4 Nights in Barcelona!

On your Las Ramblas day, stop at La Boqueria, a huge food market - lots to see there. Also the Gothic Quarter is well-worth some time to explore, as is the cathedral.

Let me just preface by saying I am not a fan of Hop On Hop Off buses. Why regiment yourself to a set route and suffer canned commentary, or waste time sitting in traffic and waiting for the next bus?
Barcelona has 2 routes (red and blue) offered by Bus Turistic. Red for the more central sights (including Montjuic) and blue for more distant sights like Sagrada Familia and Park Guell.
Also, you need to prebook entry for sights such as Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, Palau de la Musica Catalana and Picasso Museum. Otherwise, you may find long lines waiting to get in.

Perhaps book entry to Sagrada Familia for early n May 5, then explore along and around the Ramblas afterwards.
On May 6 you could do the red route, booking Palau de la Musica Catalana first, if that interests.
On May 7 you could visit Park Guell early before heading to Montserrat.

How about combining Montjuic and Monserrat in the same day? If you are traveling to Montserrat by train, the main departure station is in the same general area as Montjuic.

Are you planning to use the HOHO bus to see La Sagrada Familia and Montjuic, or in addition to these stops? We've used them in other cities, but Barcelona is such an easy city to navigate by foot, metro or taxi ( probably bus, too). We just tried to do the city by sections. We got tickets for La. Sagrada first thing in the morning, Parc Guell in the early afternoon and the Picasso Museum in the late afternoon. I wish we'd fit in more of Gaudi's buildings.

Hi!

You're indeed missing a lot... do have a peek in these websites for ideas: http://www.barcelonaturisme.com/ | http://www.infocatalonia.eu | http://www.timeout.com/barcelona | http://lameva.barcelona.cat/en | http://www.catalunya.com/?language=en

If you wish, I'd suggest you post back after reviewing these with a 'bucket list' and I'll happily help you to draw a viable itinerary based on your choices :))

Watch "I will have what Phil is having" on PBS. He has a segment on Barcelona that is a lot of fun. I am not into eating at what I would imagine are high priced establishments, but he hits up some Tapas Bars and does go to La Boqueria market.

You don't say what your focus is for Barcelona, but you haven't listed a lot of the really cool-seeming architectural sites. I haven't been to Barcelona yet, as I'm arriving there for the first time in April. But here's what my planning notes look like for my visit. I have three dedicated sites per day and then I usually find a lot of there interesting stuff as I wander around. My sites might not interest you and I haven't included some of the popular art museums as they're not my thing, but here you go:
Day One - (arriving in Barcelona in the afternoon)
Runnerbean.com tour. Starts at 4:30. Old city walking tour
Wander Las Ramblas in the evening
.8 mile from our hotel, then amble down length of Las Ramblas
it’s a 1 mile walk, finish at Columbus Monument/Waterfront, and walk back
Day Two (Sunday)
1 Walk to Barcelona Cathedral - opens at 8am - free - .8 miles from hotel
2 Frederick Mares Museum - opens at 11am - Euro 4.20 (near Cathedral)
3 City History Museum - opens at 10am- Euro 7.00 (near Cathedral)

Day Threee
1 Walk to the Block of Discord - 8 minute walk from hotel
tour Casa Batllo - opens at 9am - Euro 26.5 each with FastPass
BUY IN ADVANCE
2 Walk to Casa Mila - 5 minute walk from Block of Discord
tour Casa Mila - opens at 9am - Euro 27 each with FastPass
BUY IN ADVANCE
3 Walk to Sagrada Familia - .8 miles from Casa Mila
19.5 Euros each for timed entry
BUY IN ADVANCE 75 days out

@ Valerie Thanks for the awesome reply! very informative

@Enric After looking a bit more in to Barcelona I have a list of what I think would be interesting to see in Barcelona! Any thoughts and feedback would be great. Also tips on how to group these sites in 3 days would be awesome.

Las Ramblas
Sagrada Familia
Montjuic
Montserrat
Parc de la Ciutadella
Parc de Joan Miro
Park Guell
Barrio Gotico

Thanks everyone!

Ahh dahling, that's easy :))... As per your bucket list, that's how I would approach it. Bear with me, the timing is simply to give you a rough idea noting that every visitor has a different 'rythm'.

MAY 5 thu
9am Park Güell and don't forget to visit as well the public part of the park
11am Gràcia neighbourhood + lunch
2pm Sagrada Família
For an explanation on the above three suggestions check WED 16 here.
4pm Sant Pau Centre Modernista (it's 5' walk from S.Familia)
7pm Casa Batlló (taking the metro in Sag.Fami -line 2 purple- it's just t three stops away, about 10-15')

MAY 6 fri
Ciutat Vella which includes Barri Gòtic (Gothic Quarter) which in turn includes Les Rambles, Cathedral, Sta Maria del Mar, El Born Cultural Centre, Parc de la Ciutadella etc. etc. There's plenty to do/see in Ciutat Vella to spend the whole day (and more). I strongly suggest to join a free walking tour (ie Runner Beans are quite good: http://www.runnerbeantours.com/ ) and then wander on your own. There are literally dozens of things to see all very close to each other, check my post #7 here for some ideas..

MAY 7 sat
9am Montjuïc tour (*) ending up in Plaça Espanya.
Noon departing to Montserrat, by train from Plaça Espanya (FGC train) -check THU17 here. And, aside visiting the monastery, the museums and the rest of the complex, don't forget to enjoy some of the trails too. Detailed info here. I assume you'll be in Montserrat most of the rest of the day. If you take your train back say at 7-7:30ish, you'll then be arriving to Barcelona (Plaça Espanya) by 9ish and at 5' walk from the station you can enjoy the (free) show of the Font Màgica

(*) Montjuïc is a large district that contains a number of attractions, many museums, several parks, etc. I strongly suggest you pick your venues there as you can't possibly see the whole of Montjuïc in a day (nor in three!), much less in a morning. Start by having a peek here and a list of venues here. For info, from Plaça Espanya there's a bus that takes you straight to the top, to the fortress: http://bit.ly/BCNbus150

Note that I've followed "your" bucket list (and included a few extras that are close/along the way) yet you'll be only scratching the surface everything Barcelona has to offer, but again, three days are as long as you get, isn't it? :)

Enjoy!

As per Park Güell, only a small part -labelled the "Monumental area"- which accounts for roughly 7% requires a ticket. This area contains most of the monuments -but not all, a few can be seen in the free zone- and it's indeed well worth visiting. Tickets can be purchased online or at the booths. For conservation reasons only 800 visitors per hour are allowed into this area and tickets are time-sensitive so visitors are expected to enter the area within the given time slots, hence the reason it's advisable to purchase online, otherwise if bought on the spot you might end up having to wait a long time for your assigned time-slot. As mentioned, there are a few things to be seen outside the Monumental area which might be of your interest, such as the Viaduct or the Turó de les Tres Creus at the top of the park and with an impressive view of the city. It's advisable to arrive a bit earlier to the park and venture to these sites. More info: http://www.parkguell.cat

Be sure to see the Palace of Catalan Music. Not only is a gorgeous, but it's a nice corrective to the focus on Gaudi.

(I joke that Gaudi's fame is due to the fact that his is the only name of the Modernista "biggies" that non-Catalan speakers have a prayer of pronouncing correctly. The Palace of Catalan Music is by Lluís Domènech i Montaner, and another major Modernista architect is Josep Puig i Cadafalch. You see the problem. But that shouldn't stop you from seeing their buildings).

Here's the website for advance tickets: http://www.palaumusica.cat/en/a-barcelona-mustsee-sight_151243

On the Gaudi front, I loved the Casa Batllo, but didn't get inside the Casa Mila (next time). They're both expensive, but I felt the Casa Batllo was actually worth the high price (you get a video-audio guide that's fun, and the house itself is amazing). Here's the website for Casa Batllo: https://www.casabatllo.es/en/

On Montjuic, I really loved the Catalan Art Musuem. It has great Modernista furniture as well as other wonderful art (and I didn't even have time to see the ground floor at all; the ticket is good for two days, so I could have returned, but again, didn't have time on this trip).

I also liked the Frederic Mares Museum mentioned by Valerie above.

Las Ramblas is just a street. Much like the Champs-Elysee in Paris or the Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg, I don't get the fuss.

hahaha, indeed Harold, Catalan language is not easy to pronounce sometimes :))) So, a rough guide for those daring to try: Lluís Domènech i Montaner (lee-oo-EES doo-MEH-neck ee moon-tan-EHR) and Josep Puig i Cadafalch (Joo-SEP POO-eesh ee ka-da-FALK) Note the upper case syllable denotes the intonation of the word.

Btw, for those interested in having a peek at Palau de la Música Catalana mentioned by Harold. You can either book a tour, attend a concert or both.

Also, there are over 500 Modernist buildings in the city of Barcelona alone worth mentioning but most are private residences/offices therefore are not visitable still worth seeing the facades, especially for those amateur photographers out there, for their magnificent art details and ingenious solutions. Some are covered in this wikipedia page. The Modernisme is a form of expression in art, literature and architecture although it was part of a general trend that emerged in Europe around the turn of the 20th century, here in Catalonia the style acquired its own unique personality. There were more than 100 outstanding architects who made buildings of the Modernista style, three of whom are particularly well known for their outstanding buildings, the ones mentioned by Harold. Sometimes 'modernisme' is referred to as 'art nouveau' -yet, albeit related, they're not the same!

For those further interested to discover some gems of the Modernist era in Barcelona, the "Ruta del Modernisme" offered by the City Hall's Office for Tourism Promotion is a great source. Finally, a peek into the Modernism museum can also be a nice way to discover and understand this world.

Enjoy!

We have 3 nights/2 full days in Barcelona at the end of June. I know its way too short but it is all we have this time. First time for everyone. Any ideas for this itinerary?

thanks!

Day 1
Start at the top of Passeig de Gracia (by Diagonal) for a walk down Barcelona’s majestic boulevard
Casa Mila (Gaudi) is on the left & Casa Batllo (Gaudi) is on the right as you head down
Thru Placa de Catalunya, Barcelona’s main square and you will be at the top of the Ramblas
Walking from top to bottom you will pass La Boqueria markets on the right
The Gothic Quarter and the Cathedral are off on the left side, as is Placa Reial a little further along
Finally, you will reach the port and the column with Christopher Columbus gesturing atop
Continue on to Barceloneta for a seafood dinner, stopping off at Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar

Day 2
Book the first available entry time for Sagrada Familia (Gaudi)
Then ...
Either, spend the rest of the day with the sights on Montjuic
Or, book a tour of the Palau de la Musica Catalana, and finish your day at Park Guell