Barcelona...let's try this again!
 

Hello all,

Well, we were due to go to Barcelona Feb 17, trip planned, hotels reserved, expectations high. Then as Omicron expanded, we decided to cancel. We received a voucher from American Airlines to rebook a trip before mid-November, 2022 (the date of our original reservation last year). Fine. We have rebooked for September, leaving the 17th, staying 11 nights in Catalonia. So here we go, one more time, fingers crossed....

I juggled our stops a bit from the original plan. I dropped Valencia (next time, maybe) and added stops in the interior of Catalonia. I have already reserved the hotel for the last two nights of our stay (Sept 27-28) because there will be a big convention of pediatric oncologists (3,000 estimated) in Barcelona at that time and good hotel options might be limited.

Here's our itinerary. The Barcelona segments at the beginning and the end are set but the middle is open for discussion and I welcome your thoughts and suggestions. Note that we will use only public transportation, don't want to rent a car.

4 nights Barcelona - Musik Hotel
>>train to Girona
3 nights Girona
In Girona we will go one full day into the Garrotxa natural park; the tour covers Besalu, the village of Santa Pau, and some of the extinct volcanoes
>>bus to Vic
2 nights Vic
On our full day in Vic we will go up to Nuria in the Pyrenees; regional train from Vic to Ribes de Freser and then the cog railway up the mountains to Nuria; lunch and wander around there for a couple of hours then cog train and regional train back to Vic; leave at 11 am and return to Vic at 7 pm
>>regional train to Barcelona
2 nights Barcelona - Seventy Barcelona Hotel

This seems like a good way to get into the countryside and up the foothills of the Pyrenees, but I welcome any comments from people who may have done this.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Girona has some of the highest density bike paths in Spain with a whole load of spoke lanes and way out, in the hills, a circular bike path. You could get out and about on a bike.

EYWandBTV,
I love multi-layered, picturesque Girona and also the Garrotxa, where we've spent happy days in Besalú, Olot, Santa Pau and the volcanic area. It will make for a very nice day trip.

We've also spent time in medieval Vic, which is one of my favorite catalán towns and have really enjoyed the hugely scenic cog wheel train ride up to Nuria from Ribes de Freser. We haven't spent the night in Nuria but found a day trip to be sufficient and the scenery glorious.

It sounds like a lovely trip!