One night in Barcelona
 

My husband and I are pondering flying in and out of Barcelona for our trip to the region around Collioure and Ceret. Would it be reasonable to plan for one night in Barcelona at the end of the trip -- dropping off our rental car at the airport mid-day Sunday and spending just the evening and Monday morning in Barcelona before flying home? I realize this wouldn't give us a chance to explore the city (!!), but would it be a pleasant and not too logistically challenging way to spend a night? Our other option is to just fly home on Sunday.

I'm especially wondering about the car drop-off and trip in and out of the city on public transportation from the airport. Easy? Hard? Also, we may already be acquainted with the city if we do a day-trip to Barcelona the week before. If this isn't a silly idea, I'd love suggestions for how to make it worthwhile (restaurants? neighborhoods? hotels/B&Bs?)

Thanks for all opinions!

There is public transport from the airport into the city (by rail); obviously taxis are also available for more money (and less time depending on traffic, time of day, etc.). The airport is located about 8.4 miles outside the city.

My initial rec would be that if you aren't going to have a lot of time to explore you might enjoy staying somewhere like the Gothic Quarter and at least take a walk down the dreaded (by some) La Rambla which is as much a part of Barcelona as is all the Gaudi architecture.

OTOH if you've already spent a day in the city it might be easier just to fly home.

Am sure you'll get plenty of recommendations one way or the other. I'm purposely adding two nights in Barcelona to a European trip next year (flying from Amsterdam) just so I can attend an opera performance at the Liceu so your idea certainly isn't far-fectched IMO.

I would definitely do it. Barcelona is like New York -- you can return again and again and never see enough. You can easily construct your own Gaudi walking tour in that time frame or select a few of the museums that mean the most to you. The public transportation is great, and the food is too, of course.

Thanks! More recommendations please!