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3 days in Barcelona

Hello!

I will be traveling to Spain for the first time and have three full days in Barcelona. I was hoping to get some feedback on my itinerary and any advice in general. Thanks in advance!!

Day 1 (Sun):
Arrive in the AM
La Sagrada Familia in the PM

Day 2 (Mon):
Palau de la Musica Catalana
Casa Batllo
Casa Amatller
La Pedrera
Park Guell

Day 3 (Tues):
Citadel Park
Santa Maria del Mar
Picasso Museum

Day 4 (Wed):
La Catedral
La Boqueria
Palau Guell
MNAC

Does this plan seem feasible? Too much or too little on any particular day? I tried to group things by location, keeping in mind what days/times places would be closed.

I also am planning on booking tickets in advance as much as possible. I will be there in about a month, how far in advance is required?

Any other tips/recommendations?

Posted by
28083 posts

Is Day 1 an arrival-from-US/Canada day? If so, I don't know that you'll be in condition to appreciate La Sagrada Familia.

Day 2 is very packed. The mandatory PdlMC tour takes about an hour. The other sites are probably more like 90 minutes, not including travel time. La Pedrera can be 3 hours if you want to spend time on the top floor, looking at the (quite interesting) information and videos about Gaudi's other sites. Casa Amatller (tour required) has a pseudo-castle rather than a modernista interior; not sure how much that will interest you. I think it's going to be pretty scary buying so many timed entry tickets for one day. Those tickets are mostly 20 euros or more. How will you feel if you have to rush through those sites to keep to your schedule? I'm also wondering whether you will have time to eat. PdlMC could instead be done on Day 3 (unless it's closed?), which would help a bit.

Day 3: I haven't been to Parc Cituadella; it may be lovely. But I think it would be a shame not to spend some time seeing the Barri Gotic and other medieval sections of the city. You can expect the Picasso Museum to be absolutely mobbed to the point that you spend extra time there trying to get close enough to the pictures to see them; I don't recommend it for people who are not true Picasso fans.

Day 4: MNAC is quite large. I sort of rushed through a lot of the rooms of paintings and still spent 5 hours there over the course of 2 visits. The modernista collection is very good, and the church frescoes are amazing. Those are things you can't see many other places.

Although I enjoyed Palau Guell and Casa Amatller, I'd swap one of them for the Sant Pau modernista site. That's assuming you don't crash and burn before the end of your visit. From my perspective you've made really good selections, but it's a lot for 3-1/2 days. Or 4 days. Or 5 days.

I believe some of the modernista sites are open past 5 or 6 PM. That might help. It's not like you can eat dinner early in Barcelona, anyway.

In my experience last August, tickets could be bought 2 days (in some cases 1 day) ahead of time, but 1) I might have been lucky; and 2) my schedule was not nearly so tight, so it wasn't like trying to fit a jigsaw puzzle together. If you want to ascend a tower at La Sagrada Familia, that's an extra timed entry to be coordinated, so LSF might be the first one to book. Someone here suggested an hour after the church entry time, which is logical, but leave a bit of extra time after the tower, in case you haven't seen all of the church and the small museum before you need to line up for the tower.

Posted by
9 posts

I think Barcelona is such a beautiful and exciting city with so much to do its very easy to get overwhelmed especially in three days. I lived there for 3 months and still can find things to do. Depending on your arrival and where you are staying I agree that you might not be in the best shape to appreciate the Sagrada Familia, which definitely deserves it. Maybe on your first night you could something that is less scheduled such as explore Las Ramblas, La Boqueria and then go explore the Gothic quarter just to get lost in it and see the Cathedral and you can even keep walking and get to Citadel Park which I personally love.
Your plan on Day 3 seems a little light which is good because it gives you plenty of time to explore and depending on how much time you want to spend at the Picasso Museum. Honestly some of my favorite days in the city have been planning around one big attraction and then wandering around, getting a cafe con leche and sitting outside. Be sure to get some tapas outside of the Ramblas and touristy areas, they are so much tastier and cheaper.
Park Guell is a little further than most attractions but it is a must see, dont forget that the free portion of the park is equally amazing just doesn't include as much of Gaudi's architecture. There is a less known Gaudi building that is being renovated that is called Casa Vicens in that direction as well as Torre Bellesguard which I think is a hidden treasure.
I think you have a great plan in general there's a couple places I would consider adding, such as Barceloneta which is the beach area. Even though it is full of tourists its very rare to have a real beach 20 minutes away walking from the city center and dont forget to grab some sangria. I would also look into El Raval, which is on the opposite side of the Ramblas from the gothic quarter. It's a little more hippy but equally amazing to walk around in, my favorite brunch spot is called El Caravelle and my favorite rooftop bar is at Hotel 360 which has great views and the drinks are not that expensive. Also Montjuic area has many green spaces and was home to the olympic facilities which can be fun to walk around in. The list is never ending but I hope that you enjoy the city with the time you have.

Posted by
7175 posts

Very similar to my recommendations for Barcelona in 3 days.

Day 1
-Sagrada Familia
-Park Guell
-Passeig de Gracia - Casa Mila & Casa Batllo

Day 2
-Palau de la Musica Catalana
-Ramblas - Boqueria markets & Placa Real
-Bari Gotico - Cathedral

Day 3
-Montjuic - MNAC & Miro
-El Born - Picasso Museum & Basilica Santa Maria del Mar
-Parc de la Ciutadella & Barceloneta

I would suggest Park Guell as a better option on your arrival afternoon if you are facing possible jet lag. Consider the Montjuic Fountains as well - check the schedule.

Moving Palau de la Musica Catalana to Tuesday would even out both those days.

Enjoy.