Barcelona - a very short stay: would love feedback on our itinerary

You definitely need to reserve timed tickets ahead of time for Sagrada Familia and Casa Batllo. Plan on 60-90 minutes inside each site. Try to reserve Sagrada Familia for opening hour at 9am because the security check and entry lines quickly build and you don’t want to waste precious time standing outside in lines as the heat of the day increases. We didn’t need pre-purchased tickets for Casa Vicens and it wasn’t crowded so that worked out fine.

Personally, I would skip Park Guell and instead visit the fantastic complex of Montaner’s architectural masterpieces at the Hospital de Sant Pau. It’s much larger and more impressive than Park Guell, and you can go inside the buildings. It is somewhat near Sagrada Familia, so visiting it after the cathedral makes sense logistically. No need to pre-reserve tickets for Hospital de Sant Pau.

I think your plan for day one works. For shopping, there is an “El Corte Ingles” shopping center right at Plaça de Catalunya where you’ll be staying.

During the evening of Day 1, I highly recommend seeing the interior of Palau de la Musica Catalana— another Barcelona Modernista masterpiece.
If you go to an evening Flamenco or other performance there, you can also see the magnificent stained glass windows and details of the concert hall at sunset before the show begins. Palau de la Musica Catalana is near the Gothic quarter.

Have fun in Barcelona!

To me Casa Vicens is a lot less interesting than the other Gaudi sites you mentioned (and also less interesting than Casa Mila/La Pedrera). Only a very few restored rooms were open as of 2019. Your trip is very short and Casa Vincens isn't particularly conveniently located. I'd skip it.

I agree that both Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau and the Palau de la Musica Catalana are great. I think you have too many possibilities for what amounts to just one full, we-hope-not-jetlagged day in Barcelona. However, the Palau de la Musica Catalana is worth seeing even if there's only time for the fabulous exterior. You should be able to swing by there on the way to or from the Barri Gotic. I'd be too sleepy and jetlagged on arrival day to want to go to a performance of any sort.

I'd plan a rock-bottom minimum of 90 minutes at each Gaudi site. Those are expensive tickets, and those places have a lot to see. There are good audio guides, and the Sagrada Familia museum is very interesting. They're also crowded, which is likely to slow you down to some degree. As already mentioned, your schedule also needs to allow for possibly not getting inside until later than the time on your tickets. And then there's travel time from site to site and lunch.

In one wonderful day, we went to Sagrada Familia with reserved tickets at opening, walked to Recinte Modernista San Pau, had lunch nearby, then took a bus up to Parc Guell. Sagrada Familia and San Pau were fabulous. Parc Guell, while interesting, was over crowded and, for us, missable. Staying near Placa de Catalunya is perfect. Enjoy!

1. No, stick to two (max three) sites on a single day -assuming you've got the whole day. My choice?... ParkGüell or Recinte Modernista Sant Pau > SagFam > La Pedrera in the evening
2. I don't get the question: there are over two dozen Modernist sites to see in Barcelona, not just "three casas".
3. You need to prebook in advance, for some sites (ie, SagFam), tickets are only sold online. You choose your time slot and visit at that hour, no waiting in queues

For your teen: there are literally hundreds of shops aimed at teens everywhere, but since you're just staying a day and a half... these stretches in the centre (and the adjacent narrow streets) are full of shops she'll love: https://www.scribblemaps.com/maps/view/BCN-Teen-shopping-centre/GoV8X0IiZd

Enjoy!

What a great feedback and advice! Really appreciate you all sharing your thoughts on the logistics, sites to see / skip, tickets, etc., much appreciated!
I have added Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau (in place of Park Guel) and Palau de la Musica Catalana (and will look into shows / concerts there, but might be too much). Yeah, I know, we will be very jet-legged, but, hey, we don't get to visit Spain that often to allow too much rest :) We'll rest in trains when travelling between cities.

For the benefit of others, when Enric says you need to book ahead, you need to book ahead.

I tried to book La Sagrada Familia a little under three weeks in advance and couldn't find any availability booking directly via the site. I've ended up booking (cancelable) via Viator at a higher price than I would have paid booking direct.

I think Barcelona's beaches are #255 on the list of things to do in Barcelona; especially with only 1.5 days. I would try to convince people in your group that there are much better uses of your really limited time.

As mentioned above, Sant Pau is a better choice than Park Fuel; especially since it's a quick restaurant-lined pedestrian street away from Sagrada Famila and you won't need to reserve tickets.

Casa Vincens is absolutely worthwhile. It's just different and "homey" IMO, and highlights a different part of his creative arc. In the context of a short visit however, I do would focus on the "peak Gaudi" creations unless you choose lodging nearby.

I agree with much of what Kenko said above. Evening rooftop performance was a highlight as was the tour of the the Palau Musica Catalan during the day. We didn't do a nighttime concert but next time I would. But your time is so limited so maybe choose the other which also gets you evening access to one of the Gaudi Casas.

I suggest skipping the beach, nothing so remarkable there.
You may be able to do all you plan, but, to be sure, I suggest you consider taking a tour of the city. We did a city tour that covered all the places you mentioned except the beach. However, it did not allow us to go inside Sagrada Familia. We had to go back for that. This was over 30 years ago and we didn't make reservations, but the line was long.

The tour we took did not go inside the Casas. Frankly, we weren't interested in doing that at that time. But, on our second visit to Barcelona, we decided to go to the most amazing Casa and did it inside as well. It took us a bit of time for that. I believe you won't be able to go inside all three.

One thing to do is visit a great tapas bar. We did that in the area near the Gothic Quarter and made it dinner (it was about 6pm).

Update to acraven above. My visit was 2024. If there were any rooms at Casa Vicens not available and renovated for tourist visits, I was unaware of them. Acraven helpfullly demonstrates the value of knowing the date of an experience - 2019 to 2024 - things change! (and I note that my experience was 18 months ago!)

That said, as regards Gaudi houses, I visited Casa VIcens, La Pedera, Casa Batllo, and Palau Güell. I would be hard pressed to name a favorite - or a disappointment. Each is unique. La Pedera, Casa Batllo are perhaps the most well-known - and as I recall, the most expensive.....

Additionally, as noted above, Hospital de Sant Pau and Palau de la Música Catalana by Domènech I Montaner are well worth while.

I found Parc Guell interesting, but I had much more time than 1.5 days. Planning here, I would weigh my personal preference for outdoors vs visiting one of the Modernisme buildings.

Too much in Barcelona for such a short time! I would be tempted to schedule Sagrada Familia and other Modernisme sites based on proximity and time available. And, plan a return trip! (and, I would skip the beach..........)

1. What would you definitely skip for the first visit?

I'd skip the beach. You don't have enough time.

Get your tickets NOW for Sagrada Familia. Your timing here ( and at one the Gaudi houses) schedules everything else you want to do.

For a short time like yours, pick ONE casa. I would choose La Pedrera - Casa Mila. (buy tickets in advance)
If you had more days, I would visit Sant Pau hospital and Palau de la Musica Catalana. (probably need to book tickets in advance to get the English tour)

If you are going to visit Parc Guell, do it first thing in the morning. The weather may get very hot in the afternoon.

La Mercat de la Boquieria is an open air market with many stalls. I suppose you could nosh your way through each vendor, but don't expect a sit down all-out restaurant service experience.
I'd consider a restaurant with some Barcelona history such as Le quatre gats (the 4 cats) or Las Caracolas. Spaniards eat dinner late so even if you make dinner reservations at 7 pm, you and other tourists will be primarily the first people there.

Also, to avoid backtracking or excessive walking, from Plaça Catalunya, walking down the Las Ramblas, you would stop at La Boquiera, then the Gothic quarter and then if you must, the beach at Barceloneta.

Thank you so much for all the suggestions!
So, our plan is forming up approximately as follows:
Day 1, late afternoon:
Just walking around, potentially visiting one of the Casas (likely Casa Batlló, for which, though, I see there are only evening tickets left), explore Mercat de la Boqueria, skip the beach.
However, what I just recently found out is that on our arrival day (Day 1) there will be the first day of La Mercè street festival! So, I guess, that will be the deciding factor of where to go and what to see, and the main highlight of our day 1.
Day 2:
Sagrada Familia in the morning (booked),
Then, walking to and exploring Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau.
Lunch, another one of the Casas (if we feel like another one or weren't able to visit the one on our arrival - and the street festival - day).
Planning to visit Palau de la Musica Catalana in the evening; however, couldn't find any performances there, so likely will be just a tour.
Dinner at one of the suggested restaurants (Els 4 Gats or similar).
Very excited about our trip!

A couple comments -
The evening tickets to Casa Batllo that you reference may be "magical nights" which would end up on the roof for a flamenco or other concert. It's a great way to spend an evening and it wraps up before dinner starts in the city.

The English tours of the Palau de la Musica Catalanaduring the day have the advantage that you get to see the stained glass ceiling all lit up with sunlight. So I think that's a good turn of events