Trip Report: 4 Days in Barcelona
Oct 26th, 2017, 10:51 AM
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Trip Report: 4 Days in Barcelona
We were in Barcelona for four days! Here's what we did:
We stayed at a B&B/Boutique Hotel called The 5 Rooms. It was in the Eixample district, two blocks from Placa Catalunya. It was very well located and there was always someone there to help with questions. We could walk to practically everything. When we didn’t walk we took taxis. I highly recommend this place to stay.
Day 1: Walked the Ramblas and into the Boqueria (food market). Lunch at a little café near the Boqueria, Dinner at Café Alfonso (Roger de Lluria,6, in the Eixample district, 3 blocks from Placa Catalunya). The house special olives were the best thing I have ever eaten. In the evening, we took a taxi to the funicular to the cable car to the castle on Munjuic for a splendid view of the city.
Day 2: Gaudi day; We walked up Passeig de Gracia (the Block of Discord) I went thru Casa Batlo. The line at 10:30 in the morning (in mid October) was not long and moved quickly. The house was crowded, but not oppressively so. We kept walking 3 more blocks to Casa Mila. I did not tour that house. Nip into the gift shop for a sneak peak at the inner courtyard. We ate lunch at one of the Paellas and Tapas restaurant across the street from our B&B. Yes, it’s a chain, but we had a good meal. At 4:30 we did a “skip the line” tour of Sagrada Familia with Viator (I had booked this beforehand). The place is mad crowded. I did not love the tour; there were too many people on it and I had trouble understanding the guide, who’s English was heavily accented. We decided not to go to Park Guell; all the Gaudi things were SO crowded, and we were told we should book timed tickets, and it just seemed like it would be the opposite of what you go to a park for; to relax. We ate dinner at Teller Tapas in the old quarter; yes, it is a chain, but the food was excellent.
Day 3: A free walking tour of the Gothic Quarter; I booked this ahead of time too, but I didn't have to; just show up at 11am at Placa Catalunya and look for the purple shirt people across from the Apple Store. If they are too full, there are blue shirted ppl on the other side of the square that leave at 11:30. The tour was great. After the tour I went back to the old church (Santa Maria del Pi). Be sure to take the elevator to the roof for a great view of the city. Visit the geese in the inner courtyard. Also note Darth Vader above the front door. We loved Café Alfonso so much we went back there for another dinner.
Day 4: Back to the Ramblas and especially the Boqueria (it was amazing) then the Picasso Museum. Go to one of the tourist offices and buy tickets for later in the day; we went at 12:30 and bought tickets for 3pm, leaving us time for a nice leisurely lunch in an outdoor café near the museum. That evening we wandered around Placa Catalunya and watched the dancing fountains (there is also other dancing fountains near Montjuic). Dinner was at 4 Cats, which is famous for being the place where Picasso hung out. Food was good, not great.
We took cabs everywhere; they were cheap and very easy to find, and they took credit cards. All restaurants took credit cards too.
We stayed at a B&B/Boutique Hotel called The 5 Rooms. It was in the Eixample district, two blocks from Placa Catalunya. It was very well located and there was always someone there to help with questions. We could walk to practically everything. When we didn’t walk we took taxis. I highly recommend this place to stay.
Day 1: Walked the Ramblas and into the Boqueria (food market). Lunch at a little café near the Boqueria, Dinner at Café Alfonso (Roger de Lluria,6, in the Eixample district, 3 blocks from Placa Catalunya). The house special olives were the best thing I have ever eaten. In the evening, we took a taxi to the funicular to the cable car to the castle on Munjuic for a splendid view of the city.
Day 2: Gaudi day; We walked up Passeig de Gracia (the Block of Discord) I went thru Casa Batlo. The line at 10:30 in the morning (in mid October) was not long and moved quickly. The house was crowded, but not oppressively so. We kept walking 3 more blocks to Casa Mila. I did not tour that house. Nip into the gift shop for a sneak peak at the inner courtyard. We ate lunch at one of the Paellas and Tapas restaurant across the street from our B&B. Yes, it’s a chain, but we had a good meal. At 4:30 we did a “skip the line” tour of Sagrada Familia with Viator (I had booked this beforehand). The place is mad crowded. I did not love the tour; there were too many people on it and I had trouble understanding the guide, who’s English was heavily accented. We decided not to go to Park Guell; all the Gaudi things were SO crowded, and we were told we should book timed tickets, and it just seemed like it would be the opposite of what you go to a park for; to relax. We ate dinner at Teller Tapas in the old quarter; yes, it is a chain, but the food was excellent.
Day 3: A free walking tour of the Gothic Quarter; I booked this ahead of time too, but I didn't have to; just show up at 11am at Placa Catalunya and look for the purple shirt people across from the Apple Store. If they are too full, there are blue shirted ppl on the other side of the square that leave at 11:30. The tour was great. After the tour I went back to the old church (Santa Maria del Pi). Be sure to take the elevator to the roof for a great view of the city. Visit the geese in the inner courtyard. Also note Darth Vader above the front door. We loved Café Alfonso so much we went back there for another dinner.
Day 4: Back to the Ramblas and especially the Boqueria (it was amazing) then the Picasso Museum. Go to one of the tourist offices and buy tickets for later in the day; we went at 12:30 and bought tickets for 3pm, leaving us time for a nice leisurely lunch in an outdoor café near the museum. That evening we wandered around Placa Catalunya and watched the dancing fountains (there is also other dancing fountains near Montjuic). Dinner was at 4 Cats, which is famous for being the place where Picasso hung out. Food was good, not great.
We took cabs everywhere; they were cheap and very easy to find, and they took credit cards. All restaurants took credit cards too.
Oct 27th, 2017, 03:51 AM
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We enjoyed staying in Eixample, too, when we were in Barcelona in 2010. Sounds like the Gaudi sites have become even more popular since we were there. We visited in mid-October, and did not purchase any tickets in advance. Our longest wait was no more than 20 to 30 minutes. And we did not have to buy timed tickets for Parc Guell. We enjoyed both Casa Batllo and Casa Mila. Casa Batllo was my favorite Gaudi site, along with Sagrada Familia. Glad to hear you had a great time in Barcelona!
Oct 27th, 2017, 05:37 AM
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I think my entire wait time to get into Casa Batlo was about 15 minutes; there are two lines, one to get tickets and another to be let into the building. That second line seems a tad chaotic, people kept jumping in front of each other; if it had been more crowded, I bet it would have been crazy. If I had to do it again, I would have tried to go late in the day or combine it with a concert on the roof.
Oct 30th, 2017, 06:24 AM
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I'm not sure I got the name of the church right on Day 3. It is The Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia, also known as Barcelona Cathedral. It's in the gothic quarter, in a big square that has large letters you can sit on that spell BARCINO, the roman name for Barcelona.
