Nightfawl

I will be visiting Barcelona for approx 5 days in mid-June and I have read that it would be in our best interests to purchase some tickets online and print them at home prior to our trip.

Here is the list of attractions I was planning to buy online:

Guell Palace
Sagrada Familia
La Pedrera
Mila House
Casa Batllo
Guell Park

Am I missing any important attractions that I should pre-book?

Are there any listed that I don't need to pre-book?

When pre-booking, do I have to specify which day/time I will be visiting or does the ticket simply expire after a certain amount of time?

jent103

I posted a very similar question last week - my thread might be helpful.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-barcelona.cfm

adrienne

You don't need to book the Palau Guell ahead but the other do need advanced tickets to avoid standing in line.

La Pedrera and Casa Mila are the same thing.

travelhog164

You don't need to prebook,it just means you avoid long ques.

Nightfawl

I know I don't NEED to pre-book. The point is avoiding long lines. Sorry, I should have made that clear.

kakiebell

You should prebook as many things as you can before you leave home. We got our tickets from the information center the day before we wanted to go to Casa Mila and the only time they had was 3 p.m. It worked out ok for us but if you want a specific time, you should book online before you leave for Barcelona.
We were at the Sagrada Familia and the line to buy tickets went all around the church. The line to get in with online tickets only took about 2-3 minutes. We went at 11 a.m. and saw everything in two hours. It is a fantastic church and very Gaudi.

MyriamC

If you want to see the monumental zone in Park Güell, do book tickets in advance. Last week when we were there at 5.30 pm people behind us wanted tickets and the first ones available were at 7 pm. There were a lot of school groups and they only allow 400 visitors per half hour.

Nightfawl

Is there a better day of the week to visit some of these attractions?

We will be arriving at approx 12pm on Sat June 14th after taking an overnight flight from Canada and will be staying in Barcelona until Thurs June 19th when we depart in the morning.

For example Segrada Familia, I was thinking of visiting on the Sunday but not sure if that's a good idea or not. Maybe leave it for Mon, Tues or Wed?

adrienne

I don't think there's one day that's better than others to visit Sagrada Familia. It's probably the most visited sight so always busy. I went first thing in the morning and although there were lots of people in the church, it's large and airy so the number of people didn't seem overwhelming.

I would visit La Pedrera and Casa Batllo on the weekend to avoid the school groups (especially Casa Batllo). I went during the week and Casa Batllo was filled with school groups who were not interested in the house. They were busy flirting and texting and made the visit unpleasant as these students were all over the house and not paying attention to anything.

If you get a 9:00 ticket to La Pedrera you'll have the roof to yourself for about 5 to 10 minutes.

One other sight you might consider is a tour of the Palau de la Musica - it's georgous! Book in advance to get the time slot you want. The groups are small.

If you want a photo of the lizard at Parc Guell, or the bench without lot of people on it, go early in the morning.

MyriamC

Yes, the Palau de la Música Catalana is gorgeous indeed. In fact it was the highlight of our trip. We were with the Catalan group and there were only 20 people or so. Although I don't speak Catalan and my Spanish isn't 100% anymore either, I could very well understand the guide. Only 4 people in our group spoke Catalan (most of them were Italians), so our guide spoke slowly and clear. Very, very interesting visit.

adrienne

I loved it, especially since I attended a concert there a few days later. I could see the difference between the day tour and the evening performance and see the theater packed with people. A big difference.

adrienne

Here are a few photos of the Palau de la Musica.

https://modigliani.shutterfly.com/barcelona/42

jent103

Sorry to hijack the thread, but for those who have been to the Palau de la Musica for a performance - how dressy was the attire? We have tickets to the Gran Gala Flamenco performance in a few weeks, and I wasn't sure if most people dressed up, or if it was more like going to a West End theater show where you'll see it all!

Nightfawl

These are my rough itinerary notes that I have put together based on feedback and research I have done. I'm obviously willing to change things around and this is by no means exactly what I plan to follow. Just a rough idea of things that are in the same area that I could try to see on the same day. If I don't see everything here that's fine.

DAY 1 – Sat Arrive at Airport 12:30pm
Guell Palace (Prebook)
Las Ramblas (Evening)

DAY 2 - Sunday
Basilica of the Sagrada Familia (Prebook Docent Led Tour) Then walk to hospital de la santa creu
http://www.sagradafamilia.cat/sf-eng/
Parc de Montjuic:
Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya
Olympic Stadium
Poble Espanyol
Magic Fountain (At the MNAC 9:30 – 11pm Thurs to Sun)

DAY 3 - Monday
Picasso Museum (Prebook)
St. Mary of the Sea Cathedral (Enter)
Cathedral of Santa Eulalia (Enter)
Gothic Quarter
Catalunya Square (Evening)

DAY 4 - Tuesday
L'Eixample District:
La Pedrera (Gaudi) - Mila House (Enter - Prebook). Go on Roof. (Go on weekend avoid schools)
Casa Lleo Morera (Enter or View Only?)
Casa Batllo (Gaudi) (Enter - Prebook) (Try to go on weekend to avoid school trips)
Guell Park (Prebook)

Day 5 – Wednesday
Barceloneta Beach

Other Stops to Include (time permitting): Montserrat, Boqueria Market, Arc de Triomf, Costa Brava

kakiebell

Jent 103--just got back from the Palau de la Musica and the dress was pretty much everything. You saw some women in dresses and some women in jeans. The men had on Nirvana t-shirts or just dress shirts. I would say anything goes (at least for this performance).

kakiebell

Nightfall--Sunday and Tuesday look a little crowded to me. On Tuesday if you have to chose from one Gaudi house, let it be Casa Mila. We found Casa Batllo not as interesting and it is more expensive than Casa Mila. It depends on how much of a Gaudi enthusiast you are so just my opinion. The Picasso museum was nice but none of his "great works" are there. Mostly things in the l900, 1902-4 when he lived in Barcelona and Paris. Just to note, our Fodors guidebook said it was open until 8 p.m. and when we got there at 6:10 p.m. we were informed that they close now at 6:50 pm. which only allowed us 40 minutes. We were able to do it but wish we had more time. Barceloneta Beach is nice to walk and see the beach. There are a lot of restaurants there specializing in seafood. We went to the History Museum there and it was fabulous. Only 5 Euro and a real treat. There is a restaurant on the top floor which was very nice also. The Bocqueria Market is a must just to see it was overwhelming. It is the heart of the city in my opinion. Interesting how people make their living and those that shop and eat there. That about does it for my experiences this week.

jent103

Thanks so much, kakiebell! We travel light so it'd be nice to not have to pack a very dressy outfit just for this, though we'll glam it up a bit.

adrienne

jent103 - I wore my usual sightseeing clothing (black trousers and tee shirt) and a pashmina. It was hot in the theater so you don't want to wear too much clothing.

Nightfawl:
Day 1 - no need to prebook Palau Guell (as I explained above). There were about a dozen people in the house but spread out so you never saw more than a couple of people at a time. I would not prebook as you may be tired and want to skip it that day.

Day 2 - do you mean the Medieval hospital of the Ramblas or the one that's a UNESCO site, near the university? The Medieval one is only open in the morning. The other one has tours you must take; you can only look at it from the outside on your own.

I think you have too much going on this day.

Day 3 - there were few people in the Picasso Museum. No need to pre book.

If you're tired on Day 1 you could move Palau Guell to Day 3.

jent103

Thanks, adrienne! Good to know!

adrienne

jent103 - I almost forgot (and wished we had known before we went to the performance) - the cafe stays open until the performance so you can get there and have some pre-theater tapas and wine. There were lots of people having a bit to eat when we got there. We had already eaten so each had a glass of cava.