Barcelona itinerary with questions - please help and critique
 

Hi, I'm leaving in a few days and I can't believe I waited until the last minute to come up with some sort of itinerary. I also have some questions, so please help answer them and comment ont he itinerary.

I was in Barcelona last year and have visited the main sites (Cathedral, Palau de la Musica Catalan, Casa Mila, Casa Batllo, Sagrada Familia, Barri Gotic) but none of the museums.

<b>Day 1 (Tu)</b>
Arrive into BCN 9am; Aerobus to Placa Catalunya.
Subway to Jaume I, walk to apartment & check-in
Grocery shopping; walk along Port Vell, Barceloneta, and Port Olimpic

<b>Day 2 (We)</b>
Montjuic museums (MNAC & Miro)
Mies van der Rohe Pavilion guided tour 17-19

<b>Day 3 (Th)</b>
Cathedral/Boqueria
Palau Guell
Museu Picasso
Casa Vincenc
Parc Guell

<b>Day 4 (Fr)</b>
Hospital Sant Pau guided tour 10:15
Stop by Sagrada Familia (but won't go in)
Casa Asia
Casa Amatller
Modernisme walk 16:00

<b>Day 5 (Sa)</b>
CaixaForum
11:30am meet a friend @ Estacio-Sants for lunch
back to CaixaForum (if needed)
Rest of day *free*

<b>Day 6 (Su)</b>
Morning *free*
Pavellons Guell English Guided tour 12:15
DHUB Museums (Decorative Arts, Textile)
Tentative 21:00 concert @ Palau

<b>Day 7 (Mo)</b>
Day trip to Montserrat

<b>Day 8 (Tu)</b>
Home

<u>Questions</u>
<b>Q.1</b> On arrival day after getting to Placa Catalunya, I'm going to stop by the tourist visitor center first. Afterwards, would it be easier to WALK to Urquinaona stop to catch L4 to Jaume I?

<b>Q.2</b> I'm very confused regarding Montjuric. I know I can take L3 to Parallel stop and change for the funicular. And from there, I can walk to the museums. But how about from MNAC to Mies van der Rohe Pavilion? Is it uphill or downhill? After Mies van der Rohe Pavilion, would it be easier to go to Placa Espanya (I assume downhill?) to take the metro home?

<b>Q.3</b> Has anyone taken the guided tour of Liceu? I'm not attending a peformance there, but I am an opera fan. Just wondering if the interior is worth seeing?

<b>Q.4</b> Any suggestions on what to do on my *free* time? For Day 5 afternoon, I'm thinking Parc Ciutadella. Is it nice?

<b>Q.5</b> Suggestions for lunch near Estacio-Sants? My friend is arriving on the night train from Madrid, and she flies out of BCN later in the evening. She can store her luggage at the train station, but we don't want to go far for lunch. I checked my guidebook and Zarautz looks promising - but we're open for rec's (nothing expensive)

<b>Q.6</b> For the free time in the morning of Day 6, should I head back to Montjuic to take the cable car further up? I won't have time to do that on Day 2, and I can't tell if visiting the castell area is a must (for the view)?

Thanks in advance

TTT

Anyone?

Really no one here can help?

yk, i cant help you on your questions, but id like to comment on your schedule. i think day 3 is supercrowded. bouqueria in the morning, picasso museum in the afternoon and parc geull in the late afternoon is way too much, not to mention you have 2 others on the intinerary for the day. also parc guell closes around 5 i think, at least when i was there in October a few years back. so i suggest you do that on your extra day, maybe.. also if you like, you can add the Joan Miro museum.

That's a good point. I didn't know Parc Guell closes that early. I can move it to Day 5 afternoonthen.

actually i think your whole schedule is crowded.

also walking to barceloneta on your first day is fine but to port vell will be overly ambitious especially with arriving just that morning on a transatlantic flight. Port Vell is quite a walk from Las Ramblas.

We loved Miro museum, walked to MNAC from there, and down to Placa Espanya - it is a very nice view from PE to MNAC
Try to visit Parc Guell on a nice day .
Parc Ciutadella is close to Born and worth a visit , the area near Arco de Triunfo ( in front of the Museum) is also very pleasant.
I think you are planing on a lot the first day, the weather might be a factor ....
I liked the view of Barcelona and of the Port ( I have never seen such a huge commercial port) from the top of MJ. There is a museum up there, but it is not a must.
A day trip on the last day of the stay is not something I like to do.
One cannot see much more than the entrance to Casa Amatiller , the gift shopand a small gallery.

This is actually a very slow-paced itinerary compared to what I usually do on my trips... I probably will take a nap in the apt after I arrive, then go for the walk later - and turn back whenever I feel tired.

Casa Amatller offers guided tours in the AM... I've sent them an email to see if I can get on a tour. If I don't hear back, I'll give them a call.

I think MNAC to the Pavilion is downhill, but I really don't know for sure as it was a while ago. 2h tour for Barcelona Pavilion?! I wonder what they are covering....

I remember browsing in the bookshop at Macba and enjoying my experience there (I think Richard Meier designed this museum). It's on the way to (or from) Palau de la Musica, if I remember right.

I enjoyed Parc Citadella and even liked the zoo there. You could combine that with the El Born area and the Arc and judicial buildings.

As an alternative to filling your two half days, you might consider combining them to make a full day and taking a second day trip--possibly to Sitges.

I was going to go to Stiges, but decided that would be too much (others already commented that my itinerary is too full). Anyway, I'm in Barcelona now, and I just bought the Ruta del Modernisme guidebook. It looks like that alone will keep me busy for days.

111op, the MvdR pavilion offers tours between those 2 hours; not a 2-hour tour.

YK,

Answer to your Q:3 would be- MVDR Pvllion is downhill and very close to Placa D' Espanya. May be 5 min walk. There is a bus stop right opp. I think bus 30. Almost all the buses will take you to Placa D'Espanya. This place is best viewed in the evening when the lights just go on. Good pics. Very impressive plaza, but lot of vehicular traffic.

Check for Music/ Magic fountains with lights at the Palau National at Montjuic, just next to MVDR Pav. I think it's on Thursdays & Sundays evenings.

Dont miss the cable car ride from the port to Montjuic hill. Better way of reaching the hill. Best view of Barcelona. The garden there( I think Miramar)is the right place to be at sunset time.

Poble Espanyol- at Montjuic Is a "Folk village" gives you a glimpse of vernacular style.

Try the Picasso restaurant/ Artists cafe " Els quatre Gats"

I would do it this way

Day 1- Las Ramblas, Sea face

Day-2 Gaudi sights- As these are unique landmarks in Barcelona. Sargada Familia, Exiapmle- Casa Mia, Parc Guell.
Visit sights according to their importance, as you may want to just relax some day or may not be able to see them for some unforeseen reasons.

day-3 Port- Cable car to Montjuic Hill- Museum, MVDR Pavallion, Magic fountains, Placa d' Espanya

Day 4- Old Barcelona- Barri Gotic and El Raval and Port

Day 5- As per your plan

Day 6- Day trip to Girona

Day 7- Museums OR Relax and see the sights that you loved, again.

YK

Tarragona square is a charming place to visit in the evening.

YK
Add Poble Espanyol on Day 3.
You can skip the cable ride to the castle. Srictly OK.

I suggest you don't eat a meal at " Els quatre Gats", just go for a drink. The food is very mediocre. There are much better places to eat.

We took 2 walking tours through the tourist office, Gothic walks and Picasso walks. Bothe were great. we sould have done another, but the timing didn't work for us. The guides on both tours were great.

If you have the time, take a tour of Palau de Musica. You can purchase tickets on their website.

I agree with MFNYC. Meals at El Quatre is not great. Go there for the history and atmoshere.

Check the "frommers" site for the best things to do and best restaurants.

MFNYC- can you give a few details of the Tourist office walks?
Did you sign up in advance?
Meet at the Placa Catalunya office?
Go into any sites or stay on the streets?

I think I found the answers to my own questions. Is this it MFNYC?
http://www.barcelonaturisme.com/Barc..._dbQzv7e0_JnOs

We arrived on a Saturday afternoon. We walked over to the office (at Placa Catalunya) and signed up for a tour on Sunday and Tuesday. None of the other tours fit into our schedule.

The Gothic Walks tour was mostly walking, with lots of history. We did walk into some building, but nothing major. The Picasso tour did go to the museum (admission included). They did a tour of some of the collection but not the entire museum. You can stay afterwards and see the rest.

And yes, that's the website. I tried to book online but for whatever reason, it wouldn't accept my credit card. We had no problem booking the tour once we arrived.

Some restaurants we liked are:
Petra - Carrer de Sombrerers 13 (Borne, next to St. Maria del Mar -church. Found this by acciednt. Great find!
L'Oliva - Carrer Jovellanos 2 (around the corner from Hotel Inglaterra). Great 12E lunch menu, lots to choose from.
Cerveceria Catalana - Carrer de Mallorca 236. Great tapas, hopping spot. The indoor wait on a friday evening was long (1.5 hrs), but outdoors it was only 1/2 hr. It was worth the wait, and while waiting you can order a drink and tapas, at the bar to get started.

I have more restaurant recs, but have to go check my notes.