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Barcelona - first afternoon, sight selection

Hi!

I'd like some ideas on which of our must see sights would fit best on our first (not full day) in Barcelona.

We are a family of four (50 yo adults, 13 and 17 yo kids) scheduled to arrive in Barcelona (from Iceland) on Wednesday, June 19th at 2:45pm. Traveling light (no checked bags) and staying in Ciutat Vella.

I figure we'll need to be active after we drop our stuff at the hotel, so looking at a few sights we can see that day, also recognizing we may be a bit fatigued from the travel (our flight leaves Iceland at 8:35am) and will want to eat dinner.

The places on our "must see" in Barcelona are: Sagrada Familia, Park Güell, Barcelona History Museum, Spanish Civil Walking Tour, Catalan Art Museum and a day trip to Montserrat. We have plans to attend an event at the Palace of Catalan Music on a different day.

My gut says either Catalan Art Museum (open til 8pm) and Montjuïc area or combo of Sagrada Familia and Park Güell.

Thoughts?

Side note - we have a wonky schedule (long story covered by other posts!) in that we will arrive in Barcelona 6/19, for one night and full day (on the 20th), then to Valencia for 3 nights and back in Barcelona on the 23rd for 2-3 more nights.

Posted by
28082 posts

Of the sights you list, it's La Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell that will be crowded and will require you to purchase tickets in advance. I usually suggest that one of those tough sights be planned for first thing each morning, so you don't have to worry about finishing a visit to a different sight and getting to the tough one on time. Other than that, I can't think of a major reason to schedule things on any particular day.

If you're still energetic after you get settled in Barcelona after arriving from Iceland, it's not a bad plan to take advantage of the late hours at the MNAC. However, if you think you might have a bit of jet lag to deal with, an outdoor activity would be better.