kakiebell

I am looking to purchase tickets for a performance at the Palau de la Musica Catalana in Barcelona in April. Does anyone have any experience with seating in that music hall? The choices are stalls, circulars, boxes, central stalls, lateral stall 1st row for 25 Euro which is a bargain.
It looks like such a beautiful venue that I thought it would be a treat not to only visit it but to actually listen to a performance there. Any information would be much appreciated.

annhig

hi kakiebell

we went a few years ago so I'm not that clear about where we sat, but wherever it was, we had a reasonable view.

looking at the seating plan, I think that we were probably in the first floor balcony, towards the front.

given the sight lines, I think that you probably want to be towards the front wherever you sit as because of the shape of the theatre, at the back you can't see much, especially in the side seats.

it is very beautiful, but you can also do guided tours.

Christina

I think a lot of this is personal preference, and views aren't that important for concerts to me. But for both concerts and dance, I don't want to be in the first few rows, I like to be at least 6 rows back. And I wouldn't want to be on the side near the stage, but if the side was farther back, it would be okay. They show you a seating chart when you pick tickets, and then they even give you photos and show you the exact seats available, so you know if it is towards the front of the boxes or rear, for example.

annhig

But for both concerts and dance, I don't want to be in the first few rows, I like to be at least 6 rows back.>>

fine if you you're not bothered about seeing anything, lousy if you are. Because of the rectangular shape of the seating, if you sit too far back, you can only see the other side of the stage, but little or nothing below where you are sitting. We know this as we went through a whole performance in Madrid in just that situation. Even though they had cameras broadcasting the bit we couldn't see on large screens in front of us, it was very frustrating.

you need to look carefully at the the seating chart when you book the tickets.

kakiebell

Thank you both. It looks like a pretty large venue and at this time they have available seats in all the areas but some areas are going fast already for the 30th of April. Yes, Christina, the website is fantastic as they show you the exact seat you will be sitting in and you select that seat. It is still kind of hard to see the perspective of that seat to the stage. If we opt to not go to the performance, we will for sure go for a tour but I am pressing for the performance!

adrienne

Do you have the link to the seating chart? I was trying to find it but had problem locating the chart on the web site.

I had seats in the second tier directly in line with the stage and the viewing was very good. My friend and I were talking about which seats would not be good and agreed that only the first or second row along the sides would offer good viewing but you would not be looking straight ahead to the stage. Turning my head bothers my neck (part of the aging process) so I would always opt for straight viewing. There are also lots of columns that could be in the way of viewing but these columns are not apparent on the seating chart.

The venue is not that large in terms of opera houses. I think I've only seen one opera house that was smaller than this.

adrienne

I found the seating chart - you have to click on "buy" for it to come up. I had seats in the central stalls. Either these seats or stalls in the pit would be good. As sound travels upward I prefer to be a bit higher up.

Robert2533

There are only a few "bad" seats in the Palau de la Musica, at least visually speaking. The last time we sat right in the center for a special flamenco guitar performance. It was perfect.

kakiebell

Thanks for your input. We have five nights in Barcelona and there are performances all nights so we have to select which one we want to go with. All your comments help us to select the best seats we can get.

annhig

let us know how you get on, kakiebell.

What performances are on while you are there?

adrienne

Here's an example of what I meant about sitting on the sides. If you look at the seats in the lower right corner these are facing the stage but the ones on the side (in the boxes) are angled so you would have to turn your head for viewing. It looks like the columns would not be in the way as they're at the back of the boxes.

It is a beautiful venue and I'm glad I took the tour and attended a performance.

https://modigliani.shutterfly.com/barcelona/219

kakiebell

I got seats row 7 seats 10, 12 (they are numbered like that but they are next to each other)in the pit (stalls) which is right in front of the stage 7 rows back.
Adrienne, I too have neck issues. I had neck surgery about 9 years ago and I do not like to have to turn my head for an hour or two.
The concert we are going to see is Wednesday night, April 30th, Cuarteto Simon Bolivar. The instruments are violin, viola and violoncello playing F. Mendelssohn, L. van Beethoven and J. Brahms.
They would like you to pick up the tickets an hour before the performance so we might just do a tour sometime that week and get our tickets at the same time so we do not have to get there an hour ahead the night of the performance.
Thank you everyone for your insight to help us pick the perfect seats. I love Fodors and all the help I get planning my trips!!

adrienne

You should get there an hour before the performance and have a glass of cava and some tapas. The cafe is open before performances and it's lovely to sit and enjoy a light meal. There are lots of people doing this.

annhig

looks like a good programme and nice seats.

We picked up our tickets in advance [if you have bought them in line with a credit card, remember that you'll need the same one to collect them] and ate an early supper in a restaurant nearby, which was full of locals. Can't remember the name of it but there were several cheaper restaurants in the area.

I like adrienne's idea of cava and tapas beforehand too.

kakiebell

I know that most people in Barcelona eat at 10 p.m. which I do not understand because when do they go to bed??? If you are eating till midnight and you have to be at work at 8 a.m., then that is squeezing it in pretty tight. Anyway, we will probably go with the Tapas idea at the Palau or find a restaurant in the area and eat before we go to the concert. I usually go with the recommendations from Fodors. A lot of people have commented that they do not get good recommendations from the staff at hotels. Sometimes we just "wing it" and find a place according to if it is crowded and the menu looks good and the people look happy. Sometimes that works and sometimes not. Probably the same percentage as a recommendation from any place else.
We are staying at the Hotel Alma up on Mallorca in Exiample. Is that a walkable distance to the Palau?
Thank you for all your help.

annhig

kakiebell,

you can use google maps to find out the walking distance and walking route from your hotel to the Palau - just use the little man figure under directions.

then put restaurants into the big box where you put the address of the hotel in the first place and see what comes up. there were several "locals" type restaurants in the roads opposite the Palau that were open before the concert - the sort that probably stay open all day. not posh at all, but serving a good range of food at reasonable prices.

I agree that I don't understand spanish eating habits but they seem to suit the spanish. I think that traditionally they would sleep in the afternoon, but with office work and dealing with the rest of Europe that must be becoming more difficult.

kakiebell

Annhig,
Thanks for the google maps idea. That will help me in Barcelona and in Paris to know how far it is to walk to certain locations. We seem to just walk and walk and walk. It seems to be the only way to really experience a city.

annhig

kakie - we do the same and every time I say that I will try to use public transport more to save my poor feet!

in Barcelona, one of the problems we had was that the "correspondences" [where the metro lines cross over under ground so you can change lines] went for miles [sorry, kms!] so we walked miles underground. we got so fed up with this that we just walked rather than using the metro but I suspect that was worse. Barcelona is quite a big and well spread out place.

kakiebell

Do the taxi drivers there get grumpy if you ask for a ride that is about 10 minutes away? Is there a lot of traffic there that you sit in traffic and that racks up the meter? Late at night I do not care as long as I am on my way back to the hotel and I am not walking. I am sure after the performance at the Palau, we might want to jump in a taxi and just get back to the hotel and not walk back. Any thoughts?

adrienne

Taxi drivers in Barcelona are very accommodating; I never encountered a grumpy driver. There is not a lot of traffic apart from the train station area. There are tons of taxis at the Palau at the end of performances. We walked out through the courtyard and turned right at the street and waited less than a minute before we saw a free cab.