August Itinerary suggestions please?

Posted by Supiii on 07/22/25 05:40 PM

Hello- I am coming to barcelona with my mum - i have been once before - first time for her. We will be doing all the touristy things + eating good food/ some nice bars. We are not huge into museums but more like architecture, walking around, beaches, exploring.

Was thinking of this plan - but would love ur suggestions: We are staying at Majestic - there for 4 full days and 2 half travel days

Day 1 - Arrive 1pm BCN airport - Check in hotel.

Wander over to Las Ramblas and Boqueria market, Gothic Quarter and then Bar Paradiso followed by dinner in the area

Day 2: 10am Sandelmans free walking tour 2.5 hours - ends around Hotel Suizo.
Lunch
3pm Sagrada Familia guided tour
5pm Park Guell Guided tour

Day 3: Morning tour of Casa Mila/Batlo
Afternoon/Evenig - walk around/ shopping
5pm Sips cocktail bar
Night: Flamenco show

Day 4: Girona and Costa Brava Small Group Tour

Day 5: Barcelona beach or walk around town in the am and then goto beach

Day 6: Flight out at 4pm - free in the morning

Questions:
- is day 2 too packed? would that be exhausting to do?
- i love beach and would love to see costa brava (also considered Sitges) - we dont drive - heard good things about Girona - so thought maybe a full day tour for 10 hours might be a good idea to get a taste? I also considered splitting up the trip and staying 3 nights in bcn, and 2 nights in Costa brava - but feels like too hectic perhaps if we come back on 24th from Costa brava and fly out that evening (international flights to nyc and india)
- would you still recommend sitges over costa brava for the beach day?
- rather than doing a tour - should we train to costa brava? we don't drive!! so thought it might be easiest to take a tour perhaps and then cover girona as well in it
- should we split up the trip and do 3 nights in bcn and 2 in costa brava - but would it be hard to get around without a car?
- we dont want to do montjuic or monserrat or picasso museum - any other must do we are missing?
- i will layer in restaurants and bars but first wanted to book the sights.

Posted by acraven

Washington DC

07/24/25 10:28 AM

29214 posts

I definitely would not schedule La Sagrada Familia at 3 PM and Parc Guell at 5 PM. They are not close together. I don't know how long the LSF tour you are contemplating is, but you may want to spend some extra time on your own in that magnificent church. I doubt very much that the tour takes you into the very interesting museum. Note that once you enter the shop, you cannot return to the church or museim.

The Gaudi sites in Barcrlona all have good audio guides, so that is an ootion if you aren't wedded to the idea of a tour.

Becasuse so many Barcelona sites require pre-purchase of timed tickets, it's difficult to put together an efficient sightseeing schedule. Who knows how much time you'll want to spend at each place (they're all extremely crowded), and you have to figure in travel between stops and lunch. My usual suggestion is to see one of the Gaudi sites first thing each available morning. Is there an afternoon walking tour you can take?

The Ramblas is nothing special except as a pickpocketing hotspot (one of the easiest places in the world to become a victim). If you head there immediately after a long flight, be especially careful about protecting your valuables--including cell phones.

Girona is worth a full day, but I'm sure many people sign up for a combo tour. You can easily go to Girona yourselves by train for the day. There are both regional trains (cheaper) and fast trains (more expensive) on that route.

Sitges also has train service.

The beaches north of Barcelona are reached by bus, I think. I don't know how practical it would be to make an independent day trip to Girona and one of those beaches.