We will be in Barcelona the last week of April and plan to buy tickets online. The website says that a photo ID is required at the entrance if ticket was purchased online, would photocopies of our passports suffice or would they need to see the actual passports?
How many days/weeks in advance would you recommend for buying tickets? It's quite hard to know at this point what time we would like but we may end up choosing a morning visit. Thank you.
Enric may have better information, but I visited Barcelona last August. It was very busy then, and I sort of doubt that your time period will be worse, though Enric has pointed out that a big convention can have significant impact. In any case, I knew I wanted the earliest time-slot because the church is less crowded then. I asked the tourist office beneath Pl. Catalunya (which sells entry tickets but not tower tickets) how early I needed to buy my ticket to get the first entry time. They told me 48 hours ahead should be OK, and it was. And that was for a specific time which is probably somewhat in demand.
I wouldn't take a risk. Just bring your passports.
Thank you both for your inputs. I think we'll schedule La Sagrada in the morning and La Pedrera in the afternoon. :)
Agree with Ann, a couple of days in advance "should" suffice... but if you can do that a bit earlier the better, just to ensure you have the time slot you require available.
As per photo ID, a good photocopy should be accepted. Yet, are you aware that, legally speaking, you're supposed to carry a "valid" photo ID with you at all times in some countries in Europe, including Spain of course? Valid photo ID for you means the passport as your driving licenses are not considered a valid document here and you don't have National ID either. Just sayin'.
Yes, I read about the requirement to have valid photo ID at all times in Spain. However, I also read that a photocopy of the passport would be sufficient. Is that true?
NO... and YES.
Technically (and legally) speaking: NO... and if you happen to get entangled in a serious "incident" (a brawl, an accident, a terrorist alert...) and you're asked by the Police to produce your ID and have no valid ID (a photocopy is not legally a valid ID!), you are very likely to be taken to the Police Station until someone can bring your passport for you. Not necessarily a frightening experience (don't worry, Catalan Police is far more civilised than the average US cop, in principle, they never cuff you unless they think you're a menace... and they normally "ask" you to accompany them to the station), but a waste of your limited vacation time for certain. The Law states EVERYBODY must carry a legal form of ID at ALL TIMES. And for you, that's the passport, as mentioned earlier.
In practice: sort of YES... for most "normal" situations (excluding the above) that is, say, for example, to prove your age if you bought reduced tickets in a museum. But again, it wouldn't be accepted if paying by credit card in certain stores (or in supermarkets). Also, the vast majority of restaurants don't ask for ID for a "normal" check, yet if you are dining in a fancy restaurant and run a bill of 500€ then they might want to ensure it's your credit card that you're using, LOL!... and it's their legal right to ask for ID when paying with a credit card so they are entitled not to accept a photocopy.
Unfortunately, there are some people and some websites out there propagating this myth about "a photocopy is enough"... but I am afraid that for ID purposes, the Law says otherwise, and not only in Spain, also in some other European countries. This is not to say you might "get by" in certain circumstances with a photocopy, but again... you only need a driver's license if caught by the Police, otherwise nothing impedes you to drive a car, right? :))
Is a US passport card considered ID then? We had planned on bringing passport cards around town/leaving passport books in our hotel safe.
Enric, you raise very good points. I guess I was only thinking of the best case scenario. Thank you for your very helpful input.
My pleasure Ashley
Hi Mary, I am not familiar with the "US passport card" so I can't help you there. I would assume that if this card can be used in the same manner than the passport -that is, it's issued by the US Gov and it's "interchangeable" with the traditional passport- it should be able to serve as "valid ID". But this is only my speculation so it might be worth dropping an email to the Spanish embassy asking for this. I however suspect the answer is going to be "NO"... I picked up this article that might help: http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=1913 In any case, I would say that it's best to carry the US Passport Card when walking the city in Barcelona than a photocopy of the passport.
I would like however to point out that one thing is the letter of the law and something else is 99% of the cases in which you might need to ID yourself. If you found yourself involved in say a quarrel or detained in the middle of a drug bust for example (for being in the wrong place at the wrong moment of course, lol!) the least of your worries is whether you have to go to the Police station for ID purposes, right? :))) I feel it's important to tell you guys what the law says, but you shouldn't fret about it to the point that it eats away at you.
Enjoy!
Why not use your driver's license as proof of your identity in this specific case? I have often used my US issued license for audio tours, etc security.
Yes Melissa I totally agree, and it will surely be accepted to pick up a ticket (which is, in fact, this case!) and maybe to enter limited/restricted area on a private venue and even to prove ID on even certain minor "official/government" matters... but the fact remains, it's not a legally valid document outside the US. In order for that to be, there should be an explicit bilateral agreement to recognise its validity as a legal document in both countries... but there isn't one, for the US only the passport is recognised here in Europe. That was what the conversation steered to, right? :)
ah, Enric, yes, the passport is required for walking around... but the OP did ask about photo id for La Sagrada. so I was responding strictly to her original post.
