Down to the little details - Barcelona

[Jareen]

Ok, two weeks to departure and all the little details are popping up. I need help from the Barcelona experts out there:)

 

1- Airport to NH Podium hotel (Bailén, 4-6. 08010) - hotel says Take the Aerobus to Cataluña square and take a metro to arc de trionf or walk. We will only have one rolling suitecase each, walk or metro?

 

2- We are planning to take the red line on the HOHO bus the next day. How do you find out what has entrance fees and how much they are?

 

3 - For those who have done the red line before, how long did you take to do the full route?

 

4 - I am traveling with my son who will have just turned 18. Any ideas on what to do in the evening?

 

Thanks for the help.

[andynapril]

4 - I am traveling with my son who will have just turned 18. Any ideas on what to do in the evening?

 

Thanks for the help.

 

I highly recommend seeing the Los Tarantos Flamenco show in Placa Reial. It's right off La Rambla. It was about 5E for a 1/2 hour show. Very authentic. Can't say enough great things.

 

http://www.masimas.com/tarantos/0_0/INI/default.htm

[HeinBloed]

Ok, two weeks to departure and all the little details are popping up. I need help from the Barcelona experts out there:)

 

1- Airport to NH Podium hotel (Bailén, 4-6. 08010) - hotel says Take the Aerobus to Cataluña square and take a metro to arc de trionf or walk. We will only have one rolling suitecase each, walk or metro?

 

Have you seen on the metro map that Arc de Triomf is not one metro stop distance walk but two???

 

http://www.tmb.cat/img/genplano.pdf

 

Subject you are arriving at Barcelona Airport Terminal 2

 

I would use the commuter train (Route 2) and change at Sants to (Route 1, 3, 4 or 7) and go directly to Arc de Triomf.

 

That would be only 1.35 EUR and an easy transfer in Sants.

 

Check here:

 

http://www.renfe.es/cercanias/barcelona/index.html

 

and then click on "plano".

 

2- We are planning to take the red line on the HOHO bus the next day. How do you find out what has entrance fees and how much they are?

 

3 - For those who have done the red line before, how long did you take to do the full route?

 

You should specify which Ho-Ho-Company as there are three of them in Barcelona: so the red line of which company???

 

Regards,

HeinBloed

[jchiefs13]

2- We are planning to take the red line on the HOHO bus the next day. How do you find out what has entrance fees and how much they are?

 

I'm getting ready for my trip too - sorry I do not have my notes here at work which has some prices for different items, but, do remember that many places have discounts from the HOHO stuff too! To find pricing I often googled the place and admission as my terms. You can find a good number of the admission costs on the frommer's website as well.

 

I think I remember seeing it was 2 hours for a full loop if you did not get off. So, it really depends on what you decide to stop at and how long you take somewhere.

Judy

[chipmaster]

Ok, two weeks to departure and all the little details are popping up. I need help from the Barcelona experts out there:)

 

1- Airport to NH Podium hotel (Bailén, 4-6. 08010) - hotel says Take the Aerobus to Cataluña square and take a metro to arc de trionf or walk. We will only have one rolling suitecase each, walk or metro?

 

2- We are planning to take the red line on the HOHO bus the next day. How do you find out what has entrance fees and how much they are?

 

3 - For those who have done the red line before, how long did you take to do the full route?

 

4 - I am traveling with my son who will have just turned 18. Any ideas on what to do in the evening?

 

Thanks for the help.

 

Things to sea that were on my list with only ( 1 day )

1) Gaudi's stuff: La Sagrada and La Predrera were my two favorites. There are a few other notable ones to consider

2) Las Ramblas and the Market: Its best to do this later in the day when the mimes come out, also very interesting into the evening

3) Gothic District

 

The HO HO is a nice way to see the town from a bus. If you have only a day you should consider carefuly the bus/route and realize it only does it one way. You need to do the whole circuit and if you get off must wait for the next bus. We did see some lines at some of the stops. We found cabs more time efficient if a bit more expensive. Even though we didn't speak any spanish we had no problems getting them to understand where we wanted to go.

 

Enjoy Barcelona

[grandbanksguy]

1- Airport to NH Podium hotel (Bailén, 4-6. 08010) - hotel says Take the Aerobus to Cataluña square and take a metro to arc de trionf or walk. We will only have one rolling suitecase each, walk or metro?

 

2- We are planning to take the red line on the HOHO bus the next day. How do you find out what has entrance fees and how much they are? We were in Barcelona 8/31 - 9/1/09 and had bought a 2 day HOHO pass on line but soon found that it was not very practical based on our sightseeing itinerary. There were 4 of us and the passes cost about 98 Euros. Since the routes run counterclockwise, we often found ourselves walking or taking a taxi to our next tourist site. Otherwise we would have killed a lot of time going around the circuit. The average taxi fare in central Barcelona was about 6 Euros, so in retrospect taxis and the Metro would have been cheaper as well as being a more efficient use of our time. If all you are looking to do is a quick 2 hour tour of the city, the HOHO is OK. But if you are planning to use the HOHO to go from point A to point B, I’d walk and take taxis and the Metro.

3 - For those who have done the red line before, how long did you take to do the full route?

 

4 - I am traveling with my son who will have just turned 18. Any ideas on what to do in the evening? La Rambla. It's the bigest bargain in town and it's free and great fun, particularly at night.

 

Thanks for the help.

[Jareen]

Heinbloed, you said to change routes at Sants. Could you please confirm which Sants stop you are referring to as it appears there are several. Thanks

[HeinBloed]

Heinbloed, you said to change routes at Sants. Could you please confirm which Sants stop you are referring to as it appears there are several. Thanks

 

 

 

It's Barcelona Main Railways Station: Estacio Sants / Estacion Sants

 

Do not wonder if you are in the train: It's displayed for the next station as BARCO SANTS.

 

Regards,

HeinBloed

[Jareen]

Thanks so much for your help. It is just very confusing when we've never been there and are just looking at the maps. For example, you mentioned that at Sants we can change to routes 1, 3, 4, or 7 yet looking at the map it apprears that only route 1 (red) goes to Arc de Triomf and the red line does not leave from Sants. I guess it will all make sense when we get there.

[HeinBloed]

Thanks so much for your help. It is just very confusing when we've never been there and are just looking at the maps. For example, you mentioned that at Sants we can change to routes 1, 3, 4, or 7 yet looking at the map it apprears that only route 1 (red) goes to Arc de Triomf and the red line does not leave from Sants. I guess it will all make sense when we get there.

 

I am sorry - but I have confused you:

 

It's routes 1, 3, 4 and 7 of RENFE CERNANIAS (= Commuter Train). Logo is a white circle on red square but the white circle is not closed.

 

See here:

 

http://www.renfe.es/cercanias/barcelona/mapa_zonas.html

 

So you change within the RENFE commuter train system and do not need a second ticket.

 

If you change to the Metro (Subway) Route 3 you need an additional ticket. That was the second picture.

 

http://www.tmb.cat/img/genplano.pdf

 

By coincidence both routes 3 (commuter train and subway) use the color red as color.

 

So stay once you arrive at Sants and have a look for the RENFE CERNANIAS Route 1, 3, 4 and 7.

 

Regards,

HeinBloed

[grandbanksguy]

Thanks so much for your help. It is just very confusing when we've never been there and are just looking at the maps. For example, you mentioned that at Sants we can change to routes 1, 3, 4, or 7 yet looking at the map it apprears that only route 1 (red) goes to Arc de Triomf and the red line does not leave from Sants. I guess it will all make sense when we get there.

 

It's only a 1km, 12 min walk from P. Catalunya to the hotel. You can print the walking route off http://www.maps.google.com. There are also loads of taxis at P. Catalunya. Should run about 5 euros.

[WindsorRV]

HeinBloed and others.

Wife and I will be doing our 1st Europe trip in early Dec, 09. Will be in Barcelona for 2 full days before the cruise start, and 1 full day after the ship (NCL Jade) returns to Barcelona.

Per HeinBloed and others, there seems to be 3 different HOHO bus companies. My questions, are the routes about the same for each company? Is there one company that runs more buses then the others? And finally, is there one company that is preferred over the other 2?

Can the tickets be purchased at the hotel, or a local ticket agent / bus counter? Seems some of the tickets can only be purchased online, but that seems kind of strange.

Thank You in advance for any help that you can provide.

Sincerely,

Dale and Elaine Jelsema

[HeinBloed]

HeinBloed and others.

Wife and I will be doing our 1st Europe trip in early Dec, 09. Will be in Barcelona for 2 full days before the cruise start, and 1 full day after the ship (NCL Jade) returns to Barcelona.

Per HeinBloed and others, there seems to be 3 different HOHO bus companies. My questions, are the routes about the same for each company? Is there one company that runs more buses then the others? And finally, is there one company that is preferred over the other 2?

Can the tickets be purchased at the hotel, or a local ticket agent / bus counter? Seems some of the tickets can only be purchased online, but that seems kind of strange.

Thank You in advance for any help that you can provide.

Sincerely,

Dale and Elaine Jelsema

 

I think here you find most answers:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1060119

 

Regards,

HeinBloed