First time visitor to Barcelona

Is Saturday an arrival following an overnight flight? It doesn't sould like you are seasoned travlers who have previously spent a full day and evening being tourists following a flight. Can you schedule and power through a city tour and visit Sagrada Familia on Saturday?

Montserrat (which is fabulous) will take most of the day on Sunday if you pick that option. A bus tour will probable save a some time as comparted to taking the public transit options to get there.

I'd skip Montserrat unless you REALLY want to go there. Barcelona is a large enough city with more than enough local stuff to fill up your time there.

And while I've never done a "golf cart tour", we did a bike tour and folks could choose ebike options if they needed to (pretty flat city).

And Sagrada Familia is a great place to visit. Book online and have that ready to go in advance of arriving to BCN.

I will be. a first time visitor to Barcelona in October booking four nights but still not enough time.

I have done a lot of research and am going to take the hop on hop off bus. Suggest you look into that with the limited time that you have.This research includes recommendations from members on this forum

We are doing four days post-cruise, so following for ideas. Especially on the best neighborhoods to stay in. I've heard good things about the Hop On Hop Off, so definitely want to check that out.

Traffic in Barcelona gets pretty wild. I don't think a golf cart tour would be enjoyable at all. The hop on hop off bus is a much better option.

My take, as a local and a traveller:

Stick to Barcelona, there are lots of things to do and see, in fact, the city warrants at least five days to have a general overview. While Montserrat is worthwhile visiting, with only two nights, unless you have a very pressing reason, I would leave it for the next visit. In any case, should you want to visit it, I recommend DYIng as it's very easy to reach and to visit. Ask for details again if you finally decide to go.

Do pre-book SagFam well in advance.

If you share a bit more about where you come from, your preferences and your interests, I perhaps may suggest a few places to visit while in Barcelona.

The golf car tour puzzles me.... where the heck did you get that idea from? No golf car tours here, sorry.

Enjoy!

Second to Sagrada Familia, our favorite site in Barcelona was the nearby Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau. Highly recommend. Montserrat was less inspiring.

I really don't think most folks here would recommend the HO/HO buses as the best general option for those without mobility issues, though some folks like the HO/HO concept. Barcelona public transportation is very efficient and reasonably priced. On my 2016 trip to Barcelona, I observed a very long line of people waiting at the Placa de Catalunya HO/HO pick-up point. They were obviously not all going to fit on the one bus, and there was no bus in sight. How often do those HO/HO buses run? Public transportation is a lot more frequent.

Parc Guell is a bit tricky to reach (there's a city bus, but it doesn't show up in Google Maps, etc.). A taxi isn't a bad idea; that should be much cheaper than a HO/HO ticket, especially for groups of 2 or more. The walk back downtown from Parc Guell is very nice (and slightly downhill) for those who have the time.

We took a taxi to Parc Guell and we were not dropped off at the entrance to the Parc. We had to walk quite a bit uphill. I don't know if we were being scammed or not but the taxi driver told us taxis were not permitted to take passengers to the top. I thought the uphill walk was tough but doable.

Barcelona requires a lot of time to get the overview of the city and for 2 nights only, I'd recommend maybe 1 activity i.e Sagrada Familia (try to buy the Skip-The-Line Ticket beforehand) and then simply walking around the Eixample neighbourhood and exploring the district nearby by walking.

You probably don't want to overwhelm yourself with many activities and it'd be better to get a glimpse of the city and probably taking an e-bike/e-scooter instead of Hop-On/Hop-Off which has always been a disappointment for me, personally.

If you will be jet lagged on arrival Saturday, I personally would not get on a HOHO bus - recipe for sleeping right off the bat (FWIW, personal experience doing this exact thing in London, even on open air bus I fell sound asleep). I'd suggest instead making your way to your hotel, checking in or leaving your bags at the desk, and going out for a walk. RS has two audio walking tours, including one for your hotel neighborhood in particular https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/audio/audio-tours/spain-portugal-audio-tours. Find a recommended spot for tapas/early dinner and allow yourself to settle in for an early night so you can hit the ground running on Sunday.

Definitely get prebooked Sagrada Familia tickets for your one Sunday. Do a search on this site for info about how to buy, I believe they open tickets approximately 60 days out. You can plan other activities around your chosen visit time slot, but I don't think a day trip is in the cards. Do you have to be at the cruise port on Sunday or Monday? That will determine how much more you can fit in.

Apparently pre-covid, there was a shuttle that ran from one of the metro/bus stops to the entrance to Parc Guell--it was quite a trek to get there from the Metro--pretty impressive uphill climb. Didn't help that Apple Maps and Google Maps lead us astray as well. I recall seeing folks being dropped of by taxis as we waited for the Parc to open (along with the tour buses).

If you are pressed for time and if your body will still be adjusting to the new time zone/jet lag, it may be better to put Parc Guell on a list for a subsequent visit--hard to appreciate it if you have to rush through in a limited amount of time.

Thank you for all of the feedback, much appreciated! I will definitely tour Sagrada Familia and plan on some exploring in the neighborhood.

Book your tickets to Sagrada Familia well in advance. They are timed-entry, and they sell out many days in advance.

Montserrat is fantastic, but it takes all day. If you have limited time, you have to eliminate that one.

Eixample is a wonderful neighborhood. You will love it there.

I have recently returned from Barcelona and stayed pre cruise but for four nights.

I loved La Familia Sagrada

I loved Montserrat but you need a half day minimum.

I had planned to do the hop on hop off bus but did not and regret that i did not. It would have been a good and hopefully relaxing way to see the entire city.

I was in Barcelona mid October and Barcelona was still very hot and very very crowded. Maybe it will be different the end of November.

You are probably going on a similar cruise to the one that i did and it was beautiful and interesting.

Hi sae,
As a foil to the well-trodden attractions, maybe consider a simple stroll in the grittier Barceloneta neighborhood? Good market, good beach, faaaaaaar fewer crowds and some of the best paella restaurant options in the city. Baluard bakery and its adjoined cafe were one of the finest morning destinations of our recent/first-time there trip.
I would not try to jam too much activity into 48 hours.
Good luck.
I am done. The end.