Barcelona next week!

Pre book everything today if you are going next week

Oh no. I did not know it was that bad. OK, I will do it. Thanks

I would highly recommend taking the easy 10 minute walk from Sagrada Familia to Saint Pau - truly fascinating. I don't think you'll regret it. Also, the Palace of Catalan Music, designed by the same modernista architect as Saint Pau - Montaner - is also wonderful.

We took a cab from our hotel in the Eixample to Park Guell, and thought we'd take the HOHO back to our neighborhood. That turned out to be a mistake. It was so expensive that we asked to be dropped off. They let us off at one of their stops that was really and truly in the middle of nowhere. We were okay because we love to walk and explore. But honestly, cabs are so cheap in Barcelona I wouldn't bother with a HOHO.

We used Spanish Trails for 3 day tours out of Barcelona. They were all excellent, lunches with wine included. They offer tours to Montserrat, but we did not take that tour.

https://spanish-trails.com/tours/

Totally agree about Sant Pau. We enjoyed it as much or more than the Sagrada. audio tour is really good. And don’t miss Palace of Catalan Music. It’s amazing. Our#3 fav, behind Sant Pau and The Sagrada

Great. Thanks, tralyaparks and dhyingling. We will avoid HOHO then. Did you try using Uber or is taxi rate almost good enough? Thanks for recommending Saint Pau and Palace of Catalan music. Do we need to prebook these attractions too? For Montserrat, we were planning to follow Rick's advice on taking public transport. Should we take a tour instead? Thanks

You don’t need to book for Sant Pau (it’s relatively empty compared to other Modernista sights) but you MUST book a tour for Palau de Musica Catalana. You will not get in without a prescheduled tour. If you’re going next week, I would book ASAP.

I would recommend booking ASAP for Sagrada Familia, Casa Mila, Casa Batilo, Park Guell and Picasso Museum as well. You may have difficulty finding timeslots that allow you to visit them efficiently since you are booking so late.

Hope you enjoy Barcelona!

Greatly appreciate, Nathan B. Fortunately, all these attractions still have tickets available (for now). As we are 4, I am planning to take cabs. Is traffic really bad? Is it better to take a train instead? Thank you.

Hi ChocoBoston,

don't want to throw a wet blanket on you trip, but the US Embassy has just sent out a security alert. They do a pretty good chicken little, and panic a lot. It is also a bit of CYA on their part.

The alert reads:

Security Alert - U.S. Consulate General Barcelona, Spain – December 23, 2018

Location: Barcelona, Spain.

Event: U.S. citizens should exercise heightened caution around areas of vehicle movement, including buses, in the Las Ramblas area of Barcelona (Plaza Catalunya to Plaza del Portal de la Pau) during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

We remind U.S. citizens that Spain is currently at a Level 2 Travel Advisory: exercise increased caution due to terrorism. Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, and other public areas. U.S. citizens are reminded to remain vigilant with regard to their personal security.

Actions to Take:

· Avoid the area.

· Exercise additional vigilance at holiday festivals and events.

· Be aware of your surroundings.

· Stay alert in public places, including at churches, tourist locations, schools, hospitals, and on public and private transportation.

· Follow instructions and view updates from police and government authorities (see below).

· Review your personal security plans.

· Know how to use the local phone system. Dial “112” to reach emergency services throughout Spain. There is always an English-speaker on duty.

· Monitor local media for updates.
U.S. citizens may monitor English-language Spanish media at the following website:
https://elpais.com/elpais/inenglish.html

View updates on Twitter and Facebook from the Spanish National Police, @policia, Guardia Civil @guardiacivil, Mossos D’Esquadra @mossos, and Guardia Urbana @barcelonaGUB
Mossos d’Esquadra (Regional Police)
Barcelona City Police
https://twitter.com/spanishpolice?lang=en
https://www.facebook.com/PoliciaNacional/?fref=ts
https://www.policia.es/
https://twitter.com/guardiacivil?lang=en
https://www.facebook.com/GuardiaCivil.es/
http://www.guardiacivil.es/en/servicios/atencionciudadano1/index.html

The traffic is not that bad in Barcelona. For 4 people, taxis can be a great bargain, particularly for farflung places like Park Guell.

Most of the other places are easily walkable or connected by Metro. A T10 card is a good investment when moving around the Old City and Eixample.

Not sure about the best way to get Montserrat for 4 people (or the Dali Museum, for that matter).

Thanks, dlindstrom. I can see two members of our family getting delighted with this news and eager to sit in the hotel room to watch football :)

Thanks, Nathan B. We are staying at Hilton Barcelona, a bit far from downtown. If traffic is not an issue, we will keep using cabs. Looks like no one is using Uber or Lyft. We will take public transport for Dali and Montserrat. Thanks for the advice.

Hi Mrs Choco from Boston (LOL!)

Firstly, welcome to Barcelona.

Some bits and pieces from above:

Hilton Barcelona: I am assuming you mean the one in Diagonal 589, right? You see, there are 600+ hotels in the city, several of which contain the word Barcelona in their name are some of those are from the Hilton chain. Assuming it's the one I mention, you're located in a good area, with plenty to do nearby: parks, shopping, restaurants, etc. and it's also well communicated with several bus, tram and metro lines. There's this mistaken idea among many visitors from your shores of thinking that all cities have a "downtown" and then the suburbs (so to speak). But that's not the case in Barcelona. The city expanded over the centuries by absorbing nearby existing towns and villages, each one of them having their own "centre" (=area where the life of the town happens, namely, full of cafes, shops, restaurants, monuments, etc), therefore, one could say Barcelona has "several centres". Having said that, 'the' centre as such it's referred to the area around Plaça Catalunya (plaça, pronounced "pla-sah", is Catalan -the local language- for square) and the neighbourhoods of the Ciutat Vella (Old City), the cradle of the Roman and Medieval Barcelona. From that location, you can walk -very worthwhile, lots to see in between- and it'll take you 45', at a relaxed pace, or you can take a bus (25', traffic permitting), or the metro (15').

HOHO, I disagree, it is a convenient way for sightseeing the city if you don't have much time or, like many visitors do, for a quick look at "where are the most popular sites". In fact, many use HOHOs to realize Barcelona has too many things well worth visiting when in a short few-days stop and that one needs to focus on a few of them (and leave the rest for another visit to the city). Nevertheless, I prefer walking and public transportation, you'll enjoy the city much more, and I advise that for the case of Barcelona.

Terror alert: well, these days that's sadly always a possibility... but much like the attack in Boston didn't automatically turn the city in a "no-go" area, the same happens here. This city is the capital of Catalonia, we have our President, the Cabinet and the Parliament here as well as many company HQs, not to mention 2 million inhabitants plus 2 more commuting everyday, plus an average of 1 million visitors each month, one of the most popular destinations in Europe... and since this won't spare us from being a target, on the contrary, the effort in the security field is enormous. Police present is heavy albeit subtle -you barely see it- but it's there. Try it: provoke an incident and you'll be surrounded by patrol cars in a breeze. We're not fond of GI Joe-type heavy armed police in the streets, that's why -in general terms- their presence is "subtle". Also worth mentioning that US State Dept alerts are always a bit...., well, you know!

Get acquainted with the districts and neighbourhoods.... you'll navigate the city far better as there are things worth exploring in all of them. The city has 10 districts http://bit.ly/BCNdistricts which in turn are divided into 73 neighbourhoods http://bit.ly/BCNhoods many of which are historical dating back several hundreds of years. As per moving about, the best is either walking -as I said, there's always something interesting to see at maximum 10' from where you are... almost anywhere in the city!- or else I prefer metro (https://www.mapametrobarcelona.com/mapas-metro/mapa-metro-barcelona-2018-09.png) since it avoids any traffic jams. Traffic can be heavy at times, especially in the district of l'Eixample.... and exceptionally heavy during the period of Christmas! So moving underground is better than above ground. Having said this, this city ain't a permanent gridlock either, huh!

--PART 1--

When travelling in public transportation, the use of either the T-10 (http://bit.ly/bcn-t10) or the HolaBCN (https://www.holabarcelona.com/tickets/hola-bcn-barcelona-travel-card) cards facilitate mobility and saves you money.

PRE-BOOK online and in advance E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G you know you want to visit. The "this is not necessary to pre-book" advise doesn't hold so firm these days, you never know whether you'll stumble with a herd of tourists at the same time you intend to visit. For the most popular (Sagrada Família, Park Güell, Casa Batlló, La Pedrera, Palau de la Música Catalana, etc.) it's ALWAYS necessary to pre-book, but for other places, it's becoming "advisable". Some fellow locals might say otherwise, but they don't always realize that your time in the city is limited, if you're investing say an hour to get to Fundació Miró in the area of the Montjuïc mountain -for example- and happens to be full at that precise time, you're screwed, or rather your agenda is.

Celebrations at the NYE near the Magic Fountain -technically is "at the Reina Maria Cristina Avenue"!!-: no you don't need to pre-book anything, it's a free open-air event. If anything, get there soon enough as it gathers a crowd of 130,000. The "show" lasts around 45' or so. This was last year's: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrKOijQBezo For details: https://www.barcelona.cat/en/christmas/new-years-bell-ringing And these are some of the other "venues" that day: https://beteve.cat/cultura/cap-any-2018-barcelona

Montserrat: I wrote a piece some time ago, check it here https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/spain/a-visit-to-montserrat-the-holy-mountain-near-barcelona-in-catalonia

Enjoy!

--END--

Thank you so much, Enric. We are now in Barcelona and pre booked all the recommended attractions. Do you have any suggestions for the flemenco show? We do not care to include food or drink. Just a nice touristy show will be fine as none of us would know the difference 😀 Thanks

hi there....

Not really, for one, flamenco is rather alien to our culture here: you're now in Catalonia and flamenco is Spanish(Andalucian). With the successive migration waves during the 20th century from Andalucía and Extremadura, flamenco was brought here and it has had its 'moments', especially among descendants of these new Catalans, but that's that. Over a million of them migrated to Catalonia in the 1920s and later in the 1950s and 60s. Noting that the total population of Catalonia is under 8 million, you can see it's a big community.

Thus, some well-known flamenco stars have been born here in Catalonia -ie. the current hot star Rosalia with her "Malamente" song that has been recently awarded in the Latin Grammy and the MTV awards; or earlier singers/dancers, like for example Carmen Amaya (1930s-1960s) or Enrique Morente (1960s-2000s) among others.

However, it has never really been ingrained in our culture, you don't find cafes in towns here in Catalonia where flamenco is played/sung nor is part of heritage festivals. There are a handful of exceptions though: a couple of venues here in Barcelona -one being Palau Dalmases- and a festival in April organised since the 70s by "Catalano-Andalusians" (!) that is celebrated in the outskirts of Barcelona (Feria de Abril de Barcelona) and which remains the second biggest after the principal fair hosted in Seville.

Now we come to the remaining "offer"..... half a dozen touristy sites located in the city of Barcelona with "flamenco shows" to cater clueless visitors full of stereotypes. Well, there's no account for taste but my two cents about them: tacky, rip off, Disney-esque, horrendous food, out-of-place, touristy (in the worst sense)... Source: own + visitor friends "caught off guard" :))

Enjoy

Thanks again, Enric. HOHO was a good experience and we all had a good time doing both routes. After seeing four attractions yesterday, all of us wanted to take it easy today and it worked perfectly well. We are going to skip flamenco show. Thanks for sharing your Monsterrat blog. We are planning to go there on Dec 31st. Do you have any blog or link for Dali museum? The hotel is recommending tours but we want to do on our own. Planning to follow Rick's recommendation. Please advise. Thanks

Andrew has summarized it beautifully :)

Dali Museum in Figueres is a DIY escapade. Take the AVE train (=fast train) from Sants station to Figueres (1h) and then a cab to the museum -or walk, it's about a mile and a quarter to the museum. If you go there early enough you can take back a regular train -from the station by the museum, in the centre of the town- and stop in Girona for lunch and a visit to the city. The journey from Figueres to Girona in a regular train takes 1h. Girona is worth visiting as well, you could spend at least a couple of days visiting the Old City in Girona! Last fast train from Girona to Barcelona is at 9pm, arriving into Sants station merely 40' later.

Alternatively, instead of Girona, you could also take a taxi from Figueres to Cadaqués, where another complex of the Dali Museum is located. Cadaques is a quirky little coastal town. From Figueres it's about 40km to Cadaqués.