Barcolona Walking

[brownie9]

Can anyone give me a good starting point for walking down Las Ramblas. We want to take a taxi from the ship and then walk back. Any ideas?

[mommb]

Las Ramblas is not that long -- less than half a hour easily (without stops). If you want to walk just one way, you could take a taxi all the way up to Placa Catalunya and walk back towards the ship. I can't remember how easy it is to get from the base of Las Ramblas (by the Columbus statue) to the cruise terminal.

 

 

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[mskaufman]

You can easily walk Las Ramblas in 30 - 60 minutes. As the previous poster indicated you start at Place Catalunya. You will have plenty of time left when you get to the end. Another alternative is to pick another attraction. For example, you can take a cab from the ship to La Sagrada, then cab or metro to Placa Catalunya to walk Las Ramblas.

[msdebbe]

Dh and I took a cab to Sagrada Familia, spent a few hours there then a taxi to Playa Catlunya and walked down Las Ramblas. It was a very hot day but it was fun! Since it was a Saturday afternoon the La Boquiera was very crowded and overwhelming but great to see. It's a very interesting place!

[Ashland]

Dh and I took a cab to Sagrada Familia, spent a few hours there then a taxi to Playa Catlunya and walked down Las Ramblas. It was a very hot day but it was fun! Since it was a Saturday afternoon the La Boquiera was very crowded and overwhelming but great to see. It's a very interesting place!

Loved the La Boqueria...but remember it's closed on Sunday.

[nzdisneymom]

Our hotel staff told us that La Ramblas is about a mile long and that it is "downhill" from Placa Catalunya to the waterfront. We walked down and then back up but didn't find the "uphill" portion to be very "uphill". Lots of shops, flower market, restaurants and cafes around. There are free walking tours from Placa Reial that start at 11:00 that take a couple of hours if you have the time and inclination.

[brownie9]

Thanks so much for all the information. You all have been very helpful. We have been there before and taken the ship's tour but missed Las Ramblas. Thanks again.

 

 

Diane

Brownie9

[pris993]

Loved the La Boqueria...but remember it's closed on Sunday.

 

 

For those who love the La Boqueria... we have found similar markets in other neighborhoods, that are a lot less crowded... we found them when we spent several days in BCN after a cruise. We love to simply wander around in Barcelona, great walking city.

[sunsetbeachgal]

Yes, walk from Plaza Catalunya down...and wander off into some of the side streets and squares on the way down. It is a beautiful city!

[Keith1010]

I would start at the beginning of the area and walk all the way up and then all the way back. Very easy.

 

Keith

[DragonOfTheSeas]

For those who love the La Boqueria... we have found similar markets in other neighborhoods, that are a lot less crowded... we found them when we spent several days in BCN after a cruise. We love to simply wander around in Barcelona, great walking city.

 

Can you suggest one or two that you found to be good? We will be there from Monday am to Wednesday before we board. We are staying a block from the Columbus statue.

Thanks

[Flowrider]

I would also go first to the sagrada familia and then to placca catalunya, but instead of walking down las ramblas, i would first walk paseo de gracia on the other side of the plaza and see the 2 Gaudi famous houses, La pedrera and casa batllo, they are very near each other. After this i would walk back down las ramblas. If you have some time left, on the left hand side going down las ramblas almost at the end you can wonder around a little in the gothic quarter and maybe see the cathedral del mar. It is a very interesting church, a book was written about it.

Enjoy barcelona, its a great city.

[quercus alba]

Can you suggest one or two that you found to be good? We will be there from Monday am to Wednesday before we board. We are staying a block from the Columbus statue.

Thanks

 

Santa Caterina market is 1-2 blocks NE of the old Gothic cathedral. Picasso museum is also nearby. You miss a LOT of the Gothic quarter if you just stick to Las Ramblas--Placa del Pi, Placa Real...

 

Explore on Google Maps, or better yet, download Google Earth and "walk around" virtually. You can learn a lot ahead of time.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Santa Caterina market is 1-2 blocks NE of the old Gothic cathedral. Picasso museum is also nearby. You miss a LOT of the Gothic quarter if you just stick to Las Ramblas--Placa del Pi, Placa Real...

 

Explore on Google Maps, or better yet, download Google Earth and "walk around" virtually. You can learn a lot ahead of time.

 

Thank you--

 

We will check out the Santa Caterina market. We plan to do as much touring on foot as we can--and also use the HOHO bus to get to the outlying area. We will be in Barcelona for 2.5 days and want to see as much as possible. We have MANY sea days to sleep once we set sail! :p

[mskaufman]

In addition to using the HOHO bus to get to the outlying areas you can also save energy by using it to get from place to place in the main tourist areas. It will also give you a place to rest your legs for even a few minutes.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

In addition to using the HOHO bus to get to the outlying areas you can also save energy by using it to get from place to place in the main tourist areas. It will also give you a place to rest your legs for even a few minutes.

 

We thought we would get a 2-day pass. it is not much more than a 1-day pass. We would ride around the whole route [or most of it] to get the commentary [so we know what we are looking at and want to see]. Then we can either walk back to things that are close or take the bus to a nearby stop. On the day we embark we will walk around some on Las Ramblas and then pick up our luggage at the B & B near port. We will walk to port bus. [< 2 blocks]

 

I know the metro would be cheaper but, we would not learn as much about the city as on HOHO. I think we will have plenty of opportunity for walking.

[mskaufman]

We used the two day pass pre cruise for the same reasons you are describing. On day one our first stops were La Sagrada and Parc Guell. We then ate lunch and rode the bus to Montjuic where we did the cable car to the fort. Next we went to the Gothic Quarter and walked around there. On day two we took the entire route, stopping at the old harbour and some of the Gaudi sites. On the morning of the cruise we walked the Ramblas. The HOHO bus really let us see a lot, and we planned it out so we did not spend extra time on the bus.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

We used the two day pass pre cruise for the same reasons you are describing. On day one our first stops were La Sagrada and Parc Guell. We then ate lunch and rode the bus to Montjuic where we did the cable car to the fort. Next we went to the Gothic Quarter and walked around there. On day two we took the entire route, stopping at the old harbour and some of the Gaudi sites. On the morning of the cruise we walked the Ramblas. The HOHO bus really let us see a lot, and we planned it out so we did not spend extra time on the bus.

 

Sounds like a good plan. Where did you board the bus?

 

We are adjacent to the Gothic quarter so we thought we would walk some parts as we went out for meals, too.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

For those who love the La Boqueria... we have found similar markets in other neighborhoods, that are a lot less crowded... we found them when we spent several days in BCN after a cruise. We love to simply wander around in Barcelona, great walking city.

 

Any interesting markets more uptown? We're staying in Eixample, between Placa Catalunya and Sagrada Familia.

[scottbee]

I'll second the suggest of Santa Caterina market, found it much more pleasant (and less aimed at tourists) than the Boqueria.

 

Have you considered buying a Metro [subway] T10 pass. They're cheap (under €10),and is 10 rides on the subway and can be shared between two people. Do some walking, then grab a ride on the Metro get off somewhere else etc etc.

 

We used the Metro extensively, and it was easy and fast. Likewise off the ship, there's a [blue] bus that runs from the docks to the foot of La Rambla, very close to Drassenes station, and only a few blocks from Parallel station

[mskaufman]

We were in a hotel near Placa Catalunya and boarded the blue bus there. We chose blue bus because La Sagrada and Parc Guell are early stops.

[scottbee]

We were in a hotel near Placa Catalunya and boarded the blue bus there. We chose blue bus because La Sagrada and Parc Guell are early stops.

 

Just to try and remove some confusion, there are two 'Blue' buses being discussed here, and they're completely different.

• The port Blue bus. From the cruise terminal to the foot of La Rambla by the Columbus Statue which costs €2.50. http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/transport/barcelona-cruise-port.html#optionsTravellingCruisePortCityCentre
  
• The Touristic bus, Blue Line, one of the HoHo routes. http://www.barcelonaturisme.com/imgfiles/ecv/bbt/planol_BBT_2013actual.pdf
  

[mskaufman]

Yes, we were on the Touristic bus, and used both the blue and red lines.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Yes, we were on the Touristic bus, and used both the blue and red lines.

 

We are thinking about using the other HOHO company--Barcelona City Tours [red bus]. We heard the Touristic bus sometimes is crowded and hard to find a seat/or get on at a particular stop.

 

Did you have trouble with this?

[mskaufman]

Never had that problem and we were there the last week in June. We also read the same warnings but decided that the Bus Turistic would get us to La Sagrada and Parc Guell earlier in the day and that is what we wanted. When leaving Placa Catalunya the Bus Turistic has fewer stops to La Sagrada. We never had to wait more than five minutes for a bus.