One day in Barcelona?

In 2015, we had a one day shore excursion in Barcelona. Touring the Sagreda Familia and one of the towers took a lot of the time but was worth it. Getting the skip the line tickets is essential, imo. The crowds and the lineups were huge (at least in May).
We had a leisurely lunch. We thought going to Park Guell would be too rushed, so we used up the rest of our time on one loop of a hop on hop off bus to see "highlights", which I didn't find very pleasant.

We are planning a 2-week trip to Spain for this November.

Yes, Gaudi’s La Sagrada Familia and Park Guell are essential, must see! Get “skip the line” if available. Read about Architect Antoni Gaudi before you arrive.

I would skip Park Guell. Instead, I would walk from Sagrada Familia to Saint Pau.

https://www.santpaubarcelona.org/en

Hi Kerry

When?
It's important to know exactly when in Sept. are you visiting as there are interesting things happening during this month that may catch your eye.

Clarifying concepts
Despite marketing gimmicks on some websites (#), there are no "skip the lines" as you might be thinking. Due to the sheer number of visitors, the most popular attractions such as SagFam, Casa Batlló, Park Güell, etc. operate in a time-band-based entry manner, that is, one purchases a ticket to "get in" at a certain timeframe. For example, you can purchase a ticket to get into this attraction between 10 and 10:30 on the 23rd. This means the ticket will allow you to get in between those times, not sooner or later. Once inside you can, of course, spend all the time you need... albeit in some attractions (ie Casa Batlló) the tour is designed not to backtrace and to keep moving forward at a slow but constant pace. It's good enough to see and enjoy everything, but it's not designed for 'museum rats' if you catch my drift.

At all these major attractions there are two lines to be made, one to purchase the ticket at the booth and the other one to line up for entry at the given time. The 'skip-the-line' gimmick refers to the fact that if you purchase the ticket online, you'll indeed skip the first line as you'll do that at your convenience sitting from the sofa at your place and not having to physically go to the attraction to get it. BUT, you'll still have to line up for the second line, the entry, alongside the dozens of people that bought a ticket to enter the premises in the same timeframe you did. This second line can seem big at times, but it tends to be quite smooth and moves quite quickly. In short, there's no option to waltz in at your convenience. For the second line, it's advised to be at the premises a while before the entry time, say 15' or so.

Tips: (1) don't gamble on being able to get a ticket at the very last minute for a 'time-band that is convenient for you', pre-purchase online as soon as the time window opens (normally two to three months in advance of the date you intended to visit), (2) if you decide to purchase the ticket on the day at the booth... you might encounter the availability for visiting on the same day is low or nonexistent.

(#) There are one or two exceptions to that, one being Casa Batlló, where a type of ticket is available by which indeed one can "walk in" at one's convenience without any waiting at all.

Must-see
I tend not to enter into this conversation because must-see is extremely subjective: what do you like? what are your interests or preferences? what's your budget? etc. Top attractions in Barcelona are not cheap and it quickly mounts up if one wants to visit a few of them. Having said that, these are the most visited:

• Sagrada Familia
• Park Güell
• Museu FC Barcelona
• L'Aquàrium de Barcelona
• Poble Espanyol de Montjuïc
• El Born Centre Cultural
• Casa Batlló
• Museu Picasso
• La Pedrera
• Museu d'Història de Barcelona
• CosmoCaixa Barcelona
• Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC)
• Palau Robert
• Parc Zoològic de Barcelona ("the zoo")
• Montjuïc
• CaixaFòrum Barcelona
  

Enjoy!

BARCELONA TOP TEN SIGHTS

1. Sagrada Familia
2. Passeig de Gracia (Eixample) - Casa Mila & Casa Batllo (choose one)
3. Bari Gotico - Cathedral
4. Palau de la Musica Catalana
5. Hospital Sant Pau
6. Park Guell
7. La Ribera - Basilica Santa Maria del Mar, Parc de la Ciutadella
8. Picasso Museum
9. Montjuic - Joan Miro Foundation & MNAC (choose one)
10. Las Ramblas - La Boqueria, Placa Real

1st Reserve. Magic Fountains
2nd Reserve. Barceloneta

With just one day, and for ease of logistics. I would plan for 1. 2. 3. 7. 10.

Hello from Wisconsin,
My first thought was, spend the one day by adding it to where you already plan to be. Then I remembered that the Basilica is one of the most beautiful and astounding buildings in the world. If you see nothing else, go there. Don't rush. There are two parks one on either side of the building. Sit there and ponder the glory that can exist if given a chance. When I was there no tower was open. I bet you should get, get, get up and go into one. I would say to be ready to spend hours at this place. You will never see any thing like it again. Yes, there are astounding buildings around the world, this is one of them. There is no copy.

There are Gaudi structures along the Rambla. I would pay to see Casa Mille. But I really love Art Nouveau.

As you walk down the Rambla toward the Sea the neighborhoods behind the left side are clean, gentrified, and touristed. Behind the right side is a bit real.

One day. Chose carefully.

wayne iNWI