Barcelona - Gaudi Day - Monsteratt - Rick's Walks

I can't answer all your questions, but perhaps this will help:

• Your Gaudi day is over-packed.

• For La Sagrada Familia I suggest booking your entry for the earliest time slot so you get to see the church before it is extremely crowded. If you decide to go up one of the towers (check YouTube for videos to help you decide), book that ticket for about 1 hour later. If you do not see all you want of the church before ascending the tower, you can spend more time on the lower level afterward. There's also a smallish museum. Finally, there's a gift shop with some nice things. Once you enter the gift shop you cannot return to the church.

• A bus (or taxi, of course) will get you closest to Parc Guell. The two closest Metro stations are about a 1-mile uphill walk from the park. Here is a link to an earlier thread that discussed how to get to Parc Guell: Aug 2016 Thread. Note that Enric provided a link to some detailed information that he posted in a TripAdvisor thread in 2014. How much time you spend at Parc Guell will depend on how much of it you want to cover. The pay-to-enter area (aka "the Monumental Zone") is only part of the park. There's also the gatekeeper's cottage, for which you must line up separately, and the wait in that line can be very long. To mitigate that you could schedule Parc Guell first thing on a different morning and go straight to the gatekeeper's cottage.

• Casa Batllo is usually mobbed. You can still see the interiors, but it's not the best situation. I'd figure on around 90 minutes for a fairly typical visit. I doubt that you will get through that fast.

• La Pedrera/Casa Mila is also extremely popular but I found it not quite as packed as Casa Batllo. This, too, might be around a 90-minute site except that on the top floor there's a lot of additional information (including videos) on other Gaudi buildings, including those in other cities. I think I spent about 3 hours at La Pedrera even though I had already seen some of those buildings.

I don't see how you can fit all four of those sights into a single day by the time you build in the necessary time buffers and allow for moving between them plus food.

All the above tickets should be purchased ahead of time to avoid ticket lines and make your day(s) as efficient as possible. LSF is the trickiest because word is out that the first time slot is very advantageous. Parc Guell is next for the same reason. The other two didn't need much lead time when I visited in August 2016, and I'd consider waiting until I had a reliable weather forecast. The houses are not far apart and would be a good place to spend a rainy afternoon.

These are other sites/experiences you might be interested in:

• Palau de la Musica Catalana. Fabulous modernist theatre. Not Gaudi, but you should see it. Requires a tour (offered in English). Book ahead. Less than one hour if not augmented by short organ concert.

• Sant Pau. Former hospital, ditto. Multi-building site. English tour or audio tour. More than 2 hours, I think. Can walk right in.

• Tourist office's modernisme tour (2 hours). Includes very short visit to modernisme museum which I think you'll want to see in any case. (I also liked the Barri Gotic walking tour.)

• The Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya has a modernism collection, among other fine things.

The Ruta del Modernsime website has a lot of great info. As long as you're staying, you'd benefit from their book and map. The book confers modest discounts.

For Batllo and Mila you can get VIP tickets that aren't timed - walk in through the fast entrance anytime you want. It's a little pricey but may be worth it to save time. I'd do Sagrada Familia at opening then the houses and the park at the end of the day if you must do it all in one day.

Honestly I'd pick 2 and do them in the AM then do a Rick Steves walk in the afternoon, repeat with the other 2 another day. I did exactly this - Sagrada Familia for 2 hours (no tower for me), then Casa Batllo. Then lunch and walk.

Then a later day - taxi to Park Guell early then Casa Mila. Then walk.

Thank you. Great jumping off place... And thank you for the suggestions for other sites of interest.

I certainly don't need to do them all in one day. I can certainly do Sagrada Familia and Park Guell first thing on two different mornings.

Tickets are available now for Park Guell, but for Sagrada Familia the calendar is only through March. I couldn't find anything on the website that said how far in advance tickets are available - I am assuming April will become available March 1st??

I am trying to make plans for Easter and Easter Monday. I don't know what to expect as far as crowds, closures, etc.

• Easter Sunday - Rick's 2 walks? It is my first full day there and would be a good day to wander.

• Easter Monday - Monsterrat? Will it be crowded? I can do another day but, again, I am just trying to put together an itinerary so that I don't miss anything that is important to me.

One other important question!!! Are the over 65 tickets available to all or to just EU? I have been other places in Europe where it was just EU citizens but it didn't specify. I don't want to purchase tickets that will be problematic when entering.

Thank you,

For the age thing, see this earlier thread, especially the post by Enric, a Barcelona resident. Actually, I think I recall a different, more comprehensive post on this subject, but I couldn't find it quickly. Basically, the story seems to be that folks over 65 (or "pensioners") often will get discounts even if not from Spain or the EU, but some discounts are only offered to local residents. I'm not sure how many discounts there will be at privately-run attractions. The consensus seems to be that either a driver's license (I guess with a photo) or a passport would be OK as proof of age except at those places that specifically require some sort of locally-issued card.

To be sure, drill down on the official website of each attraction and you'll usually find a pretty clear statement about who gets a discount or free entry.

About the timing of ticket purchases: I hope Enric responds, because I'm uncomfortable about how Easter Week might affect things. It seems to me that would be an especially attractive time for Europeans to take short trips to Barcelona and thus might be really busy.

What the Pl. Catalunya (underground) tourist office told me in August last year was that to be reasonably sure of getting the first time slot at La Sagrada Familia, I should buy the ticket 2 days ahead, and for Parc Guell, 1 day ahead. That worked for me, but Easter Week may be different.

Incidentally, the tourist office sells tickets (1-euro service fee per ticket last year) for most of the sights that tend to have lines. It was worth the convenience to me since my hotel was very nearby and the T.O. has lots of very useful English-language brochures to browse. The two major book-ahead sights that were not sold by the T.O. were:

• Towers at La Sagrada Familia (they do handle the basic church entry)
• Palau de la Musica Catalana

I don't know whether the T.O. handles the premium "anytime" tickets to Casa Batllo and La Pedrera.

The tourist office has a handy piece of paper that lists places that are free at particular times of the week or month. It's worth asking for; it's not out on display. If you can't get there early in your trip, I suggest going to the websites of the places you plan to visit to be sure you aren't paying unnecessary entry fees. The latter add up rapidly in Barcelona. I see, for example, that the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (closed on Mondays) is free after 3 PM on Saturday, and the website indicates that it's always free for those over 65--a fabulous deal if there is no "gotcha".

Hi Sharon,
It seems you have 8 full days, Sunday to Sunday, so a good amount of time for you to experience Barcelona (and surrounds) in depth.

For me 8 days would unfold like this...
1. Sagrada Familia, Sant Pau, Park Guell
2. Ramblas, MACBA, CCCB, Palau Guell, Bari Gotic
3. Palau de la Musica Catalana, El Born/La Ribera, Picasso Museum, Parc de la Ciutadella, Barceloneta
4. Montjuic, Miro, MNAC, Fountains
5. Passeig de Gracia, Casa Mila, Casa Batllo, Eixample
6. Montserrat
7. Girona and/or Figueres
8. Tarragona

I think Girona shouldn't share a day with Figueres! But I'm very fond of Girona. I guess it depends upon whether you arrive in town with a "spots to hit" list or want to spend some time wandering and soaking it in. The historic area is quite large and there are two cathedrals, plus the walkable wall. The museum, though not large, is very good (I especially urge a visit if you will not have time for MNAC in Barcelona), and I think it could use 2 hours. I had less time and planned to return but was thwarted by a bus from Ripoll that simply did not show up. Oh--There's a building right on the river you might be interested in touring. I missed it because of scheduling issues: Casa Maso. There are some positive comments on TripAdvisor. Check ahead of time about hours; I think they may be limited.

I did not go to the Dali Theatre and Museum in Figueres (pre-booking probably essential) but now regret it because friends came back raving about it. I wasn't aware of the jewelry collection.

This is all assuming you can tear yourself away from Barcelona. It took me two visits totaling about 5 hours just to see the MNAC, and I do not have a special fondness for Spanish painting.

Hi there!

Ann has indeed explained very well how senior discounts work. Most sites offer discounts for seniors, students, etc. but you need to read each website as different rules might apply. As per how to prove age, as mentioned, anything with your picture and DoB will suffice -it could be your Wallmart card if that was the case :)) but it needs to have these two pieces of information.

For the past decades, Barcelona -much like London or Paris- has become a year-round destination, be for vacationers, business travellers, student breaks, weekend escapades or senior tours. This means that there are no high and low seasons anymore and the number of visitors varies from week to week. Sometimes the city is busy in the unlikeliest of the weeks, maybe it's being hosted an especial event (ie. one or several simultaneous international congresses or tradeshows, such as the Mobile World Congress at the end of February which draws over 100.000 visitors. Check the 2017 calendar for these), a cultural festival (ie. Festes de Gràcia in August or La Mercè in September, both attracting huge crowds), a major sports tournament, etc.... and sometimes there's no rational explanation and it's just because. To this, add up the 'traditional' festive periods of Easter, Summer and Christmas which always bring a lot of visitors, both local and foreign alike. In short, the rule of thumb is always to assume the worst scenario, so pre-booking is highly advised. Two or three days in advance should suffice at busy periods of the year such as Easter... but again, there is no guarantee, so either pre-book earlier or else prepare to be flexible in the hours. What I can totally assure you is that in busy weeks don't you try to "just drop by the ticket booth" of the most popular sites... it's 99.9% sure you won't find tickets for the day.

The "free sites at particular times" are indeed worth asking for... but I'm afraid the reality is that since this is an expensive city, when something is free, Barcelonians immediately take advantage of it... resulting in queues of course (ie. these are the queues to get into Picasso Museum most Sunday afternoons -which is free :))

Maybe I missed it, but are you planning to use public transportation? If so, be careful about Easter Monday; many times the schedules are limited, occasionally non-existent.

Public transportation works 365 days per year in Barcelona. On public holidays there might be less availability but it's available nonetheless. Same goes for regional trains here in Catalonia. Only smaller rural bus lines might not offer service on certain public holidays.

A picture is worth a thousand words, as they say. But I'm not sure the Picasso Museum entry line was any different on the paid-entry day when I visited last August. I got in without pre-purchasing a timed ticket by taking the tourist office's Picasso Tour. It did take 10 or 15 minutes for the guide to deal with picking up our tickets, but we were able to hang around indoors and had time for a restroom break.

I suspect the Picasso Museum is a zoo every minute of every day. I suppose if you bought the first possible entry time and headed right away to the most distant part of the museum, you might have some uncrowded moments. Because of the difficulty of getting close enough to read the identifying signage, the audio guide might be especially useful here. Assuming you can get close enough to read the guide-numbers on the signs, that is.

The Prado on the (seemingly little-known) free-entry Museum Day didn't hold a candle to the Picasso Museum. The only more crowded place I visited was Casa Batllo. Mind you, I haven't been to the Vatican Museums recently and am willing to admit that they may also be worse.

So much good information. Thank You! I will pull bits and pieces from each of your messages and fit them in to complete my puzzle. I will have been traveling almost 3 weeks when I reach Barcelona - Lisbon for 8 days, Porto 3 days, Madrid 8 days.
I am not a if it's Tuesday, it must be Belgium type of traveler. Less is more... I like to wander (with some structure) and experience the moment. I have ordered the Ruta del Modernisme Guide so I can go through it and make notes in my daily itinerary before I arrive. I will use whatever transportation is most convenient for best use of time - my preferred mode of transportation whenever possible is walking.

I do have one tour day planned. It is with Spanish Trails - at this point there are 3 of us. It is a semi-private tour for up to 7 persons, 10-11 hours duration to Figures, Port Liligat, Cadaques. I will post review after but the people with whom I have been in contact are very responsive and customer service oriented.

I have a Dali Tour planned. It is with Spanish Trails - at this point there are 3 of us. It is a semi-private tour for up to 7 persons, 10-11 hours duration to Figures, Port Liligat, Cadaques. Gerona does interest me so I will see if I can fit it in. I am not a if it's Tuesday, it must be Belgium type of traveler. Less is more... I like to wander (with some structure) and experience the moment. I have ordered the Ruta del Modernisme Guide so I can go through it and make notes in my daily itinerary before I arrive. I will use whatever transportation is most convenient for best use of time - my preferred mode of transportation whenever possible is walking.

I'm glad you'll have the Ruta del Modernisme information. It was very helpful to me. If you buy your tickets on-site (many of mine came from the tourist office), you'll easily recover the cost in discounts, and the book is well worth the money in any case. It's quite heavy, though.

By the way, do not waste your time and money going inside the Casa de les Punxes. It doesn't have much at all of the original interior and is just an audio-visual experience related to the St. George and the Dragon legend. Everybody's trying to make a buck, I guess.

Thanks for the tip and thank you for recommending the Ruta del Modernisme. I think it will add immensely to my Barcelona adventure.

I was in and around Barcelona at Easter 1989 (which fell 3 weeks earlier) and enjoyed some nice mild sunny weather. We even sunbathed on the beach at Sitges.

wow David, you're old!!!!... the Soviet Union still was in full swing, and the Berlin Wall still kept Berliners nitty and organised, the US Army hadn't still commenced its spring break in Iraq and your country had just used (again) a WMD by releasing yet another insufferable Crocodile Dundee movie, LOL!

I'm older. My first trip to Barcelona was in 1972. Parc Guell was free. Actually, I'm not sure I paid to enter La Sagrada Familia, either. Franco was alive and kicking.

@Ann, thanks for bringing it up... indeed the much-expected opening of Casa de Les Punxes seems to be a disappointment for many. Haven't been myself as a visitor but got friends that have and indeed they also say it's not worth the money.

Casa de Les Punxes has a great façade -which can be seen for free from the street, duh!- and an interesting story. For starters Casa de Les Punxes is her nickname, her formal name is Casa Terradas. The nickname is due to the peculiar architecture reminiscent of old medieval castles with six pointed towers crowned by conical spikes.... "punxa" is Catalan, the local language, for spike... "punxes"=several spikes. We Catalans are very prone to nickname our buildings... more on that on another post :)

It was built in 1905 for Mr Bartomeu Terradas by famous architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch who also built, among other, the palace of Baró de Quadras just across the street, now HQ of the Institute Ramon Llull for the promotion of the Catalan language and literature abroad; or the Casaramona Factory now CaixaForum, an art museum in Montjuïc; or Casa Ametller, another gem located door-by-door with Casa Batlló in Passeig de Gràcia and also visitable.

Descendant of a rich textile industrialist, Mr Terradas was linked to the FC Barcelona since its foundation in 1899, he was a player for a couple of seasons, then treasurer and lately president of the club. His accommodated position also provided the necessary funds to assist FC Barcelona out of a difficult financial situation with a donation of 1400 pessetes... less than $10 in today's money!!!, gosh I could buy the club a few times over for that amount and have Messi play for me in my backyard, LOL!

Casa de Les Punxes is a large building, privately owned, originally accommodating three houses one for each of Mr Terradas sisters. It was declared a historical monument of National Interest in 1976 and today several companies have their offices there. Until a couple of years ago, the famous Swiss chocolatier Lindt had its Spanish HQ there -I did some consulting for them hence the reason I've known a bit of the building before it was opened for public visits.

The building is now the property of the Vidal family, owners of the real-estate Texna Group. They acquired Casa de les Punxes in 2010 for 25 million euros. In any case, note that it's only partially opened because several offices continue to exist there including a bank in the ground floor. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, only three floors and the roof, with the characteristic towers tiled with bright colour ceramic tiles and the spikes, are visitable. I read that it receives an average of 250 visitors every day of the year.

Enjoy!

1972?... c'mon planes hadn't been invented yet, no way you could have come all the way from Australia :)

I'm from 'merica. Still haven't made it to Australia. The flight(s) sound a bit daunting, but I hear the siren call of opals, so I do hope to get there at some point.

Enric, 1989 was certainly one of those seminal years, not unlike 2016 just passed. And personally it was the beginning of my close relationship with Spain and Catalunya. I remember more specifics from that year than any other year since, except perhaps for the glorious fortnight of the Sydney Olympics. Yes, you are right, I am old. I was a knockout 24yo then. Lol.

acraven, just to let you know that opals don't have a call, they are rocks. Kookaburras on the other hand, along with cockatoos, lorikeets, galahs, magpies, butcher birds, all very vocal around my place at the moment.

If you were an opalholic, you would understand. They absolutely do call to me.

I find the multi coloured opals a bit garish, but the very expensive even coloured ones can be stunning. Anyhow, I'm not a jewel/gem person, so no matter.

Good grief! I was involved with grandchildren over the weekend and didn't catch up with this intriguing novel until today.

I did glean to not bother going into Casa de Las Punxes which I appreciate. With so many must sees and so many nooks and crannies to discover in my wanderings, it is good to be able to eliminate a site!

Will be back in touch with a more detailed itinerary for review.

Thank you!

Sorry. We got to chatting over the back fence. I hope you don't mind us 'spoilin' your post.