What not to miss in Barcelona?

[BobandBrenda]

Hello

We are arriving in Barcelona mid morning Friday and catching the ship the next day. We're also staying in Barcelona one night after the cruise and fly out the next mid morning. It is my husband and I and we are in our late 40s.

What should we not miss seeing there?

Thanks

 

Brenda and Bob

[MAKEM]

Hello

We are arriving in Barcelona mid morning Friday and catching the ship the next day. We're also staying in Barcelona one night after the cruise and fly out the next mid morning. It is my husband and I and we are in our late 40s.

What should we not miss seeing there?

Thanks

 

Brenda and Bob

 

A must is the tapa bars,good food & entertainment

[cberge]

Do the Hop/on Hop/off bus tour and you will see all the don't miss sights as well as some you didn't know you wanted to see.Easy to do and a good way to get around. If, by chance ,the bus does not go there make sure to take a cab to Parc Guell..well worth the visit.Your hotle can direct you to the closest stop for the bus and you can buy your ticket on the bus.

[eh2zed]

Do the HOHO bus but do get off at Gaudi's Sagrada Familia, the cathedral under construction. Amazing tour.

[cberge]

Do the HOHO bus but do get off at Gaudi's Sagrada Familia, the cathedral under construction. Amazing tour.

The Cathedral has been under construction for years:D ...it will never be done in my lifetime...just looking at the outside of it (unless it is all under scaffolding) is worth a visit.

[Amaranthine33]

Hello

We are arriving in Barcelona mid morning Friday and catching the ship the next day. We're also staying in Barcelona one night after the cruise and fly out the next mid morning. It is my husband and I and we are in our late 40s.

What should we not miss seeing there?

Thanks

 

Brenda and Bob

 

 

I highly suggest visting the Gaudi buildings. You can start with Casa Batllo on Paseig de Gracia. It's abot 15 minutes walk from Las Ramblas. From Casa Batllo it's another 5 minute walk north to Casa Mila. YOu can either catch the metro or walk to Sagrada Familia. I walked and it took about 40 minutes. Don't forget to go to Parc Guell. You can take the metro, but you'll still have to walk a few minutes or the taxi.

 

Don't miss the cathedral in Las Ramblas, and of course soak in all the atmosphere there (the Las Ramblas) and watch the street performers. Some of them are really very good.

[meicha]

Here are some links to the On-Off Bus

http://www.barcelona-on-line.es/eng/reserves/bus_turistic.htm

http://www.barcelona-on-line.es/eng/reserves/bus_turistic_mapa.htm

 

 

We walked to Placa de Cataluya to catch the bus, you simply get in line and you can pay for your tickets in line if you have cash. The on-off bus has 3 different lines, all for one price, and takes you to all the sights in the city. It was a great way to get around and I highly recommend it.

If you have done any of the other Gaudi sites before seeing the Sagrada Familia, I recommend just walking around the outside unless you really want to go up one of the towers. Once inside expect a line to go up one of the towers and it costs a small additional fee.

For more detailed informaton you can look at my trip report, we took the on-off bus before and after our Cruise.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=614309

[BobandBrenda]

Thanks especially to Meicha. I copied the information. Im gonna try to convenice my hubby we can take a bus in a foreign country and its ok.

Cant wait to walk the Las Ramblas and try the Tapas and Cava.

Thanks

Brenda

[itsjb1]

I agree with amaranthine. Good advice.

 

We went to an excellent tapas bar. It is on Ramblas de Catalunya just north of Gran Via on the right hand side. Ramblas de Catalunya runs the same way as the Ramblas north or up from Placa Catalunya,to the left of it if you are looking north. It is 2 or 3 doors down from the NH Calderon Hotel, about a 5 minute walk from Placa Catalunya.

[jayseadee]

thank you all for the details.

 

We leave 9/10 on Carnival Freedom and are planning to use the HOHO bus. Was just getting ready to search for the schedule/routes.

 

janet

[westcoastnative]

We liked Las Ramblas just fine, but what we loved was walking around in the Barri Gothic (gothic quarter) which is just off of Las Ramblas. Wonderful winding, narrow streets with all kinds of shops, restaurants and beautiful architecture. Even our kids (14 and 11) loved walking through here! It didn't hurt that there were plenty of great gelato places too!:p

[windycitymom]

Stop for a big glass of Sangria along the Las Ramblas - it's wonderful!!!!!

[loobylouuk]

The sagrada Familia is a must....make sure you walk all the way round.

Don't bother with the entrance fee of 8euros each as there is very little interest inside just a lot of scaffold!

Lou

[Love Cruis'n]

We did the Gaudi stuff on day one, and the second morning headed for Las Ramblas. We managed to locate the market (Mercat de la Boqueria), and it was really a great option. Airy, bright, and colorful. Stacks of great looking fruits and vegetables, followed by stalls with really fresh seafood. Giant prawns still alive and moving their tentacles on the bed of ice. We bought some delicious cherries and a bottle of water to wash them with. Back to the main avenue (Las Ramblas), another block or two and a left turn took us directly into the old gothic quarter. We found the old Jewish quarter and the synagogue that may date back to Roman days and thus the oldest remaining in all of Europe. Next we visited the Barri Gotic Cathedral. We were not certain we could go in, as we had our shorts on, but removing our caps was the only requirement.

 

From there we walked to the Picasso museum, but the lines were very long, so you may wish to investigate securing tickets in advance. We were running out of time, so we just stopped off for a cold drink and decided to grab a cab back to our hotel where we checked out, and took cabs to the dock

[alee]

The Gaudi buildings are all great. We also really enjoyed the Miro musuem - the on/off bus stops there.

[Bsan1221]

We didn't take the on / off bus but we did purchase a bus/subway ticket for about 7 euros that was good for about 15 stops. We saw Parc Guell, which I highly rec, all the Gaudi buildings and the Sagrada Familia.

 

You can also eat some great Paella on Las Ramblas.