Iberostar Barcelona Paseo De Gracia

[MudderBear]

OK, where am I?  LOL.  Staying at this hotel pre cruise and I'm getting confused with what area it is in.  I know it's across the street from a square.  Where can I walk to from the hotel?  We are seniors and I am not as adventurous as I used to be, and deathly afraid of pick pockets.  Where can we walk safely.  My only must see is the Sagrada Familia, everything else is just icing on the cake.

[marazul]

38 minutes ago, MudderBear said:

OK, where am I?  LOL.  Staying at this hotel pre cruise and I'm getting confused with what area it is in.  I know it's across the street from a square.  Where can I walk to from the hotel?  We are seniors and I am not as adventurous as I used to be, and deathly afraid of pick pockets.  Where can we walk safely.  My only must see is the Sagrada Familia, everything else is just icing on the cake.

You could not be more centrally located.  It is at the corner of Paseo de Gracia and Plaza Catalunya.  You can walk to most places, except la Sagrada Familia.  It is a few short blocks of Casa Batllo and La Pedrera and even closer to Las Ramblas and the Gothic Quarter.  Get a guidebook to Barcelona to see the many easily accessible sites from the hotel.

[alserrod]

9 hours ago, MudderBear said:

OK, where am I?  LOL.  Staying at this hotel pre cruise and I'm getting confused with what area it is in.  I know it's across the street from a square.  Where can I walk to from the hotel?  We are seniors and I am not as adventurous as I used to be, and deathly afraid of pick pockets.  Where can we walk safely.  My only must see is the Sagrada Familia, everything else is just icing on the cake.

 

 

You are absolutely in city centre

[MudderBear]

Thanks.   I do have a Frommers tour book, but for some reason, I can't seem to "remember" all the streets, locations, districts etc.  Having total senior brain fog when it comes to deciphering Barcelona.  Actually, looking at a map, I thought I could walk from the hotel to the Sagrada Familia.  You're saying it's not walkable?   What should be our recourse?  A taxi?

[MeHeartCruising]

7 minutes ago, MudderBear said:

Thanks.   I do have a Frommers tour book, but for some reason, I can't seem to "remember" all the streets, locations, districts etc.  Having total senior brain fog when it comes to deciphering Barcelona.  Actually, looking at a map, I thought I could walk from the hotel to the Sagrada Familia.  You're saying it's not walkable?   What should be our recourse?  A taxi?

 

Well, it certainly can be walked.  I did it years ago from near your location.  But Google Maps shows it to be about 1.8 miles of walking.  I would take a taxi if I were to do it again.

[marazul]

49 minutes ago, MeHeartCruising said:

 

Well, it certainly can be walked.  I did it years ago from near your location.  But Google Maps shows it to be about 1.8 miles of walking.  I would take a taxi if I were to do it again.

@MudderBear

Agree. Taxis are plentiful and reasonable.

You can walk if you wish.  The area is flat and there are wide sidewalks everywhere and stop lights at every street crossing.  You can set the walking path on your phone using google maps.  But you would be walking for about 40-45 minutes to get there followed by a couple of hours on your feet at the church and another 45 minutes to go back to the hotel.  Really, take the short taxi ride over.  It is safe and convenient.  You can flag a taxi right outside the door of the hotel or the doorman can do it for you. There will be lots of taxis waiting for rides when you come out of the church.

Edited February 10 by marazul

[CynBeth6]

We stayed at a different hotel on that street and took a taxi to SG. There was a stop right outside and found it is so easy to get taxis in Barcelona. We then took a taxi after a quick lunch from SG to Parc Guell. 

[MudderBear]

Thank you for all of the advice.  Speaking of taxis...how would we pay for them.  Should we purchase Euros here in the States before we go?  Or do taxi's take credit cards?  I was planning on bringing both an American Express and a Mastercard.  Thanks again for the advice.

[marazul]

1 hour ago, MudderBear said:

Thank you for all of the advice.  Speaking of taxis...how would we pay for them.  Should we purchase Euros here in the States before we go?  Or do taxi's take credit cards?  I was planning on bringing both an American Express and a Mastercard.  Thanks again for the advice.

Taxis accept cards, but use Mastercard or VISA. Amex is not favored, but it will certainly be accepted by your hotel and higher end restaurants and shops. Always say that you want to be charged in euros, not US$. Get your euros from an ATM when you arrive for the best exchange rates.  Look at the many posts from @alserrod on this forum on those subjects. Also, there are lots of excellent posts on all money issues in the Italy forum. They apply in Spain.

[MudderBear]

Thank you Marazul.

 

[alserrod]

On 2/10/2024 at 1:45 AM, MudderBear said:

OK, where am I?  LOL.  Staying at this hotel pre cruise and I'm getting confused with what area it is in.  I know it's across the street from a square.  Where can I walk to from the hotel?  We are seniors and I am not as adventurous as I used to be, and deathly afraid of pick pockets.  Where can we walk safely.  My only must see is the Sagrada Familia, everything else is just icing on the cake.

 

 

 

I totally agree.

 

The route is very beautiful to walk. Paseo de Gracia may have the largest sidewalks in Barcelona and certainly the buildings are the best of modernism. However, the distance must be taken into account. You will have to walk for a while and then visit the Sagrada Familia to have to return.

You also have the option of the subway. It's very very easy. If you have used any other metro in the world you should not have any difficulty. From your hotel the closest stop is Plaza Cataluña. From there it is two stops to Diagonal, change of line and two more stops to Sagrada Familia. It's very easy to do and you shouldn't have any problems.

 

The journey is so short that a taxi should cost you six euros if it's a weekday, a little more if it's a weekend.

 

However, I recommend that you read what I wrote here. I think all your questions will be answered.

 

 

[alserrod]

2 hours ago, MudderBear said:

Thank you for all of the advice.  Speaking of taxis...how would we pay for them.  Should we purchase Euros here in the States before we go?  Or do taxi's take credit cards?  I was planning on bringing both an American Express and a Mastercard.  Thanks again for the advice.

 

 

If you pay a taxi driver in dollars he will give you the same face as if you pay a taxi driver in Columbia in euros

About euros, tips and credit cards, I wrote a lot of information here that may be useful to you.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2988317-customs-in-spain-money-and-cards-tips-telephone-languages-documentation-business-hours/#comment-66909377

Mastercard welcome at all sites
American Express.... you can leave it at home