Hi all,
We have booked a Transatlantic "Big Band Dancing" Cruise on the Noordam for Sept of this year.

One of our day stops is in Barcelona. We have several options, and though we have traveled in the Mediterranean extensively, we have failed to hit Spain on previous trips so this will be a first. For those of you with past experience in Barcelona, we are seeking advice for what to do for the day. With so many options, we want to make our day count. We are healthy, can walk miles, and are in our 40's.

Assuming we don't end up going off on our own, here are some of the options we are being offered. If this were Italy, or somewhere else where we speak the language and have traveled extensively, we might be tempted to go it alone. However, with only one day in port, from 8:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m., we want to get the most for our time.

The following caught my eye, as we love history, especially old monasteries, and of course we would love the wine tour as well. Those of you with Barcelona experience - would you be inclined to do..if at all...(Our budget is quite liberal so price is not an option on these either. We just want to make sure it is the right thing, regardless of the cost)


Montserrat Monastery & Codorniu Cellars
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(This tour is 8 hours)
A coach will take you to Sant Sadurni d'Anoia, location of the Codorniu Champagne Cellars. Taste the champagne from the Penedes region, called Cava, then head to Montserrat. Travelling northwest through the picturesque Spanish countryside, enjoy a spectacular view of the Montserrat Mountain Ridge, 4,050 feet high! On a natural platform at 2,380 feet above sea level, visit the Benedictine Montserrat Monastery founded in the 11th century.

There are also the usual 1/2 day tours and full day tours, and they also offer "Flamenco and Dinner".

Tips, comments, opinions? All appreciated!

And I should have added that we are taking this cruise not necessarily to see all the ports, but because of the Big Band Dancing theme. But being able to make stops in the ports is a great plus.

I will post on the cruise forum as well...

All I can say is that other than the wine tasting you can easily do Montserrat on your own using rail public transport and you do NOT need to speak Spanish to do so.

Of course, the convenience is appealing to those who don;t have a lot of time.

BUT if this is your FIRST visit to Barcelona, centering on Montserrat is a mistake IMO what with the Gaudi offerings to include Sagrada Familia if nothing else, a walk along Las Ramblas, as well as a visit to the Gothic Quarter and its wonderful cathedral, not to mention the numerous museums, etc.

Montserrat is wonderful but if that is the only thing you do on your day in Barcelona I think you will have missed the city entirely.

Sorry, I meant to say re Montserrat the convenience of an <b>organized tour</b> is obviously appealing if you don't have a lot of time.

Thanks so much everyone. I really appreciate the feedback and advice. This helps immensely!

I agree with the other poster that for the first time in Barcelona, see the city, don't go to Montserrat.

Barcelona has many wonderful sites, many that are easily walkable. My suggestion would be to walk down Las Ramblas, stroll through the gothic quarter, and then walk to the Eixample (newer part of town) where you can see some of Gaudi's unique architecture. I highly recommend going inside one of Gaudi's buildings, especially to examine the roof details up close: Casa Battlo or Casa Mila.

Sagrada Familia church is an outstanding site, but you need transportation to get there.

Barcelona also has a hop on hop off tour bus that connects all of the sites.

Barcelona is a wonderful city with friendly people. You will enjoy!

As a follow-on, depending on which moll your cruise ship uses for docking, what you could do is take a taxi and then use the very convenient Metro to get to the various major sites in the city. If you do that just be careful of the possibility of pickpocketing; it isn't necessarily ubiquitous on the Metro but it does happen and they are very clever.

It will be EASY to fill your entire day in Barcelona alone and I think a combination of public transport, the hop-on/hop-off, taxis and the Metro will serve you well.