One day in Barcelona

[lorimay]

We disembark in Barcelona next July, we are staying one day/night before we fly home.
What area should we stay in to see the most we can in a day?
Hotel ideas?

Thanks

 

[Lilac36]

We sailed out of Barcelona in June 2019. The hotel that Disney recommended was far away from the city center so we had to take cabs to most places(My mother in law booked it before I could voice my opposition to it). But it was a lovely hotel. I would recommend staying somewhere close to Las Ramblas as this is a more centrally located area. Be sure to pre-book your tickets to La Sagrada Familia and to Park Guell if you want to go there. If you have time, I recommend La Boqueria which is near Las Ramblas for a quick meal. We flew over Thursday to Friday and spent Friday in Barcelona on our own. Saturday Morning Disney offered an excursion to Montserrat to see the monastery. We really enjoyed that trip but we got to the ship around 2 PM. Getting to Monserrat is more difficult on your own so I was really happy with the excursion.

 

[kaseyC]

We have disembarked in Barcelona a number of times as well as flew in a few days early to embark on cruises. What we like to do because you disembark the ship so early, way too early to check into your hotel, we book a day tour through Barcelona Day Tours. We've done the city tour, the Girona tour and the Montserrat tour. It's great because they pick up from the ship, spend the day touring and at end of the tour they drop you off at your hotel. They hold your bags for you in the touring vehicle. They offer private tours and small group tours. I feel their prices are pretty reasonable and it makes the process of disembarking, touring and checking into the hotel pretty seamless. https://barcelonadaytours.com

 

[lorimay]

We have disembarked in Barcelona a number of times as well as flew in a few days early to embark on cruises. What we like to do because you disembark the ship so early, way too early to check into your hotel, we book a day tour through Barcelona Day Tours. We've done the city tour, the Girona tour and the Montserrat tour. It's great because they pick up from the ship, spend the day touring and at end of the tour they drop you off at your hotel. They hold your bags for you in the touring vehicle. They offer private tours and small group tours. I feel their prices are pretty reasonable and it makes the process of disembarking, touring and checking into the hotel pretty seamless. https://barcelonadaytours.com

Thank you, wonderful information.

 

[lorimay]

We sailed out of Barcelona in June 2019. The hotel that Disney recommended was far away from the city center so we had to take cabs to most places(My mother in law booked it before I could voice my opposition to it). But it was a lovely hotel. I would recommend staying somewhere close to Las Ramblas as this is a more centrally located area. Be sure to pre-book your tickets to La Sagrada Familia and to Park Guell if you want to go there. If you have time, I recommend La Boqueria which is of Las Ramblas for a quick meal. We flew over Thursday to Friday and spent Friday in Barcelona on our own. Saturday Morning Disney offered an excursion to Montserrat to see the monastery. We really enjoyed that trip but we got to the ship around 2 PM. Getting to Monserrat is more difficult on your own so I was really happy with the excursion.

Thanks, always looking for a good place to grab a good meal.

 

[ahen]

So we were going to go to Barcelona this past May, but. So we had contacted Barcelona tours and they had 2 different suggestions for tours both of which sounded lovely and they would pick you up at airport and drop you off at the hotel. So you might want to check into them

 

[jrabbit]

I agree with staying near Las Rambles area.
I also agree with visiting La Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell

Other options would be to take the Tourist Hop On / Off bus to get an overview of the city - there are stops near La Sagrada and Parc Guell - if you choose to visit them. There were (when we went - wow it's been 13 years) three different bus routes ... so you could spend all day riding around the city and getting off at several stops. One of the things we did was get off at the "Tram Blue" stop and took it to the finicular that went up to the top of Mount Tibadabo ... there's a church up there (Sagrat Cor) which is fantastic and the views on a clear day are spectacular. And there's an amusement park up there (we did not go to it).

If you want to get out of the "weather" the Picasso museum is pretty interesting. there WILL be a line!!

Just walking around Las Rambles would be a relaxing day. Or spend a day on the beach - or just walking along the waterfront.

I am going to suggest getting Rick Steves Barcelona city guide. Lots of great information on where to stay, eat and visit.

Again way back in '07 on embarkation day we took a walking tour of the old town (Barri Gotic) through the local tourist information office in Placa de Catalunya (top of Las Rambles) for a very inexpensive (or free?) amount. It was a great tour. We saw Roman walls / columns, the main cathedral and many other sites. Since we were staying on Las Rambles, we went back to the hotel, picked up our bags and walked down Las Rambles (literally down hill) to the Columbus Monument where the Port of Barcelona had shuttle buses that took you to the cruise terminal. Was a great start to the cruise.

Have fun and Safe Travels

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

If you have kids, Tibidado theme park is a must-do. The kids also loved all of the Gaudi sites, including Parc Guell and Casa Battlo, which features augmented-reality digital tour guides that allow you to see Gaudi's design inspirations superimposed on the actual objects in the house. They also have rooftop concerts certain nights of the week in the Summer and Fall. Casa Mila has a nighttime show as well where they use a digital projection technology on the sculptural roof similar to what WDW uses on Cinderella's castle.

The Picasso museum was disappointing because a big chunk of the collection was out on loan to a museum in France, so inquire about that before you book tickets. The hop-on hop-off bus is not very interesting, and is very, very slow. The aquarium was just OK, but the kids liked it. I avoided Las Ramblas because it's just a lot of chain stores and restaurants, it was also the only place where I genuinely felt like I might get pickpocketed. We stayed in an apartment rental in a more posh neighborhood on Rambla Catalunya and were walking distance to Casas Battlo and Mila, and had our choice of plenty of fantastic tapas restaurants nearby as well.

 

[gotomu212]

We stayed at The Royal Ramblas which is a great location and also has larger rooms for families if there’s more than 2 of you. It’s really close to the Hop On, Hop Off stop and perfect for wandering the Gothic Quarter.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

We have visited Barcelona 4 times either before or after transatlantic cruises. We like Hotel Jazz. They also have larger family rooms available if you need more space than the typical European hotel room for two. Convenient location about two blocks from Las Ramblas. We have used cabs to or from the port. Prices are reasonable. On various trips, we have done the Gaudi sights, Montserrat, the hop-on, hop-off bus, and a self-guided walking tour of Las Ramblas from Rick Steves. Enjoyed them all. We recommend Barcelona Day Tours if you want to see Montserrat, although I would do the Gaudi sights as my first choice for a single day in Barcelona.

 

[JM23457]

We have visited Barcelona 4 times either before or after transatlantic cruises. We like Hotel Jazz. They also have larger family rooms available if you need more space than the typical European hotel room for two. Convenient location about two blocks from Las Ramblas. We have used cabs to or from the port. Prices are reasonable. On various trips, we have done the Gaudi sights, Montserrat, the hop-on, hop-off bus, and a self-guided walking tour of Las Ramblas from Rick Steves. Enjoyed them all. We recommend Barcelona Day Tours if you want to see Montserrat, although I would do the Gaudi sights as my first choice for a single day in Barcelona.

We spent several days in Barcelona last summer & saw many sights. By far the most impressive was La Sagrada Familia. It is unlike any other cathedral in the world. Beautiful & innovatively designed, particularly the interior. That is the one thing I would classify as a must do in Barcelona.

Park Guell & the other Gaudi sights are very nice & worthwhile.

Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes is a good, centrally located street for your hotel. Cotton House is a very nice luxury hotel there & we liked it a lot. There are other hotels there at different price points.

Las Ramblas is just a tourist strip, with not much to see. Only saw one human statue when we were there- there has been some kind of crackdown on them, so they aren't as plentiful as they once were, unfortunately. Imo Las Ramblas is only worthwhile if you're going that direction anyway, or if you are nearby & restless & just want to go for a stroll. It has energy because of all of the people, and many cheap & quick places to eat.

Barcelona has the reputation of being the pickpocket/petty theft capital of Europe, so be extra careful with your wallet & phone. Don't rest them on cafe tables, leave them in backpockets, or carry easy to snatch purses, etc. Don't talk to strangers who try to engage you. We were very careful & had no troubles, but I do recommend being careful in all of Europe, especially Barcelona.

 

[DCLCrazy64622]

As far as the pickpocketing, we bought a backpack from target that had a locking feature on it. It helped us relax a little more in the high traffic areas of Barcelona. We visited La Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell. Next time we will do Monteserrat.

 

[WaywardMemphian]

We sailed out of Barcelona in June 2019. The hotel that Disney recommended was far away from the city center so we had to take cabs to most places(My mother in law booked it before I could voice my opposition to it). But it was a lovely hotel. I would recommend staying somewhere close to Las Ramblas as this is a more centrally located area. Be sure to pre-book your tickets to La Sagrada Familia and to Park Guell if you want to go there. If you have time, I recommend La Boqueria which is of Las Ramblas for a quick meal. We flew over Thursday to Friday and spent Friday in Barcelona on our own. Saturday Morning Disney offered an excursion to Montserrat to see the monastery. We really enjoyed that trip but we got to the ship around 2 PM. Getting to Monserrat is more difficult on your own so I was really happy with the excursion.

Please tell me you found the Tapas festival that was along Las Ramblas.

 

[CM Dad]

Barcelona has the reputation of being the pickpocket/petty theft capital of Europe, so be extra careful with your wallet & phone. Don't rest them on cafe tables, leave them in backpockets, or carry easy to snatch purses, etc. Don't talk to strangers who try to engage you. We were very careful & had no troubles, but I do recommend being careful in all of Europe, especially Barcelona.

We did a Mediterranean cruise from Barcelona 4 years ago. We personally did not experience pickpockets, but did hear of several other families on the cruise that did have this problem.

 

[Calantha]

Don't talk to strangers who try to engage you

So, I’ll try not to write a whole book...I lived in Spain for 3 months in 2002 (also take everything with a grain of salt because it was 18 years ago). But this exactly. More than any other city in Spain (from Santiago in the north, Madrid, Seville, wherever) - Barcelona seems (?) to have the most aggressive ’strangers on the street.’ For years after I left, I said it was my least favorite part of Spain.

My other observation (again from 18 years ago), for those who want to practice their high school Spanish - they speak Catalan, and if you want a menu in ‘Spanish’, ask for “Castellano.”

Anyway, end observations. With more perspective, I will say, It is a beautiful city and the Parque Guell/Sagrada Familia are awesome. Also recommend the Picasso museum.

I would love to go back to Spain (I haven’t visited since 2006).

 

[bobbiwoz]

We also used Barcelona Day Tours and were very happy with them. We were on DCL’s TA tour in 2013, and a day or two before we landed in Barcelona, we realized we overbooked things to do during the 2-3 nights we were staying in Barcelona. I sent them an e-mail explaining the situation, and they were fine about the one tour we cancelled.

The Montserrat and Wine country tour they offered was excellent!

 

[JM23457]

I'll just add that I wasn't trying to scare anyone off from Barcelona, just warning people to be careful with their valuables. It was a very pleasant city for us, we did a ton of independent walking and felt completely safe & relaxed there. Our only minor issue was one beggar (who had apparently self-injured his leg to intentionally look pathetic- yuck) who approached us while we were dining near Las Ramblas. He quickly left when we pointedly ignored him, though.

We visited a few different cities in Europe & actually saw a lot more aggressive begging/trinket selling & people acting like they might be trying to pickpocket from us ("Excuse me, do you speak English?", etc.) in Paris than anywhere else. But even there, we felt safe, just ignored people who approached us & kept wallet & phones in special inner pockets of our jackets. We were fine.

 

[Lilac36]

Please tell me you found the Tapas festival that was along Las Ramblas.

I wish we had! We had roughly 15 minutes on Las Ramblas last year. We flew in, dropped our bags at the hotel which was very far from everything. Took a cab to the Barrio Gotic and had churros and chocolate and walked for 15 minutes on Las Ramblas before getting a cab to The Sagrada Familia. Fortunately our cab driver was very sweet and stopped quickly for us to take pictures of some other Gaudi buildings along the way. Afterwards we went to Parc Guell and after an hour there my in-laws were exhausted from jet lag. Dinner was at a restaurant called 7 Portes which was more paella and southern Spanish food vs Catalan food. We ate dinner embarassingly early by Spanish standards but we were all tired and had to be up early for our excursion to Montserrat. I'd been to Barcelona in 2002 because I spent a semester in Madrid in college so I had a better understanding of the city and was just trying to pull out highlights for them. I honestly was trying to squeeze in as much as humanly possible in roughly 24 hours in the city. My in-laws are not planners in that they like to show up and just have stuff done for them. DCL works because they can just have them handle everything.

 

[aggiedog]

We did a really fun bike tour of the city with Steel Donkey. The main parts of Barcelona are basically flat, and there are many wide pedestrian/bike only roads. It was a good way to see a lot of the city.

 

[soniam]

We like staying in Eixample or Dreta Eixample. The cafeteria at the top of Corte Ingles in Placa Catalunya has amazing views, good prices, and early (for Spain) dinner. We love the Basque tapas/pintxos. Our favorite place is Irati Taverna Basca off Las Ramblas on the opposite side from the Boqueria. Try the cidre; it’s addictive. The granjas in the area, particularly Granja M Viadar, are good too. This is the place to get good chocolate con churros.