So many of the main attractions as well as certain train tickets are suggested we buy a head of time. I am wondering if this will hold true even traveling in the Month of November. I have been told that is off peak so I thought I would ask the question.
Thanks
Traveling where?
Train tickets are cheaper if you buy in advance, doesn't matter what time of year. Maybe in low season, the cheap tickets sell out more slowly, but prices only go up.
Enric, our Barcelona native, says that his city doesn't really have a slow period, so I think it's not a good idea to show up at any of the following without a pre-purchased ticket unless you are fond of standing in line: La Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, Casa Mila (aka La Pedrera), Casa Batllo, and the Picasso Museum. In addition, the Palau de la Musica Catalana can only by seen on a tour offered by the site itself, and those need to be booked ahead of time.
I hope someone will correct me if I am wrong, but I think the Palau de la Musica Catalana is the spot where you really need to book more than a couple of days ahead; those tours do sell out, at least at times. Normally the other sites don't require buying so early if you're flexible on the time you go. A lot of people like to hit La Sagrada Familia at opening time when it is less crowded than later in the day, and Parc Guell is farther from the tourist zone and is therefore also conveniently visited either first thing in the morning or after LSF (if you can figure out the timing). Waiting till the day before your visit would be risky if you wanted to be sure to get tickets for the first time slot.
I didn't encounter much of a delay at the Palacio Real in Madrid, despite having no pre-purchased ticket, but I can imagine problems at other times. The site is very popular with the Spaniards themselves. I also saw no significant line at the Prado, but I believe that can happen. I'm not sure about the situation in November.
The Alhambra most definitely sells out way ahead of time, and I assume that applies in November. If you're going to Granada, plan to buy those tickets as soon after they go on sale as you can.
Sorry about not being specific. We will be in Barcelona 5 nights, Madrid 5 nights, Seville 5 nights? So just in general because we will be traveling in November I was wondering about purchasing tickets for attractions a head of time. One specific one is Segrada Familla when purchasing ahead which ticket option would you suggest personally? We really have no preference and are open to all suggestions.
We were in both Madrid and Seville in late April early May a few years ago and had no difficulties getting tickets to anything without huge lines. The Alhambra needs to be booked ahead; we were lucky to get the midday tickets that give access to ticketed areas all day; I am not sure that is still a possibility since they have made some change in ticketing recently. In any case, the Alhambra is the most visited site in Spain and must be booked well ahead to be sure of access.
We had no trouble getting walk up tickets to the Prado, Reine Sofia and Thyssen in Madrid and no difficulty visiting the Cathedral and Tower or Alcazar in Seville or the Mezquita in Cordoba. Definitely put the Mezquita on your list, perhaps stopping for an afternoon on your way from Seville to Madrid. It is the most interesting thing we saw in Spain and tht includes the Alhambra and the Alcazar in Seville both of which are fabulous.
https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2013/09/27/the-mezquita-at-least-the-catholics-had-the-good-sense-not-to-destroy-it-when-they-desecrated-it/
so in November I would not worry too much about tickets ahead except for the Alhambra and would book trains well in advance for cheap tickets. We booked all our trains long before we arrived in Europe but bought bus tickets Seville to Ronda on the spot.
Janettetravels thank you. I just posted to find out how I know the difference between trains and which to use. Sounds like our trips will be similar. We basically will do 5 nights in each place and do day trips and hoping 1 night in Cordoba on way from Sevilla to Madrid. That being said I would love to hear your suggestions and input. Thanks again
Cheryl, you will note that janettravels did not go to Barcelona. Crowds were much heavier at the Barcelona sites (early August) than at the Madrid sites in mid-May. I am very reluctant to say that you will have no problem in Barcelona if you wait till arrival to buy tickets, but having 5 days does help. Buying when you get to the city and have checked out the weather and learned about special events is not the same thing as walking up to the site and getting in line at the ticket office when you're ready to visit. You might get lucky once or twice, but you might end up standing in line for an hour or more. And in November the weather might be less than wonderful.
For sure the Palau de la Musica Catalana should be booked before you leave home if you don't want to take any chances and care about that site. The tours are not bi-lingual, and I assume you will need an English-language tour. This is not like the Alhambra situation, but people have missed this site for failure to pre-book the tour.
The Picasso Museum is bad enough that it is sometimes recommended that people book the Tourist Office's Picasso Tour because it ends at the museum and you have an hour or so on your own after the tour's walk-through. The website allows you to book a time-block now. It might be worth Googling to see what people have said recently about the line there.
When I checked with the Tourist Office early in my visit about how soon I needed to buy tickets for La Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell in order to get the first time slot, I was told two days ahead should be OK for LSF and one day ahead for PG. I do not promise that will work for you, but it did for me.
The T.O. sells tickets to most of the sites with problematic ticket lines. It does not handle Palau de la Musica Catalana tickets, and it does not sell tickets to the LSF towers. I bought the other tickets I needed at the Pl. Catalunya T.O. (which is underground), paying the 2-euro fee as a solo traveler for the convenience of not having to run around the city or worry about an e-receipt on my phone.
I did not ascend a tower at LSF, but there were some discussions here in 2016 about that experience; with luck the Search function will find them for you. You must choose which of the two towers you want to ascend.
Hi Cheryl, I was in Madrid and Barcelona the first week of November and we did not have any problems walking right up and getting tickets to anything in Madrid. I think the longest line we had to wait in was at the Palace and that was maybe 10 minutes. In Barcelona, for La Familia Sagrada we got our tickets on line the night before, just because we were short on time and didn't want to have to wait. When we arrived about 1245, the next available tickets to be bought onsite were for 1430.
We were in Barcelona for a week about 15 years ago and at that time lines were not an issue. Park Guell was just a park not an 'attraction' with tickets and we spent the whole day wandering around the towers of Sagrada Familia etc. So I have no advice on Barcelona as my experience is well out of date there. Our more recent trip was 3 years ago.
I think you really only need book ahead for ...
Barcelona - Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, Picasso Museum, Palau de la Musica Catalana
Granada - Alhambra
My experience is in February, also low season. As recommended to me here, I bought my Sagrada Familia ticket in advance (only a day or two beforehand after I was in Barcelona), for the first entry. I lined up about 30 minutes early, and was one of the first in line. I had lots of time to take nearly people-free photos and sit and enjoy the nave for a few minutes quietly. If you are also planning to go up one of the towers, I'd leave at least an hour to see the church detail before the ascent. You can spend as much time after the tower as you like seeing the rest of the church and the museum.
Forgot to add about the Palau de la Musica. . . . It's likely that you can just walk up and get tickets for that day, but maybe not for the very next tour. If you are spending time in nearby places, start there and play it by ear. The cafe has reasonable prices and is also beautiful, so stop for a drink/snack/lunch before or after the tour.
Wow the Sagrada FAmilia visit has really changed since we were there. We spent hours wandering around from tower to tower with no limitations. Taking pictures and jsut exploring was really fun.
Haha Janet. That is exactly how I remember my first visit in 1989. I've been twice since, and it is a different experience.
