Family itinary in Barcelona advice

The Sant Pau modernista site has not remotely required pre-booking on the two times I've been there--most recently in 2019. Although things can change in 5 years, a number of folks from this forum have been there more recently, and to my knowledge no one has mentioned a ticket line or crowds, so I think you can plan to just show up.

I don't get what Rick thinks is special enough about the Ramblas to urge people to omake a special effort to go there. You'll likely find yourselves in the street at least once without trying, and the main thing to look for there is the pickpockets.

I visited Casa Batllo in the morning, but I see nothing wrong with going around 6 PM. It stays light very late in Spain (it's in the wrong time zone), and it's possible the place won't be so crowded then.

I visited Sant Pau in March this year. My experience was what acraven describes - few visitors and no need for pre-booking. Interesting place.

You didn't ask - but I can't help wondering if your kids would enjoy Parc Guell? Lots of places to wander as well as unique Gaudi architecture. If you are interested in that, definitely pre-book.

Casa Batllo and La Pedrera both have evening hours (and early morning). I, personally, preferred La Pedrera as it is furnished, but others prefer Battlo. Other options for Gaudi - Palau Güell which might be close to your restaurant tour area. Or, Casa Vincens. The latter two spots are less expensive than Battlo or La Pedrera/Casa Mila. It was not necessary to pre-book either when I was there.

Agree with the above sentiment re Las Ramblas. If you want a walk with some interesting architecture, there are interesting areas in L'Eixample such as the Block of Discord and surrounds.

It looks like you have a great itinerary and have an idea about what you may run into with the crowds and heat. We were there the end of April/beginning of May for 6 days. Our 9:00 a.m. entry to La Sagrada Familia went smoothly. Our next stop was San Pau Recinte and that wasn’t crowded at all. We had pre-booked but we went earlier than the time we booked and had no trouble getting in early. There were no lines.

We did Palau Guell and really loved it, but they were using a timed entry time the day we went. We walked up and got an entry an hour later. Another place to consider would be Palau de Catalan Música. There is an hour English tour and our guide was lively and would have appealed to kids. You would need to pre-book as the English tour sells out. The interior is beautiful.

Our day at Montjuic was the May 1st holiday, so that may have skewed the crowds. The line for the cable car was really long that day. We had taken the funicular from the Para-llel metro station, which is pretty close to your area. We wanted to go to the top and the castle, so we took bus 150 after the funicular. My husband is a sports fan so he really enjoyed seeing the former Olympic Stadium (current home of FC Barcelona) and Olympic village. There is a sports museum near there, but it was closed that day.

We had booked both Casa Batilo with the blue ticket for a 3:00 entry and La Pedrera for a 4:45 entry on different days. Casa Batilo was requiring people to line up for their entry time and the day we went they were running at least 30 minutes behind. It was pouring rain so we decided to pass as there was no idea how long we’d have to wait. I don’t know if anyone else has run into that. We had walked by several different days and were aware that people were lined up awaiting entry, but didn’t pay attention to what the timing was. Everywhere else we had pre-booked, we just walked in at our designated time. We enjoyed La Pedrera with its furnished rooms and its sloping roof top.

If the kids need a meal that’s not sit down, there is a food court on the top of the Cortes Ingeles department store at Placa Catalunya with gorgeous views.

Thank-you so much for the reassuring feedback on my proposed itinary and the excellent suggestions! I am looking into the other mentioned Gaudi buildings and will definately add Palau de Catalan Musica and Cortes Ingeles to the plan.

As we are unable to visit Park Guell first thing in the morning (due to the other pre-booked activities) I had not included it. I know the children would love the park, however the posts about heat and crowds in July has me leaning towards skipping it this time. Please let me know if this sounds like a mistake.

Just to give you some feedback on my recent experience - There is a lot of shade at Parc Guell. As far as crowds, the Parc was sold out when I was there this past March, but the area is so large that crowds didn't bother me. The area with the famous benches does not have a lot of shade and that is where I encountered the most people. July could be uncomfortable in that area. There are other areas you've probably seen pictures of - the columned promenades for example - that would be protected from the sun. The Parc is on a hill - lots of ups and downs which were fine in March, but could be hot for walking in the summer.

I suspect there's no "correct" answer to visiting in July or not - especially with kids and other options. There's a lot in Barcelona to choose from!

I would have recommend the Magic Fountian one of the evenings, except that it is currently closed due to drought conditions. If your family is open to learning a little history, the Maritime Museum might be good for the afternoon on Day 2. Or, just hit the beach to cool off.

Although Barcelona may indeed be hot (or, worse, hot and muggy), it is not guaranteed to be like that on the days you'll be there. It's not Andalucia.

At the time of my 2019 visit, I felt there was considerably less to see at Casa Vicens than at the other Gaudi sites in Barcelona. The exterior of the building was very attractive, but there was much less to see inside than at Casa Mila, Casa Batllo, etc. For hard-core modernista-architecture junkies (I am one), I don't discourage it if time is available--it's not centrally located-- but for me it ranks behind the other architectural highlights mentioned in this thread. I'd certainly take the tour of the Palau de la Musica Catalana in preference to visiting Casa Vicens. (The English-language tours at the Palau can sell out, so it's risky to count on just showing up, and in any case those tours don't run constantly.)

I think there may be a limit to how many quirky buildings will hold the interest of your three children, too.