By Expedia Local Expert, on August 8, 2018

Tapas, Tastings & Tours: Barcelona Food Experiences

It dances over your tongue like light, sparkling cava and glides across your lips as smoothly as a balanced Spanish red. This Roman-era Mediterranean city carries its history woven into its cuisine, arts, and, yes, its alcohol. You canand shouldindulge in every morsel the Catalonian capital offers, from appetizing tapas and steaming platters of paella to sweet red vermouth and churros dunked in warm chocolate. From your home base in Barcelonaeat, cook, and bike your way through this urban paradise as you take part in food-related activities, creating your ideal cocktail of Barcelona cuisine.  

Barcelona Food Scene Small-Group Walking Tour  

Barcelona Food Walking Tour

Soak in the delicious smells and sunny vibes of Barcelona as you eat your way through restaurants the locals love in Barcelona’s foodie neighborhoods like L’Eixample, Sant Antoni, and El Raval. Partake in freshly made tapas like raxo (cubed pork with garlic and parsley) and rabas (battered and fried rings of squid). Sample signature Spanish drinks like clara (a shandy-like mixture of beer and lemon soda) and Spanish vermouth, a popular sweet red wine served with an orange slice. Your guide is fluent in both gastronomy and history, so keep an ear out for quirky local stories as you explore food in Barcelona’s hidden nooks.

Flamenco Show & Dinner in Barcelona  

Flamenco Show

As you head to your flamenco venue, Poble Espanyol, an open-air architectural museum with more than 100 full-scale buildings representing the diverse regions of Spain, you’ll step through traditional Spanish plazas and pass by white arches that evoke Spain’s southern Andalusian region. Discover the improvised passion and foot-stomping pleasure of flamenco as you enjoy a glass of sangria (cold red wine soaked in chopped fruits), brochette (skewered meats), and crema catalana (a crème brûlée-like dessert made with lemon peel). Let the intensity of your performers’ vocals and guitar move you and leave with the powerful music echoing inside you.  

Early Entrto Montserrat & Cava Vineyard Tour 

Cava Tour

Join a small group and head to the jagged mountain peaks of Montserrat, where you can tour the Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey, touch the famed Black Madonna, and view the basilica’s museum of paintings. After you absorb the awesome mountain and monastery vistas, your driver takes you to the Penedes region to tour a family-owned cava vineyard. Your vineyard guide shows you around the grounds and wine cellars and teaches you how generations of vintners have made cava, a sparkling white or rose wine made from delicate grapes. Taste the fruits of their labor as you sample different cava varieties. Finally, indulge in a late Spanish lunch—long and leisurely—with more cava before returning to Barcelona.  

Paella-Making Class with Professional Chef  

Paella Class

Kick off this cooking class/dinner party with a clear glass of wine or sweet, bubbly cava against the historic brick-walled backdrop of the Paella Club. As you enjoy your Spanish aperitif along with gourmet bread and locally grown olives, talk with your fellow classmates and expert chef. Then, follow your chef into the Paella Club’s spacious state-of-the-art kitchen, where she guides you in combining rice, olive oil, vegetables, and meat before slow-cooking a rich dish of paella. When you’re finished, bring your plate to the classy dining table to feast on your paella creation along with local wine, beer, and dessert.  

Tapas & Gothic Quarter Walking Tour  

Tapas Walking Tour

Put your finger on the quick pulse of Barcelona as you wander its iconic and aromatic neighborhoods, stopping for drinks and tapas as you go. Stroll through the central market street, Las Ramblas, to La Boqueria market to taste regional wines and sumptuous tapas—ranging from the simple pan con tomate (grilled bread with olive oil, pepper, and tomatoes) to more elaborate ones like la bomba (a fried mashed-potato-and-bread-crumb-covered meatball). Your guide leads you through the Gothic Quarter’s narrow medieval streets, stopping at 100-year-old shops and modern tapas restaurants, where you’ll discover local cheese, tender Iberian ham, and small plates galore. 

Meal at La Fonda del Port Olimpic  Restaurant  La Fonda del Port Olimpic

For a true Catalonian experience, bring your appetite to this spacious, high-end restaurant on Barcelona’s bustling Port Olimpic. Whether you sit in the restaurant’s Modernist lounge or on a spacious terrace overlooking the port, you’re sure to enjoy the lively atmosphere with Mediterranean views. Try a white Catalan wine and delight in a meal of either seafood paella with lobster or veal ragout with mushrooms from Montseny, the local nature reserve. As your meal digests, go for a ramble along the Port Olimpic waterfront or take a siesta on the nearby La Barceloneta beach. 

Wine, Cheese & Beaches of Barcelona Bike Tour  

Barcelona Bike Tour

Whether you take this tour on your first or final day in Barcelona, viewing the city from behind 2 handlebars gives you a new perspective of the city’s hot spots. Led by a friendly, knowledgeable guide, you’ll cycle past icons like the Barcelona Cathedral and the Picasso Museum as you ride through the cobbled streets of the Gothic Quarter, the buzz of Las Ramblas, and other distinct Barcelona neighborhoods. Exult in the Mediterranean breeze as you hug the shore to reach the beaches near Port Vell. Finally, step off the bike and venture to a local tavern for some excellent wine and cheese. Be sure to look for sharp blue cheese or the salty and spicy Manchego.   

Chocolate Walking Tour  

Chocolate Tour

Begin your chocolatey exploration of Ciutat Vella, an ancient area of Barcelona that today houses dessert palaces in Modernist architecture. As you explore sweetshops and cake shops, partake of their indulgent offerings like churros and dipping chocolate and learn how chocolate tantalized Barcelona’s wealthiest residents in the 1500s and influenced the city’s history since then. Visit Las Rambla’s Pasteleria Escriba cake shop and search for your favorite pastry among its beautiful, mouth-watering cakes and tarts decorated with delicate chocolate ribbons. Warning: You might go home with an enhanced chocolate obsession to rival the Barcelonans’.