Eixample

Tuesday through Saturday, at lunch and dinner, Cinc Sentits serves a remarkable tasting menu, four or six course. (Nora Ephron, who told us she hates tasting menus in principle, called her lunch here "an astonishment.") The Catalan cuisine at Cinc Sentits changes based on what is currently in season and freshest: line-caught fish from villages along the Mediterranean coast, artisanal cheeses from Catalan towns, organic butter and beef from the Pyrenees. And you can opt to have your tasting accompanied by Cinc Sentits's thoughtfully curated wine pairings sourced from Catalonia, along with a selection from across Spain.

The tapas at Taverna de Clínic are just so, so good. Classic, straightforward, and not too expensive—it's basically a home run.

The bar of this very small ham and cheese shop is a nice place to stop by after work or meetings to have some of their lovely baguettes of jamón de bellota. The mountains of freshly cut Spanish ham are about as close as it gets to heaven for a jamón lover.

While there are several Praktik mini-chain outposts in Barcelona, only one has a Baluard bakery right on site, meaning the scent of fresh-baked bread and pastry is included in the rates (which are some of the most reasonable in town). The whitewashed Lazaro Rosa-Violán-designed rooms are small but comfortable and come with all the basic creature comforts. And whatever the hotel lacks in glitz and glamour it more than makes up for in location…and carbs.