Barcelona side trips?
 

Hi, <BR>We are attending a business meeting in Barcelona July 5-8. Have about 3 days of our own time on the front end. Will 4 days of Barcelona be enough? I'm curious about seeing some other areas, but don't know if we'll have enough time. I'm interested in Northern Spain, but most postings appear to be about Southern Spain. What about train rides/times to these areas? Any info appreciated.

Hi - me again, <BR>Just saw a similar question/response dated 5/23/00, so that was helpful. Sounds like optional side trips would include: Montserrat, Sitges, Girona, Costa Brava. If anyone has any addt'l info, please send.

Girona, to the north , has a beautifully preserved medieval center, with a number of attractions, including the Cathedral and the Old Jewish Quarter. We stayed in the Hostal Bellmirall, a small bed and breakfast in the old city and it was delightful. The houses along the Onyar River are very picturesque. We drove from Barcelona, but I believe there's direct train service. <BR> <BR>Tarragona, on the coast about an hour or so south of Barcelona by train, has interesting Roman ruins and an excellent archaeological museum. Like Girona, it's pleasant to stroll around.

Thanks Dave for the advice.

Just got back from Spain and I would recommend you get out of the city and see some of the countryside! We drove around the area and all the monastaries and castles we saw we were alone - it was glorius. <BR> <BR>I would also recommend Tarragona - it's pretty, right on the beach, and the Roman ruins are great. Also Poblet and Santa Crues monastaries (basically south of Barcelona, but not on the coast). You would probably need a car to see those though, don't know if you will have access to one. Medinaceli is heaven on earth - an ancient Roman village built on top of a big hill/mountain. Now artisians live there - but it may be too far away (southeast of Segovia I believe). <BR>In any event, try to get out of the city! I liked Barcelona, but was enthralled by the other smaller towns.

Take a train to Tarragona, walk up the steep hill from the station to the main bit of the town and enjoy a beautiful little city. There is a lot of Latin history there and even in July it was not too busy (though it was hot!) <BR>It takes about 50 mins. from B'lona to get there. I really, really enjoyed myself there. My friend and I sat in one of the squares with no other tourists and sipped beer as the local kids played football around us. It was very pleasant and I felt very much at home, and prices were very reasonable.

We spent 5 days in Barcelona over Easter... <BR> <BR>Though we had intended to venture away from it we found so much to do within the city that we never did. <BR> <BR>If you are interested in what we did, please search for my Barcelona Trip Report... <BR> <BR>Kind Regards <BR>Kavey