Will be traveling with my 20-ish "kids" in August (I know not ideal but only time we have), Arriving on a Friday for a week, is it best to plan an all day excursion like Montserrat or Figueres for a Sunday or should we stay in town? Other things we'll want to fit in during our time there are Park Guell some of the Modernisme casas, a street art tour and Camp Nou.
Thanks for any advice!
debvil
We did a day trip from Barcelona to Tarragona on a Sunday in September 2022 and had a really nice time. Lots of interesting Roman ruins, a nice train trip along the coast and a good lunch near the cathedral.
I suspect that Montserrat might be crowded on a Sunday. We went there on a Friday in February 2023 and some people who had caught the cable car had to stand on the train on the way back to Barcelona. We had caught the rack railway - best part of the trip - and so got on the Barcelona train one station before the cable car riders.
You should buy tickets for Parc Guell, Casa Mila/La Pedrera, Casa Batllo and La Sagrada Familia in advance. Ticket lines at those sights are extremely long. I don't know whether any of them are currently selling out days in advance.
I know nothing about Camp Nou itself, but there used to be some special option, called "Camp Nou Experience", that was said to sell out way ahead of time.
The Dali Theatre-Museum in Figueres hasn't historically sold out way ahead of time, but it does get bus tours. I'd check ticket availability several days ahead of time to be sure it looks OK, then I'd buy the ticket no later than the day before the planned visit. On a day trip it would be awkward if you showed up without a ticket and were sold one for a time 3 hours later. Figueres, frankly, doesn't have a lot of sightseeing options. Girona (between Barcelona and Figueres) is a totally different story, but you'd need to buy two separate train tickets if you wanted to stop off in Girona for a while.
The Dali Theatre-Museum ticket also covers the jewelry collection nearby, which is fabulous. You can see the jewelry collection before your DT-M ticket entry time (or after seeing the DT-M).
Note that there are two train stations in Figueres. The fast trains from Barcelona and Girona go to Figueres-Vilafant, which is close to a mile from the Dali Theatre-Museum. The slower trains go to the Figueres station, which is closer to the DT-M. There's a city bus connecting the two stations and passing within a few blocks of the DT-M. It seems to be timed to train arrivals at Figueres-Vilafant, but if the train is late, the bus doesn't seem to wait. If that happens to you and you don't want to walk (about a mile) to the DT-M, don't dawdle inside the station; go right outside to see whether there's a taxi there.
I wouldn't do Montserrat on a weekend - it will be super, super busy. Plus there will be fewer trains and I think the aerial finishes earlier. I WOULD do it on any day were the weather is going t be particularly warm - as its significantly cooler up there.
I should think you’d want to be a Picasso super fan to go to the museum. Same for Dali. Mistakes to miss either if you care about their work. The Modernisme houses are stunning architecture and, if you are fans, worth booking way in advance. Do not bother with La Pedrera at night as the tour is quite rushed and does not include any interior views; the long video projections on the roof are silly affectations. There simply is not enough time in Barcelona, so much to see and do! so set your priorities and have backup choices.
Thanks so much for the tips! We’ll avoid Montserrat on a Sunday.
Sagrada Familia is not to be missed.
If you go to Monserrat, go early, take the train and then the cable car.
