Three Days in Barcelona... and one is a Monday!

You really don’t have enough time for a day trip. Concentrate on and enjoy Barcelona.
Even of you don’t care for Modern Art, I recommend the Miró Museum up on Montjuic. His works are whimsical and the outdoor sculpture garden on the roof is wonderful.
See the other sites you .isted. The Picasso Museum arranged his works chronologically and you will be amazed at what an excellent artist Picasso was at a very young age. His early works are more representational than modern. La Sagrada Familia is one of my two favorite cathedrals in the world( Westminster Abbey is the other.) It is such an amazing place to visit filled with Gaudi’s naturalistic touches.

The Miro Museum is much more pleasant to visit than the madhouse that is the Picasso Museum. If you're not big fans, I urge you to skip the latter; there really is no such thing as a must-see, though I guess La Sagrada Familia comes close. My top art museum recommendation for you is the MNAC on Montjuic. It is very large, so you'll need to be selective, but in addition to paintings and sculpture it has some interesting special collections, including modernist furniture and decorative art and architectural elements and incredible frescoes rescued from churches in the Pyrenees.

I spent about an hour wandering around Barceloneta and was sort of underwhelmed. Lots of restaurants, not terribly interesting architecture (to me). I much preferred the medieval areas and looking for modernista architecture in the Eixample. Didn't get to Monserrat or see anything on Montjuic except the Miro and the MNAC, so I can't help you evaluate those two sights. I don't believe there are any real restaurants on Montjuic; perhaps some cafes.

Unfortunately, you have a choice between buying tickets in advance, often locking yourself into specific arrival times, or risking long waits in line for the following sights you mentioned: Picasso Museum, La Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell and La Pedrera. The same goes for these places that were not mentioned: Casa Batllo, Palau de la Musica Catalana (tour required) and the Camp Nou soccer experience.

I especially enjoyed the walking tour of the Barri Gotic conducted by the tourist office.

I wouldn't expect to squeeze in any sightseeing before a 10:20 AM flight.

For sure resrve your La sagrada tix online. It is an amazing work of art. While I enjoyed the serenity of Monseratt u do not have sufficient time. Enjoy barcelona to the max instead.

Barcelona Sights In 3 Days

Day 1
•Sagrada Familia - BOOK
•Park Guell - BOOK
•Passeig de Gracia - Casa Mila & Casa Batllo

Day 2
•Palau de la Musica Catalana - BOOK
•Ramblas - Boqueria markets & Placa Real
•Bari Gotico - Cathedral

Day 3
•El Born - Basilica Santa Maria del Mar & Picasso Museum - BOOK
•Parc de la Ciutadella
•Barceloneta

Unfortunately, with just 3 days, you will have no time to explore Montjuic, with the Miro museum & MNAC.

Also, most sights are open 7 days. Check for art museums.

Thanks to all of you who have replied!

Sounds like we should skip a day trip to Monserrat and just enjoy Barcelona.

And I think someone confirmed that there is very little we could do before a mid morning flight.

And I may switch the Picasso Museum with either the Miro or MNAC museums. I'll have to continue to research those options.

Regarding the three day plan posted by djp_syd, I know that Park Guell is closed Monday as is the Picasso Museum - but unless there is a preferred order, I could switch Day 2 with Day 1 and be okay.

I'm not sure Parc Guell is closed on Mondays. It is an outdoor site, so the main reason for preferring a specific time would probably be weather. Geographically, it makes some sense to hit La Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell the same day, but it's tricky to figure out how much time to allow at each site for back-to-back visits.

Definitely Sant Pau

David gave you a great itinerary. I'd also second the recommendation for the Picasso museum - a very different take and it's really cool to see his early work evolve into what most people know today. The museum is open until 7:00 on weeknights - I went at 5 p.m. and nearly had the place to myself. I also went to the Miro and MNAC museums because they were on my museum pass (arttcketbcn.com) but given your time limits I'd probably skip those, though it is a fun funicular ride up the hill and a fantastic view. The Cathedral in Barri Gotic is particularly beautiful and peaceful in the early morning and the late afternoon - check the opening times (they charge admission mid-day).

acraven - you are right. I was mixing up Park Guell and Palau Guell! Only the latter is closed Monday.

Both the monumental zone of Park Guell and Sagrada Familia are very crowded, and advance tickets are nearly a must. Personally, I would avoid doing both on the same day if at all possible. Pick the one that you want to see the most for your Monday.

Whenever you visit the Sagrada Familia, definitely take the 10 minute walk to Saint Pau.

I can't imagine doing any sightseeing on the morning of a 10:20 flight to anywhere.

I'm something of an art museum junkie, but I purposely didn't visit any art museums in Barcelona. We did "The Big 3" in Madrid, and I wanted to avoid museum overload more than I wanted to look at more art in museums. I must say I was tempted to visit the Miro museum!

Have a great trip.

But MNAC isn't limited to "art" in the traditional sense.