Help with Barcelona Itinerary

Do include a walk in the Eixample. This is where we like to stay, lovely part of the city; walk into it from La Sagrada Familia.
Las Ramblas was crowded, very touristy last time we were there so we high tailed it out of there.
The views from Montjuic are beautiful and there some sites from the Olympics up there. Musee Miró was favorite of ours which is also on top of Montjuic. We rode up and down!

I don't think depending on the HO/HO buses is a good idea. When I arrived in Barcelona at about noon on August 1, 2016, I had to walk through part of Placa Catalunya to get to my hotel. There was an incredibly long line of people waiting at the HO/HO stop on the plaza--maybe as many as 200. It was clear that when the bus showed up, they were not all going to get on it.

Barcelona is a great city for exploring on foot and the Metro (or occasionally a bus) is far more efficient than the HO/HO buses. You can buy a T10 transit ticket for about €10. It's good for 10 rides on the Metro or buses and can be shared by everyone in your party; just validate it once for each person, every time you use it.

I believe bus or taxi is the best way to get to Parc Guell. I took the Metro, but it left me with about a 1-mile uphill walk.

Sant Pau is lovely, and you don't have to buy tickets in advance.

A walking tour of the Barri Gotic would be worthwhile. The one offered by the tourist office is very good, but I don't tnink it's run very often.

The Ramblas is a big nothing. It's an ordinary street with mostly ordinary stores (plus La Boqueria Market). You'll either find yourselves walking on it to get from Point A to Point B, or you won't. There's no reason to make a point of seeing it unless you fancy matching wits with the pickpockets.

You should definitely make a point of walking past the block on which Casa Batllo is located (the "Block of Discord") and past Casa Mila/La Pedrera. The Barcelona tourist maps generally have a lot of modernista buildings marked, so you can just wander in a fruitful direction.

I just want to be the third person to tell you that a walk in the Gothic Quarter is very rewarding, while a walk on the Ramblas is a waste of time. Much like Fifth Avenue in New York, the Champs-Elysee in Paris, or the Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg, it's a C-list sight in a city filled with A-list sights.

Downfalls of HOHO buses ...
• queues
• traffic
• canned commentary
• sterile environment
• not mixing with locals
• high cost
• inflexible

My plan with four days in Barcelona
(and sights best pre booked) ...

Day 1
•Sagrada Familia (BOOK a first up visit)
•Hospital Sant Pau
•Eixample - Passeig de Gracia, Casa Mila & Casa Batllo

Day 2
•Palau de la Musica Catalana (BOOK a first up visit)
•Las Ramblas - La Boqueria, Placa Real
•Bari Gotico - Cathedral

Day 3
•Picasso Museum (BOOK a first up visit)
•La Ribera - Basilica Santa Maria del Mar
•Parc de la Ciutadella & Barceloneta

Day 4
•Park Guell (BOOK a first up visit)
•Montjuic (funicular from Parallel) - Joan Miro Foundation, Castello, Olympic Ring
•Plaça Espanya - MNAC, Las Arenas, Magic Fountains

Please forget the HOHO bus for transportation and either walk or buy a 10 ride ticket for Metro/bus for only 9 euros. There is a bus that goes from near Sagrada Familia to Parc Guell. I'm blanking out on the number but we took it there and back. The buses are easy to board and validate your tickets.
There are also free walks around Barcelona that take you past most of the sights in the center of the city. When we visited Montjuic we took the cable car up the hill-which was expensive but a fun way to look down on the city. We then walked back down along a well marked path, stopping at the Muro Museum along the way. It has some stunning views and while I'm still not a big fan of his works, it was interesting to read about his painting philosophy.
As far as Sagrada Familia, I would try and book an earlier time. We reserved for 10am and by the time we left at 12:30-1pm the crowds were enormous. I would also recommend a walk along Barceloneta and the beach, I walked from the Fish sculpture along the bike path to the W hotel and back.

Saint Pau is extremely worth it, in my humble opinion.

FWIW, we stayed in the Eixample and walked everywhere, except to and from Park Guell.

"unblanking out" Heather... that'd be bus #92. Look up https://maps.tmb.cat/en/bus and check #92, you'll see the route of the bus and you can even count the number of stops.

Also to mention that online pre-booking is advised in a number of attractions/sites, including most Modernista sites (Gaudí, Domènec i Montaner, etc) since demand is high. This will avoid queues and will ensure you get to visit. Note as well that once you have your ticket, you shouldn't fret with crowds as, per health and safety regulations, there's a maximum number of visitors per hour allowed in all attractions/sites (...which, of course, IMHO doesn't rule out the fact there are too many visitors at once. To me, more than a dozen people, is already too many, LOL!)

We enjoyed the Bouqueria (and the food especially the fruit and juices which are quite reasonable and tasty)right off the Ramblas. I do think the Gothic quarter is much more interesting, but if you can spare an hour and are in the area, the Ramblas is a nice walk. I agree that walking around Eixample, Passeig de Gracia, Block of Discord and Barceloneta as well as the Gothic quarter would be a higher priority than Ramblas.

Thank you everyone for the invaluable advice - I love reading your tips. We are definitely going to walk the Gothic quarter and Passeig de Gracia. The only reason we were choosing the HOHO was to get a general overview of the city and hear the commentary- riding the two routes (red and blue) without even getting off. I agree that it is not the best way to get to a destination efficiently. I understand that the bus is probably the best way to get to Parc Guell - is there a certain bus route that drops us off closer to the parc - as I have read it can be a long walk in. Does bus 92 have a long walk to the entrance gate? With respect to Montserrat does it make much difference in how busy it is there - arriving first thing in the morning or shortly after lunch? We would like to hear the choir at 1:00 pm if we can.

Thanks again.

We were at Montserrat at the end of December. I was surprised at how busy it was. We arrived right away in the morning. Probably among the first up in the gondola. It was fairly quiet and got quite busy mid day which was when we choose to take the funicular up to the mountain top for some hiking. It seemed to quiet down at about 3:30 or so.

Bus 92 stop is 50 yards from the east gate of the park.

I vote for Saint Pau, it was magnificent and not crowded when we were there in August.

I also agree with using the public buses in Barcelona. The entire bus system map is available on line and with a little study, you can plan a route to go just about anywhere in the city via the buses. We found the buses to be clean, efficient, on schedule, and the route coverage is outstanding.

We've not been to Parc Guell before, but will be there in October. We booked tickets for the Monumental Zone as this is, for us, the major reason for visiting.

Hi Jon,

Did you take the free tour, or the guided tour of Sant Pau? Any advice would be welcomed: audio guide or guided-I am looking for more context than provided by the free tour choice.

Thanks,
John

We did the audio guide, but had the opportunity to visit with several staff we met along with way. They were more than happy to describe the history of the place and pointed out some-not-so-obvious things to look for along the way.

Day 1 The Gothic Quarter is interesting. La Rambla is not. You may want to amble down La Rambla to La Boqueria market and just pick up a few things to eat back
Day 2 Sant Pau is a 15 minute walk along Av. de Gaudi from La Sagrada Familia, where you'll pass several restaurants and cafes. Best to do them together. I think it's well worth visiting. Allow at least an hour there. Check how often the HOHO bus runs. It's probably faster to take the metro, since city streets can get really clogged with traffic. I don't understand your timetable. If you want to start your visit to SF at 1.00, when are you going to have time to visit Parc Guell and Sant Pau. Montjuic takes a long time, even without going into any of the museums.