thuy

Where should we visit/go in Barcelona and Malta?? Do we need to book a tour guide for these cities?? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Surlok

I haven't been to Malta (yet..), but I was several times to Barcelona. The highlights are the Gaudi buildings,La Pedrera, Casa Batlo, the Sagrada Familia Cathedral, the Picasso Museum, Miro Fundation in Motjuic, and Park Guell ( also Gaudi's). It would be interesting to get some information about Gaudi and his architecture style, although a good guided tour would provide you with it.<BR>

li

For Barcelona, we loved the call, old Jewish section in Girona, which is not far from Barcelona and the Museu d'Historia de la Ciutat. Sagrada Familia was incredible; go in and climb the tower. <BR> <BR>We went around with a guide, but were disapointed; she was not as knowledgable as we though she should be. I would buy a good guidebook or two and read up on the sites, history, and art before you go.

Jane

For Barcelona, I highly recommend the Bus Touristic. There are 2 routes that run all over town to every site worth seeing. The buses run about every 10-20 minutes to all the sites, so it's easy to hop on and off. I can't remember the exact price, but it was very reasonable. (Much cheaper than paying for public transportation to all the remote sites.) Also, the price includes a book of discount coupons for admissions to several attractions. Just look for the signs at any of the major sites. We originated from the Plaza de Catalunya because that was convenient for us, but you can hop on almost anywhere. You just buy your tickets when you get on the bus. You can buy a 1 or 2-day pass, but the 2-day pass is a much better deal. <BR> <BR>Have a great trip!

Elspeth

I did a day in Barcelone a few years ago, and there was so much I didn't get to see!! <BR>Sacrada Familia is supposed to be great, and the Cathedral is lovely. Don't take a boat trip round the harbour - it's very industrial, not much to see.

gail

Re Malta. Get a guidebook from the library or buy one and look for places that appeal to you. Get info from Malta Tourist Board including maps showing bus routes. (Guidebooks may also have bus route maps). The buses go everywhere, cost about 30 cents when we were there in '97, and were a trip in themselves. Mdina was one of our favorites, also walking around St. Julian's Bay, having dinner in 15th century stone boathouse that belonged to an archbishop. A town with a lot of consonants in its name (?Brzzbuga?) on the southeast coast was a very picturesque fishing village; go on the day of its weekly market if you can. <BR>You don't need a tourguide if you do some research before you go. Almost everyone speaks at least some English and they are very helpful. We had people offer to help us without even being asked when they saw us standing on a corner looking at a map. <BR>We loved Malta, but you do need to be aware that they have the "siesta" timeframe, that is, almost everything is closed most of the afternoon. <BR>And finally, be careful crossing streets because the driving is British-style and the rest of us look the wrong way to check for oncoming traffic. <BR>Have fun.