My husband and I are travelling to Barcellono in late march. I wonder where is the best place to stay? Would 3 or 4 days be too long for this city. We are not big city people but would really like to get a taste of spain. Should we stay in Barcellona or travel to Madrid. I worry about Covid-19. I really appreciate any recommendations.
Do you have any recommendations for accommodation. We will visiting Gaudi's Sagrada Familia, Montjjuic Hill and Park Guell. What else should we do?
Ten days would not be too long for Barcelona. If you want to experience a smaller town, Girona is an amazing smaller town just a half hour away from Barcelona by train. I don't know, though, for as much as I loved Girona, I don't really feel like you have enough time for just Barcelona. There is quite a variety of things to do there. We concentrated on the Gaudi sights like La Sagrada Familia, Casa Mila and Park Guell. They also have art museums, the cathedral, the coast, so much to do. You can watch the Rick Steves TV shows right on this website under "watch, read, listen".
In terms of getting a "taste of Spain", I've only been to Madrid and surrounding area, Andalusia and then the Catalan area (Barcelona, Girona, Besalu, etc.) Each part of Spain is very, very different. We are looking forward to visiting the Basque area and beyond next fall. I think people less familiar with Spain, are thinking of Andalusia when they think of Spain.
To get useful advice, you really need to give us more details about your trip and yourselves. What is the total length of your trip? Where else are you going? What are your interests?
Barcelona is one of my favorite cities in the world; and, in my opinion, you can barely do it justice in 4 days. But then, l’m interested in art, architecture, history, local culture, and food. Barcelona abounds with outstanding art museums. You will never see another city with the same architecture. The food is fantastic.
However, Barcelona is part of a distinctive region of Spain called Catalonia. You may find, for example, that information in museum displays is given first in Catalan, then in English, and lastly in Spanish. The food is also somewhat different from other regions. There is a significant sentiment in favor of independence.
I also like Madrid, but it definitely has more of a big city feel to it.
If you only have 3-4 days then stay in Barcelona. Madrid is definitely worth visiting if your Barcelona stay is part of a longer trip.
There are plenty of things to see in Barcelona to keep you busy for 4 days, especially if you take any day trips. A week would be better if you had the time.
With four days you can take a direct train from Barcelona Sants station to Figures-Vilafant (1h) and follow the people to the Dali Theatre-Museum. You can also take a day trip to Montserrat. Be sure you also visit the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona and buy your tickets before leaving home. Do the same for Dali’s museum in Figures.
Regarding where to stay, Barcelona's areas are very different from one another - staying near the Gothic Quarter will have an entirely different vibe than the Eixample, so it depends on your preferences and budget. No matter where you choose to stay make sure you are near a Metro stop. Barcelona is deceptively huge, and the Metro makes getting around so much easier. Expect a lot of stairs, though, as many stations don't have elevators or escalators yet.
As far as how long to stay, we were there six days this fall and still didn't get to everything we wanted to see. But again it depends on your interests. I absolutely recommend Sagrada Familia, especially on a sunny day. The interior space was breathtaking.
Enjoy your trip!
We spent 5 days in Barcelona and it wasn't enough. There is so much to see and do. But I don't know what you are interested in seeing or doing? Do you like museums? There is the Miro Museum, the Picasso museum, to name a few. Do you like visiting churches? We visited the main Cathedral and also Santa Maria del mar cathedral. Do you like architecture? There is lots of Gaudi designed buildings worth visiting. Do you like walking around? Take the Runner bean tours of the Bari Gotic or El Born.
With only those 3-4 days, I would stay in Barcelona.
As for accommodations, I like area OFF OF, (Not on) the Las Ramblas, such as the Hotel Jazz or the Hotel Pulitzer or near the Placa Catalunya or along the Passieg de gracias.
Rick Steve groups sometimes stay at the Catalonia Portal de Angel, which is well located to sites you want to see.
Good luck in your trip planning.
We have visited Barcelona three times, spending a total of 8 days there. We had cruises that left from that port.
We pretty much covered the city sites as well as Monserrat. 4-5 days would be about right if you had other places to visit on your trip. Toledo, Seville and Granada are my favorite cities in Spain to visit..
