kakiebell

I am sure it is advisable to purchase tickets ahead of time. I went to the Ticketmaster website to try and purchase tickets for April and it was not possible. It looks like the only times they are selling tickets is the month of January. Is this the case?
Are there any other attractions in Barcelona that you would suggest that you get tickets in advance to? We will be in Barcelona this April 26-May 1st.
Thank you to anyone that can give me some guidance in this area.

Seamus

By all means purchase your Sagrada Familia tickets online in advance - will save you significant time waiting on queue. Also suggest that you buy tickets in advance for Park Güell www.parkguell.cat/en/buy-tickets/

adrienne

I would also buy advance tickets to Casa Batllo and La Pedrera.

kakiebell

Can anyone tell me how far out you can buy tickets for the Sagrada? I could not purchase them for April when I tried a few hours ago

tejana

I'm not sure how far in advance the SF homepage sells tickets, but when we were there in September I bought them through the ticketmaster page about two weeks before the trip and didn't have any problem getting the time I wanted.

Christina

I was there last summer and the lines for Casa Batllo were long -- to get around that, I went in the evening, in fact, I was glad to find something to do in that dead time between about 6-8 pm. There was still a line then, but not that long. I think it's open until 8 or 9 pm.

I didn't buy an advance ticket for Sagrada Familia but that would really be a good idea. I really wanted to see it so waited in line, but the line was at least 30-60 minutes wait. Which actually wasn't quite as bad as I had feared when I saw it, it moved fairly well.

Christina

I was there last summer and the lines for Casa Batllo were long -- to get around that, I went in the evening, in fact, I was glad to find something to do in that dead time between about 6-8 pm. There was still a line then, but not that long. I think it's open until 8 or 9 pm.

I didn't buy an advance ticket for Sagrada Familia but that would really be a good idea. I really wanted to see it so waited in line, but the line was at least 30-60 minutes wait. Which actually wasn't quite as bad as I had feared when I saw it, it moved fairly well.

kakiebell

It seems when you go to the Sagrada Familia website, they direct you to Ticketmaster. It looks like Ticketmaster only sells tickets for the present month. I hope that is soon enough?

kakiebell

Thank you all. It seems that there will be no problem buying them in April when we go to Barcelona. When we went to the Alhambra in Granada, we had to buy our tickets months in advance so I guess I thought the Sagrada was going to be the same. No worries here.

Christina

I'm sure it will be fine, most people just show up.

I'm surprised someone recommend advance tickets for Parc Guell. I just read they started an entrance fee in Oct 2013 for the "monument area". I know where that is, it is the part everyone goes, but given it now costs 8 euro, I'm surprised there would be that many people going there that there would be a line (even though limited numbers). I was there in July and there wasn't even really much of a line for the Gaudi house there which required admission fee.

I really wasn't that wowed by Parc Guell in itself, I wouldn't put it at the top of my list as so many other things in the city are more interesting IMO, and easier to get to.

kakiebell

Thank you Christina for your input. I hate to waste valuable time in Barcelona walking to things that are not all that interesting when there are probably much more interesting things to do and see. We have four days in Barcelona and one of those days we might want to take a train to some of the smaller towns outside of Barcelona that people have mentioned on other blogs. Do you have any experience with visiting those?

adrienne

<< Thank you Christina for your input >>

The rest of us are chopped liver.

kakiebell

Thank you also Ms. Adrienne (not so at all chopped liver but a very fabulous contributor extra-special person!!)

samoca

I was in Barcelona for a week last October. My advice is to go to the main tourist office down a flight of stairs in Placa Catalunya (the main plaza in town, as I imagine you know) and buy a tour ticket for La Sagrada. I paid 31 Euro. The tour is 30 people (not too many IMO), about an hour and a half and meets at the Julia Travel office across the park from one of the facades of the church--very easy to find. The tour guide was great, spoke very clear English and this avoided all lines. We also had a tour of the attached museum and learned a lot about Gaudi's life The day I went there was some reason why we couldn't go up in the tower, but that option is also available for an extra fee when you are the entrance. The TI office also has timed tickets to La Pedrera (aka Casa Mitla) and Casa Battlo so you don't have to wait in line, which I would recommend; same price as at the entrance.

I don't remember having to pay anything at Parc Guell; that might have started shortly after I was there I guess. The views are magnificent from there, and I thought it was a fun place to visit but it's not spectacular in the sense that certainly Sagrada Familia is. Anyway, make sure you go inside the Sagrada--it is mind-blowing; the most spectacular single place I saw in 3 weeks in Spain, and that included the Alhambra. Have a good trip.

tejana

katiebell - with only four or five days, if this is your first time in Barcelona, you will have more than enough to do just exploring Barcelona itself! The "must do" Gaudi sights are Sagrada Familia, Casa Battlo, La Pedrera and Palau Guell (the mansion he built for the Guell family, recently reopened after many years of renovation). I agree with Samoca that Parc Guell can probably wait for another visit - it is a lovely experience, but it is harder to get to (the four buildings I listed are an easy walk or metro ride from anywhere, but the Parc is better accessed by taxi since it is in relative suburbia - but if Gaudi sights are your primary goal, factor in another few hours to explore the park, as well). Other than the Gaudi sights, you really should also tour the Palau de la Musica Catalan - an amazing building. They do tours during the day and concerts at night, so you might even be able to get tickets for a performance. If you are a Picasso fan, the Picasso museum in Barcelona is one of the "big three" museums in the world for his work and cannot be missed. Add in a visit to the Cathedral, plus time exploring the various neighborhoods, markets (can you say Bouqueria?), shops, bars and restaurants, and you can definitely fill four or five days.

adrienne

The Palau de la Musica Catalan does need advance tickets for the tour but the Picasso Museum does not.

I enjoyed Parc Guell but I had 7 full days in Barcelona.

With only 4 days there I would not recommend leaving the city. There are so many interesting sights to keep you busy.

I bought my Sagrada Familia tickets 1 to 2 weeks ahead and there were plenty of slots open. If you book the tour you can go to the church ahead of the tour time to look around and stay as long as you want. I think the morning slots are best as you then have lots of time to explore the church.

I think the tours run by the church have a limit to the number of people as there were only about a dozen on my tour. I think 30 people on a tour is a lot.

kakiebell

Thank you all so much. This is valuable information as this is my first trip to Barcelona. I do think I will skip the train trip to a small town outside of Barcelona as it does sound like there is a lot to do right in Barcelona itself. Sometimes the travel books do not make some attractions sound all that interesting so when a person tells you about it and says it is interesting, then it makes you want to go there more.
Adrienne, are the tour guides at the church English speaking? Can you understand them clearly? I am sure that one guide differs from another guide so that is probably a hard question to answer.
Tejana, I do plan to go to the Palau de la Musica and maybe now that you have recommended a tour, maybe that is the way to go. I really do not like going through attractions and reading about them while you are there.
Samoca, if the Sagrada is better than the Alhambra, then we are out for a real treat. We loved the Alhambra and I would love to go back there some day.
You are all making so anxious for our trip. We leave on April 25th and I am counting the days. Thank you again!!!

adrienne

There are English language tours at Sagrada Familia and the guide was easy to understand. I found that all the guides I experienced in Barcelona had about the same level of English so I wouldn't worry about what guide you get. What I did notice was that the guides did not have as good an idiomatic command of English as they do in other non-English speaking countries such as Germany, Italy, France, etc.

You can't wander through the Palau de la Musica on your own; you must take a tour (or attend a performance) to see the venue. You can go into the cafe area without a tour ticket.

Since this thread was only asking what you needed advanced tickets for I did not recommend anything else to do in Barcelona. I figured you had it all mapped out already but perhaps not since the Palau de la Musica was not on your list.

I do also highly recommend the Catalan Art Museum and Palau Guell. If the Hospital has completed its restoration that might be another interesting place to visit. Last April there was a limited area open but it looked like it will be beautiful when it's been returned to it's original structure. This is the Unesco hospital, not the one by Las Ramblas.

Smeagol

It may also help you to know that certain La Caxia ATMs you can but tickets for Sagrada F! Book a few days in advance ( when actually in Barcelona) and beat the queues!

adrienne

I just remembered something significant about SF tickets. Normally when you buy tickets for multiple people you get 1 ticket for everyone. Not true for SF. You get a unique ticket for each person. I didn't notice this until I get to the church and was very lucky that I took both tickets with me.

It's not just a Caxia ATM since you need to be able to print the tickets. I never found a location where you could do this; I only saw Caxia ATMs, not the places where you could buy tickets. Caxia Forum does not allow you to buy tickets for anything but Caxia Forum.