Day Trips from Barcelona
 

Hi, I was wondering if anyone could point me in the direction of any good day tours offered from Barcelona. My husband and I are leaving in 2 weeks and will be staying in Barcelona, however we will not have our own transportation and would like to get outside the city for a day or two...any ideas on whom to contact and/or where to go (and the best way to get there).<BR><BR>Also wondering how far Madrid is from Barcelona by train/<BR><BR>Thanks!

I am no expert on Spain, however I have been to the major cities within the country. I would say to go to Montserrat first. This is a religious shrine on the top of a huge mountain right outside Barcelona. It is here that you can see the Black Madonna, and hear choir singing. It is quite moving, even if you aren't religious. I'm sure that the local tourist centers have info on booking a day tour. This is what I did and it was very easy.....I don't know what the train time to Madrid to Barcelona is, but it has to be very long. I drove from Valencia to Barcelona and it took all day. I hope other people more familiar with the area can help you better than I.

Michelle, wouldn't you know as soon as I posted the above message I found my travel log of Spain! It states the the distance between Madrid and Barcelona is between 7-10 hours, depending on what train you take. It also states that you can take a train to Montserrat, which you can get at Placa d'Espanya. Also, as I forgot to mention, Montserrat is very cold and windy because of the altitude. Please dress VERY warmly if you decide to go there.

I have sent you 3 folders of notes on things to do in Barcelona and around by e-mail. It is really easy to do your own thing and, like most places, you will only pay through the nose for tours. I have got another folder on the Pyrenees from Barcelona if you should want it.

I am going to post a message on a separate thread about a recent article - - http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/18/ma...BARCELONA.html - - describing Girona, and a search for Jewish roots in and around Barcelona.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

David, I didn't pay through the nose for my tour of Montserrat. It was maybe $30. Yes, you can do things on your own, but then you don't have an experienced, educated tour guide explaining everything to you--dates, architectural details, religious rites, and so on.....You can't get this out of a travel book. Sorry.

The sparkling wine (cava) houses of Spain are located near Montserrat in the town of Sant Sadurni d'Anoia, most notably Caves Codorniu and Caves Freixenet. They offer tours and tasing and Freixenet has a delightful movie on wine production with their special New Years ads through the years. I think you can get there by train. We enjoyed our trip to Frexeneit and combined it with our trip to Montserrat but were going by car so I can't help with the train connections. You'll love Barcelona. Have a great time.

Julie, I am going to Barcelona in May for the first time and will be driving from Provence. I appreciated the information on the wine caves. Thanks.

Hi Michelle, <BR>We were in Barcelona earlier this year and toured with Debbie at [email protected]. We spent one day with her touring the city (she's very knowledgeable and fun), and the next day she took us to Montserrat and the wine country. I felt like she took us to some places to give us a taste of the "real" Spain. We loved Spain and Barcelona so much we are returning in March. This time we are going to hire Debbie to take us to Figueres and Girona. I can't wait. Contact her at [email protected].<BR><BR>Marsha

Michelle,<BR>It's quite easy to do Montserrat and the champagne, or "cava", distilleries in Sant Sadurni d'Anoia by train. <BR><BR>To Montserrat take the FGC train to Aeri de Montserrat from the Placa d'Espanya, then the cable car ("teleferic") up to the Monastery. <BR>Check the train schedule at<BR>www.fgc.catalunya.net/uk/funiculars/horaris.htm<BR><BR>Also by taking the "cava" train from Barcelona's Sants station to Sant Sadurni d'Anoia, all you have to do when you arrive is to cross the street to reach the Freixenet cellars, Spain's largest producers of cava. <BR>You can see the train schedule at www.renfe.es. First click on the inverted white C in the red circle for "Cercanias" , then Barcelona, then choose departure from Barcelona Sants to destination, Sant Sadurni. The train takes about 35 min.<BR>I believe Freixenet has morning tours at 9, 10, and 11:30. You'll first be lead to a room to see the video that Julie mentions, including those very famous New Year's Eve commercials with the Freixenet girls, (who range from Hollywood starlets to Spanish models-I think this year's Freixenet girl might be Penelope Cruz), then hop on a little train for a tour of the cellars, then finally you'll be left in a tasting room to sample their cava to your heart's content. And the tour/tasting is free.<BR><BR>Another easy train excursion would be to the hip, lively, attractive beach town of Sitges, south of Barcelona. It's about a 30 min. ride on a Renfe train from Sants station-very frequent departures, about every 20 min. all day long. See www.renfe.es and click on the C for "Cercanias", then Barcelona Sants to Sitges. Even in December Sitges could be interesting; it has a plenty of tapas bars and outdoor cafes on the promenade and a sophisticated atmosphere, like the El Born area of the Barri Gotic but seaside.<BR><BR>And regarding the Girona article that Rex has given you, the Jewish Call there is quite atmospheric, and Girona always hits the top of the top ten list of Spain's most livable, pleasant cities. See www.renfe.es for train schedule. It's about a 1 1/2 hr. ride.<BR><BR>Barcelona to Madrid by the fastest Talgo train is still a 7 hr. ride. The bullet train (like the Madrid-Seville AVE) is still under construction and won't be up and running for about 3 years.<BR><BR>Have a great time in Barcelona!