Barcelona Detailed 7 Day Itinerary

I think you have put together a well-thought out itinerary. I'm glad you're going to Tarragona. If you like Saint Pau, you might consider the Palace of Catalan Music.

http://www.palaumusica.cat/en

Good luck at the Classic!

Hi Courtney

Also glad you are going down to Tarragona, I think that it is an underrated part of Catalunya, as many people tend to just go north to the Costa Brava. Overall you have a pretty good schedule, it is definitely very active, but doable, I would just reserve some flexibility to drop a site or two in case the load gets too heavy.

I am also a bit of a history buff :) If you are in Gothic Quarter there is a pretty good (and overlooked) history museum called the Museu historic de la ciudad de Barcelona. It houses the archaeological remains of Roman Barcelona (Barcino) together with the medieval royal palace, Plaça del Rei. The really cool part about this museum is that the Roman ruins are actually all underground. You take an elevator down to a 4,000 square meter subterranean archaeological site, directly below the Gothic Quarter!

Bill makes a really good point, La Mercè totally slipped my mind. You should definitely look into your first two days (Sept 23-24) so that you can enjoy some of the really unique events. La Mercè is the annual festival of the city of Barcelona that begins on Sept 21st and ends the 24th. There are 100s of events spread throughout Barcelona's squares, streets, museums, and parks. The best part - all the entertainment is free!

Make sure to check out the Castellers, which are human towers built by teams of the local communities. Also something that is really cool is the Correfoc, which I would describe as a pyro-musical with synchronized fireworks, there is usually a big one at the base of the Montjuïc mountain.

You can use the helpful link that Bill provided to search for specific La Mercè events.

Okay, thank you all for the additional information. Another poster mentioned about the festival, but I didn’t realize just how big it would be! I’ll keep that in mind and not be too married to my Monday plans.

I am staying in La Fira, due to it’s proximity to The Arnold Classic location. I know I’m a little out of the center of things, but it looks like I’m still on the map as far as public transit goes.

Also, thank you for the tip on grocery shopping— it’s just the American in me that forgets not everywhere is 24-7! Haha!!

From the standpoint of attacking jetlag, being outdoors rather than indoors (cooking) would be better on your arrival day.

You need to buy tickets in advance for the following sights, else you will spend all your time standing in ticket lines and see very little: Picasso Museum, La Sagrada Familia and La Pedrera. Probably also the Dali Museum.

Since you are not super-big on art, allow me to say that the Picasso Museum is often an utter zoo--packed to the gills to the point that you can hardly move through the crowds. I would susbstitute something else unless you are specifically a fan of Picasso. The Miro Museum is a much more pleasant experience, and the MNAC is really good. It's large, so you'd have to be selective. I was impressed by the frescoes rescued from churches in the Pyrenees and the modernisme collection.

I was very unimpressed by Barceloneta and don't quite get why it's on so many lists. A lot of people go there to eat seafood (I did not), but that's not part of your plan. I'd skip it and use the time elsewhere.

The 27th and 28th back-to-back will be tough. Girona deserves a day all by itself, and it's a lovely place to wander in the evening. I don't see you getting back to Barcelona very early that night. La Sagrada Familia needs at least 90 minutes if you don't want to ascend a tower. I don't know how much time that adds, but I'd assume at least 30 minutes. At Sant Pau 2 hours wasn't enough for me, and I think they've opened an additonal building since my 2016 visit. For La Pedrera you should allow a solid 90 minutes. Somewhere in there you need to eat.

Speaking of food, are you aware that they eat very late in Catalunya? Lunch may not begin till 2 PM and dinner doesn't start before 9 or 10 PM. Tapas are available earlier, so you'll be able to take advantage of those if you get hungry earlier and aren't ready to head back to your apartment.

You may be able to save a good bit of money on the fast trains to Figueres and Girona if you buy tickets now rather than waiting until you arrive in Barcelona. Compare fares for your travel date to those for today/tomorrow. I think sell-outs are also possible, and you don't have a lot of flexibility in your schedule.

Ann, I feel your "I wasn't impressed with La Barceloneta"... I don't understand either why it's such a landmark for many. I guess people get carried away with some guide books. I tend to take what a book says -including Rick Steve's (sorry Rick, no pun intended!)- with a pinch of salt. Too often the "impression" of someone who has visited for a mere few days is far too superficial and sometimes they are misguided or plainly wrong.

La Barceloneta is a neighbourhood built from 1716 onwards when the neighbours of a large chunk of nearby La Ribera neighbourhood -where the famous El Born boulevard is located- where literally 'expelled' by the Spanish army that invaded the city after the 1701-1715 war. This was fought between the Crown of Aragon -a sort of confederation where Catalonia was part of- and the Crown of Castille and involved most of the European powers. The Catalans were sided by most of the existing empires (Austro-Hungarian, Portuguese, English...) while the Spanish(Castillians) were sided by the French. The invading armies turned that part of La Ribera into one of the biggest fortresses in Europe (at the time) in order to submit and control Barcelona for decades to come.

The ruins of part of that demolished neighbourhood were unearthed recently and they can be seen in an excellent exhibition at El Born Centre for Culture and Memory.

The City Government firstly petition the Spanish Government to tear it down in 1794, but it was ignored. Again in 1840, 1845 and 1862 with the same results. It wasn't until the revolution of 1868 when the fortress was ceded to the City Hall, the barracks dismantled and the walls were torn down. That fortress is today's Parc de la Ciutadella.

In the Early Modern period, fortresses needed to clear the terrain around them at least "the length of the distance a cannonball can travel" in order to be effective, so the Spanish ordered the demolition of a chunk of the neighbourhood and the inhabitants had to go elsewhere. Since many were fishermen, they moved to an area by the beach near the Old Port of the city and founded today's La Barceloneta.

While it might give the impression to some readers that it might resemble a sort of postcard-like picturesque fishermen hood... I am afraid it's not quite that by a long shot. The neighbourhood is full of narrow streets in a grid pattern with cheaply-built small three-storey high buildings with tiny (literally tiny!) flats.

If anything, the catch for many to be in the neighbourhood is that the beach is literally 5' away or less, however, it's a noisy and rowdy area, especially in summer where many thousands, city residents and visitors alike, flock to the beaches of the city. Still, some visitors seem to like to stay in La Barceloneta...

But again, this is not to mean it's not worth a stroll -if you have the spare time- and if you like seafood and fish, a lunch or a dinner at Can Ramonet, initially opened in 1753, or at El 7 Portes, from 1836 is a must.

Enjoy!

Thank you all so much for the additional replies and recommendations (sorry, I've been traveling for work and feel like I haven't had a spare minute lately!)
Since Monday it sounds like 2 of the 3 items on my list for that day are hit or miss in terms of good experiences, I think I'll just play it by ear that day and not be married to a particular schedule so I can enjoy the festival.
I got my tickets for Segrada Familia and will look into ones for Sant Pau and La Pedrera as well. We got word that the rules meet with start at 6pm, so I am thinking we might want to cut out one of those sites.
I am aware of the later eating schedule, which is the custom in the region, so AM/PM on my list should probably be more like pre-lunch/post-lunch. :-P
Again, thank you all for the input-- it is much appreciated!

I will pipe in and say that personally, the best thing about Barceloneta is the boardwalk/beach. It's nice to walk down by the beach on a sunny day. However, that's about all. I agree with swapping the Picasso Museum with the Miro Institute. Less crowded and IMHO, more interesting about a artist not as well known. Plus the views from the second floor terrace are gorgeous. If you decide to do the museum, consider taking the Teleferico/cable car up Montjuic and then walk the path down, it goes right past the museum the walk is very pleasant with some great vistas.

Thank you Heather!

I just wanted to thank everyone for their advice! I ended up going to the Maritime Museum on Monday because it was free for the holiday and then enjoying the La Merce festivities (fireworks) that evening. We ended up cutting out La Pedrera on Friday and really didn't do much on Saturday other than relax, get registered for the competition and do a float-tank session. I also was able to get to see Montjuic, which was very interesting and had beautiful views. While I didn't see as much as I orginially planned, I felt like I still got a true Barcelona experience! Thank you again for all your help!

@courtneymartin415 - Glad you enjoyed your time in Barcelona and also were able to experience La Mercè. Now you have all the more reason to return to see the sights on your original list you were not able to get to. I hope you had a good time competing in the Arnold Classic too! :)

Oh yes! Forgot to add that I finished in 3rd place! :-)

WOW!!! Congratulations on your achievement! :)

Bravo!

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