Dalí museum (Figueres) and house (Cadaqués)

David, yes it is possible. I don't know about public transit connections. But there is a 1-day bus tour that includes both those places. Check out tours4fun.com, also available through Viator. The description on tours4fun says that the road to Cadaques is so clogged during the summer, that they include a different Dali site after July 1.

we like to do things completely on our own so no bus tours

we want to know best travel options to do it in one day starting/ending in Barcelona

You really have to rent a car but with a car it is pretty easy to do in a day (I've done it but already had the car). The drive to Figueres is pretty easy on a high-speed tollway and driving in town is not bad. There is a parking garage next to the museum.

The road to Cadaques goes over mountains and is steep and twisty. A good road but I could see where it might get very congested in peak season. There are parking lots on the outskirts of town and I highly recommend spending as much time as possible there.

The Dali House itself is in Port Illgat just nearby. Driving and parking are no problems and I also recommend going past the turnoff to drive some through the National Park there. It is beautiful and inspired Dali and makes his art make more sense.

You must have pre-arranged reservations for the house tour. Get them online. I suggest later in the day and then just drive home but you could do early afternoon and then spend the rest of the day in Cadaques. Just allow for plenty of time to get there from Figueres. You should plan to arrive at the museum in Figueres before opening to be right in line at opening.

Assume you will get back early to mid evening. Traffic around Barcelona can also get congested.

To legally drive in Spain you must have a valid state license and an International Drivers Permit (obtained in the US from AAA).

PS - This makes for a long day and you need to get a very early start to get the car and get to Figueres when the museum opens. This really only works to in the seasons with longer daylight hours. I would not try it in winter or early Spring.

we will travel mid June

we don't want to rent a car

thx for the other info!

If you do not want to rent a car, then plan to visit the Dali museum in Figueres only. We've been there once, and enjoyed it so much that we are going again. Girona, in between Barcelona and Figueres, is a very appealing town; it's beautiful and historic.

... indeed, Girona is the unofficial 'second capital' of Catalonia after Barcelona :))

Enric
didn't you post somewhere saying that it is indeed possible to visit both in one day?

Yes indeed it is... I can't remember where I posted it though (RS forum is not too user-friendly to locate old posts I must say!). In any case, what those visiting both cities sometimes do is to take a high speed train (AVE-type) from Barcelona to Figueres early in the morning, visit the one or more venues in the Dalí museum complex, stroll the centre of Figueres (has a nice ramble) and then at around 1ish or 2ish take a slow train to Girona (1h or so) and visit Girona -which has lots to do/see- until late evening and take the last high speed train to Barcelona at 9ish... which arrives just 40' later to Barcelona.

I guess i misunderstood you because i thought you meant the Dalí museum in Figueres and his house in Cadaqués, not the town of Girona

The Dalí Theatre Museum complex is formed by four venues: two in Figueres, the castle in Púbol and the house in PortLligat: http://www.salvador-dali.org/museus/en_index/ In order to enjoy all four, you better plan for two days since Púbol is 25 miles south of Figueres while Port Lligat (near Cadaqués) is 25 miles east of Figueres.

For those relying on public transportation: Figueres is at 1h from Barcelona by high speed train... from there, to get to Púbol (south of Figueres) one can take a regular commuter train to Flaçà (20' journey) and then a short taxi ride to Púbol, or else to get to Port Lligat (east of Figueres) one can take a bus (Sarfa) from the station in the centre of Figueres to Cadaqués (1h journey) and from there walk to Port Lligat. Note that Port Lligat is a small village outside Cadaqués to which you can walk to in 20' or so. Going to all venues in the same day is rather difficult unless you drive.

Also important, the high speed train station in Figueres is not Estació de Figueres (located in the centre of Figueres) and which is used for commuter/regional trains, but the Estació de Figueres-Vilafant, located in the outskirts of Figueres, a couple of miles from the centre -where the Dalí venues are located. There's a bus and also taxis available at Vilafant.

Hi All...We will be in Spain from late April into early May, and will visit both Figueres and Cadaques for a day and overnight trip before returning to Barcelona, so this post and its threads have been helpful. I still have a question (or two), that I am hoping Enric (or anyone else) can provide more input. We are unsure if we should rent a car in Barcelona, drive to Figueres, tour the museum that day, then drive to Cadaques and stay overnight, tour the house the next day, and then drive back to Barcelona; or if we should instead take a (morning) high speed train from Barcelona to Figueres and maintain the same general itinerary, to include the overnight in Cadaques, other than renting and returning the car in Figueres, and taking the high speed train back to Barcelona. I would imagine some of it may just come down to personal preference, but wanted to make sure we may otherwise not be overlooking any other considerations in taking a final decision. Thanks in advance for any/all input and/or comments.

Well... parking is always a problem everywhere, especially in certain cities and towns and also in a few -like Barcelona- it's not free regardless whether you park underground or in the street. Top that up with the fact the tolls at the motorway and I personally would probably prefer to go by public transportation.

Having said that, with a car you could easily visit other sites and towns along the way. For example, the Nature Park of Cap de Creus is really something, more info and a map of the park. Or stop by several of the many picturesque coastal towns in Costa Brava, the impressive Monastir de Sant Pere de Rodes, Girona of course, also Besalú (not too far from Girona), Banyoles and its lake, have a hike in the Nature Reserve of El Montseny (info), etc... all of these are either along the way and/or reachable by car with a slight detour. Check out this website for detailed info on things to do/see across Catalonia, and this one for some videos. You might also want to peruse (and download) free brochures and maps here.

So, if you're going to spend overnight at Costa Brava and drive there, check this local TV program in which a couple of popular instagramers from the US were invited to spend a few days in this area and shown bits and pieces regular tourists not necessarily get to see and experience (and they did so in November, which is by no means high season), maybe you get inspired: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSG210dbtuQ The program is primarily intended for Catalan audiences but it mixes Catalan and English so you should be able to follow it :)

Enric, thanks for that wonderful YouTube link, which I just watched over breakfast. I would love to travel around Catalunya with the lovely Ivana!

She's a popular and loved actress here in Catalonia, mostly theatre but also a few TV programmes.

hey Enric
thanks for taking the time. To be more clear we only want to visit these two places on our next trip:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dal%C3%AD_Theatre_and_Museum

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portlligat_Museum-House

we will be traveling by public transportation

Is it possible to do in one day

Check 02/23/16 12:38 AM response

Enric
we are NOT traveling by car

is it possible via public transportation to visit the following in one day:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dal%C3%AD_Theatre_and_Museum

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portlligat_Museum-House

thx!

I know... please CAREFULLY read that post... especially the 'or else' :)) You can do one or the other in the same day.

There's no post marked 12:38 AM

C'mon DavidR.... the tenth post from the top! :)))

"The Dalí Theatre Museum complex is formed by, blah, blah..."

Seems to me that the answer to David's question is "yes, you can visit both of these locations in one day using public transportation." However, you may not be able to return to Barcelona that evening by public transportation.

The key is to check the Sarfa bus schedule. You'll have to catch a bus from Figueres after allowing enough time in the Dali Museum, but getting you to Cadaques in time to walk through town and over the hill to Port Illgat. Then enough time to get back to the bus station in Cadaques to catch a bus back to Figueres. And account for congestion on the mountain road which may negate any published bus schedules.

no offense Eniric and I appreciate your efforts, but it's clear as mud to me

maybe i'm stupid, but i doubt it

lol

thx Douglas

it seems the problem is getting to and from Cadaqués in a timely manner

You've gotten good advice on how to do this in three different ways.

1. Take a bus tour group. They handle all the travel arrangements for you and allows you to just enjoy the ride and museums.

2. Rent a car and do it on your own. It makes for a long day but you get some freedom to do what you want on your schedule. Driving and navigating can be more stress for some people.

3. Take public transit and deal with figuring out the various schedules and transfers. You have some freedom, but in reality are tied to the transit schedules. This involves the most amount of planning on your part.

Thanks for the great information, Enric, as related to our car drive. We've decided to take a high speed train from Barcelona to Figueres in the early morning, see the Dali museum and then rent a car to drive to Cadaques, where we will stay overnight and tour Dali's house the next morning. We will then drive back to Figueres to take the high speed train late in the afternoon for our return to Barcelona. We have fallen in love (head over heels) with the idea going to Cap de Creus...but think it will be too much to do after Port Lligat, in relation to us getting back to Figueres in time to return the car and take the 16:55 train back to Barcelona. Instead it seems to make more sense to check out either Besalu or Girona for a couple of hours ~ very different than Cap de Creus ~ though we know we will enjoy visiting one of them nevertheless.