Barcelona Hotel & Afternoon Sightseeing – Pre-Cruise, 1 1 /2 days

Try to get tickets for Sagrada Familia! A don’t miss..

Agree with @Suki. Book tickets for Sagrada Familia ASAP!

A great day for us was Sagrada Familia first thing in AM, walk to and visit Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau, lunch nearby, bus to Parc Guell.

Also, highly recommend Hotel Praktik Rambla. The building is a lovely, restored 19th century “palace” with stylish, modern rooms. Location is convenient to everything - sights, restaurants and transportation. Staff are charming and super helpful. Coffee and croissants are available in the morning. It is a wonderful place to stay.

I have stayed at Hotel Denit. The location is great. However, you need to know that the bathrooms are enclosed in frosted glass (not an actual wall). While not technically see-through, you see the outline of the person in the bathroom/shower. This may be a deal-breaker for some.

Some years ago we enjoyed our stay at the Hotel Continental…not the one you mention but another very close (just minutes walk) to Plaça Catalunya. La Rambla, 138, Ciutat Vella, 08002. It wasn’t posh but very well located with a nice breakfast in a pleasant room and 24 hour buffet including snacks, beer and wine. Major perk for us! We had a balcony room which was fun for evening sipping and people watching and morning coffee. Also a rooftop patio. It wasn’t noisy. The rooms pictured on booking dot com seem to have been decorated and updated since our stay. A major memory that colors my impression of this hotel….as I was walking to breakfast one morning the desk clerk saw my Rick Steves tour book in my hand and stopped me to let me know there was a 10% discount for Ricksters he would apply when we checked out. I was impressed and think it reflected the kindness and helpfulness of the staff as I recalled it. We walked everywhere, the Gothic Quarter, La Sagrada, up and down the Rambla, Picasso museum… some were pretty good walks. One caveat…we arrived in Barcelona on a cruise and with my rather passable Spanish and the address written out the cab driver assured us there’d be no problem. Until he got several blocks from the hotel when he informed us that he didn’t have the credentials to drive us all the way and we were deposited on the curb and walked the rest of the way with luggage in tow. I’d ascertain transportation possibilities directly from the hotel first. Safe travels and Good luck.

Book your tickets asap for the Gaudi sites. On you arrival day, you can see both Casa Battlo and La Pedrera. They both also have night time tours and programs. We were there in March and did a 9pm tour of La Pedrera and it included a light show on the rooftop. They’re only about a 10 minute walk from each other and you can eat dinner in between.

The next morning go to Sagrada Familia. Book a guided tour via the official website and you can also stay as long as you want after. One fun thing that we did was a tuktuk tour for 2 hours. It took us all over Barcelona including Montjuic. It was a great way to see a lot of the city quickly. I booked the tuktuk tour through GetYourGuide.

Thanks for the great ideas! We are going to the Hotel Continental Barcelona. We will be booking our tours. Since we are getting into Barcelona around 11 am from a weeks stay in Munich, what time do you suggest we book the tours for both Casa Battlo and La Pedrer. I think we will book La Pedrer at 9 pm, not sure about the first one.

I would say book Casa Battlo for 4 or 5? Give yourself 1-2 hours to tour. You end up on the rooftop where there’s a bar so you can have pre-dinner drinks there. Also next to Casa Battlo is Casa Amatller. I believe tours are available but also there’s a cafe there. It is also famous for its chocolates. There’s lots of shops and restaurants along Passeig de Gracia where these are all located. I can’t recommend a restaurant because we didn’t eat any meals along Passeig de Gracia.