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Barcelona FAQ

fmax

By fmax,
in Spain and Portugal Ports

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John1202

John1202

Posted
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My DW Beth and I spent two days in Barcelona before our NCL Gem TA Dec 3, 07. We stayed at Hotel Guell on Carrer Nou de la Rambla. Nice hotel, convieniently located about 75 yds from Las Ramblas near Placa Reial. It is across street from Palau Guell (which is undergoing restoration and therefore, closed.) Nice breakfast buffet and a small bar provide on site services. Our room had a small balcony that opened onto the back of many apartment /home structures. Very interesting view and the open door provided fresh air to the room. Price was reasonable - about 90 euro if I remember correctly.

Beth uses a motorized scooter to travel long distances. This small unit just fit within the hotel elevator and hallways, but presented no problems otherwise. The room easily accommodated our luggage and the scooter.

We arrived Friday after 4 by taxi van from airport. (Cost was about 35 euro but we had scooter in addition to much luggage so I thought price was reasonable.) After checking in we went to Placa Reial to eat. This small plaza built in 1850's has many restaurants from which to chose. Beth's scooter presented a problem but one restaurant really worked hard to help her. They opened two entrance doors so she could ride into the restaurant then removed a chair so she could eat from scooter! (Unfortunately, I can't find the restaurant name but it is directly across the plaza from the entrance off Las Ramblas.) Excellent local food and reasonable pricing and we ate there three nights because of this accessibility.

We toured the city using the scooter. Streets have curb cuts and the sidewalks are in good condition so her scooter had no problems. However, many restaurants were not equipped to provide access. Steps, high thresholds and narrow doorways limited our selections. Other than that issue, the scooter provided her good transportation.

DW was sick and did not participate on our Sunday tour to Montserrat with other CC members. This was good, for the tour would have been dissapointing for her. Her need for a scooter would have prevented her from participating in a cava (winery) tour and limited her to a portion of the Montserrat tour. Barcelona Tour did refund to us her tour fee after some discussion. The issue is the Freixenet Cavas tour requires, first, climbing several steps to enter the facility, then descending many more steps to get to the bottle storage / aging levels 3 storys beneath the surface. There is no provision for handicapped. On the Montserrat portion of the tour, most is accessible except for the BlackVirgin that is up about 20 steps. Additionally, the tour van did not have space for the scooter. (This information is provided for those with mobility issues - ask the tour company before booking: they can accommodate your needs but need to know.)

Don't miss the old town portion of Barcelona. These narrow streets (8-12' wide) and old buldings are beautiful and were teeming with activity during our visit. Christmas lights hanging over the street added to a festive atmosphere. Since it is just behind the Placa Reial, it was easy for us to access.

I endorse the recommendations of others: Barcelona Cathedral, LaRambla, Sagrada Familia, Casa Mila, and the harbor front were all worth visiting. I only wish we had more time!:)

We used "EYEWITNESS TRAVEL'S BARCELONA POCKET MAP GUIDE' for most of our visit. It provided a good level of detail in a small package.

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NYJean

NYJean

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Hi John

 

thanks for your Barcelona details can you tell me more about your trip Monserrat?? did you hire a driver to take you from barcelona or just once you were there/? I am thinking about going there with my family but I heard it is like an hour away by train... do you know how far it is from the train station ? thanks jean

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John1202

John1202

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Jean, we used Barcelona Day Tours for our tour. They picked us up at hotel and gave us a good tour, stopping at the Cavas plant enroute (it's only open in morning on weekends.) The tour guide was from California (UCLA grad) but lived in Barcelona for ten years so was fluent in several languages. Very knowledgable too. Cost was about 65-70 euro per person and the tour was in a 9 passenger Mercedes van (we'd call it a minivan.) I did everything on line from their web site using PayPal to make a deposit.

 

Another CC couple took the train then rode a 'zipper train' (cog railway) up the mountain to Montserrat. Much cheaper and they said it was not hard to do. The zipper train was short distance from station.

 

Van trip took us through some small villages, rail went thru valley along some river so both were scenic.

 

The destination is worth it. Over 4000 ft above sea level, the Basilica is relatively new due to Napolean destroying in the facility in 1800s. Originally a church, the site dates back to 800's. There is some story about the founding of the church...

Children playing in mountain saw a beam of light going into (or out of) a cave. They entered cave and saw a madonna. They went home and brought their parents. Parents saw same thing and next week brought the priest. Seeing the same thing he decides to bring this madonna down from mountain to his church. Well the men carrying the madonna dropped it after a short carry: it had gotten heavier as it went down the mountain. Priest decided the madonna needed to remain in mountain so built a church there.

Later Benedictine Monks took over site and they run it today. Of particular interest is the Black Virgin Mary that dates back to St. Peter in 50 AD. The black color comes from the finish darkening over the ages. It is patroness of Catalona.

 

Whether by rail or tour bus, it is worth the trip. Be sure to sample the cheses and candys sold there.

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rich_cathybrock

rich_cathybrock

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I have an upcoming cruise in October, and am taking a night pre-cruise in Barcelona (the ship will be in port a second night, so we will be able to spend some time here before we sail).

 

I have rooms held at the Majestic (deluxe double with terrace) and the Grand Marina (Marina Suite). The Grand was about half the price of the Majestic because of a deal (it is usally twice the price).

 

The Grand is out on the pier, and the Majestic in the north Ramblas area.

 

Can anyone weigh in on either or both hotels and let me know which is a better choice? Thanks in advance for your help.

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ghr

ghr

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Hello Bea or other recent Barcelona travelers-We will be flying into Barcelona at 7:30 am and would like to store our luggage for the day as the ship leaves late that evening. I read on this thread in August 06" there were large lockers at the airport. Does anyone know if they are still available?

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natesfirewife

natesfirewife

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Jean, we used Barcelona Day Tours for our tour. They picked us up at hotel and gave us a good tour, stopping at the Cavas plant enroute (it's only open in morning on weekends.) The tour guide was from California (UCLA grad) but lived in Barcelona for ten years so was fluent in several languages. Very knowledgable too. Cost was about 65-70 euro per person and the tour was in a 9 passenger Mercedes van (we'd call it a minivan.) I did everything on line from their web site using PayPal to make a deposit.

 

Another CC couple took the train then rode a 'zipper train' (cog railway) up the mountain to Montserrat. Much cheaper and they said it was not hard to do. The zipper train was short distance from station.

 

Van trip took us through some small villages, rail went thru valley along some river so both were scenic.

 

The destination is worth it. Over 4000 ft above sea level, the Basilica is relatively new due to Napolean destroying in the facility in 1800s. Originally a church, the site dates back to 800's. There is some story about the founding of the church...

Children playing in mountain saw a beam of light going into (or out of) a cave. They entered cave and saw a madonna. They went home and brought their parents. Parents saw same thing and next week brought the priest. Seeing the same thing he decides to bring this madonna down from mountain to his church. Well the men carrying the madonna dropped it after a short carry: it had gotten heavier as it went down the mountain. Priest decided the madonna needed to remain in mountain so built a church there.

Later Benedictine Monks took over site and they run it today. Of particular interest is the Black Virgin Mary that dates back to St. Peter in 50 AD. The black color comes from the finish darkening over the ages. It is patroness of Catalona.

 

Whether by rail or tour bus, it is worth the trip. Be sure to sample the cheses and candys sold there.

 

Do you have the contact information for Barcelona Day Tours? Thanks. :)

 

OK, my bad! I replied to the message on page 2 and then read page 3 and there was my answer!

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  • 1 month later...
fmax

fmax

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Rick's Steve's what's new in 2008

 

" In Barcelona, the curvy Palau Güell should reopen in 2008, offering the public a chance to see one of the finest interiors designed by the city's most famous architect, Antonio Gaudí. To track down more great architecture by Gaudí and his Modernista buddies, stop into the tourist information office (at Plaça de Catalunya), where you can get discounted tickets and a helpful route map showing all of the city's Modernista buildings."

 

 

Frances

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njtom

njtom

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Rich & Cathy Brock,

we stayed at the majestic in spet 2006 for 2 days on our honeymoon...very nice hotel!!!! good size bed, very clean and it has a roof top pool. i recommend it. if you want, i can send you pics of the place.

NJTOm

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BCNlady

BCNlady

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Posted
Rick's Steve's what's new in 2008

 

" In Barcelona, the curvy Palau Güell should reopen in 2008, offering the public a chance to see one of the finest interiors designed by the city's most famous architect, Antonio Gaudí. To track down more great architecture by Gaudí and his Modernista buddies, stop into the tourist information office (at Plaça de Catalunya), where you can get discounted tickets and a helpful route map showing all of the city's Modernista buildings."

 

 

Frances

 

The Palau Güell just openned again this month. I have to say it looks gorgeous, beautiful forgeon works.

Visits 10 to 14 hr Monday to Tuesday for free. For the moment only partial visits as they are still working.

 

Bea

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wednesday

wednesday

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I really wasn't sure where to post this. We are cruising out of Barcelona on the NCL Gem. We arrive 8:30AM the day of departure. How early can we check our bags at the port? I thought if I can figure out the luggage situation then maybe we could walk around some of the areas near the port if we have time before embarkation.

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bdoster

bdoster

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We are Barcelona bound in November, anyone stayed at the Hotel Regina? Location?

 

Will be there 5 days pre cruise, plan to see Monserrat, Las Ramblas, Parc Guell, the cathedrals and Mont Juic...any thing I am missing?

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Jfultz81

Jfultz81

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NYC - have a great time.. Barce is such a beautiful city!

 

Barb - not sure about Hotel Regina. We stayed at Continental Palacete.

 

A few of our "don't misses" are

*Tibidabo - incredible views, gorgeous church, amusement park

*Taller de Tapas - great food, great prices, best calamari we've ever had

*Feeding the birds in Plaza Catalunya (small stands sell food)

*Catedral in Barri Gotic - incredible architecture, stunning woodwork on the inside

*La Boqueria - the market had fruits/veges and fish I've never seen before

 

A few things I'd pass on doing -

*Picasso museum - we love Picasso, but it wasn't as good as we thought it would be

*Erotic museum - we went in for laughs, but it was cheesy, not erotic at all

*Olympic Stadium - it was ok, but if you aren't right there, don't go out of your way to see it

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fmax

fmax

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Information recently received from a barcelona newsletter subscription that might be of some use (http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com).

 

"Hotels such as Hotel Denit (http://www.denit.com), at the top of the Ramblas and Hotel Regencia Colon (http://www.hotelregenciacolon.com), have come up with a new concept in hotels. They are both linked to sister hotels containing pools, spas and gyms. Customers to the hotels can pay two - three star prices whilst enjoying the amenities of a nearby five star hotel.

 

Please note if you book these hotels through an online reservation service we recommend you check with the online booking agent that these passes are still offered."

 

Hotel Denit offers passes to the Hotel Majestic (http://www.hotelmajestic.es)

Hotel Regencia Colon to Hotel Barcelona Catedral (http://www.barcelonacatedral.com)

 

 

Barcelona Hotel Map

http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/hotels/hotelmaps/barcelona-hotel-map.html

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