, go early to put your name down, the waitlist can get long
    • Flax & Kale Passage – was hyped but we thought it was overrated
    • Cal Pep – awesome place, sit at the bar and let them order for you
    • La Pepita – right across from the hotel, solid tapas
    • Boldu – good donuts shaped like little people
    • Xurreria Trebol – mmm churros
  • Do
    • BCN Kitchen – Went shopping for the ingredients at a market and then cooked paella. We thought it was just okay
    • BCN Baila – We found a dance studio and set up a private one hour salsa class – was fun!
    • Pares Balta terroir tour – One of the highlights of the trip – wine tasting and off-road drive through the different vineyards on the property
    • Standard tourist stop: Park Guell, Sagrada Familia, Ramblas, etc. If you want to go to a park or museum, buy your ticket in advance.

Mallorca

  • Stay
    • Park Hyatt Mallorca (eastern coast) – amazing hotel, kind of far away from everything which is great to go to the beach but not great if you want to visit towns
    • Sant Francesc Hotel Singular (Palma) – nice hotel in an old family’s house – good location in Palma
  • Eat
    • Ca’n Joan de s’Aigo – ensaimadas are delicious – we were fighting some food poisoning so could not enjoy them in all their glory
    • S’estret – cute and tasty cafe in Valldemossa
  • Do
    • Cuevas Drach – touristy caves, but they are still cool
    • Beaches – beaches are amazing, we went in the winter so there was nobody on them
    • Palma cathedral – nice cathedral, overrated on the inside
    • Valledemossa – really pretty town
    • Inca / Inca Market – waste of time, not worth it