Spain: final itinerary input

Posted by hellospain (Austin, TX) on 03/04/16 03:55 PM

It's almost time for our trip and we are so excited. I thought I would ask for one final round of input. Am I missing anything spectacular?

Day 1 (Friday): Arrive in Barcelona in the afternoon. Visit Casa Batllo and Block of Discord and eat dinner in area

Day 2 (Saturday): Sagrada Familia at 9 am; Nativity Facade Tower at 10 am;
Barcelona FC match at 4 pm

Day 3 (Sunday): Runner Bean Old City Tour at 11am and hopefully see the Sardanas at the Catedral;
Picasso museum ?; Palace of Catalan Music?

Day 4 (Monday): Fly to Granada in the am; Walk around old city and visit the Cathedral and just relax

Day 5 (Tuesday): Morning tickets to Alhambra with Nasrid at 11:30 am with an afternoon of relaxing and eating/drinking

Day 6 (Wednesday): Train/Bus to Sevilla; Visit Cathedral and do self guided tour from Rick Steve's book; La casa del flamenco (do I need to book in advance?) in evening

Day 7 (Thursday): Visit Basilica de Macarena and Alcazar; evening spent eating/drinking

Day 8 (Friday): Morning train to Madrid; Prado in afternoon

Day 9 (Saturday): Rick Steves walk and visit Royal Palace in the morning; Mercado San Miguel for lunch and Thyssen-Bornemisza in afternoon

Day 10 (Sunday): Retiro Park in am; Real Madrid match at 8:30 pm

Day 11 (Monday): Fly home in am; start planning next trip

I'm sad that I didn't have an extra day for Barcelona because there is so much to do/see there but there is always next time!

I guess I would like to know:

Do I need to get advance tickets for: Palace of Catalan Music in Barcelona

We will be in Sevilla the week before holy week. Will the Semana Santa floats still be in the Basilica de Macarena a week beforehand? Should I get the flamenco, Alcazar or Cathedral tickets in advance?

In Madrid do I need to get the Prado tickets in advance for Friday afternoon? Royal Palace in advance for Saturday morning? Thyssen-Bornemisza tickets in advance for Saturday afternoon.

Also wanted to edit to add: We are in our late 30's and husband is a huge football fan so I am able to leverage dragging him around to churches and museums by book-ending two matches in Barcelona and Madrid :)

Anything else you'd like to recommend/add. Thanks so much in advance, everyone. You guys have been so helpful in my planning!

Posted by Chani

Tel Aviv

03/05/16 07:25 AM

15784 posts

Day 3 - If my calculations are correct, that's the 13th - there are several casteller performances, all beginning at noon. You may want to see that instead.

I've been watching ticket sales for that week (I'll be there then too). Nothing seems to sell out more than a day in advance, but lines can be long. You should probably buy tickets for Casa Batllo (when I looked yesterday, they were offering an anytime entry for a few euros more) because ticket lines will probably be long. It's a good idea to get tickets in advance for the Palace of Catalan Music. Because it's a guided tour in English, there aren't that many places available. I understand that the Picasso Museum can be a matter of luck, but on Sundays, it could be more crowded, so probably a good idea to buy in advance.

Day 5 - I was allowed to use my late morning ticket to enter the other ticketed areas any time during the day. Ask when you enter. If that's still true, that will allow you a more leisurely visit. The Alcazaba is near the entrance to the Nasrid Palaces, so you may want to visit that first. This is a good explanation of a recommended route.

Day 6 - Book the flamenco in advance. It is a small venue, so it's likely to sell out.

Day 8 - Sometimes there are lines for tickets at the Prado, sometimes not. I visited in February, the galleries weren't at all crowded, until the free hours began. . . then they were. The Prado is huge and somewhat mazelike in places. Plan your visit in advance so you get to the paintings you are most interested in. The audio tour was good.

Day 9 - I would buy tickets to the palace in advance. I haven't had waits to buy tickets at the Thyssen, but it is the weekend. If you want to see the temporary exhibition, you should probably buy timed entry tickets in advance. The temp exhibits are in a separate wing of the museum. After you go through it, you then use your ticket to enter the permanent exhibits.