I attended the Mobile World Congress (formerly 3GSM) last week in Barcelona, and stayed in Vilanova i la Geltru, a beach town 40 km south for lack of hotel rooms in the city. Vilanova is quiet and lovely at this time of the year without the tourists.

Seafood restaurant outside Barcelona

Vilanova has a lot of sea food restaurants along the beach, nearly all of which are quite good. On Sundays, they are packed with families enjoying their traditional Sunday lunch. But if you want food that goes beyond the traditional Catalan fish dishes, go to La Cucanya, a restaurant on a bluff above the town overlooking the ocean. They have an excellent wine list, too.

La Cucanya
Raco de Santa Llucia
Vilanova i la Geltru, Spain
+34 93 815 1934

Wine bars, tapas and more

One of the best things about 3GSM is Barcelona itself. I lived in the El Born district a few years ago (only for a month) and cobbled together a list of wonderful places to eat. Fortunately, they are still there. My favorites in El Born are Tapas de Taller and a wine bar called Vinya del Senyor on the Plaza Santa Maria del Mar.

La Vinya del Senyor
Plaça de Santa María 5
Barcelona, Spain
+34 93 310 3379

Taller de Tapas
Argenteria 51
Barcelona, Spain
+34 93 268 8559
www.tallerdetapas.com

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