Thoughts on our plans in Barcelona

1.) For other members interested in 'that' post from Apr 9th 2014, check WED16 here: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187497-i44-k7350676-First_Timers_Help_With_5_Day_Itinerary-Barcelona_Catalonia.html#57433425

2.) Museu Picasso is always busy... all day long, even more on Sunday afternoons -because it's free from 3pm to closing time. This is "normal": http://www.btv.cat/btvnoticies/2013/08/18/diumenge-museu-picasso/ :)) Having said so, you might find yourself one of those occasions in which the queue is short (or even non-existent!) but there's no rule on when that happens.

3.) At least half a day albeit most people allocates the full day. It's already around 2h all together to get to the abbey from Barcelona and then you have the different sites to visit there (the caves, etc). Again, if your were to rush Montserrat -which I don't advise!- you could return in the afternoon and still do something in Montjuïc -given that your train will leave you in Plaça Espanya- but again, there are literally dozens of sites in Montjuïc so you'd have to choose one. If you decide to visit and hike in Montserrat -very recommendable, see post #5 at http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187497-i44-k7639192-Draft_4_day_Itinerary_Insights_appreciated-Barcelona_Catalonia.html#59856802 - you'll probably be returning in the evening, if you time it right you, when you arrive into Plaça Espanya you could have dinner somewhere in the area (ie. one of the many restaurants in the Les Arenes Shopping Mall, just across the square. Visit the top floor for that!) and then end up your day viewing the Magic Fountain show (http://infocatalonia.eu/w/54XRj) a few yards from Plaça Espanya. But note that's only at certain days and hours: http://bit.ly/1F3pPSV

4.) Visiting Montjuïc, as I said, it really takes several days as the district -located in one of the "mountains" (or hills, for those coming from somewhere with 'real' mountains, LOL!) of the city- is one of the biggest and contains numerous parks, monuments and museums worth visiting. Have a peek here: http://infocatalonia.eu/w/0MAQX and for more text info: http://bit.ly/1FSlv9z

Enjoy.

PS Thanks for your consideration Patty, xo

I recommend 4 full days in Barcelona alone to do it full justice (and this does not include Parc Guell)

DAY 1 Ramblas & Bari Gotico
Metro to Placa de Catalunya, Barcelona’s main square
Explore the Ramblas from top to bottom taking side diversions
On the right C. d’Elisabets to the museums MACBA and CCCB (check for current exhibits)
Further down to La Boqueria markets
Left side thru the Gothic Quarter via Placa del Pi & Placa de Sant Felip Neri to the Cathedral
Placa del Rei and the wide Placa Sant Jaume flanked by official buildings of the city and state
Return to the Ramblas (at the Liceu opera house) down the shopping street C. De Ferran
Further a little to Placa Reial, harmonious enclosed square with palms trees & Gaudi lanterns
And then Palau Guell (Gaudi) off on the right
Finally the port and the column with Christopher Columbus gesturing towards the new world
Metro Drassanes is close by

DAY 2 Montjuic & Olympics
Metro to Placa d’Espanya
Les Arenes, once the bullring, now housing shops & restaurants (fighting is banned in BCN)
2 large towers opposite and the Av de la Reina Marina Cristina towards the Palau Nacional
This area of exhibition space was the site of a Universal Expo in 1929
(Barcelona had Olympic visions way back then but the Spanish Civil War put them on hold)
Caixa Forum and Mies van der Rohe Pavilion are both worth a look
Escalators to the Palau and the MNAC museum, well worthy of a visit
The Anella Olimpica (Stadium, Palau St Jordi, Communications Tower) is laid out behind
Now back down the hill to the excellent Miro Museum (Fundacio Miro)
Piscina Municipal close by – spectacular Olympic diving venue
Along Av. Miramar to the Funicular connecting with Metro at Parallel

DAY 3 Gaudi & Modernism
Metro to Sant Pau to explore the modernist hospital complex of Sant Pau
Walk down the Av de Gaudi to Sagrada Familia (Gaudi) – PREBOOK TICKETS !!
Metro to Diagonal and Passeig Gracia for Casa Mila (Gaudi)
Walk down Barcelona's majestic boulevard to crazy colourful Casa Batllo (Gaudi)
Casa Amatller is next door and the Loewe store on the corner is in Casa Lleo i Morera
Finish at Gran Via – Metro Passeig de Gracia is closeby

DAY 4 El Born & Barceloneta
Metro to Arc de Triomf
10 min walk to Palau de la Musica Catalana – PREBOOK TICKETS !!
Through the revitalised area of El Born to the Picasso Museum – PREBOOK TICKETS !!
On to Santa Maria del Mar and then into the Parc de la Ciutedella for a relaxing circuit
Past the historic railway station, Estacio de Franca to the old fisherman’s village, Barceloneta
The ‘D’ shaped W Hotel stands at the port entrance
Walk the other way along the beachfront towards Frank Gehry’s glimmering ‘Fish’ sculpture
Finish at the Hotel Arts and Port Olimpic – Metro Ciutedella / Vila Olimpica is close by

Enric:

Do you know if there are soccer matches in the beginning part of September? My trip is during 9-3 to 9-6 and I may want to try to attend a match. Kind of on the mat about the idea because it will cut into my short time in Barcelona. How about Madrid? matches there? I pulled up the Barcelona FC site and really am having difficulty trying to determine this. Any help you might give me would be appreciated.

Patty: sorry to jump onto your post.

The league starts at the end of August, but the calendar is not yet published so I can't give you more information right now. I'm not really a football fan so I don't exactly know when it's published. Do keep checking this page http://www.fcbarcelona.com/football/first-team/calendar for details. Note that on home games (those played in Barcelona) the name FCBarcelona will appear before the adversary.

Suggest the best answers to your questions will be enhanced by making a road trip to the RS HQ where they have wonderful advisors. Yep, it will cost a few dollars to have a face to face meeting, but the opportunity to sit down with an expert and utilize all their resources is something I advocate investing your time. From Google maps it appears you are within an hour drive of the RS HQ. Nope, I don't work for RS (HOW I WISH I COULD!), but if I lived near by it would be something I would do.

I would recommend seeing Sagrada Familia first and then go to Parc Guell. Getting tickets in advance is very wise for both. How much time you spend at each depends on your interests. Some will just want to walk through each and they've seen them. Others will spend a couple of hours or even more at each.

If this is your first trip to Barcelona and you only have a few days there, I honestly wouldn't recommend visiting Montserrat. Especially if you aren't that interested in hiking. But if you really want to see the mountain or the shrine, plan the better part of the day for your visit and transit time.

I agree with Douglas, book Sagrada Familia for first thing, perhaps wander up to Hospital St Pau and bok Parc Guell for after lunch - about 3pm to 4pm.
Similarly his comments re Montserrat, unless you are of extreme faith or going to hike I would give it a miss this time.
Another day in Barcelona I would recommend an early tour (prebook) of Palau de la Musica Catalana and then book Picasso Museum for 2-3 hours later.

Thanks to everyone for their advice. And, I never mind sharing a thread!

Enric- thanks so much for your advice. When you're doing something for the first time, what is obvious to an expert may not be so for us. Case in point were our tickets to Park Guell and the Gaudi House. We knew that we had to book them separately, but we thought the house was inside the monuments area. Fortunately, we picked that up right away and the post on TA the other day had an email address and the problem was fixed in 20 minutes. We have also decided to plan a whole day in Montserrat and save Montjuic for another trip. I know you and several others favor Park Guell first and then Sagrada Familia, but we really wanted to savor Park Guell, so we put that in the middle. It means we'll miss your walk, but I'll take the map just in case. We've scheduled the Picasso Museum for the end of the day.

Marbleskies- oh how I wish RS headquarters were an hour away! We snowbird, so we are currently out of state, but Google doesn't have to deal with I-5 traffic. Between Edmunds and our area lies a veritable black hole of bumper-to-bumper traffic.

Again, thanks to all. Oh, one more question- is "Hola" the usual greeting in Barcelona? I was looking at the RS Barcelona book and that greeting was the only one he lists. We don't want to be too informal.
Patty

Hi Patty,
By all means, I can understand of course that sometimes there are other issues to take into account when planning a trip, I was just giving you my best advice which might or might not be suitable for your particular circumstances (availability, previous commitments..., and sometimes simply different preferences).