Barcelona Questions for Wheelchair/Scooter User

[KathyHKidd]

We are sailing out of Barcelona in April, and have never been there before. I'm looking for recommendations from other cruisers in terms of a hotel that is good, inexpensive, and convenient to the airport and the cruise port. Having never been there before, it would be nice to do some tourist type things on the afternoon before the cruise (we will just be there one afternoon and evening). This is complicated by the fact that I use a wheelchair, so access considerations are also important. Also, will language or currency conversion be an issue? Most tourist cities seem to accommodate English-speakers and US currency, but I wanted to be sure. Thanks!

[raindropsalways]

I cannot help you with the hotel because we mainly stayed at a hostel with an elevator too small for a wheelchair and another hotel was near the arena which is a little further from the downtown area than what you should be seeking.

 

However, I can assure you that Barcelona is very wheelchair friendly; better than most U.S. cities. Like the U.S., many of sites are grandfathered in under various Historical Preservation acts, but they have improvised wherever possible. I am sure you will find some strange little ramps in the Gothic Quarter.

 

Their public transportation is not 100% accessible. If you use their website (http://www.tmb.cat/en/home) for guidance, you can get anywhere you may desire. Accessible vehicles are well identified. We have not ever used a taxi for airport transportation. We have taken the Aerobus or the city bus, depending on where we were staying. I imagine your luggage would dictate the best mode of transportation to and from the airport for you. We have taken the local buses all the way to the ship. Ruth has a rack for her suitcase and I have a tow line for mine, thus we do not have luggage issues. On the buses, I disconnect my suit case and lift it on separately; Ruth's fits fine.

 

For seeing the sights, I would highly suggest that you predetermine what you want to see and if anything is out a distance, determine how to get there using the metro.

 

Chances are that you will not find Palau de L Musica Catalana (http://wwww.palaumusica.org/seccion=245&idioma=en_GB.do) on any tourist information sheets. It is definitely worth a trip.

 

To get to Park Guell we took the green metro line and transferred to bus 24. Coming back, we just scooted to the metro, did not bother with the bus. Was a lovely little trip. If you stay downtown, you will be on or near La Rambla and can wander which direction you decide to go and the Gothic Quarter is just within a stone's throw. To get to Marc de Montjuic, we took the the funicular and to get onto the castle, we took the cable car. However, we scooted all the way back down. The Magic Fountain was undergoing maintenance, thus we did not get to see it in operation. Did ride by on our scooters and it looked as if it would be interesting.

 

Language should not be a barrier. The majority of the people do speak some English.

 

Hope you enjoy Barcelona as much as we have.

 

Betty