We're going to Barcelona for 3 days at the start of a cruise in April 2012. Does anyone have a good itinerary for us while we're there? I speak a little Spanish, but no Castillian.

Also need hotels/b&b options for Barcelona. Thanks!

This has been discussed many times. In the Search box above type Barcelona hotels.

You need not speak Catalan.

E-mail me if you'd like my 4/5 page Barcelona "Things to see and Do" document.

Castilian is Spanish though of course it is European Spanish not South American Spanish. It's Catalan etc which is not not Spanish (but certainly readable) and vast majority of population understand Castilian though, of course, they may smirk at your pronunciation.

You have to see the Cathedral, the Gaudi park, the football stadium and Torres winery

Cheap clean pensione at Hotel Windsor (breakfast in the cafe below (walk about 40m South is very clean and good value)

Here is a hint for when you are in Spain:

You speak a "little Castillian" not a little Spanish.

I was corrected several times, for example, when I requested a menu "en Espanol," rather than asking for the menu "en Castillano." I will not expound upon the reasons for this but I am sure a Spaniard will be able to explain.

You need to give a price range when asking for hotel recommendations.


You need to give an idea of your interests before asking someone here to design an itinerary for you. I would suggest doing a search here first, as this question has been asked many times and there are many detailed responses.

Barcelona is a very international city with many tourists from all over the world. English is very much a common language for most people working in tourism-related enterprises, hotels, restaurants, etc. So you don't have to worry.

Spanish/Castilian are synonyms - except in those parts that belong to Spain but (also) speak different languages.
Spanish-speaking countries in South America speak a dialect of Spanish/Castilian; while Catalans or Basques speak a different language which is not Spanish/Castilian.

ekscrunchy,

"Español" tastes far too much of Spanish centralist nationalism to all the regionalists and regionalisms in the country. Castellano is perceived as more neutral, as an indication of a widespread language that is first or second tongue in all of the regions.

Catalan is not Spanish but a language that is based in provençal or Occitan languages.

Print out Maribel's Barcelona Guide: www.maribelsguides.com.

Also, consider a walking tour. The tourist bureau (located in Plaza Catalunya) offers some nice ones www.barcelonaturisme.com/.

If you can only fit in one, I'd recommend the Barcelona Walking Tours Gòtic. We took that, and the Picasso tour. We enjoyed them both and were glad we did it. We did the Gaudi sights on our own. You can rent audio tours for those.