Barcelona

[DISGRL13]

Not trying to Hijack this thread but can anyone recommend a hotel there also?

We stayed at the Hotel Constanza which could accommodate 4 of us in one room. It was hard to find a hotel that could have 4 people in a room The hotel Constanza was in a great location and the staff was wonderful. The rooms were clean and very comfortable. There was noise from the hall at times and some construction, but nothing to complain about.

 

[DISGRL13]

We used Barcelona Day Tours for a half day tour and liked them. They picked us up from the airport and took us right on the tour and then dropped us at our hotel after. It worked great.

Another thing we did which was amazing was we took the train up to Montserrat which is a monastery up in the mountains with fantastic views, a beautiful church and hiking paths. If you have a day to do this I would highly recommend it.

 

[ludari]

Since you are only coming in a few days before your cruise I would recommend a couple of must see tours. The first is Sagrada Familia with tower tour. I have visited this place four times and it never gets old and each time it reveals something new to me. The second tour I recommend (which someone previously mentioned) is the Fat Tire Bike Tour of the city. This tour is so much fun, educational and you get to see a lot of the highlights and learn about Barcelona in several hours. If you can have time and want to get away from the Barcelona on a short train ride I would suggestion visiting Montserrat.

IMHO I suggest that you stay away from La Rambla nothing at that location worth your time seeing or purchasing especially with your limited time.

 

[Peggytc]

Not trying to Hijack this thread but can anyone recommend a hotel there also?

Hotel Fornos is very well located, and a good value for the price (decent 3 or 3.5 stars at a price lower than the chain hotels nearby). If you're willing it's also about a 20 minute walk to the port, so that's another plus!

 

[Terapin]

Hotel Jazz central one block off Placa Catalunya, where HOHO starts and transport hub is, and it is a 4 star but nearly a five star has a roof pool often has breakfast included if you book early. Fantastic modern and new rooms. Photos on MickeyMed ( google it).

I booked three things with Barcelona day tours in 2014.
(1) On time, no issues.
(2) Did Not show up, I had to speak to them on the phone 40 minutes, they did refund.
(3) Tour post ship agreed start time 8.30am showed up 9.15am, no contact but on bus said was picking up in town. -Good tour but late.

Your post reminded me that Barcelona Day Tours stiffed us too. They were supposed to pick us up at the airport and give us a half day tour. Our flight was delayed and we notified them. When I finally got in touch with them they said they must have missed us at the airport and left only 5 minutes prior. When I asked them to turn around and come back for us (we were essentially stranded) they said they had another group to pick up. I reminded them we had them booked for another 3 hours from that point (4 hour tour booked, we were an hour delayed). He hung up on me after I caught him in the lie. I called back and he was apologetic, but no, would not come and pick us up. We ended up getting 2 taxis, but it was stressful trying to figure it out with the fatigue of traveling. We did get a refund.

We also did the funicular. Was a spectacular view. It was really fun to go overhead of the houses and see the spanish tile roofs, the cats, and the view out to the ocean. I don't recall how we got down, though! We went 5 years ago

 

[krisinparis]

If you have kids, you might consider this tour:
http://www.runnerbeantours.com/barcelona-tours/walking-tour-kids-y-family/7

It will take you to some places that you probably wouldn't find on your own! My kids were 6 and 10 and enjoyed it (although it was hot in August). We did La Sagrada Familia by ourselves and loved that also. If you go, buy tickets that let you go to the top of a tower and walk down, that was really fun and the views were amazing!

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Your post reminded me that Barcelona Day Tours stiffed us too. They were supposed to pick us up at the airport and give us a half day tour. Our flight was delayed and we notified them. When I finally got in touch with them they said they must have missed us at the airport and left only 5 minutes prior. When I asked them to turn around and come back for us (we were essentially stranded) they said they had another group to pick up. I reminded them we had them booked for another 3 hours from that point (4 hour tour booked, we were an hour delayed). He hung up on me after I caught him in the lie. I called back and he was apologetic, but no, would not come and pick us up. We ended up getting 2 taxis, but it was stressful trying to figure it out with the fatigue of traveling. We did get a refund.

We also did the funicular. Was a spectacular view. It was really fun to go overhead of the houses and see the spanish tile roofs, the cats, and the view out to the ocean. I don't recall how we got down, though! We went 5 years ago

Yes similar to us. I was not told the truth the story changed a few times one was we just missed him- we were 20 mins early waiting so that was not true I called when it was past the agreed time.

 

[linetbo]

We used Barcelona Day Tours even for our transfers last year, and we stayed at La Granvia hotel, couple of minutes to Plaza Cataluña. And we also did the hop on, but Barcelona day tour were perfect.

 

[jrabbit]

Another recommendation for the Hop On/Off bus
And Sagrada Familia
and Parc Guell

We also took a walking tour through the TI (Tourist Information) office in Placya Catalunya at the top of Las Rambles. It was of the Gothic Quarter - old town. Very informative. We went into a place where there were Roman Columns. Visited the "main" cathedral of Barcelona. Very Cool.

From the Hop On/Off bus we took Tramvia Blau up to the Funicular that goes to the top of Mt. Tibidabo on the west side of BCN. Up there we visited the cathedral Sagrat Cor (Sacred Heart). If you visit, remember there are two levels. After visiting the "downstairs" church, you can go around the side of the building and up stairs and visit the upper church (for lack of better names). The views from up on Mt. Tibadabo are pretty spectacular - probably even more so on a clear day. There's also an amusement park up there (did not go to it).




Picasso Museum and the Chocolate (Museu de la Xocolata) Museums are enjoyable (one's a bit more "serious" than the other) and they are in the same area of town.

The "Magic Fountains" are beautiful during the day time - have not had the pleasure of seeing them lit up at night yet.

Many other museums to see. At the base of Las Ramblas is the Christopher Columbus monument.

Any thing "Gaudi" is worth a visit.

 

[DisneyHelen]

We did adventures by disney pre cruise. They took us to gothic quarter, sagrada familia and parc guell. The second day we went to Montserrat very interesting. Post cruise we went on our own to the zoo and aquarium very nice and relaxing.We also went to Picasso museum. We were not struck with La Ramblas as it was very crowded and worried about pick pockets. We also stayed by the beach post cruise which was nice.

 

[kaseyC]

We stayed at the Hotel Constanza which could accommodate 4 of us in one room. It was hard to find a hotel that could have 4 people in a room The hotel Constanza was in a great location and the staff was wonderful. The rooms were clean and very comfortable. There was noise from the hall at times and some construction, but nothing to complain about.

I will second the recommendation for Hotel Constanza. Loved that they had rooms that could accommodate 4. The staff was outstanding as well. Another option for larger families is Casp 74. It's an apartment style hotel similar to the Residence Inns here in the states. We stayed in their 2 bedroom/2bath and absolutely loved the extra space for our family of 5. Full Kitchen and washer/dryer plus it was in an excellent location.

 

[modisneychick]

We were there last year. We took the train from Paris to Barcelona. Barcelona Day Tours picked us up at the train station and we did a 1/2 day tour that was fantastic! We were able to go to Park Guell, Olympic Park and Sagrada Familia, along with other minor stops. Our driver also recommended a touring plan on our own for the evening if we wanted to venture out (some of which we did). They dropped us off at the Hotel Jazz, which I highly recommend, so nice and very conveniently located. Barcelona Day Tours also provided our transportation to the ship the next morning. Enjoy!

 

[algae]

Can't recommend our bus tour from last year. It was ok, but we spent more time driving around than soaking in the sights. The on-off bus might've been more to our liking since we like to explore on our own. The only benefit was being able to get tickets into the Sagrada Familia on short notice without waiting in long slow lines--but, we were bummed that it did not include the tower. We were there many moons ago before the roof was installed and the towers were not really "indoors". It felt like you could slip through the holes in the tower and fall outside pretty easily.

Wander around old town Barcelona and visit the Picasso Museum and then eat some tapas at Cal Pep. Yes, it's very touristy now, but the food is as good as we remember from many, many, many moons ago (note: you don't order off the menu, they tell you what you want to eat ) Much recommended. Also, find a Jamon bar and try some Iberico ham. It's like proscuitto, with more intense flavor.

 

[jeanmonti]

Thank you everyone for sharing fantastic recommendations and experiences! So thankful for this board and community of people that help out - can't wait to finish booking final details of our trip!

 

[jeanmonti]

If you have kids, you might consider this tour:
http://www.runnerbeantours.com/barcelona-tours/walking-tour-kids-y-family/7

It will take you to some places that you probably wouldn't find on your own! My kids were 6 and 10 and enjoyed it (although it was hot in August). We did La Sagrada Familia by ourselves and loved that also. If you go, buy tickets that let you go to the top of a tower and walk down, that was really fun and the views were amazing!

Fantastic, thank you - so nice they have tours geared toward kids.

 

[jeanmonti]

Tramvia Blau up

We stayed at the Gran Hotel La Florida, and I am still dreaming about it. Regarding tours, we only had a day, we did the hop off hop on, and found it perfect.

Hi DisSis, This hotel looks amazing. Looking on the map it looks far from the port and city....is this a better hotel for a longer stay where you can enjoy the hotel amenities. We'll only be in Barcelona for 2 nights.

 

[DisneySisters]

Hi DisSis, This hotel looks amazing. Looking on the map it looks far from the port and city....is this a better hotel for a longer stay where you can enjoy the hotel amenities. We'll only be in Barcelona for 2 nights.

Maybe….but having said that, we were only there two nights, and one of the only things I remember about Barcelona was that hotel. It IS a little out of the action, I guess it depends on what your group likes. Have a great trip!

 

[pillow]

Maybe….but having said that, we were only there two nights, and one of the only things I remember about Barcelona was that hotel. It IS a little out of the action, I guess it depends on what your group likes. Have a great trip!

Is it wrong to plan a trip all around a hotel??? Holy cow - you are right. It is beautiful! Kinda wish we were going back to Barcelona.

Jodie

 

[jeanmonti]

Is it wrong to plan a trip all around a hotel??? Holy cow - you are right. It is beautiful! Kinda wish we were going back to Barcelona.

Jodie

I know, right! Reviewers said there is a shuttle to the city and views are breathtaking. It's definitely in my mix right now. Are there restaurants nearby DisSis? I'm guessing restaurants at the hotel are very expensive....with two kids not worth it if we're eating quick and leaving.

 

[DisneySisters]

I know, right! Reviewers said there is a shuttle to the city and views are breathtaking. It's definitely in my mix right now. Are there restaurants nearby DisSis? I'm guessing restaurants at the hotel are very expensive....with two kids not worth it if we're eating quick and leaving.

I don't think there were any places to eat close by, we took cabs, but I forgot to mention there is an AMUSEMENT PARK nearby. I think my kids ate there. They were too little at the time to appreciate much, so one of the older cousins took them there for the day while we went on the hop on/off.