Headed to Barcelona This Summer

Go hiking at Montserrat. You can drive or take a train there its not far from Barcelona. The views on the trails are beautiful and the trails are wide and easy to walk on. Ive been there several times and its never seemed that crowded. Take a ride on the cable car its a Great experience.

Montserrat information

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visually stunning cathedral I’ve ever been i

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I'm not into art, but yes. Stunning. Even people like me that barely passed art in Junior High can stand inside Sagrada Familia, and get a bit dumbfounded.

I'm going in July for Iron Maiden, not sure when OP is going to be there.

When you get near the beach, be warned that you may see drug addicts with their meat flaps out, passed on out on a stoop in the middle of the day. It was super nice to have my then 8 year old son ask me why the lady on the sidewalk pooped on herself and didn't have underwear on.

Coffee to go is not really a thing. There is a chocolate museum/school north of the beach area called "Museu de la Xocolata" which is a quick tour. The tour of Camp Nou is pretty decent, be if you have bad knees, be warned there are a lot of stairs in spots.

Be warned: It can be a real pain in the arse to get wheeled (pedi cab or other) transportation *away* from the beach, and you'll probably end up having to walk.

Patatas Bravas. Mmmmm.

Don’t be an idiot (like me ) and get your back pack jacked. I travel internationally 5x/ yr and something like this only happened to me in Barcelona so that left a big blemish on the city for me.

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Also parc guell.

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I thought it was just ok and highly overrated.

La Sagrada Familia
Las Ramblas
Montserrat
Gaudi
Sitges
Beach
Market
Bus Tour
Stadium
Gothic Quarter
Shopping area by Majestic Hotel
Tapas
So many churches
Wandering about different neighborhoods

The PacSafe brand has a lot of anti theft features in it. They have purses, day packs, etc. There are often steel cables woven into the straps to prevent "cut and go," but be warned this will spark massive curiosity of at least security in CDG, if not other EU airports. If you put it in checked baggage probably no issue.

The season ends in May, so maybe you'll be too late, but I had a blast watching FC Barcelona play Real Madrid in basketball.

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When using the ATMs there, do you literally get a prompt that can be accepted or declined regarding the conversion rate???

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Every time I've seen. I would suggest she use ATMs at an actual bank (Santander, etc.) and not "street" ATMs. Declining the conversion is also strongly suggested at hotels, etc. Assuming she banks with someone major like Citi, Chase, USAA, etc., her "home" bank will simply do the conversion at a better rate than the "convenience" conversion that she'd be declining.

Make sure she keeps a spare card in her hotel room that is not in her purse/daily carry. Also, she can make *heavy* use of Apple Wallet (and whatever the Android equivalent is) instead of using the actual card nearly anywhere.

Make sure she has a plan for cell phone data usage that works for her needs; that's probably the number one way she'll get screwed with unnecessary costs if she's not careful. T-Mobile's International plan straight up sucks in its implementation. If she hasn't paid off her phone with her US carrier she won't be able to use a different carrier's SIM or eSIM, either.

I actually hate that USAA removed travel notifications on cards. This just means I can't book an Uber until the transaction gets declined, and I have to call them at 0200 San Antonio time from another country to get the guy paid. That's happened to me on both of my last international trips, I prefer being able to warn them ahead of time.

Ask the bank if there are foreign/international transaction fees, first and foremost. If they have fees, see if the local bank has a credit product she can apply for that waives FTF (foreign transaction fees.) If not, she needs to apply for a credit card which does waive FTF (don't take cash out from a credit card, not that she'll need it.) FTF from smaller banks can be 2-5% or thereabouts, and on a month long trip, that is not going to be an inconsequential amount of cash.

She does NOT need to bring Euro with her. Hit the ATM at the airport on the way out after she lands. I've done that for decades, and it's far cheaper than trying to use conversion services at US airports. I was in England for a week this month and *one* place I went accepted cash. Marriott hotels didn't accept cash. In the entire hotel. Kebab places, pubs, no cash. I found a single pub which accepted cash.

I used to see the "do you want the conversion" at retail outlets, but I haven't seen it in a couple of years across UKI and a number of EU countries. If there isn't the prompt, then that means her bank will do it. I think the last time I saw the prompt outside of the UAE was probably in a luxury store in Paris. The COVID "don't touch things" push has led a ton of places to go no-cash.

You can add an international plan with the provider that "owns" your phone until you pay it off, but it may not be the best or most usable depending on how she uses her phone.

For the phone, it is often cheaper and gets you better data if you get an electronic SIM from a European provider before you leave. You can get a plan like 5GB for 30 days for $30, etc. Verizon international service is bulletproof, but there is a strong caveat in that I was on a MegaCorp corporate plan which was what you'd probably consider diamond plated worldwide service. Be very, very careful with who she listens to from any carrier. Don't trust, and verify. I've repeatedly called US reps for TMobile, as an example, and they start the international plan on the wrong date, or provision the wrong plan which means I can't order an Uber at the airport when I land without calling someone, etc. Verizon info is there. One reason you might want an EU provider for an e-SIM (electronic SIM) is Verizon restrictions like this:

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After the first 2GB of daily session enjoy unlimited 3G data

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That's on the Verizon Travel Pass. I have some level of patience, but if you daughter is under 40, she probably hasn't ever experienced 3G speeds and it will be frustrating. That's why I tried to buy an e-SIM from an EU provider instead of using T-Mobile international. Here is a more in depth discussion of e-SIMs overseas. I bought one from Hola that I'll end up using in July when I have paid off my phone and hit Barcelona.

Make sure she turns on low data mode (on iOS at least) so her phone isn't trying to download podcasts or app updates unless she's on Wifi. Wifi is fairly ubiquitous in shops and restaurants, but that's not going to help her when she's trying to follow Google Maps directions walking down the street. As another example, there are four different train operators that run trains from Madrid to Barcelona. Renfe AVE will have Wifi, but Renfe Viajeros may not, for instance. Forewarned is fore armed.

Sorry for stressing you out, I get loquacious when it comes to travel.

Since they're hitting Spain and France, tell her to download the apps for both SNCF (France) and Renfe (Spain.) Probably the most frustrating thing is trying to figure out which of the three+ apps in the area you need to buy a ticket on to leave Paris/Barca, etc. Many different lines, and in Paris just the green lines are lime, olive, and kelly green. Ya, that helps, in addition to the blue, red, purple, yellow lines, etc.

Trainline.eu and Rome2Rio are two decent resources for intra EU travel. They may be flying between Paris and Madrid, not hitting the train, because the train times I'm seeing are 17+ hour trips.

She probably doesn't have a choice going in a group. However, she should find a way to do breakfast/brunch on her own or with a couple of friends eating eggs and Croissant on the Seine.

Try to tell her to hit a market in Paris off the beaten path. When you see rotisserie chickens dripping their fat onto potatoes at 9AM, you start to get it... Potatoes in schmaltz for nine hours before you actually take it home, what could go wrong?