Dali Museum and House

Spending a night in Cadaques would make it relatively easy (and Cadaques is worth it). In one day by public transportation, not so easy. Train to Figueres, then slow bus to Cadaques, walk to the Dali house and see it, walk back. (Maybe you can taxi there, I don't know.) To return, the fastest way is a 24-minute taxi ride to the train station in Llanca and then 2.5 hours on the train back to Barcelona. A very long day, if even possible. I believe the Dali house requires timed reservations, so you'd have to work out your timing pretty carefully.

I disagree that it will be easy, but I know someone on the forum reported pulling it off within the last few years. I think this is what is involved:

• Book both tickets in advance. There will be no time to stand in ticket lines, and I think the house in Port Lligat requires that tickets be purchased in advance.

• Take high-speed train to Figueres (cheaper if you buy tickets in advance, but if you miss the train you've chosen, the ticket is worthless).

• Take shuttle bus (or taxi) to Dali Theatre and Museum. See museum, which is not small. There's a separate jewelry display.

• Go to Figueres bus station and take bus to Cadaques. It's a very scenic ride but not particularly fast.

• Find a taxi or walk down to the harbor (takes a bit of time) and find the sign pointing toward the Port Lligat house (said to be a 20-minute walk as I recall), then walk to house.

• Visit house.

• Return to Cadaques. Almost certainly no time to see Cadaques, which is very pretty.

• Walk or taxi up to bus station.

• Take bus back to Figueres. Transfer to the train station used by the fast trains (not particularly close to the bus station).

• Take train back to Barcelona. (If you miss the train for which you have a ticket, you'll need to buy another one.)

Note that we're not talking about subway trains that run every few minutes here; you'll probably have a wait at each stage of your journey.

Edited to add: I didn't know about the option of getting a train from Llanca.

I did not take this tour, but our guide on a different tour (which was outstanding), mentioned that he also did the Surreal Cadaques and All Things Dali tour, which looks like a great option for those of us without a car.

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

Thank you very much. We’re leaning toward the tour, about $350 for 2, or else renting a car for 12 hours. Does anyone know what the drive is like or would be like for a tepid American driver?

The road between Figueres and Cadaques has some dramatic scenery. I observed it from a seat on a bus, so I don't know how challenging the drive would be, but my assumption is such situations is that the driver isn't going to be able to enjoy the scenery. I haven't been to Port Lligat and took the train between Barcelona and Figueres, so I have no information at all about those segments of the journey.

The road into Cadaques is very slow with many hairpin turns - kind of like driving Red Mountain Pass in Colorado (where I used to live).

We drove into Figueres to visit the museum last September. Figueres is more of a big city than I had imagined, so driving in it wasn’t the most fun. Parking, however, was not difficult; nor was it expensive. In hindsight, I think the tour sounds like the best plan.

If you do not want to give up one night in Barcelona, I would rent a car for your adventure. The Dali Museum and home in Cadaques is worth the time (1.5hr from Barcelona). acraven is correct in his timeline assumptions. Get a reservation for 9am at the museum in Figueres to avoid the massive crowds that will arrive. Drive to Cadaques (50min) with an afternoon reservation for the Dali home. We loved both and I knew very little about his art and the man. A long day but well worth the effort.