92 Bus from Plaza Catalonia to Park Guell How much time to allow

20-30mins I would think. Enric ??

Actually my friend... an eternity.... noting the #92 does NOT pass near Plaça Catalunya at all :)))

Maybe you're referring to #24? -I bet David was thinking about that one too! If so, I'd say slightly more, perhaps 45' as 9am is still rush hour.

In case I didn't mention this before: maps.tmb.cat/en/vull-anar then click on the "Bus" tab and tick the #24 line, so you'll visually see the route on a map.

I was thinking 92 from Sagrada Familia, not 24 from Placa Cataunya, which is of course longer and goes thru the very busy area around Lesseps.

If the OP was also thinking in #92 FROM Sagrada Familia to Park Guell, then I agree with you David.

We are about to head to Spain on our autumn trip - Enric , your posts on Barcelona are incredibly helpful , Many Thanks , Steve

You're welcome... it's intended as a healthy mix between being helpful to others to get to know my small nation, Catalonia and its capital Barcelona, much better... and also braggin' about its many wonders and treasures a bit like "in your face", LOL!

A la teva cara ...
Does that translate ?

... I do believe it does... at least the "Urban dictionary" gives one: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=In%20your%20face and the Merriam-Webster also presents a definition: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/in%E2%80%93your%E2%80%93face but I'm not 100% sure there isn't a bit of a lost-in-translation effect because in Catalan does not intend contempt as it seems the usage in English might do. Any linguist out there?

Since Enric is posting on this topic, I'd like to pose a question regarding the Metro to Park Guell. The route planner app I have shows the closest Metro stop to Park Guell is Vallcarca. Is it a very long walk from the Metro to the park entrance? I'm accustomed to lots of walking when traveling, so I'm not put off by a long walk, just trying to judge the distance.

Thank you Enric for all your wonderful informative posts. I've been noting them for several months in preparation for my trip in October.

I took the Metro to Vallcarca earlier this month to visit the park. I returned by way of the Lesseps station. The distances seemed similar, perhaps a mile, but I think it would be easier to approach the park from Lesseps. There are signs leading you from the park to Lesseps; I assume there is also signage going in the other direction, but I didn't look for it. I thought the walk from Vallcarca seemed a bit more convoluted.

In addition, I remember thinking that there were one or two interesting buildings near the Lesseps station.

What I'm not sure of is how the terrain varies--i.e., whether you'd have to do a lot more climbing if you used the Lesseps station on the way to the park.

Oh, that is great info. I will look into utilizing the other Metro stop. Thank you.

When you come up the Metro escalator at Lesseps, be sure to look all the way around you. I think one of the buildings I liked would be behind you as you exit.

In both cases you do as the park is on a hill...

This would be your way up if at Vallcarca station... note the station is further down, this would be half way up give or take. Just out of curiosity... so you see the typical Catalan sarcasm... this street is called "the Slope of Glory" :)) Once you get to the top, there's further walking to the gate of the park and then to the Monumental area.

If at Lesseps station, there's an even longer way to the "bottom" gate (main gate) of the park although not so steep. But then this is the view from the gate so plenty of stairs to the Natura square at the top of the picture, and that's by no means the top of the park, that's about an extra 15' uphill.

If you want to walk uphill in this scorching heat, be my guess... otherwise follow my indications :))

@acraven, that would be Casa Ramos. I should know, that's my neighbourhood :)) Nowadays it's a private condominium but was originally commissioned by Ricard Ramos, a wealthy Barcelonian boatbuilder and politician as his private residence. It was built by architect Jaume Torres Grau in 1905. It's pretty similar to another of the many buildings he designed in the city, the one in Carrer Aribau, 180 in l'Eixample. One of the movies by Spanish director Pedro Almodovar was shot inside this building. A teacher I had in the institute used to live there, on the third floor but facing the interior patio. Some shots of the impressive building: the entrance1, entrance2, the interior of one of the flats-1, flats-2, flats-3 and one of the many rooms and a view of the interior patio. As a curiosity, should anyone would like to purchase one of the flats... now it has been reduced and is merely 620.000€ for 1,500 sqft, after all, we're in the middle of a crisis here in Catalonia.

Thanks for posting those incredible pictures, Enric. It never occurred to me to try to peek into the building.

I agree that a bus (or taxi) approach to the park makes sense for most people. I use vacation sightseeing as a reason to get a lot of exercise since I'm quite sedentary at home. Barcelona was great for that since there was so much fabulous architecture to look at.

The Casa Ramos looks amazing! If possible I'm now even more excited to see Barcelona's dazzling architecture.

Ah no, my mistake @acraven, you cannot peek inside, that's as I said a private condominium. Well... you could step into the entrance, discretely, and have a peek, nobody will say anything, but if you start taking pictures as if it was a museum, neighbours will remind you it's their property and will ask you to leave. That's pretty much the norm here in Catalonia, you can peek, but discretely :)) Yet many condominiums here in Barcelona, especially in l'Eixample, have a lobby doorman -often living within the same property- and it's his duty to make sure people entering the premises are either neighbours or have some business to be in the building, therefore, if you're just peeking you might be asked not to.

@Debbie, there are dozens and dozens of buildings like this in the city. Almost all are private buildings, though, with people living there and/of offices. Some were in its origins private residences of wealthy industrialists and business people, but the vast majority have been since their construction, private condominiums owned by the middle and upper classes of the city. If you just walk certain areas, one being the district of l'Eixample, you can admire many beautiful façades (and, as I said, discretely peek the entrances). This is a short list of some of the Modernista buildings in that area, but there is much more in other areas of the city.

One that's particularly interesting is Casa Comalat, located in Diagonal, 442. I did a project once for a client that had his offices in that building. The video above gives a general overview, but the quality of the image doesn't allow to appreciate the details. Nearby, the Palau Baró de Quadras, now the HQ of the Institut Ramon Llull - an organisation for the promotion of the Catalan language and culture abroad- with an splendid interior (Diagonal, 373), or Casa Terrades (also known as Casa de Les Punxes, literally House of the Spikes)(Carrer del Rosselló, 260) among other. Also close, one that you can actually go into (and without paying any fee!), is the ground floor of the Hotel Casa Fuster (Passeig de Gràcia, 132) where the bar of the hotel is located. Very often Jazz concerts are offered there. It's the favourite spot of Woody Allen when he visits the city, which he does often. He has also played his clarinet there alongside local jazz musicians.

Lastly, this blog -albeit in Catalan only- will allow you to see a few of the façades and other Modernista elements I was referring to. It's maintained by a Modernista fan and the site contains a wealth of information on the buildings of that era. You could actually DIY a route based on it... simply plot the addresses in Google Maps :)

Those especially interested in Barcelona's modernista architecture should pick up the map, guidebook, and discount book offered for the Ruta del Modernisme for--I think--a total of 12 euros (I believe extra coupon books are about 5 euros each). The guidebook is a quality product, about 250 pages long with many color photos. The map is handy for quick reference as you're walking around, though other city maps do flag the main modernista sights. The web site I've linked to above has a lengthy (multi-page) description of a route encompassing many important buildings.

The RM packet used to be available at one of the city tourist offices but unfortunately can now be picked up only at the R.M. office on Avinguda Drassanes 6 (21st floor) or at the (out-of-the-way) Pavillions Guell, Avinguda Pedralbes 7.

The Drassanes office is open on Monday-Friday (not holidays) from 9 AM till 2 PM. The building looms over others in the area and is extremely easy to spot. It's pretty close to the port and very near the Drassanes Metro station. Av. Drassanes intersects with the Ramblas, forming a "V". The man who sold me the materials didn't speak English but was very nice. It should be reasonably easy to communicate what you want.

Thanks @acraven... I'd like to add that the bookstore of the Diputació de Barcelona (a unit of the government), located in Diagonal 393, has some very interesting -and very reasonably priced- books on Modernisme. One of the functions of this government bookstore, as a public service, is to promote publishers that might not be so mainstream --as they're often focused on certain themes or subjects that might be more specialized-- thus it's possible to find true gems on many subjects. Too bad civil servants are disastrous when it comes to marketing!

While the physical shop in itself is quite small, their catalog is large. On Modernisme for example you have a few books that I've not see in other bookstores: http://www1.diba.cat/llibreria/lstCercaRapida.asp?cerca=modernisme&Opener=Libreria There are two in particular that I find very interesting "Doors of Barcelona" and "Barcelona, 50 gems of Modernisme"

Should you visit it, you'll also find plenty of brochures and free booklets on many subjects of interest from the visitor's point of view: routes around Barcelona, gardens and parks, activities... How come these are not in the Tourism Information Offices?... boy, welcome to the wonderful world of turf wars between different government "departments" with different sets of responsibilities which in our case is further aggravated taking into account there are different governments involved, the government of Catalonia and the government of Spain :)))

Rats. Wish I'd known about that place three weeks ago!

In fairness to the tourist office, though, the Plaça de Catalunya location in particular has a large number of useful English-language brochures on display. When tourist offices are busy (and those in Barcelona constantly had lines, with many people wanting to buy site tickets), there's not a lot of time for the staff to ask probing questions and step over to the storage area to grab materials the visitor might theoretically be interested in. I really enjoyed browsing what was in the racks, from which I could grab brochures about things I might not have thought to ask about. It's a shame that more comprehensive Ruta del Modernisme materials are not offered, though.

Also for info, there are several TI offices in the city, one is at Palau Robert, much less busy than the one in Plaça Catalunya. Palau Robert is located at the beginning of Passeig de Gràcia, corner with Diagonal Ave, at a stone throw of La Pedrera. It also has an interior garden very useful to get a rest in hot summer days.

Btw, it's also around the corner from the bookstore I mentioned above.

Enric, thanks for that video of the Casa Comalat. The exterior is fantastic enough - I had no idea the interior was equally impressive!