Here’s a brief list of budget-friendly restaurants that offer great lunch deals. We’ve tried to cover all the central neighborhoods, so that no matter where you are in the city, you can always find something good to eat.

And if you’re still hungry after reading about these deals, we have plenty of other articles on Barcelona cheap eats including cheap restaurant picks and tips to keep your eats cheap in Barcelona.

Lunch near Las Ramblas

If it’s lunchtime and you’re walking down Las Ramblas, you will want to avoid the ridiculously over-priced drinks and over-cooked food that lurks nearby. Instead try:

• La Fonda (Carrer Jerusalem, 3): An elegant yet modern setting sets the tone for the Mediterranean menu using ingredients from the nearby Boqueria Market. Lunch set menu is around €15.

Related: Cheap hotels near Mercat de la Boqueria

• Fonda de España  (Carrer Sant Pau, 9): This restaurant, located inside the Hotel España, sparkles with an ornate, tiled, and chandeliered modernista dining room designed by architect Domenech i Muntaner. It’s a wonderful backdrop for a substantial €27 (inc. tax) lunch. That’s not so cheap, but it’s worth a splurge for a special meal.

Lunch near Passeig de Gracia

If visiting Gaudi’s La Pedrera or Casa Battlo, head for the short stretch of Carrer Aragó between Passeig de Gràcia and Carrer Pau Claris, where you’ll find three excellent lunchtime restaurants.

• La Rita (Carrer Aragó, 279):  Given its consistent quality, service and value, La Rita is my favorite lunchtime restaurant. The menu costs just €10.40 (including tax) for a three-course lunch with bread, wine and water. Desserts are excellent. The restaurant is very popular with local office workers, so expect to wait in line for ten minutes or so.

• Madrid-Barcelona (Carrer Aragó, 284): If you’re looking for a classic lunch experience, this traditional Spanish cafe serves up excellent food. The menu here is a great value at €15.

• Divinus (Passeig de Gràcia, 28): For a filling Mediterranean meal, it’s hard to beat the deal here in this modern dining room. For €10.50 diners get three choices for each course including an appetizer, main course and dessert.

Lunch near Plaza Catalunya

• Xaica (Calle Jovellanos, 5-7): For a cheap and cheerful meal at a set-price, with self-service menu, check out Xaica. They serve three-courses, wine, beer or a soft drink, from €10.

Lunch near El Born

• Origen 99’9% (Pg. del Born 4): Just across the street from the gorgeous Santa Maria del Mar church, you’ll find Origen 99’9% with a tasty €17 set menu (for lunch or dinner) featuring a sample of dishes form across Catalonia. They also have a location in Gracia.

Lunch near La Sagrada Familia

By all means, avoid all of the fast food joints and head for…

• Els Pollos de Llull (Carrer Nàpols, 272): Els Pollos serves a delicious two-course lunch for €6.95 (three-courses for €7.95). The pickings often include organic chicken with rice and a variety of organic yogurts. It’s a five minute walk from Sagrada Familia.

Related: Tips for visiting La Sagrada Familia

The post Barcelona Cheap Eats: 8 delicious lunch deals appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

1. Tapas

You can’t come to Spain and not have tapas, which are like appetizers. In some parts of the country (especially the south) when you order a beer or Coke they give you a plate of tapas for free (chips, olives, nuts), but don’t get too excited because this never happens in Barcelona. You have to pay for your tapas here, each and every one.

Stacked tapas, or Basque-style tapas (“pintxos”), are usually the most expensive, but it’s a lot of fun to eat them standing up in a crowded bar. Other tapas can be anything from mushrooms in garlic and white wine sauce, to Manchego cheese slices to fried squid.

I recommend “patatas bravas” for a cheap, filling and yummy tapas snack. You can get them everywhere in Barcelona. Don’t pay more that €4.00 for “patatas bravas,” after all, they’re just potatoes with hot sauce….

Tapas pick: ‘Cala de Vermut’
C/ Copons, 2
Barcelona (Gothic)

2. Fidueá + Alioli

Spanish rice, “paella,” is famous ’round the world, but its Catalan cousin, fideuá, is not as well known. I prefer fideuá to paella, as it is made with small pasta noodles instead of rice and usually served with a potent side of garlicky mayo called “alioli.”

Fideuá usually has seafood in it, especially squid, but can be made with sausage or chicken as well, it just depends on the restaurant. Like paella, fideuá is usually made for two people, and runs about €10-15 per person.

If you are traveling solo and don’t have another person to share lunch with, try to find a “menu del dia” (daily lunch special) that includes fideuá as one of the dishes. A “menu del dia” will set you back around €9-20, depending on how fancy the eatery is.

Fideuá pick: ‘Maians’
Carrer de Sant Carles, 28
Barcelona (Barceloneta)

Paella pick: ‘Restaurante Salamanca 2’
http://www.gruposilvestre.com/
Barcelona (Barceloneta)

3. Cava

Finally, you’ll want to wash all this delicious Spanish/Catalan grub down with a bottle of “cava.” A sparkling wine a lot like Champagne, cava is served in most restaurants and bars in Barcelona.

Stay away from the sugar and order a “Brut Nature” cava, which is dry and goes well with savory foods. That’s the thing about cava, it is served with tapas, with main courses, and with dessert, too! Very versatile, this is one of the preferred beverages in Catalunya. A glass should cost about €5 and up.

Cava pick: La Champañería
Carrer de la Reina Cristina, 13
Barcelona (Port/Born)

4. Fresh Squeezed O.J.

Okay, I realize orange juice is served internationally, and we can’t call it solely Spanish and certainly not Catalan. However, all the freshly squeezed O.J. served up in Barcelona bars did surprise me when I first came to the city six years ago, and continues to be something I really enjoy.

When you order an orange juice in almost any bar or cafe in the city, the waiter will ask you, “Bottled or squeezed?” Bottled is slightly less expensive than the squeezed, but not as tasty. Squeezed O.J. is served in a goblet with a couple sugar packets on the side, in case the oranges were not sweet enough for your taste.

Anything tasty to add?

Do you have another cheap must-try Catalan dish to add to our list? Tell us about it in our comments section.

The post Barcelona Cheap Eats: 4 local dishes worth trying appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

I came to Barcelona in 2005, and my goodness there was a lot I didn’t know! An ex-pat friend and I often joke that if we had known what it would take to establish ourselves in this sunny metropolis by the sea, we never would have come. Yes, it was that hard.

Don’t let these less than encouraging words burst your bubble if you’re hot on moving to Barcelona. Come! Come now while prices on apartments are low! Come, but bear in mind these useful tips:

1. Learn at least some Catalan.

Did you know we speak Catalan here? Never heard of it? I hadn’t when I boarded my flight to Barcelona by way of Paris, but found out real quick that Catalan is not Spanish, and that you need to speak it to get a number of jobs in this city.

Catalan is spoken throughout Catalonia, in Andorra, and on the islands of Ibiza, Mallorca, Menorca and Formentera. It’s a language, not a dialect, and is a very important part of the culture here.

Depending on how long you plan on staying, you’ll need to take a stand on Catalan: To learn or not to learn it. If you want to work in a public school, or in almost any “local” job, you’ll need it. If you’re working for a foreign company or teaching English, you won’t.

All Catalans are bilingual, so you can also get by with Spanish. That said, Catalans appreciate it when you speak in Catalan – go figure! I’ve been here six years and speak very little Catalan day to day, but understand a lot and have taken a couple of courses. I can order coffees and ask for the time. The Catalan government offers FREE classes to those who are interested in learning the language.

2. Rent a room before you rent a flat.

I recommend living in either one of the Eixample neighborhoods, Gracia, Barri Gotic, Poble Sec, Poble Nou, Raval, or La Ribera if you want to be where the action is in Barcelona. There are many other barris, or neighborhoods, but most of them are out of the way or ugly (La Pau, for example, is awful). Still, the best way to find out which barri is right for you is to rent a room in one of these areas and then explore from there.

3. Know your budget for renting a room or apartment.

Renting a room can range anywhere from €200 to €600 a month, depending on how big it is, the zone, cool-factor, private bathroom, etc. Renting a flat usually runs somewhere between €600 and €1200 (and up), but these prices have come down a lot recently thanks to very high unemployment in Spain.

If you find an apartment through a rental agency, expect to pay at least one month’s rent as a commission. You may also need to have a work contract, which is a perfect catch-22.

4. Know how to work in Barcelona.

It’s not easy right now to get a job in Barcelona or anywhere in Spain because of that nasty unemployment issue. The economy here is not great. However, depending on what your skills are you may be able to find gainful employment. Infojobs.net and Loquo.com are logical places to begin your search.

If you’re not European, and you don’t have a visa, you will have to work illegally. Many employers do not want to break the law, so you Americans and Canadians out there, bear this in mind! If you’re interested in getting legal in Spain, you need to see an immigration attorney. Don’t think you can do it on your own, no one is that smart or that patient.

5. Meet people.

The best way to get into the groove and find your place in Barcelona is through people who already live here and know the drill. Meetup.com has a ton of groups in Barcelona, many of them perfect for practicing your Spanish/Catalan, meeting locals, and getting a better idea of what Catalonia is all about.

6. Other Web resources

Aside from Meetup.com, here are a few sites that I have found useful over the years. Good luck!

* In English, a guide to what’s happening in the city: http://www.barcelona-metropolitan.com/

* Short-term rentals and info on the city: http://suitelife.com/

* Multi-language paper and web on Barcelona: http://www.bcnweek.com/

Other tips for moving to Barcelona?

Did you move to Barcelona and have other advice for those looking to make the move? Ready to establish yourself in Barcelona but have some questions? Talk to us in the comments section.

The post Moving to Barcelona: What you need to know appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Celebrating love with books and roses

Celebrated on April 23, St. Jordi’s Day is one of my favorite Catalan traditions. All day the streets around the city’s central plaza, Pl. Catalunya, teem with men selecting roses and women examining books.

I do find the tradition a bit sexist. (Men get the books and women roses? Really?) These days, however, it is not uncommon for women to snag a few roses (from various admirers) and a book, so maybe things are finally balancing out.

Instead of reserving a romantic dinner for two, couples walk La Rambla (or “Las Ramblas”) or Passeig de Gracia and maybe have lunch or grab a cup of coco along the way. The streets are filled (and I mean packed, if you’re uncomfortable in crowds, avoid!) with lovers strolling arm in arm and stands selling books.

Sometimes couples go together to pick out books along La Rambla. Others, single or taken, head over to Passeig de Gracia where authors sign their latest novels and speak about the art of writing prose. Many of the city’s book shops have special events on St. Jordi’s Day (although many of their speakers will present in Catalan).

St. Jordi’s Day is not celebrated in the rest of Spain, and is very much a local, Catalan holiday. Regardless of when you’re in town, keep an eye out for St. Jordi (or “St. George”), who is depicted throughout the city in various sculptures and stained-glass art. He is famous for slaying a dragon and saving the damsel in distress.

Favorite bookstores

Some of my favorite places in Barcelona to pick up books for my sweetie are:

Laie
C/ Pau Claris, 85, Barcelona
Web site

I dig the Pau Clais and CCCB store, but any Laie shop will do.

La Central
C/ Elisabets, 6. 08001 Barcelona
Web site

You’ll find an awesome book selection and fab cafe in front!

The post St. Jordi’s Day in Barcelona: Love, roses and books appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.