wordsmith

We are spending 4 days in Barcelona and would like a tour about Gaudi. Also a walking tour of city highlights in Old City. Suggestions?

jubilada

I think you must mean a guided tour. But if you are open to self guided check out
www.rutadelmodernisme.com for Gaudi.

Robert2533

You can also check out "Hi! This is Barcelona". They offer several decent tours.

yk

The Barcelona tourist office offers several walking tours, including a <i>Modernisme</i> walking tour and a Barri Gotic tour.
http://bcnshop.barcelonaturisme.com/...wjmBy4iHT-xzYQ

http://bcnshop.barcelonaturisme.com/...PwfBGc-xA03U6w

I took the Modernisme walking tour a few months ago. I also spent a whole day doing the Ruta del Modernisme route on my own.

For details see here:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...omment-6083432
and here:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...omment-6070969

MFNYC

We took the Barri Gotic tour that YK suggests. We really enjoyed it and learned a lot about the history of the city we would have otherwise not known. We also took the Picasso tour given by the tourist office. We went to the various Gaudi sight and did the audio tours.

molly23

I just came back from Barcelona with 5 of my friends.
We had a wonderful guide for the Gothic Quarter, and I would highly recommend her. She was very knowledgeable, patient, and good humored.
Her name is Sandra Burela and her email is [email protected].
If you reach out to her, please say that Rita recommended her to you.
Thanks,Rita

Ackislander

Well, plentyy of answers about the Gothic Quarter, but not much about Gaudi.

The three big Gaudi sites are a bit spread out. I would doubt that there is a walking tour. The "on-off-bus" passes all three (Parc Guell, Casa Mila, Cathedral) if you can read about them instead of having a guide. It also goes to Mies van der Rohe's pavilion for the 1929 Barcelona World's Fair.

boom_boom

topping

Andrew297

On the advice of Rita (one of the above comments) we contacted Sandra Burela, who guided us to areas of the Barrio Gótico we wouldn’t have seen otherwise, or found on our own. Sandra brings a joyful enthusiasm to her tours and is very knowledgeable, truly making Barcelona’s history come alive. She had great advice in recommending we do a tour early on in our trip, suggesting a number of places to visit and eat. Our family trip to Barcelona was a memorable one, in large part because of Sandra. We highly recommend taking a tour with her. You can contact her at [email protected].

danon

"The three big Gaudi sites are a bit spread out. I would doubt that there is a walking tour. The "on-off-bus" passes all three (Parc Guell, Casa Mila, Cathedral)"

also, not to be missed:

Casa Batlló (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈkazə βəʎˈʎo]) is a building restored by Antoni Gaudí and Josep Maria Jujol, built in the year 1877 and remodelled in the years 1904–1906; located at 43, Passeig de Gràcia (passeig is Catalan for promenade or avenue), part of the Illa de la Discòrdia (the "Block of Discord") in the Eixample district of Barcelona, Spain. Gaudí's assistants Domènec Sugrañes i Gras , Josep Canaleta y Joan Rubió also contributed to the renovation project.

MFNYC

Mila and Batlló are a block away from one another.

partmtn

Can you give an estimate of cost for something like what Sandra does? The website wasn't much help there and I hate contacting someone if it's going to be a waste of everybody's time.

tejana

It is really easy to do the major Gaudi visits on your own. Definitely make sure you visit Casa Batllo - my absolute favorite. As was already mentioned, it is only a block from La Pedrera. And, if it open again, I really enjoyed the Palau Guell (not particularly near any of the other sites, but near the Bario Gothic) as an example of his earliest designs (but I don't think the whole building has been open for several years now). If the weather is clear, go immediately to Parc Guell - it is fabulous in the sunshine and definitely less-so on a rainy day, while everything else can be done in any weather. One hint I learned from my last visit... if you are trying to get from Parc Guell to Sagrada Familia, take a cab from the front of the park. It will take five minutes and about 5 euro. Definitely worth it.

Robert2533

"It is really easy to do the major Gaudi visits on your own" Of course you can, but you miss out on the knowledge of taking a tour with a Gaudi expert, someone like Marta of Forever Barcelona (foreverbarcelona.com/).

We found Marta amazing and very knowledgeable, having worked as a professional guide at Sagrada Familia for several years before going out on her own. The only problem is that she can be very busy during the height of the season, so you would need to book ahead.

Another good guide is an associate of Marta’s, Sandra of Sandra Tours (www.barcelonasandratours.com), but again, she tends to be busy, so you need to plan ahead.

ita

I checked out the above websites for private guides. The price for a 4 hour walking tour is between $250-$300cdn. I find that rather steep for 2 persons. Do they put you together with another group to make the price more reasonable? Are there other options such as public walking tours?

danon

"It is really easy to do the major Gaudi visits on your own" Of course you can, but you miss out on the knowledge of taking a tour with a Gaudi expert, someone like Marta of Forever Barcelona (foreverbarcelona.com/)."

There is a lot of information about Gaudi and his work you can read ahead of time.
I would not spend $300 dollars on a guide.

Robert2533

A private guided tour is just that, private. $300 CDN for four hours with a professional licensed guide isn't much. That's less than what you'd pay for two seats to watch Barça play.

If you wanted to join a small group tour, you can always ask to see what's available, but the problem is trying to coordinate a group of strangers who are not traveling together.

Also, going with a licensed professional guide means that you do not have to wait in line.

One can be budget conscious, tight fisted, or enjoy the experience by going with someone knowledgeable.

ita

somehow my reply didn't make it. I apologize if this is a repeat. There is a difference betwen being budget conscious and tight fisted. I think that there are probably public tours that are less expensive. I will check them out and also check Marisol's website

ita

oops-I meant Maribel. I see that there are many public walking tours. The 2 hour tour of the Gothic area is 11 Euros. That sounds good to me

danon

"One can be budget conscious, tight fisted, or enjoy the experience by going with someone knowledgeable."


Might as well call one tight - fisted because they don't take a suite at a five star hotel or fly first class.