Only 1 day in Barcelona

[NCteacherlovescruising]

If you only had one day in Barcelona what would you fit in?  Due to my work schedule and mileage redemption flights available, it looks like we will only have one day in Barcelona pre-cruise. Most likely arriving in the AM, or early afternoon one day, and have to embark by 4 PM the next, so a little over 24 hours. I for sure want to see Sagrada Familia!  Should we try to see the park or would that take too long?  We will be staying at H10 Catalunya. My understanding is it’s close to Les Rambles. Would booking a tour be more efficient?

[edinburgher]

1 hour ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

I for sure want to see Sagrada Familia!  Should we try to see the park or would that take too long?  

 Both your part first and part second days could be affected by jetlag, but by all means book your Sagrada Familia tickets for whichever day and time you think you would cope best with. This visit alone could easily take a few hours depending on which tickets you pre-purchase,  but it is your agenda so only you can decide if you have time or not forfor "the park" (presumably Parc Guell?)

 

For anything else, your hotel is in a great location for easy waking access to  Ramblas and the Gothic Quarter to explore them on foot, so that too is an option, and it also an excellent transport hub with HOHOS stopping there in addition to the airport bus should you need it. Helpfully posted by alsserod

 

 

 

Barcelona is a huge and very diverse city and if this will be your first visit, short on time and potentially jetlagged, the HOHOS could be a great way to get an overview of the city without much physical effort.   Staying on for the full route,although with one change to  the second route for which you would also stay on, would give you a  wonderful overview and  mean you would be spared one of the worst aspects of HOHOs in busy cities, ie long lines and full buses at many of the stops and long waits for the next available..

 

 

This thread could be useful for you, but given your location and the transport options on your doorstep, you may not actually need the info.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2976917-transport-in-barcelona-taxi-metro-bus-etc-to-the-city-port-and-airport-all-information-and-questions/page/5/#comment-67445422

 

As there is more than one HOHO company, read descriptions of both including reviews, the routes they run, if it is possible to switch to a second route  with the same ticket, and the costs  and types of tickets which best suit your timing as depending on the country and city you might be in,   some 24 hour tickets are for day 1 only, some for 24 hours from time of purchase. I no longer remember the info for Barcelona so you need to internet search yourself..

 

AND DO WATCH OUT FOR PICKPOCKETS AS UNFORTUNATELY BARCELONA IS NOTORIOUS FOR THIS.  AND READ ONLINE ABOUT SOME OF THE DISTRACTION TRICKS USED ON SOME TOURISTS WHILST OTHER MEMBERS OF THE GANG ATTEMPT TO ROB YOU..  BE ALERT AT ALL TIMES.

 

Some of these past threads could be a helpful read

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?q=barcelona pickpockets&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=465&updated_after=any&sortby=relevancy&search_and_or=and

 

 

Despite this, It is almost guaranteed that once you have a tiny nibble at this amazing city, you will plan another visit to Barcelona, next time planning for at least a week.😀

Edited July 30 by edinburgher

[marazul]

1 hour ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

If you only had one day in Barcelona what would you fit in?  Due to my work schedule and mileage redemption flights available, it looks like we will only have one day in Barcelona pre-cruise. Most likely arriving in the AM, or early afternoon one day, and have to embark by 4 PM the next, so a little over 24 hours. I for sure want to see Sagrada Familia!  Should we try to see the park or would that take too long?  We will be staying at H10 Catalunya. My understanding is it’s close to Les Rambles. Would booking a tour be more efficient?

Book the SF on the morning of embarkation. Do it on the SF website. They have their own excellent tours. Tickets are released a couple of months ahead of time. No problem getting them.

https://sagradafamilia.org/en/tickets

 

On the day of arrival walk up Passeig de Gracia to see the Gaudi houses. Rather than going to Park Guell take a "free" walking tour of the Gothic Quarter with Runner Bean tours. You walk down Las Ramblas to get to the starting point.  The Gothic Quarter is much more interesting than the park and you will get a better perspective of all aspects of Barcelona. It will also keep you walking to get over jetlag.

https://runnerbeantours.com/

[NCteacherlovescruising]

4 minutes ago, edinburgher said:

 Both your part first and part second days could be affected by jetlag, but by all means book your Sagrada Familia tickets for whichever day and time you think you would cope best with.

 

We're hoping to handle it as well as we did when we flew to Rome this summer.  We dropped our stuff off at the hotel and got started.  We stayed up past dinner that night and was on their time the next day.  Coming home was a different story and it took a few days to adjust.

4 minutes ago, edinburgher said:

For anything else, your hotel is in a great location for easy waking access to  Ramblas and the Gothic Quarter to explore them on foot, so that too is an option, and it also an excellent transport hub with HOHOS stopping there in addition to the airport bus should you need it.

 

Barcelona is a huge and very diverse city and if this will be your first visit, short on time and potentially jetlagged, the HOHOS could be a great way to get an overview of the city without much physical effort.   Staying on for the full route,although with one change to  the second route for which you would also stay on, would give you a  wonderful overview and  mean you would be spared one of the worst aspects of HOHOs, ie long lines and full buses at many of the stops and long waits for the next available..

 

This thread could be useful for you, but given your location and the transport options on your doorstep, you may not actually need the info.

 

 

 

As there is more than one HOHO company, read descriptions of both including reviews, the routes they run, if it is possible to switch to a second route  with the same ticket, and the costs  and types of tickets which best suit your timing as depending on the country and city you might be in,   some 24 hour tickets are for day 1 only, some for 24 hours from time of purchase. I no longer remember the info for Barcelona so you need to internet search yourself..

 

Thanks for the information!

 

4 minutes ago, edinburgher said:

AND DO WATCH OUT FOR PICKPOCKETS AS UNFORTUNATELY BARCELONA IS NOTORIOUS FOR THIS.  AND READ ONLINE ABOUT SOME OF THE DISTRACTION TRICKS USED ON SOME TOURISTS WHILST OTHER MEMBERS OF THE GANG ATTEMPT TO ROB YOU..  BE ALERT AT ALL TIMES.

 

Despite this, It is almost guaranteed that once you have a tiny nibble at this amazing city, you will plan another visit to Barcelona, next time planning for at least a week.😀

I don't know why we didn't consider just staying in Barcelona post cruise.  I guess I didn't realize it was somewhere we'd enjoy for an entire week.  Currently we have accommodations book post cruise in Bordeaux and Paris, but we could always cancel those if we decide we'd rather stay here.  I've also considered taking the evening flight to Bordeaux instead of AM so we would have another day there post cruise.  If we do this, we'd book a tour where they would hold our luggage while we tour and drop us off at the airport.  It's a consideration but I hate to short Bordeaux to do so.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

6 minutes ago, marazul said:

Book the SF on the morning of embarkation. Do it on the SF website. They have their own excellent tours. Tickets are released a couple of months ahead of time. No problem getting them.

https://sagradafamilia.org/en/tickets

 

I was thinking the same, not knowing for sure when our flight would arrive.  I see their tour groups are 30 people.  That's a lot!

 

6 minutes ago, marazul said:

On the day of arrival walk up Passeig de Gracia to see the Gaudi houses. Rather than going to Park Guell take a "free" walking tour of the Gothic Quarter with Runner Bean tours. You walk down Las Ramblas to get to the starting point.  The Gothic Quarter is much more interesting than the park and you will get a better perspective of all aspects of Barcelona. It will also keep you walking to get over jetlag.

https://runnerbeantours.com/

Yeah, we did find walking around Rome was far too exciting to notice any jetlag!  I will check out the tour.  Thanks!

[marazul]

34 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

I see their tour groups are 30 people.  That's a lot!

Not in this case. You will not miss anything. And a lot less expensive than a private tour.

[Harters]

As already suggested, the HOHO bus is  the key to getting the most out of a single day. There are two companies (the red bus and the blue bus). They operate on pretty much the same routes and both offer two different routes. Prices are the same.  The routes take about two hours each just driving round the city so, with time spent getting off to look at places, I reckon you'll probably only have time for one of the routes. Buses run about every 15 minutes so if you just miss one at a stop, you've never long till the next.  Check out the websites to see where they go and what interests you. 

 

We've been to the city on previous occasions on long weekend trips so, when we had a day there pre-cruise last year, there was only one place on the routes that interested us and we'd not been to before (Joan Miro museum). But we still got the HOHO and used it just as a tour bus as, indeed, most other passengers seemed to be doing.

 

One part of the city that we like that rarely gets mentioned here is Barceloneta - the part of the city  that's next to the beach and was the original fishermens area. Maybe somewhere to have a nice dinner - lots of casual seafood restaurants - nothing fancy but plenty of absolutely top quality fresh fish, etc. I love it - it's Catalunya at its most vibrant. 

[VMax1700]

We used Spain Day Tours for a half day tour (no Sagrada Familia) but free time at Parc Guell and then they dropped us to the ship for boarding.  We pre arranged the drop off and permission for luggage to stay on the bus while on walkabout.

[alserrod]

7 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

If you only had one day in Barcelona what would you fit in?  Due to my work schedule and mileage redemption flights available, it looks like we will only have one day in Barcelona pre-cruise. Most likely arriving in the AM, or early afternoon one day, and have to embark by 4 PM the next, so a little over 24 hours. I for sure want to see Sagrada Familia!  Should we try to see the park or would that take too long?  We will be staying at H10 Catalunya. My understanding is it’s close to Les Rambles. Would booking a tour be more efficient?

 

 

Hi.... other forumers have recently given you a lot information. I agree with all of them

 

Let me suggest....

 

arrival time, take some time to have a rest after your flight.

For afternoon and evening I would suggest you to do this walk tour

 

 

 

 

In that thread you will find a very long walk tour along all the gothic quarter in Barcelona. You may consider to do just part of it. You can pick all the sites in a map and, according to that day, decide if you follow or you just stop.

Remember Spanish dinner time is by 21:00 so evening will be longer to visit Barcelona

 

Second day, visit Sagrada Familia. Book your tickets now.

 

 

I would suggest you to read some threads in this area because there are a lot of tips after other questions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[edinburgher]

23 hours ago, Harters said:

One part of the city that we like that rarely gets mentioned here is Barceloneta - the part of the city  that's next to the beach and was the original fishermens area

It got mentioned a little too much recently as it was one of the areas targeted by anti-tourist protesters. It is also an area which is very pro-Catalan with Catalan flags hanging from many buildings and usually hits the news when there are or calls for Catalan Independence..

 

We explored it on foot including visiting the market then continued walking along the beach promenade.

[edinburgher]

On 7/30/2024 at 4:24 PM, NCteacherlovescruising said:

I guess I didn't realize it was somewhere we'd enjoy for an entire week.

Many people do enjoy it for at least a week, and will return for a longer stay if their first was for only 2 or 3 days.  The more you look into what this city offers, the more you will understand why longer stays are preferable to shorter ones. as an example, should you want to follow the "Gaudi Trail" and visit interiors in addition to exteriors, this alone will use up at least one very full day  as a few hours can be taken up in the Sagrada Familia alone.

 

You could look at all the usual Tourist information websites including the official Barcelona City one, Tripadvisor, Frommer's, Fodors, YouTube and any others you choose from results when you internet search" Barcelona Tourist Information" It is almost guaranteed that you will love your time there however you choose to use it.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

13 minutes ago, edinburgher said:

Many people do enjoy it for at least a week, and will return for a longer stay if their first was for only 2 or 3 days.  The more you look into what this city offers, the more you will understand why longer stays are preferable to shorter ones. as an example, should you want to follow the "Gaudi Trail" and visit interiors in addition to exteriors, this alone will use up at least one very full day  as a few hours can be taken up in the Sagrada Familia alone.

 

You could look at all the usual Tourist information websites including the official Barcelona City one, Tripadvisor, Frommer's, Fodors, YouTube and any others you choose from results when you internet search" Barcelona Tourist Information" It is almost guaranteed that you will love your time there however you choose to use it.

We could cancel our trip to France post cruise and just stay in Barcelona. It’s at least worth checking out. 

[Harters]

28 minutes ago, edinburgher said:

We explored it on foot

We were there once when there was a local fiesta. There were bands and supporters from lots of the bars and they dress up and all parade round the area, stopping at each participating bar for the bands to play. It is on what in the UK we'd call Whit Monday. Very much a fun evening

[anngi]

I'd do HOHO and Sagrada Familia.  If you like art the Miro Museum is amazing!  Also depends what time of year and how hot it is.  I  wouldn't bother with a walking tour especially if you've recently flown in.  The beauty of the HOHO is you get a nice overview and can get off where you want. Likewise if tired you can just stay on the bus and take in the sights.  Personally wasn't worth going up the elevators in the Sagrada Familia.  Don't think you need a tour there either.  

Edited August 1 by anngi

[marazul]

@NCteacherlovescruising

I disagree with the HOHO.  You are going to be in Barcelona two half days. In the afternoon you arrive, you should take a walking tour to stay awake and beat jetlag.  Taking a bus for 2-3 hours will put you to sleep and you will nap your way through Barcelona and not see anything.  Besides, with that very short time it is best to see the two most important things in Barcelona. 

 

I am glad @alserrod agreed with my suggestions of a walking tour (guided or self-guided) of the Gothic Quarter the first day and the Sagrada Familia the next morning.  The Gothic Quarter cannot be seen from a bus.  And it is best just to take a taxi to the SF in the morning.

 

And plan to go back some day.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

We ended up booking our flights directly with AA, which gets us there much earlier.  Now we land at 2:05 on a Wednesday and our cruise begins on Friday.  So we will have part of Wednesday and Friday, but all day Thursday.  🙂  As for the walking vs. HOHO, we found in Rome that walking in the sunshine kept us alert and the last thing on our mind was sleep until we had dinner.  Woke up early the next morning and never had any difficulty adjusting to the time change.  

 

As for our Chase points, we ended up using them to book our hotels in Barcelona and Paris.

[marazul]

13 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

We ended up booking our flights directly with AA, which gets us there much earlier.  Now we land at 2:05 on a Wednesday and our cruise begins on Friday.  So we will have part of Wednesday and Friday, but all day Thursday.  🙂  As for the walking vs. HOHO, we found in Rome that walking in the sunshine kept us alert and the last thing on our mind was sleep until we had dinner.  Woke up early the next morning and never had any difficulty adjusting to the time change.  

That's great. Still take the walking tour of the Gothic Quarter on Wednesday.  Add the Casa Batllo and La Pedrera (Casa Mila) to your program.  They are both a short walking distance from your hotel and must sees if you like Gaudi architecture. And some extraordinary shopping between the two houses on Passeig de Gracia.  (Don't miss Loewe's.)

 

Lots more to add, including a tour to Montserrat and cava wineries, or the Picasso Museum and Palau de la Musica, or the cable car up to Montjuich mountain and castle, or the Sant Pau hospital (a modernist masterpiece), or the Palau Guell, or ...

 

And lots of great food and wine.

[alserrod]

Hello:

As @marazul says, I don't recommend the HOHO bus in Barcelona either. I don't like the itineraries. If you want to go to the Sagrada Familia, you go by taxi (or by metro. From where you have the hotel it is very easy to get there by metro).
If you want to visit the Gothic Quarter... you walk to the Gothic Quarter. You have it next to the hotel. You don't need transportation to go there. But transportation doesn't solve anything for you either.

As you can imagine, the HOHO bus doesn't go through streets like this

but it's just that... it doesn't go through "La Rambla" either. Don't ask me why because there are several city bus lines that do go through La Rambla. It is a "must" and if you use the HOHO you will miss it.

I suggest you spend time planning a walking route through the Gothic Quarter. In the link I posted I pointed out information. Write them down on Google Maps, calculate the route, how much you want to walk, etc... keep in mind that many of the streets will be narrow (the sun shines much less than on open streets).

One thing I do in these cases... calculate a route you've done in another city on Google Maps beforehand. Write down the distance it takes and whether or not you went into museums or monuments (that adds a lot of distance). With that you can compare whether the Barcelona route you're planning seems short, long or perfect.

You can perfectly do it DIY. The nice thing is to see the whole monumental city. Of course there are guides that explain it to you but in this type of city I prefer to go on my own, at my own pace, instead of having someone explain to me that that corner of the building is like that because a king asked for it for a battle... I can perfectly live without that information.
If this is your case too, plan it.

Sagrada Familia for the second day... and buy the tickets as soon as possible

[marazul]

7 hours ago, alserrod said:

Sagrada Familia for the second day... and buy the tickets as soon as possible

@NCteacherlovescruising

Just a reminder. Sagrada Familia releases the tickets for a whole month at a time two months ahead of time.  For example, the tickets for October were released yesterday, August 1. So don't stress out if you can't get the tickets for next year now. And don't go through a third party vendor to get them. There is no need for that. There will be plenty of tickets for next June if you get them in early April. (Start checking the website at the end of March because sometimes they come out a couple of days ahead of time. )

[NCteacherlovescruising]

You all have given me so many good ideas!  We need to research a bit on the following to see what all we want to squeeze in the apx. 48 hours.

For sure we want to see:

1. SF

2. Gothic quarter - This wasn't initially on my list, but apparently it's a must see.  Perhaps take the "free" walking tour @marazul suggested, or self guided as @alserrod did.  I would love to see that little bridge!  Thinking day of arrival for this. Reminder: our plane lands around 2 PM so we would get a late start, especially by the time we went to check in (if our room is ready) and grab a bite to eat.  

3. I was going to put Montserrat winery tour on the maybe list, but the photos look stunning and you know we love our wine!  Thanks for the suggestion @marazul!  I see Spain Day tours have a tour for this as well.  

 

Maybe:

1. Les Rambles - It doesn't look that appealing to me but it's right by our hotel and everyone suggests it.  

2. Park Gruell - Maybe do the the half day tour @VMax1700 mentioned.  This would be nice for our last day since they would pick us (and our luggage!) up at our hotel and drop us off at the ship at the end of the day.  Besides Park Gruell, is the rest just drive by?  I can't tell from the description on the website.

3. Gaudi houses - Casa Batllo and La Pedrera are included in the Spain Day Tours Barcelona City Tour.

 

As you can see, we have too much on our list for just 48 hours or so.  My initial reaction is that we would most enjoy SF and Montserrat.  Question is, what else will we have time for?  Would it be reasonable to do the Gothic Quarter on our arrival day, a Barcelona City Tour on day 2 that ends at SF, which we could do on our own, and the Montserrat tour on embarkation day?  (Ship doesn't leave until 6 PM)  And maybe do Les Rambles day 2 after our tour...or is this itinerary way to ambitious?  

 

[alserrod]

Hi

 

IMHO

 

SF is a must

Gothic quarter is a must. My DIY proposal includes Born quarter and Las Ramblas

I would add Gaudi houses and Parc Güell (pronounced like "well" it doesn't means it but it is the nearest prononciation)

 

 

I would start with Gaudi houses. They are some metres away from your hotel. Take that time for your arrival evening

Second day.... Gothic quarter. All the day. Start in Las Ramblas, finish in Santa Maria del Mar Basilic

Third day, SF early morning, later you get your baggage and go to the cruise.

 

About wineyards.... Catalonia aren't the top in Spain. People who understand about wines do not go there. Obviously there are some of them and you can visit.

Remember grapes come by september. You will find a stunning landscape in July, August and September and a devastated landscape later October.

 

 

 

You haven't said if it is your first time in Europe but.... the little bridge in Barcelona is this one, besides cathedral

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.3831302,2.176693,3a,75y,331.77h,101.84t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sanMXj380XvDOppaIjhK1SQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?coh=205409&entry=ttu

 

 

Compare with this one in Genoa

https://www.google.com/maps/@44.4076174,8.9322632,3a,75y,317.52h,101.89t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sfFNw1Lcicien0OjMNKEQuQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DfFNw1Lcicien0OjMNKEQuQ%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D327.58765%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656?coh=205409&entry=ttu

 

this one in my homecity, Zaragoza

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.6543335,-0.8750487,3a,75y,196.66h,118.13t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sqXFJU84KAUj-gN8wsmKlMA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?coh=205409&entry=ttu

 

and with Venice

https://www.google.com/maps/@45.4336614,12.3410081,3a,27.4y,-7.85h,92.88t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1syvmUUtakemKBonESRfgIFw!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DyvmUUtakemKBonESRfgIFw%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D73.486984%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656?coh=205409&entry=ttu

 

 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

1 hour ago, alserrod said:

Hi

 

IMHO

 

SF is a must

 

We won’t miss this. It’s #1 on our list. 
 

1 hour ago, alserrod said:

Gothic quarter is a must. My DIY proposal includes Born quarter and Las Ramblas

I would add Gaudi houses and Parc Güell (pronounced like "well" it doesn't means it but it is the nearest prononciation)

 

 

I would start with Gaudi houses. They are some metres away from your hotel. Take that time for your arrival evening

Second day.... Gothic quarter. All the day. Start in Las Ramblas, finish in Santa Maria del Mar Basilic

Third day, SF early morning, later you get your baggage and go to the cruise.

 

About wineyards.... Catalonia aren't the top in Spain. People who understand about wines do not go there. Obviously there are some of them and you can visit.

Remember grapes come by september. You will find a stunning landscape in July, August and September and a devastated landscape later October.

 

 

 

We will be there in June. For us, visiting a winery is about the experience more than the wine. We enjoy visiting vineyards in NC, although their wines don’t compare to the ones we typically buy. The only Spanish wine we typically drink is Tempranillo and even at that, it’s not our go to. We prefer French, Australian (Mollydooker in particular) and Napa reds.  
 

1 hour ago, alserrod said:

 

You haven't said if it is your first time in Europe but.... the little bridge in Barcelona is this one, besides cathedral

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.3831302,2.176693,3a,75y,331.77h,101.84t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sanMXj380XvDOppaIjhK1SQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?coh=205409&entry=ttu

 

 

Compare with this one in Genoa

https://www.google.com/maps/@44.4076174,8.9322632,3a,75y,317.52h,101.89t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sfFNw1Lcicien0OjMNKEQuQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DfFNw1Lcicien0OjMNKEQuQ%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D327.58765%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656?coh=205409&entry=ttu

 

this one in my homecity, Zaragoza

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.6543335,-0.8750487,3a,75y,196.66h,118.13t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sqXFJU84KAUj-gN8wsmKlMA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?coh=205409&entry=ttu

 

and with Venice

https://www.google.com/maps/@45.4336614,12.3410081,3a,27.4y,-7.85h,92.88t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1syvmUUtakemKBonESRfgIFw!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DyvmUUtakemKBonESRfgIFw%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D73.486984%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656?coh=205409&entry=ttu

 

 

We recently returned from our first trip to Europe. We went to Italy (Rome, Amalfi Coast, Naples and Venice), Greece, Croatia and Montenegro. This time we will go to Spain, France, Italy (Genoa, Sicily, Capri) and Malta. 

[marazul]

2 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

2. Gothic quarter - This wasn't initially on my list, but apparently it's a must see.  Perhaps take the "free" walking tour @marazul suggested, or self guided as @alserrod did.  I would love to see that little bridge!  Thinking day of arrival for this. Reminder: our plane lands around 2 PM so we would get a late start, especially by the time we went to check in (if our room is ready) and grab a bite to eat.  

If your plane lands around 2 pm, you can make it to the Runner Bean tour at 4:30.  Why a tour?  You are going to be jetlagged and it will be nice to follow someone around the twisty Medieval streets. Las Ramblas start at Plaza Catalunya where your hotel is. You have to walk down Las Ramblas for about 3-4 blocks to get to the starting point of the tour, or simply to get into the Gothic Quarter (turn left from Las Ramblas and you are in the GQ.). 

 

The tour ends by the Santa Maria del Mar church.  Some of our favorite tapas places are just by it. Good places to eat and then go crash for the evening. Easy walk back to the hotel. 

 If you are concerned about missing the starting time, you could do a private tour that starts later.  Don't forget, in June it will be daylight until after 9 pm.

 

If you are too late for the free walking tour, go visit the Gaudi houses on Passeig the Gracia instead and leave the Gothic Quarter for the next day. You will be on wide avenues where it is impossible to get lost. 

2 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

3. Gaudi houses - Casa Batllo and La Pedrera are included in the Spain Day Tours Barcelona City Tour.

Yes, but they probably do not visit the inside.  If they don't go back on your own.  Casa Batllo is 4 blocks from your hotel.  Casa Mila is 2 blocks past that.  Visit at least one inside. Loewe is in the corner before Batllo - the handbags are to die for (better than LV). 

2 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

Montserrat tour on embarkation day?

Yes. Bring your suitcases. The tour provider can drop you off at the pier around 3 or 4.  There are some cava wineries in the area and they are just fun.  As Alserrod says, the landscapes will be beautiful in the summer. 

 

For really good Spanish wines, get them from specific areas which could be blends, rather than generic tempranillo grape.  The wines from Ribera del Duero (West part of Spain), Rioja (near Zaragoza), and Priorat (near Barcelona) are excellent and would fit with your red wine favorites.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

1 hour ago, marazul said:

If your plane lands around 2 pm, you can make it to the Runner Bean tour at 4:30.  Why a tour?  You are going to be jetlagged and it will be nice to follow someone around the twisty Medieval streets. Las Ramblas start at Plaza Catalunya where your hotel is. You have to walk down Las Ramblas for about 3-4 blocks to get to the starting point of the tour, or simply to get into the Gothic Quarter (turn left from Las Ramblas and you are in the GQ.). 

 

The tour ends by the Santa Maria del Mar church.  Some of our favorite tapas places are just by it. Good places to eat and then go crash for the evening. Easy walk back to the hotel. 

 If you are concerned about missing the starting time, you could do a private tour that starts later.  Don't forget, in June it will be daylight until after 9 pm.

 

We are planning on doing carry-on only, so unless our plane is delayed, or we miss our connection at LHR, that should be doable.  Day 1- check!

 

1 hour ago, marazul said:

 

Yes, but they probably do not visit the inside.  If they don't go back on your own.  Casa Batllo is 4 blocks from your hotel.  Casa Mila is 2 blocks past that.  Visit at least one inside. Loewe is in the corner before Batllo - the handbags are to die for (better than LV). 

Yes. Bring your suitcases. The tour provider can drop you off at the pier around 3 or 4.  There are some cava wineries in the area and they are just fun.  As Alserrod says, the landscapes will be beautiful in the summer. 

 

They do not go inside  They stop for like 5 minutes so we can get pictures and we have 45 minutes at Park Geull.  This tour has the option to be left at La Sagrada at the end if we want to go inside, which we would.  They arrange for discounted skip the line tickets.  

 

These are some of the sites that we aim to see during the half day city tour:

 

• La Sagrada Familia- world-famous architectural masterpiece

• Park Guell- Gaudi's greatest Park with beautiful city views - visit requires skip-the-line entry

• Passeig de Gracia- Barcelona's most luxurious strip

• La Pedrera/Casa Mila- Gaudi's most famous building in Barcelona

• Casa Batllo- Gaudi's most astounding contribution to Modernisimo

• Casa Amataller- part of the trio "Apple of Discord"

• Casa Morera- part of the famous trio

• Plaza España- most impressive plaza in Barcelona

• The National Palace- very impressive site with great views

• The Olympic Ring- see where it all happened in 1992

• Montjuic- with lots of history and great city views

• The Columbus Monument- for the world-famous explorer

• Port Olympic- marina, shops, restaurants, galleries, & more

• Plaza Cataluña- the famous plaza in the heart of Barcelona

 

Please know that this is mostly a panoramic visit (view from the outside) of the city highlights with an inside visit to Park Guell.  We stop at some of the sites (for some as briefly as 5 minutes or so and for Park Guell around 45 minutes) and there is usually time to go out of the vehicle to walk around and take photos.  The number of sites that we visit will still depend on the actual day of the tour as we have several factors to consider like driving time, length of stay in each site, pace of the tour, traffic conditions on the day, etc.

 

Does this sound worthwhile?  It's only 69 euros and is considered semi-private (4-12 people).

It doesn't say how long the tour is.  I'm sure we'd still have time to go back to a Gaudi house to go inside.  This would be day 2.  And day 3 the Montserrat tour that drops us off at the ship.

 

1 hour ago, marazul said:

For really good Spanish wines, get them from specific areas which could be blends, rather than generic tempranillo grape.  The wines from Ribera del Duero (West part of Spain), Rioja (near Zaragoza), and Priorat (near Barcelona) are excellent and would fit with your red wine favorites.

We've had several Rioja's we have liked.  Spanish just isn't our go-to wine, but we will drink them and I'm sure we would enjoy visiting a beautiful vineyard.

 

Where would we squeeze in Les Ramblas?  I believe our hotel is right next to it.

[marazul]

31 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

Where would we squeeze in Les Ramblas?  I believe our hotel is right next to it.

There is nothing to squeeze in. You will be walking on Las Ramblas when you go to the Gothic Quarter. You can't miss them. 

Look at this map.  It is the walking route from your hotel to the Plaça Reial where you meet the tour.  The long straight road you will be walking on is Las Ramblas (blue dot route).  You will have seen almost the entire length before you get to the tour. 

 

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/H10+Catalunya+Plaça+Boutique+Hotel,+Pl.+de+Catalunya,+7,+L'Eixample,+08002+Barcelona,+Spain/Pl.+Reial,+Ciutat+Vella,+08002+Barcelona,+Spain/@41.3841586,2.1687184,16.57z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x12a4a2f3c1db6909:0x9d40d40bb1e38750!2m2!1d2.1685275!2d41.3869577!1m5!1m1!1s0x12a4a257e581ce27:0x90dcec0919a87166!2m2!1d2.1752743!2d41.380052!3e2?hl=en&entry=ttu

 

You might want to turn right when you get to Mercat de la Boqueria for a quick look at the market. The Boqueria Market is pickpocket center in Barcelona.  The one interesting thing, IMO, is the Miro mosaic on the pavement of las Ramblas just where you turn for the Boqueria. 

Edited August 2 by marazul