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Pre-purchase admission for October visit

Posted by (Cincinnati, OH, USA) on

My wife and I will visit several cities in Spain during October 17-27, 2018. We'll be in Barcelona, Zaragoza, Madrid (day trip to Toledo) and Seville. I've read that many of the heavily-visited venues we hope to visit can have very long queues. I'll list the places we'd like to visit as well as several transportation "legs" and for each I would be grateful for thoughts on pre-purchasing admission tickets (with an entry time we assume) and/or reserved seats (for transportation). The only Monday (museum closures ?) during the time of our visit will be in Madrid.

  1. Early morning High Speed Train Barcelona to Figueres
  2. Admission to Dali Museum
  3. Mid afternoon High Speed Train Figueres to Barcelona with a hop-off and hop on (after 4-6 hours) at Girona
  4. Parc Guell (for the Monumental Zone)
  5. Mid day High Speed Train Barcelona to Zaragoza
  6. Mid day High Speed Train Zaragoza to Madrid
  7. Admission to The Prado (We'll be in Madrid October 21, 22, 23, Maybe visit Toledo on the Monday)
  8. Admission to Reina Sofia Museum
  9. Admission to the Thyssen Museum
  10. Admission to the Royal Palace (Madrid)
  11. Admission Santa Cruz Museum (Toledo)
  12. Mid day High Speed Train Madrid to Seville
  13. Admission to The Alcazar (Seville)

By the way, we've visited Barcelona several times before; that's why the "really big" attractions are not on the list.

We'd not be fond of having to book all 13 venues/train tickets in advance for a specific time as it will place us on a "timetable" for most of our 10 days, but on the other hand, standing in a long, long queue for the various venues, of not getting on a train would be worse. Any thoughts will be helpful.

Posted by
3442 posts

Since you want to visit the "Big 3" museums in Madrid, the Paseo del Arte ticket would be a good deal for you. It won't eliminate lines, but it will cut way back on your wait times. As I recall from October 2017, I ordered it online and picked it up at the Thyssen. You will save a little bit on the cost of the three museums. You won't have to reserve ahead with the Paseo del Arte ticket.

I was really glad that we booked ahead for Park Guell, the Alcazar and the Royal Palace - the lines were pretty godawful at all those venues.

Posted by
28085 posts

You'll save money by buying all your high-speed train tickets in advance. You can visit Renfe.com or trainline.eu and fiddle around with dates to determine the difference between current prices and those as far out as you can find fares. That's your potential savings. Yeah, the lack of flexibility is a pain. You can delay purchase of the Girona-Barcelona leg and decide at the last minute whether you want to take the slower train or pay the (likely) last-minute up-charge for the fast trip.

Fares for Madrid-Toledo are always the same, so the only issues there are the time it takes to buy tickets at Atocha and the possibility of a sold-out train. However, in Spain there can be substantial savings when you buy a round-trip ticket.

You need to buy the Dali and Parc Guell tickets in advance.

I used the Paseo del Arte card in Madrid. I didn't have a significant wait in the ticket line at the Palacio Real, but I may have been lucky, because the palace was rather busy that day.

I had no issues at the Santa Cruz museum; the cathedral, on the other hand, was a problem. But I was in Toledo on a religious-holiday weekend.

Posted by
11294 posts

Don't visit Toledo on a Monday - several of the major sights are closed (I don't have the RS book handy so I can't look up which ones).

If you don't buy Prado tickets in advance online, you can get them in advance in person. I went toward the end of the day, when there was no line. You do have to specify which day you want the ticket to be valid for, and make sure they aren't same day tickets if that's not what you want. The Prado only closes three days a year (January 1, May 1, and December 25).

Or, since you're seeing the Big Three in Madrid, you can buy the combo ticket at one of the other two (Reina Sofia or Thyssen) where the lines are shorter, than use it to get into the Prado. You save a few euros over individual tickets. I saw the Reina Sofia during its free hours (again, I don't have the book handy to look up when they are), and it wasn't that crowded, even at the Guernica.

Posted by
7175 posts
  1. Early morning High Speed Train Barcelona to Figueres ... YES, BOOK.
  2. Admission to Dali Museum ... I WOULDNT BOTHER PRE BOOKING.
  3. Mid afternoon High Speed Train Figueres to Barcelona with a hop-off and hop on (after 4-6 hours) at Girona ... USE THE LOCAL TRAINS - pay on the day.
  4. Parc Guell (for the Monumental Zone) ... YES, BOOK.
  5. Mid day High Speed Train Barcelona to Zaragoza ... YES, BOOK.
  6. Mid day High Speed Train Zaragoza to Madrid ... YES, BOOK.
  7. Admission to The Prado (We'll be in Madrid October 21, 22, 23, Maybe visit Toledo on the Monday) ... I WOULDNT BOTHER PRE BOOKING - choose an off peak time.
  8. Admission to Reina Sofia Museum ... I WOULDNT BOTHER PRE BOOKING - choose an off peak time.
  9. Admission to the Thyssen Museum ... I WOULDNT BOTHER PRE BOOKING.
  10. Admission to the Royal Palace (Madrid) ... YES, BOOK.
  11. Admission Santa Cruz Museum (Toledo) ... I WOULDNT BOTHER PRE BOOKING.
  12. Mid day High Speed Train Madrid to Seville ... YES, BOOK.
  13. Admission to The Alcazar (Seville) ... I WOULDNT BOTHER PRE BOOKING - choose an off peak time.
Posted by
28085 posts

I disagree with David about taking non-express trains to Figueres and Girona. Depending on which of the slower trains you take, that tactic will cost you between 1-1/2 and 3+ hours extra for the round-trip. Considering that you're planning to squeeze Figueres and Girona into one day, I don't think you can afford to waste the time on the slow trains.

Posted by
7175 posts

My suggestion is for the slower local trains only on the return journey.

Examples of timings.

AVN34737
Dep 08:25 BARCELONA SANTS (Spain)
Arr 09:20 FIGUERES VILAFANT (Spain)

RE 15810
Dep 13:00 FIGUERAS (Spain)
Arr 13:38 GERONA (VIAJEROS) (Spain)

TRN15018
Dep 17:49 GERONA (VIAJEROS) (Spain)
Arr 19:09 BARCELONA SANTS (Spain)

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