Itinerary Advice for late Nov/early Dec trip to Barcelona

For one of your open days you could consider visiting Tarragona. It just a short train ride (about 30 min) south of Barcelona. Tarragona is known for some of the best Roman ruins in Spain. If you do decide to go, I would start at the Museu Nacional Arqueològic (MNAT) then walk down to the Roman Amphitheater, which is close by. For lunch I would recommend Restaurant Antic, which is right next door to the museum. Try arroz caldoso con bogavante which is a rice dish made with a fumet of lobster, so that it tastes like the sea, it's so good!

I like long stays, too, and there's tons to see in Barcelona. Places I especially liked that I do not see mentioned are the Gaudi houses (Casa Mila, Casa Batllo; I haven't seen the newly-opened Casa Vicens), the Sant Pau modernista site (beautiful multi-building site with nice landscaping as well) and the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, which has some lovely frescoes rescued from churches in the Pyrenees and a good modernism collection (furniture and decorative arts), as well as the expected painting and sculptures. There are many other good museums in the city, so I recommend consulting a good guide book so you'll know which ones might appeal when you have time. The museum in Girona is also good.

If you fall in love with the modernista architecture, you can have a good time wandering around looking at exteriors of buildings marked on the local tourist maps, especially in the Eixample neighborhood. I used the map the tourist office sells for 1 euro as well as the Ruta del Modernisme map.

I question the wisdom of planning the Picasso Museum on your first day, assuming you're arriving in Barcelona after an overnight flight. I'm brain-dead on arrival day, and you'll need to pre-purchase a timed ticket to that museum without knowing how dead-on-your-feet you will be. Also, be aware that the Picasso Museum is usually unbelievably crowded. I would skip it completely if you are not Picasso fans. As mentioned above, there are many other art museums in Barcelona, all of which are much more pleasant to visit. For a single-artist modern museum, the Miro is an option.

I don't know what sort of weather you'll have in November/December and am not sure the Three Countries in One Day tour would be worth the time and expense on a wet, gray day. The temperature probably won't be as mild in that area as it is in Barcelona.

Other possibilities for day-trips (but again, I have not visited in late fall) are Cadaques on the coast north of Barcelona (train to Figueres, then bus), Sitges on the coast south of Barcelona (train), and Besalu in the interior (bus). Cadaques and Besalu are both more quickly reached from Girona, so you might consider a multi-night stay in Girona to serve as a base for those excursions. Girona is a lovely, lively city. It is certainly touristy, but the crowds are not as overwhelming as they can be in Barcelona, so Girona makes a nice change.

Someone from this forum has taken and enjoyed a tour of medieval villages in Catalunya. I see that it is considerably less expensive than your 3-country tour.

I skipped the Dali Museum in Figueres because he's not a favorite of mine, but friends did go and raved about the jewelry collection.

One thing to add for your trip since you will be there at the end of November and early December is to visit some of the Christmas markets, here is the link for the markets 2018: https://barcelonalowdown.com/christmas-markets-barcelona/. I was there in December two years ago and went to La Fira de Santa Llucia which is Barcelona's oldest Christmas market, dating back to the 18th century. It is in front of the Barcelona Cathedral.

Sandy

Thanks to those of you who have replied. This is good information--let me go back and revise some things. Also, I appreciate the Christmas market info--I was hoping there would be a "local" event while we were there. Thanks for these tips!

I have found that this is a pretty good English language site for visitors who are interested in local events by the seasons Big festivals and major events in Barcelona: Winter