ssrb93

Is it possible to walk from the port to the Sagrada Familia or is it best to take a taxi? Am planning on this being my first stop in Barcelona before strolling and enjoying the city.

Hi @WallyNDiane

 

I am afraid that Barcelona requires a good full five days to just grasp the surface of the city as it has quite a lot of things to see/do in a wide variety of potential interests... plus over 2000 years of history. However, life is tough and one doesn't always have the luxury (or luck!), so if you say you have two "half days", well, then that's what you have :)

 

With such a short time, there are two approaches you can take: (1) do a bit of research on your own and see a few of the many things you could be doing/visiting (that is, "sites" or "attractions") and that can be of interest to you and make a rough bucket list, then I'd be pleased to try to assist making it "fit" in your schedule, or, (2) select "just" a couple of sites/attractions and spend the rest of your limited time wandering the city -which, frankly it's what I'd do. I have to say that I've found many people coming from the States that are only focused on sites/attractions -much like if this was a theme park, gosh!- and that's sad because they do miss one of the highlights of most European cities: strolling its neighbourhoods, observing life and enjoying a variety of sites and people. Distances here are smaller, and contrary to what happens in many cities elsewhere, there's no "empty void" between site A and site B but a series of quirky streets, amazing buildings, curious shops, historical references, etc. so it often is part of the adventure when visiting and one always end up discovering amazing nooks and crannies. But again... everybody has his own style of travelling, of course.

 

If you're interested in cramming your schedule with sites, these are a good starting point for your quest: http://www.barcelonaturisme.com/wv3/en/ -- http://www.infocatalonia.eu/ -- http://www.timeout.com/barcelona -- http://lameva.barcelona.cat/en -- http://www.barcelonaesmoltmes.cat/en/inici -- http://patrimoni.gencat.cat/en/discover/search

 

If you are interested in strolling the city, you can always join a free walking tour (ie. https://runnerbeantours.com/) which will bring you the added bonus of being educated by a local knowledgeable guide, take a ride on a hop on hop off bus (ie https://www.barcelonabusturistic.cat/en/home or http://barcelona.city-tour.com/en ) or DIY -which I enjoy better. For this last option, I prepared some time ago a map with several proposed routes which will facilitate you an itinerary by which I consider to be the most emblematic parts of the city. Feel free to download it here: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=z2FZxJpeWEpA.kwM2d8YxuELQ and read this (post #7) for some explanation of the routes: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187497-i44-k7926144-Where_do_the_cruise_ships_dock_in_Barcelona_Port-Barcelona_Catalonia.html

 

Enjoy!

 

PS: Barcelona is a safe city and there aren't any serious "no-go" areas -none that you'd end up going anyway!- and despite being a city, so crime does exist, it tends to be minor (no gun, no gangs). This reminder would seem pretty obvious to many, but not to everybody.

I thought there weren't any captains reception on the Star - is this not true? Was not planning to bring fancy clothes on this trip.

We are on the Star now and thoroughly enjoying ourselves. Tonight was the Captain's Reception at the theatre. We're not going to Trapani as originally planned but Palermo. Thrilled at this change of fortune! Captain Eric did a great job in explaining why the change of plans (high winds) so we are satisfied and happy that they pulled together new excursions for us on the PDQ.

 

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