Good Day.
My wife and I are traveling in September. We will be flying into Barcelona in the evening (19:50) on a Friday. We will be in Barcelona for one full day and then heading to the Malaga area by train. I have a couple of planning questions.
* Arriving in the evening by plane, should we travel into the city at night or do suggest spending the night near the airport. (I am wondering about safety coming in from the airport and then getting to our lodging. And, then access to train on our departure day).
We will plan to reserve an activity for first thing the next morning, and then plan our day more open after that. Should we reserve more than one venue during the day, or just spend our time on the Ramblas for example. Thanks for your thoughts and ideas.
Posted by
Connecticut
692 posts
Seven of us just spent time in Barcelona. We had no issues at all. Just like others places we visited being alert and careful was important. We used taxi, train, reserved cars, and walked extensively. I would head into the city reserving a hotel convenient to where you plan to visit.
Posted by
Washington DC
28082 posts
You'll find that locals eat dinner between 10 PM and midnight, so there will be tons of people out on the streets when you get into town from the airport.
Definitely don't spend unnecessary time on the Ramblas. It's just a commercial street crowded with tourists and those who prey on them (i.e., pickpockets). You needn't be afraid of it, but there's no reason to make a point of walking along the Ramblas.
These popular tourist sights require short-time visitors to buy tickets in advance, because ticket-purchase lines can't be hours long:
La Sagrada Familia
Parc Guell
Casa Mila/La Pedrera
Casa Batllo
Picasso Museum
Palau de la Musica Catalana (English tours can sell out)
Expect the first five to be massively crowded if you don't have a ticket for the first entry time.
Good sights that don't require (in my experience) prepurchased tickets include Recinte Modernista Sant Pau, the Museum Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, the Miro Museum and the Barri Gotic (the medieval quarter, which is free. There are of course many other possibilities; it just depends on what you're interested in.
Posted by
Los Angeles
972 posts
Yes, I recommend going to Barcelona for the evening. A taxi is easy - as with any airport, get in the official taxi line. Or, we also have taken the AeroBus that takes you right to Plaza Catalunya. SO EASY!
It's a beautiful city and easy to a historical walking tour of the Gothic Center. We used this free (for a tip) tour and they were AMAZING! https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187497-d1746432-Reviews-Runner_Bean_Tours_Barcelona-Barcelona_Catalonia.html
Also, while you there, tour Sagrada Familia! It is breathtaking. The guided tour is only a few more Euro and you get to bypass the lines: https://sagradafamilia.org/en/tickets-individuals
Looking forward to a Trip Report on Malaga!
Posted by
FL USA
1560 posts
Curious, why are you investing over seven hours into train travel to Malaga? Airfare from Barcelona to Malaga is less than $100 and three hour travel. Barcelona is a wonderful place and having just one day makes for a great visit, but advise against the train travel. FYI: We took a night train from Barcelona to Granada for the "experience" with afterthought of we could have better enjoyed our time via flight.