First time in Spain - Barcelona question
 

Hi all! My husband and I will be going to Spain mid to late September - first stop is Barcelona. We get there on Thursday, September 19th and I have a timed entry ticket for Museu Picasso at 4:30pm. That is the only thing that I have planned for that day as I expect we will be jet lagged. I would like to tour La Pedrera, Casa Batllo, Sagrada Familia and Park Guell (monumental Zone) on Friday. How much time should I allow for each place? I need to get timed entry tickets and I have no idea how much time I should allow at each place and how much time I should allow to get to the next place. Thanks so much!!

I can't begin to say how long YOU will want for various places. I went to La Pedrera for its night visit, which I think took about 1.5 hours. I spent about 1'15" at Casa Battlo, about 3'30" at Sagrada Familia, and about 1'30" at Parc Guell, which I also visited in the evening.

For times to get from place to place, check google maps. Be sure to adjust the time setting.

Good luck!

As kja wrote, we cannot say how fast or slow is comfortable for you, but if you are a person who does not have to look at each and every detail, or has to listen to every bonus track of the audio guide:

Appr. 2.5 - 3 hrs for both "houses" (incl. 5-10 min walking to get from Battlo to Pedrera),
15 min to go by metro (L5 Diagonal) from Pedrera to Sagrada Familia,
2 - 2.5 hrs for the basic visit (no towers or any other "extras"),
15 minutes by taxi from Sagrada Familia to Parc Güell,
1.5 hrs at Parc Güell

If you want to squeeze in a lunch break, there are many places to eat near La Pedrera or Battlo. The Modernisme houses are located on Passeig de Gracia which is one major boulevard to find shop, restaurants, eateries, cafes, etc.

It's possible, but even I (not exactly a slow travel person) would not do this. Good luck.

((H))

Upon further review, we did visit La Sagrada Familia, Casa Battlo, La Boqueria and Palau de la Música Catalana in one day, so go for it. Relax when you get home.

Here's our day in link below ....

https://travelswithmaitaitom.com/cha...rnist-marvels/

hmmm... i'd go one step further. i'd never plan something for the day i got off the plane. Then dive into four more places the next morning? No way.

I know you said first time in Spain, but have you been to Europe before? Do you know you don't have a difficulties with the big time change and jet lag (i am assuming you are coming from the US or Canada?)

Thanks everyone. I am beginning to think I might be better off moving Park Guell to Saturday. We will only be in Barcelona for three days. We arrive on Thursday and will be there all day on Friday and then have an 8pm flight on Saturday night. We have been to Europe before (we are from the US) - was hoping we would just be jet lagged on Thursday:). The problem is that all of these places have timed entry and if I wait to get there and see how we feel, we won't be able to get tickets.

We arrived in Barcelona around noon (not a short flight from L.A.). Looking back at my trip report, thanks to Kim and Mary, we walked nine miles that day throughout Barcelona (taskmasters!). The next day was the link I provided above. I was 63 at the time with psoriatic arthritis. If I can do it, most anyone can. If you like a fast pace, go for it, or just stop and smell the GinTonics. No wrong way.

((H))

Great trip report - thank you! After reading it, I am wondering if I should eliminate Casa Batllo. Also, sounds like there are good places to eat around La Pedrera. but are there places to eat around Sagrada Familia and Park Guell?

" I am wondering if I should eliminate Casa Batllo."

Personally, I thought it was cool. Our favorite attraction in Barcelona was Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau.

((H))

I really enjoyed Casa Batllo too. i would keep it on the list.

I got mixed up - it was the tower at Sagrada Familia that you would eliminate. I will have to look up Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau - it wasn't even on my list. Thank you!

Good call. Tower is a waste of time. You actually can get a pretty good view of Barcelona from Park Güell.


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...87f659476.jpeg

Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau is awesome!
If you haven't already seen it, you might find some useful information in my trip report. The section on Barcelona starts in post # 12, days 24 plus.

There are places to eat nearby. When I'm in that area, I prefer to ones on Av. Gaudi. That's the pedestrian street connecting Sagrada Familia with Hospital de Santa Creu i Sant Pau (which has been mentioned already). If you're in a real hurry, you find fast food eateries directly in the block of Sagrada Familia.

IMO both La Pedrera and Casa Batllo are interesting but if you don't have much time I would just choose one. I think you can't go wrong with either. I like Casa Batllo.

I liked Casa Battlo also but I visited it on a different trip from the Pedrera, which I think is bigger and has a few interesting aspects Battlo doesn't. I never booked any of these things in advance myself, although I guess Parc Guell has become super popular for some reason. To be honest, of all of these, that was the one I could have missed. I was there in the summer and it was just super hot, but it likely may be in September also. I did have to wait in line a while for Sagrada Familia so that would be good to book in advance.

I just visited Casa Battlo one night before dinner as I was staying in the area and wasn't going to eat until at least 8 anyway. I probably spent about an hour there, don't recall. It wasn't as crowded at 6 pm.

It hasn't been that many years since I was last there but maybe tourism has exploded even more, I was there during busy times, also, and didn't have that long a wait at the Gaudi buildings except for the church. Just walked right into the park. But if you like Gaudi, you can see his particular design elements/style in any of these, there isn't any reason you have to see them all. Of course the park is different from a residence from a church. There are plenty of other things I'd want to see in Barcelona instead of just Gaudi buildings. And museums I'd much rather see than the Picasso museum which I didn't think was that great.