Please Help: Barcelona Itinerary in September

Hi Pam

1.) Your hotel is very centrally located, at a stone throw away from the old city. You'll find it very convenient :))... yet get aquainted with the names of the neighbourhoods here, you'll find it useful when planning your itineraries. Also the map of the metro, which is the most efficient manner to move about in the city: cheap, clean and safe, should you ask. And useful info on the most convenient travelcard, the T-10

2.) I strongly suggest to expand your research material and include local websites, such as http://www.barcelonaturisme.com/ | http://www.infocatalonia.eu | http://www.timeout.com/barcelona | http://lameva.barcelona.cat/en | http://www.catalunya.com/?language=en thus you'll have also a "local perspective" to visiting the city and Catalonia overall.

3.) While your stay is indeed a short one, you can see all what you mention without too much of a rush. Pending a more elaborated itinerary on your side (once you've researched the above mentioned websites!), I would roughly start with: DAY 1: Old City (including Boqueria and many other, but no museums), DAY 2 (a): Park Güell > neighbourhood of Gràcia > Sagrada Família; DAY3: Montjuïc(b) + Picasso Museum (afternoon)

(a) For a suggested itinerary/schedules check WED16 here and this would be the mentioned map.
(b) Montjuïc is just the name of a huge district, you should be more precise on what exactly would you like to do there. Btw, the term "parc de Montjuïc" is just an invention from the Tourism Board, regular Barcelonians we don't call it so, we just refer to it as "Montjuïc" (because it's the name of the hill this area is located in), and it's derived fom Old Catalan meaning "mount of the Jews" as Barcelona had a flourishing Jew community in the Middle Ages.

4.) Note that Sunday Sep 11th, your 3rd DAY, is the National Day of Catalonia -much like your 4th of July- and you'll encounter a very festive ambiance. Aside from much flag waving, expect to find displays of cultural heritage (castellers, etc.), official commemorative acts (near El Born, in the Ribera neighbourhood) and a parade in the afternoon. This day you will immediately notice why many Catalans claim Catalonia is not Spain indeed and why our Parliament is on a route to independence (Google: Catalonia, independence for more details)

5.) For food... start by having a look to our unofficial bible for going out

6.) Strolls are the best manner to discover Barcelona... a free tour is always a good option: http://www.runnerbeantours.com/ -my choice! | http://www.newbarcelona-tours.com/daily-tours/free-tour-of-barcelona.html | http://www.discoverwalks.com/barcelona-walking-tours/ | http://www.feelfreetours.com/ | Tours with a twist: http://www.pummbarcelona.cat/en/ ... or if you prefer DIY, check a post I published a while ago although I later readdressed the red and orange routes thru the Old City for a more convenient approach, so the accompanying text is here instead and the map of the routes is here

I guess you've got enough info for starters, right? :))

Enjoy!

Since you appear to have three full days in your stay, I think you will easily be able to visit the sites you have identified, as well as several others. As far as best times to go to various sites is concerned, I would HEARTILY ADVISE you to pre-book Sagrada Familia! Since Park Gruell is on the same "side" of Barcelona as the church, I would think it would make sense to visit them both on the same day. You can stop in at the Mercado as a part of a leisurely walk down Las Ramblas. Also logical for this walk would be a visit to Santa Maria del Mar and a "walk by" of the Columbus monument at the end of the street. If you are beach people, perhaps you would want to stroll by the Roy Lichtenstein ppainting/sculpture or the famous Lobster statue on your way to visit the beach at Barcelonetta. If you time this whole excursion properly, you could be ready for an awesome fresh seafood lunch at one of the many wonderful restaurants in that area.

Wow, thank you, Enric and Jack!! Lots of information and I am getting really excited about this trip. :) And I was too excited thinking about the trip that I literally forgot that we actually arrive in Barcelona the morning of Saturday - Sept. 10th (leaving US the 9th). Not sure if this changes things..so sorry for the mix-up.

Enric - You are amazing!! I cannot thank you enough for all the links that you included. Granting our correct arrival of Saturday does not change things much from your perspective, we will definitely follow your suggested itinerary for day 2 (WED16 link). We love the idea of a DIY walking tour as well and your map is awesome! Also, I am not really set on Montjuic but my husband suggested it. I had my heart set on Montserrat to see the monastery and do a little hiking but may not have enough time (thus my husband's suggestion of Montjuic) since from what we've learned so far it will require most of 1 day. For the Boqueria, we were hoping to have lunch there. Would you still suggest going there on Saturday the 10th? I've read in RS guidebook that locals avoid the market on Saturdays so that's why I'm asking.

Jack - Great suggestions! We will, for sure, pre-book Sagrada Familia as you mentioned. We will probably do some leisurely walk to Las Ramblas and Barri Gothic in the afternoon of our arrival day but not so sure if we should do the Boqueria at the same time (see my above comment). I do like the idea of exploring the Barcelonetta and having lunch in that area.

Pam, two things to take into account when planning:

On Sunday shops (and markets) are closed. So Boqueria, being a fresh food market, will so too. Btw, another great market to visit is Santa Caterina, not far from La Boqueria. It's located a stone throw away from the Cathedral.
On Mondays many museums are closed -it's their 'day off' so to speak.

If you'd like to visit Montserrat, a Sunday is a perfect day to do so. Grab some groceries on Sat evening and have a picnic in Montserrat. For info on an escapade to Montserrat, see an old post of mine, see #5 here.

Re food... the best meal I've ever had in Barca was at Buenos Aires (oddly enough lol). Definitely make a stop there, and FYI that area is jam packed with great restaurants. Enjoy! :)

I'm currently in Barcelona, and I asked the Tourist Office how early I needed to book admission to La Sagrada Familia and Park Guell, given that I preferred early AM times for both. (Folks have reported that the church is a bit less crowded early in the morning, and heat can be a factor at the park.) I was told one day ahead for the park and two days ahead for the church. Note that the T.O. sells tickets for both, adding a 2-euro convenience fee, but not tickets for the La Sagrada Familia towers. I don't know how far in advance you need to book the towers. Since your time is limited, I recommend getting PG and LSF tickets online before you leave home.

There's a little gatekeeper's house at the park, designed by Gaudi. There's a separate line within the park to go inside that building. If you want to go inside it, try for the earliest park admission time, enter at the main gate, and go immediately to the building on the right. The line was over an hour long when I arrived at 8:50 today, so I skipped that visit.

You need to avoid the long ticket line at the Picasso Museum either by purchasing your ticket ahead of time or by taking a tour that includes the museum. The T.O. runs a Picasso Tour Tuesday through Saturday at 3 PM. You see a few spots in the old city with Picasso connections then go to the museum (entrance fee included), where the guide provides background info on some of the paintings. The tour is $22 for adults. It runs about 2 hours, and you can stay in the museum after the tour if you want to. It's not a tour for people looking for detailed info on Picasso's art, but I enjoyed it, and I think it would be especially worthwhile for folks not planning to take a general tour of the old part of the city. Warning: The museum is very popular and thus very crowded. It's free on Sunday from 3 PM to 7 PM, but the conventional wisdom is that it's even more of a zoo then.

The Museum Nacional d'Art de Catalunya is perhaps the top sight on Montjuic. It is free on Saturdays from 3 PM to 8 PM. The T. O. told me that going on a free day would probably be OK, because the museum is large and people spread out. Can't tell you from personal experience, though. The museum is closed on Mondays.

The Fundacio Miro, also on Montjuic, is a bit pricey (12 euros, plus 5 euros extra if you want the audio guide), but certainly worth it if you're a Miro fan. Otherwise, probably best to use the time elsewhere. (I'd suggest the even more expensive Gaudi site La Pedrera; Casa Batllo is also very interesting but more crowded. Or if you are tired of crowds, another really lovely modernista site, the Hospital de Sant Pau, which is no more than 1/2 mile from La Sagrada Familia. Open 10-6:30 Mon-Sat and 10-2:30 Sun.) The Miro is closed on Mondays. EDIT: I walked to the Miro today from the Poble Sec Metro station. Over 200 steps were involved, plus several uphill blocks. I'm a stubborn walker, but I probably should have used Rick's information on public transportation to Montjuic.

Casa Lleo Morera, another of the top modernista sites, closed recently for "maintenance", but I've heard that it is not going to re-open to the public.

La Boqueria Market is closed on Sundays.

I suppose it's too late for you acraven, but I'm planning to get the Barcelona Museum Pass / BCN ARTICKET http://articketbcn.org/ when I visit Barcelona. It seems to be good for a lot of those museums you mentioned and you get to skip the ticket line. I suppose there will be a wait at the first place when trading in the online printed receipt for the actual ticket.

Yes, I think the Articket could be good for many art-oriented visitors. I'm fortunate to be here at the beginning of the month, so I have two shots at free visits to MNAC; I knew I'd be taking the Picasso Tour and wouldn't use the pass for that museum; and I wasn't sure how many of the others I'd have time for. My major interest here is the modernista sights.

There was no problem visiting MNAC yesterday, on the free Saturday afternoon. Lots of visitors, but no trouble seeing the exhibits. It's about 100 steps plus 4 short escalator rides up from Plaza Espana.

I would try organise my time like this ...

Saturday 10 (afternoon)
Montjuic (Miro+MNAC)
Magic Fountains

Sunday 11
Sagrada Familia (BOOK)
Passeig Gracia (Casa Mila +Casa Batllo)
Palau de la Musica or Park Guell (BOOK)

Monday 12
Ramblas (La Boqueria)
Bari Gotico (Cathedral)
el Born (Museo Picasso+Sta Maria de la Mar)
Barceloneta

For those interested: the Casa de Les Punxes, is the newest Modernist house to open to the public.

And for other Modernist gems have a look at the Ruta del Modernisme.

It's important to mention that there's much more to see than Gaudí in this area, there are dozens of other great Modernist architects that filled Barcelona with wonderful buildings of this art and architectural movement from the 1900s. Most of them are not visitable because they're private residences and/or company and other institutions' premises, but some are.

Among the most famous architects, besides Antoni Gaudí, one can find fine examples by Elies Rogent, Lluís Domènech i Montaner, Josep Puig i Cadafalch, Enric Sagnier, Joan Rubió or Josep Maria Jujol to name a few. Each one having his own style and all of them borrowing from each other.

Examples of other Modernist buildings not designed by Gaudí that can be visited are Palau de la Música Catalana, Sant Pau Centre Modernista, Palau Macaya, Casa Ramona -now an art centre, Casa Ametller, etc some are designed UNESCO sites. As per those that are not visitable, a DIY walking route in l'Eixample district would offer the possibility to see +200 beautifully decorated façades of Modernist buildings, indeed a treat for photography lovers.

Thank you all so much for the feedback! Based on your suggestions, here's what we've come up. Please feel free to advise if the below sounds good or if you have any other suggestions.

Arrive: Saturday - Sept. 10th, mid-day check-in at hotel
- walk around Las Ramblas, Barri Gothic and lunch at the Boqueria

Sunday - Sept. 11
- Visit Picasso Museum early morning
- stroll Barcelonetta and lunch in the area
- Montjuic (MNAC + Magic fountain + Botanical Garden or Fort)

Monday - Sept. 12
- Early morning (9ish) to Park Guell + Gatekeepers house)
- walk by Gracia neighborhood and stop for a quick lunch along the way to SF
- Sagrada Familia at 3pm
- walk to Hospital de Sant Pau or maybe La Pedrera

Sounds perfect Pam.

Do ask again closer to your trip and I'll be able to give you more details on the celebrations for the Catalan National Day so you can include some of them in your itinerary for that Sunday.

As per going to Park Güell, I strongly advise going by bus #24 and stop at the Eastern gate of the park instead of entering via the main gate. Four reasons for that: (1) less busy, (2) flat walk, not uphill!, (3) you can enjoy the Viaduct (to your right) before visiting the Casa Museu Gaudí and the Monumental area of the park. Note that these two sites require separate tickets -one is managed by the City Hall, the other by a private foundation. Pre-booking is highly advised or risk having to wait for hours for your time slot. Also, if you feel sporty, I would advise a walk to the top of the park, to the Turó de les Tres Creus where you'll enjoy magnificent views over the city. Many visitors miss it because they are only focused in the Monumental area.

The bus #24 stop is almost in front of your hotel in Carrer Pelai and you need to get off at the stop in Carretera del Carmel, just in front of the eastern gate of the park -you'll see, where all the tourists get off, lol!: http://www.tmb.cat/en/linia-de-bus/-/bus/24 The Tourism Office and many foreign guides (which only cut&paste!) do recommend taking the metro instead, however, albeit it's indeed a bit faster, I don't. The reason being that after getting off the metro in Vallcarca, this is what you'll encounter to go up to the park. The metro station is at the bottom of the picture, about 300 yards to the left of the red sign with the white M... and the park, yeah, you guessed, at the top, well, actually once you get to the top you still have to walk a further 500 yards or so to get to the Monumental area. And note the entrance is not the "top of the park" either. In a hot and humid summer day is a no-no for me :))

Enric - Thank you! I will do that as we would love to see the celebration as I'm sure it will showcase some of the Catalan culture. :)

Want to let you know that all these little insider tips you are sending to me are very much appreciated. My husband said you should run your own tour! :) I wouldn't want to miss the Viaduct, that is some awesome looking architecture!

Some of the activities in 2014: video