Tons of questions about Barcelona port of call

[NJCruiser923]

Hi everyone,

 

Firstly, thanks in advance for any information or recommendations you may have...

 

We are currently scheduled to arrive in Barcelona at 8am and depart at 5pm on MSC Seaview on 27 May. I believe the ship holds ~4,000 people at capacity. In an ideal world, I'd like to plan a DIY day where I pre-book timed tickets for Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell and Casa Battlo. I would probably want to do a guided tour/audiotour inside 2 of these sights. So here are my questions...

 

• When should my first timed entrance ticket be, knowing that thousands of people will probably be queueing to disembark and then queueing for a taxi at the port? It's my understanding that it's not a fast walk to any of these sights from where MSC docks.
• Is it reasonable to plan for two hours at each of these 3 sights and 30 minutes to taxi between them?
• If you had to choose one of these sights to walk through without a guide/audiotour (in the interest of time), which would it be?

 

Again, thanks very much!

[lisaatric]

We went to Sagrada Familia and Park Guell in the same day a couple of weeks ago. Did not go to Casa Battlo. I would say to budget more time for Park Guell. Sagrada does not take a lot of time. 30 minutes to walk around the perimeter and 15 minutes inside. The one thing I regret not doing was getting a ticket to go to the top. If you want to go through the museum/gift shop, you need another 45 minutes. 

 

     Park Guell is big. There is a lot of ground to cover. You could spend a lot of time there. I think I’d choose a guided tour there over Sagrada Familia. 

 

     Honestly, it depends where your interests lie.  Architecture?  If so, you can spend hours staring at Sagrada. Nature?  Art?    Both are beautiful. Travel time of 1/2 between sites is ample. I believe Sagrada has a self-guided audio tour. 
 

     LOVED Barcelona. We spent 4 full days there. 

[carlmm]

If you really want to see all three sites, you can probably do according to your plan.

Yet, both the Sagrada Familia and the Parc Guell are places where you could easily spend much more time depending on your interest.

At both sites you will benefit from a guided tour or an audio guide to see and understand much more.

If you are really interested in the basilica, do take a guided tour first and then continue on your own, assisted but nor limited by the audio guide. Include the towers.

 

Regarding queues at the port: Probably most people will not take a taxi but the shuttle bus to the base of the Ramblas. You can get a taxi there, too, and have access to the metro, but with your schedule a taxi directly from the port is the best option (and should not be a problem to get),

Edited October 16, 2022 by carlmm

[MeHeartCruising]

Also, a large number of passengers will go on ship excursions.  You won’t be competing with them for a taxi.  I found Barcelona taxis to be plentiful and efficiently coordinated at the ships.  Several pull up at a time and load and move off quickly and are replaced by more.  A long line moves nearly continuously, so it doesn’t take that long. 

[Deeliteful]

Enjoy Barcelona, such an amazing City. Taxi to both Sagrada and Parc Guelle recommended though you could take the Metro. I enjoyed the Parc without an audio tour but would recommend it for Sagrada.

[luvtravel88]

We did a guided tour of Segrada Familia and felt like we would have missed a lot without it. Everywhere you look is symbolic or represents something. That tour was about 2 hours and included going up into the towers.

Parc Guell is quite large but they have guided tours there that you can reserve. If I remember correctly, they are about an hour long.

Casa Battlo had an audio guide and took about 90 minutes to go through.

 

I would check opening times and try to be at one of the sites as it opens. If you have a choice, I would choose Segrada Familia first as it gets outrageously crowded and there are people everywhere.

Parc Guell also gets crowded but it's an organized crowd. Google directions on where to enter the Parc. There are a couple of entrances, but you need to go into the main one especially if you're taking a tour.

Casa Battlo sits along a street and there are organized lines for the crowds. If I remember correctly, there was a separate line for those that had pre-booked tickets.

I would reserve tickets for each of the sites as soon as you can so you will have your choice of times.

It will be quite a busy day, but doable.

 

 

[FetaCheese]

SagradaFamilia.com had all info, including price for all tours.  You won't be able to book yet.  They only have dates for a few months out.

 

Another option is BarcelonaDayTours.com.

 

Lots of info available, including prices,  but cannot book on site. Must send a message from website, about what you're interested in.

 

They answer in 1-2 days.