rajshiv

Hi

We are going to Barcelona over the Long weekend. We would be travelling from London…so no jet lag. I have been reading the numerous posts and the trip reports and we have come up with a basic itinerary.

We would really appreciate comments on our accommodation (particularly the ease for walking back to our apartment late in the night), our itinerary and restaurant choices.

We are a couple in our mid-thirties and like history, architecture and art. However ould also enjoy walking around the city and being on the beach.

I have tried Spanish food twice (I know!) and unfortunately I am not too crazy about it. I found it too greasy. I am hoping that I have had two bad experiences…and I am sure it has nothing to do with the kind of cuisine it is. I am usually very happy to eat all different kinds of food…and I can’t think of any cuisine that I don’t like. As long as I can get some veg options I am happy.

We are staying at

Retrome Barcelona (it has good reviews). We got it for a deal of 100euros/night including breakfast…which I thought was a good rate.

It’s location: Carrer Girona, 85, Barcelona

It does have a metro stop within a minute...however if we were to come back late in the night at around 1:00- 1:30…would the metro be running?

Our Itinerary

4th May: reach at around 10:00 pm and go out for a stroll…what would be the best area to go to. We would like to get some dinner…I am a vegetarian and my husband eats some fish and chicken.

Could someone please recommend a place? We would be happy to spend around 70-80 euros without drinks. However by our standards it is a slightly expensive meal and it would have to be special for us to do so.

Should we take the two dayhop on hop off bus pass starting from 5th or 6th? A lot of people on fodors said that it was a better option than using public transport. We are not too crazy about hop on hop off buses…though we did enjoy them in New York (the only place where we did). Please suggest…

5th May:

11:00 am- Runners Beam tour of the old City. A lot of people on this site have recommended them and they have got good reviews on tripadvisor as well. I did look at the BCN tourist office tours…but they have a limited time table and our days don’t match.

Lunch at El Casal…which has 10 euros lunch menu which are supposed to be quite good…it’s in El Born near the church of Santa Maria Del Mar. Would this be a good choice?

Picasso Museum: after 3 on Sundays is free. Honestly from what little I have seen of Picasso I am not too crazy about his paintings. However G seems to enjoy his work…and I am hoping that seeing where he lived and getting to know more about him might help me appreciate his work more. Not that I understand art all that much…
I was tempted to forgo the free entrance and go for the guided tours that they run daily…however I was wondering if the audio guide wouldn’t be good enough. Has anyone done these tours….what do you feel would be the value add of taking the guided tour?

Parc Montjuic:


Magic Fountain: Only open on Sunday for us…from 9:00 to 11:30 pm
Is it better to see the fountains during day time or after night fall or both?

Use the cable car to get up there

The downside of going here on a Sunday is that the Joan Miro museum would be closed by the time we get there. As I said earlier we are still exploring our tastes in art. I have gone on the website and looked at some of his work and it does look pretty spectacular. Maybe we can go back on Tuesday (should we get the hop on hop off for 6th and 7th?)

Is the castle there worth visiting? Will we get spectacular sunset from the castle if it is a clear day? Do we need to plan our visit around that?

We also wanted to go to the Flamenco show- Tablo Carmmen. I am a little unsure about it though. A lot of people on trip advisor have really enjoyed it and have said it is worth it. However I am quite sure that we would be soon going to Andalusia and maybe it would be a better idea to go to a show there. Also going for the show gives us a chance to see Poble Espanayol.

We were planning to go for the 21:30 show which ends at 22:30…can we come to the magic fountains after the show?

Is the Olympic park worth going to?

Day 2: 6th May

Start with Runners Beam Gaudi walk at 11:00

Any recommendations for a quick lunch?


Take the metro to Sagrada Familia (should we pre book the tickets). A friend of ours said it is not really worth going inside…though I find that hard to believe.

Sagarda familia+ casa gaudi – is it worth going to Casa Gaudi (10:00- 8:00pm)…

Sagarda Familia: Open 9:00- 8:00pm

Is it worth going up to the tower? It says that one can’t book the tickets in advance for the tower…is there usually a queue?


Casa Battlo: Are the late night openings worth it? Would one need to go both during the day and the night? Or does one get to visit the whole museum even during the night visit?
Open daily till 9:00.


La Pedrera : open 9:00 to 8:00 (last admission 7:30)

In the evening g o to Parc Guell – from 8:00 to 9:00pm

We have a 9:30 reservation at Gut. Do you think we would have enough time to do justice to Parc Guell?

Stroll around Las Ramblas…
Day 3

7th May:

If we have missed out on anything from the day before we could go there…then go to the beach and probably Joan Miro museum.

Lunch at El Quim de la Boqueria

For dinner we are trying to decide between Paco Meralgo or Montiel restaurant. If there is a really special place then we could spend about 70-80 euros without drinks...so please feel free to suggest.

Please let us know what you think about the itinerary. Is there something that we have completely missed out on?

Thanks a lot!

adrienne

<< Take the metro to Sagrada Familia (should we pre book the tickets). A friend of ours said it is not really worth going inside…though I find that hard to believe. >>

I had to stop reading at this comment. Of course you should go inside - that's what's fantastic about SF. We took a docent led tour so I can't comment on the audio but I'm sure the audio has the same information. Definitely prebook as the ticket lines are long.

<< Sagarda familia+ casa gaudi – is it worth going to Casa Gaudi (10:00- 8:00pm) >>

Casa Gaudi is inside Parc Guell and you should not miss that. There's wasn't much inside the Gaudi house so you could give it a miss since your time is limited. You can see Parc Guell in an hour since the interesting bits with the mosaics are near the bottom of the Parc.

The Miro museum is quite small. I'm not a Miro fan so I can't make a recommendation to see it or not. I thought the Catalan museum (NMAC) was wonderful.

I did not find the food in Barcelona to be at all greasy.

Dukey1

Barcelona Metro Hours:


Weekdays (Monday to Thursday) and public holidays: from 5.00 am to 12.00 midnight
Fridays and eves of public holidays: from 5.00 am to 2.00 am
Saturdays and eves of 1 January, 24 June, 15 August and 24 September: opens at 5.00 am, then continuous service
Sundays: continuous service until midnight
24 December: from 5.00 am to 11.00 pm

sahith82

We just returned after 4 days in Barcelona. Surprisingly it rained all 4 days.

We visited Sagrada Familia inside also. I think it's worth it if you have no plans of visitng barcelona again (around 13 euros per person). Buy the tickets in advance online or at the machine opposite Sagrada Familia.

We took the night tour at La Pedrera and it was not that impressive for 30 euros per person. A day visit may be worth it.

Dukey1

Go to Sagrada Familia EARLY and even that won't guarantee a avoiding a possible mob scene; the place is VERY popular and for good reason.

danon

Book tickets for SF on line....the line up is usually very long.I did not go to the tower.
I was there a week ago.
I like Miro and NMAC. If you can get in, have tapas at Cerveceria Catalana.
Visit , or see a show, at Palau de Musica Catalana.

suec1

I would not do the HoHo - alot of the city is pretty walkable and the metro can take you, fater and cheaper!, to the sights that are further distance.

I assume by "magic fountains" you mean the music and light show - it runs continuously after dark on the evening scheduled. I really wanted to take the cable car but in the end found it to be a waste of time - but I may be confused here, the fountains I am thinking of, you do not need to view from Mont Juic.

Personally, I am surprsied if you were not wowed by Picasso that Miro would enchant. Miro did zip for me, Picasso I could at least sort of "get" but I know art is very subjective. I would enjoy spending more time at the beach - you can rent bikes to ride along the walkway and then people watch from one of the many many outdoor restaurants.

You know it took me a bit to get into Spanish food but now I love it and here in the States, it is hard to find. You might want to seek out an "asador" for roast suckling pig or lamb and another delicacy - paella with squid ink.

rajshiv

I can't believe it...I just typed a really long reply and managed to loose it...it just disappeared. I was using a different window on iPad for a while...and lost this. It is really frustrating...I will write again.

rajshiv

Adrienne thanks a lot for your response. I still remember all the incisive comments that you made about Prague. I was quite sure that we would go to SF...now we will prebook our tickets. I just checked and there are hourly tours in English from 11 to 3:00...so we might even be able to catch one of those.

We were definitely going to Parc Guell...but wasn't sure about the casa. Lets see how we feel about seeing where Gaudi once lived after the tour.

Any comments about the location if our accommodation? Does it look Ok?

Dukey really appreciate your letting us know about he timings of he metro...I should have checked myself...but gues I was being lazy...thanks

Sahith82 what I bummer...it's unbelievable...rain in Barcelona...continuously for four days...that's pure bad luck...but maybe now you are done with your quota of bad wether and would get fab weather in all your other vacations, Anyways...London has been really overly this past week...all bright and sunny!

We will go with your suggestion of going to Le Oedrera during the day...it just seemed like a great idea...though I read in a trip report too that it wasn't really a big deal.

Dukey I thought the advance booking helps us skip the line...isn't that the whole idea?

canon really appreciate your suggestion to see Plau de Musica...while reading about it I also came across the hospital. We might even look at the possibility of a concert...though We really know nothing about music...jazz we are most likely to enjoy...any thing more would probably be beyond our faculties.

Suec1 I am myself apprehensive about hop on hop off...though some people have suggested going for it. What do you suggest....should we buy say 10 tickets or 20 tickets...I am surprised that you say that Barcelona is walkable. I read in a few trip reports that Barcelona attractions are quite spread out and so it makes sense to get he HoHo.

I am really hoping that I would understand or get Picasso a bit more this time. After reading your comments...I think we would stick to he Plau de musica and the hospital for his day...and spend the rest at the beach. Renting bikes sounds like a great idea..and we might just go for it...thank you.

hopefully Spamish food would grow on me too...any comments on our restaurant selection or any other that you would like to suggest would be most welcome. I a a vegetarian and my husband too nay has a few meats.


I thought the fountains were in the general area of Mountjuic...I maybe wrong.

does the general plan look alright. Is there anything else that someone might want to add?

Now I am getting really excited about the trip...

danon

Don't worry about Picasso... you can see his paintings in many museums...with the short time in Barcelona, you might wish to concentrate on things unique for the city...

Cowboy1968

The Magic Fountain is 5mins walking from Plaça Espanya (metro) at the bottom of Montjuïc.
Walking up Av. Reina Cristina you will see it. And most people will probably walk to or from there anyway

I'd say your hotel's location is fine. It's a nice neighborhood with stores, restaurants, bars.
Somewhat less "hip" than the blocks on the other side of Passeig de Gràcia. But by no means deserted or boring.

adrienne

Sahith82 - so sorry about your rain - I had 8 days of perfect weather.

rajshiv - Thanks for the compliment about my incisive comments. You made my day!

A tip about La Pedrera. Get the first ticket of the day so you can see the house w/o crowds. You start on the roof and work your way down. We were the first ones at La Pedrera and had the roof to ourselves for a short time. I think this made all the difference in my appreciation of the hour.

At Casa Battlo we bought tickets ahead but they are not dated or timed - you can use them any time. There were lots of people at Casa Battlo and I hate crowds in small spaces so I did not enjoy this house as much as La Pedrera or Palau Guell.

I did a tour of Palau de la Musica and enjoyed seeing it with a small group. We also booked tickets for a concert there so enjoyed the building a second time but without the masses of people it was a different view.

Important - The Hospital de Sant Pau - this is undergoing renovation and only a small part of it is open. I suggest waiting for your next Barcelona trip as there is not much to see. Unfortunately they do not reduce the tour time and still take the full hour (which is not necessary) but the price is reduced from E10 to E6. I think it will be magnificent when fully restored to its original look. BTW - perhaps you read the same guide book I did that said the hospital is near the Palau de la Musica? Well...they are no where near each other. The Hospital is closer to Parc Guell.

The Picasso museum is small and it focuses on some of his earlier works. As with Miro, I'm not a real Picasso fan.

I also thought the Barcelona sights were spread out and not walkable but I'm not a fan of HOHO buses. I felt like we were going all over the city although we tried to combine sights together that were near each other.

I don't have any recommendations since the best meals we had were at 4 Gats but there was little vegetarian on the menu.

There was a gelateria with chocolate ice cream that made you think you had plunged into a vat of chocolate. I can't eat ice cream but I had a small taste of the chocolate and swooned. The sorbet was the best I've ever had - very creamy.

suec1

Sorry about the suggestion of the "asador" - obviously I missed your mention of vegetarian!

It is true that the Barcelona sights are spread out but except for Parc Guell, to me, once you get to a general area, it becomes a good walking city. So I think get a book of metro tickets, 10 to start with, and then use those to move to the different locations and explore. Does that make sense? I'm sure you've seen the threads mentioning the pickpocketing problems in the metro - just be aware and don't carry all your valuables as you go out and about.

If you know you will be going to Andulucia before too long, I'd save the flamenco for there and enjoy the evening at the fountains. Its quite a happening.

You've got alot of Gaudi sights, again, if it were me, I'd do SF, Parc Guell, one of the houses and maybe Palau Musica. Maybe you can tell, I'm a slow traveler and don't like to cram in alot of sights and Barcelona is wonderful for wandering the markets, along the water, El Born, Las Ramblas, Eixample, the park.......then having a long lunch or dinner at an outdoor cafe and people watching. Hope you have a wonderful time!

jj1010

I joined this just to say that whoever told you not to go inside Sacrada Familia must not have done so. It is filled with delights wherever one turns. I had not really been a fan of Gaudi until we visited last May, but I came away simply swept away. The altar, the items "floating over" the altar, there is no end to things to see in this edifice.

skatedancer

Barcelona is very walkable.

Each to his own, but I thought that touring Casa Batilo was an amazing experience. To see the imagination, creativity and level of detail in that interior was a wonder.

We also saw a concert at the Music Palace and loved it, and did not do a tour.

Agree that of course you have to go inside Sagrada Familia. Do get the ticket in advance, and also for Casa Batilo to avoid lines.

In addition to just wandering and eating as suggested above, in terms of specific museums, we put our emphasis entirely on Gaudi, because his art is so unique to Barcelona.

We did not have time to get to Parc Guell, although I really wish we had.

I would skip the tours, the cable cars, etc. and just wander.

We didn't like Las Ramblas, but loved the other neighborhoods in that older part of the city. We stayed in the Eixample and enjoyed that area, too, and worth walking around there as well. You could combine a wander around when you tour the Gaudi houses.