Hints Please

Right! Enough of this hilarity ;)

Any hints on Lisbon, Cadiz, Gibralter, Barcelona, Cannes and Livorno?

Hi Linda.

Inboxed you on FB with the stuff we might do.

If you haven't done Lisbon before though I recommend Belem, easy to do on the trams.

Cadiz is such a nice place to walk around, no real need to go to Jerez or Seville unless you have been to Cadiz before. Don't miss the small Church in the same square as the Cathedral, it's full of gold. The Holy Cave Church is good too, €3 entrance and you get to see some Goya masterpieces.

The Taxi tours in Gib are OK if you want a whistle stop tour, but you will always be running at the drivers convenience, and you might want to spend longer in some of the places. We did the cable car to the top on our own and took most of the day walking down at our leisure seeing what we wanted and for as long as we liked. Also bear in mind that the rock might be covered in mist so be prepared for that.

Something different to see in Barcelona is the Mercat Del Born, close to the Zoo. Inside is an exhibition centre about old Barcelona and some excavations of the old Town. It's somewhere to head to if you have already done the main sights.

The old town up the hill is a nice part of Cannes, and it's nice just to walk along the prom and soak up the atmosphere. We had thought of getting the train to Antibes, but think we will just have a mooch around Cannes again.

Don't forget to DL toms port guides onto the nexus to take with you and you can make a routebook on the shorebee website that is quite good, this can also be downloaded.

theres some nice botanical gardens with some good viewpoints in gib main entrance is the other side of the cable car car park

some great fish n chip cafes in town:cool:

Oh Thanks for that Joe, goodness you are organized ;) I'm still trying to decide what clothes to take as we are getting the train to Southampton, so don't want to heave too much stuff and also got to keep within 20kg coming back.

Lisbon - definitely going to go to Belem as we only saw it from the bus before, but will probably treat ourselves to a taxi as not sure what time we are leaving - why don't P&O put the actual times in port on the itinerary? :rolleyes:

We went to Cadiz on Springtime Splendours :eek: We had planned on getting the hoho bus but it rained so just had a wander but didn't really see much (only the pig with a scarf on, lol) I wonder if anyone has done the bus and can tell me if it is worth it or better to walk round.

We went to Gib years ago on a hotel trip from Benalmadena, so have seen the apes and the caves, but the cable car sounds good. How long does it take to walk down? DH moans if he has to walk too far! Poor old soul - he is getting on a bit;)

I have been to Barcelona, again on a hotel trip, and saw the Olympic Stadium, Camp Nou and the outside of the Sagrada Familia, but would love to see inside and wondering if a ship's trip (we usually do one each cruise) would be a good idea, as I hear the queues are horrendous. I was thinking of walking up the Ramblas and getting the hoho bus, but ,again, would we be able to get into the SF and get back in time. I know it is a huge city.

Cannes is definitely going to be a wandering round port.

Livorno canal trip sounds good. We have been to Pisa and I think Ray has been to Florence. Not a great city person really, although I live in one! I thought Livorno might just be a port.

BTW Joe - how did you get the departure times for the ship?

theres some nice botanical gardens with some good viewpoints in gib main entrance is the other side of the cable car car park

 

some great fish n chip cafes in town:cool:

I trawled the port timetables to get the times, I suppose it's best to take them with a pinch of salt though. Gib is a long walk down and very steep towards the bottom. We will probably do the gardens geo mentioned and other things on the flat like the 100 ton gun.

SF in Barcelona should be do-able, if walking it's about an hour from the bottom of the ramblas, I would pre-book online if you want to go inside though. The ship docks in a different place than the Thomson ships, it's a good walk to the ramblas, so getting the cruise port bus will be the best option.

Joe I have already downloaded Tom's guides for 4 of them, but he hasn't done Cadiz or Cannes yet :(

Just going to look at Whatsinport.com :)

Hi,

I also went up the cable car in Gibraltar & then wandered down stopping at the caves, apes & siege tunnels on the way back, saw a lot, but it was a long walk.

Barcelona is one city I feel comfortable exploring on my own - I've been 3 times now. The HOHO buses are great, but I got on at the port last time as there were huge queues for the buses at the square at the top of the Ramblas the time before - though that was mid summer. May be better to get off there at the end and walk down the Ramblas. I also did SF myself and don't recall it being too bad. Depends how long you are in port I suppose & also where you dock, as I've stopped at the World Trade Centre, which is easy to walk from, but also further out and they had a shuttle to and from the ship, which means building time in to get back for that too.

I've been to Livorno three times as well, so had done Pisa/Florence & also a wine tasting trip as ship's tours, so last time I just wandered round the town on my own. It's not very touristy, but actually that made a nice change as there's always something interesting to see.

Hope you enjoy it [emoji3]

Hi,

I also went up the cable car in Gibraltar & then wandered down stopping at the caves, apes & siege tunnels on the way back, saw a lot, but it was a long walk.

Barcelona is one city I feel comfortable exploring on my own - I've been 3 times now. The HOHO buses are great, but I got on at the port last time as there were huge queues for the buses at the square at the top of the Ramblas the time before - though that was mid summer. May be better to get off there at the end and walk down the Ramblas. I also did SF myself and don't recall it being too bad. Depends how long you are in port I suppose & also where you dock, as I've stopped at the World Trade Centre, which is easy to walk from, but also further out and they had a shuttle to and from the ship, which means building time in to get back for that too.

I've been to Livorno three times as well, so had done Pisa/Florence & also a wine tasting trip as ship's tours, so last time I just wandered round the town on my own. It's not very touristy, but actually that made a nice change as there's always something interesting to see.

Hope you enjoy it [emoji3]

Right! Enough of this hilarity ;)

 

Any hints on Lisbon, Cadiz, Gibralter, Barcelona, Cannes and Livorno?

LIVORNO

Take a taxi and go for lunch

http://www.cantinaditoia.eu/it/home

Alow 80 minutes each way

The history of the place will intrigue you, the food is wonderful, and wine is very reasonable.

Leonardo who?

Linda

We caught the Metro in Barcelona (not far to walk for the nearest station to the port) & headed on that to Sagrada Familiar. We had pre-booked tickets for SF online; you have to specify a time slot. Would highly recommend paying extra & booking a lift up one of the towers too (you walk down).

You literally jump the queues & go straight in at the times pre-booked.

We then caught another metro back into the city & walked all down through Las Ramblas & other parts of the city.

I read a fantastic book before we went to Barcelona; "Cathedral of the Sea" by Ildefonso Falcones - can recommend it & we went to the Church where a lot of the book is based.

Parc Guel in Barcelona is lovely and it's free. Designed by Gaudi, it has lots of strange buildings and mosaic everywhere and lovely gardens. You can get there on the HoHo bus.

I also like Parc Guell in Barcelona.

The botanic gardens in Gibraltar are very nice too. It's a fair way but you can walk along the main street and stop and get drinks and shop on the way.

We went to Florence and Pisa from Livorno.

We went to Cadiz on Springtime Splendours :eek: We had planned on getting the hoho bus but it rained so just had a wander but didn't really see much (only the pig with a scarf on, lol) I wonder if anyone has done the bus and can tell me if it is worth it or better to walk round.

We did the Cadiz HOHO bus in November - a total waste of money. You go up and down the same but of coast a couple of times - passing the Cathedral - and then around the uninteresting docks area (where we passed the Island Escape in for a refit twice). The streets are too narrow for the bus to get into the city centre. We use HOHOs a lot and thought this was the worst value by miles.

In Barcelona don't miss the Cathedral (NOT the Sagrada Familia as some people think). It is magnificent and no entrance charge. Also go to the El Corte Ingles department store in the Plaza Catalunya where, up on the 9th floor, there is a café with superb 360 degree views over the city. The Mercat del Born on the Ramblas is an amazing market and shouldn't be missed.

Gibraltar is one of my least favourite places as a cruise destination although we do go on a Morrisons shopping there every few months lol. Taxi tours are very whistlestop and you go where the drivers want not necessarily where you want to see. Personally I would do the cable car yourselves then wander around rather than a tour - buses are cheap if you want to get slightly farther afield than Main Street area. Don't miss the Kings Chapel on Main Street - missed by most visitors but a very interesting military church. It is a fair walk from the cruise port to Main Street so wear comfortable shoes.

Lisbon we just walked around enjoying the atmosphere then took the old local tram - think San Francisco; we just paid the full price (very cheap) and stayed on until told we were at the terminus which gave us an excellent tour of the city outskirts (up some seriously steep hills that Ian could never have attempted otherwise).

Livorno we really enjoyed then went to Pisa in the afternoon. There is a very attractive market hall in Livorno centre and some excellent bars and cafes in the backstreets and along the canals.

In Cannes we just wandered around - we were there a few days before the start of the film festival so there was a great atmosphere.

Have a wonderful trip!

Fish and chips sounds good geo. :)

and dont forget the famous morrisons supermarket:cool:... just follow the crew:cool::)

Lots of great advice already Linda. Just to say I think Cadiz is lovely - no need to do anything here but explore and from campolady's experience the hoho isn't the best way to go here. I can see why - the old town is a peninsular with narrow streets which it seems the bus can't negotiate - so best on foot.

It's an easy walk off from the berth. There's a lovely stretch of beach and promenade - left from the port. At the end there's a fort which you can go in too then walk around the end and there is a small beach and further along are some attractive gardens with some welcome shade the day we were there. That walk takes you round the outside (coastal) edge of the old town.

In the centre are beautiful old buildings, a small square where the Cathedral is - you can climb to the top of the tower and get great views too, cafés, shops and a really nice atmosphere. A good destination if you don't particularly want to go further a field to somewhere in particular.

Also, bearing in mind the comments about the busy hoho in Barcelona, you can get to Parc Guel by Metro. Very cheap and frequent but there is a bit of a walk uphill to get there from the nearest station unlike the hoho which does drop you at the 'top' entrance. But a great place to visit - amazing views and so typically Gaudi.

Enjoy!

We did the HoHo bus in Cadiz & actually really enjoyed it! It was a hot day in August & we sat on the too open air bit & it made a nice change to sit down, relax & take in the beautiful views.

After we had done that, we went for a wander into Cadiz; beautful place - would love to go back there for a longer break. Fond memories of sitting in the square supping jugs of Sangria with our friends!!

I'm with Campolady on the Cadiz HoHo bus but it wasn't a nice day when we were on it. The beach did look lovely if you're a beach person.

We just walked around Cadiz, thought it was a lovely town. We were there in November and the sun was shining, a perfect day to stroll through the little streets.

Done the same in Gibraltar walked all the way through main street and on the way back sat in the main square, had a cold beer and people watched, very relaxing and a good way to get rid of a few extra pounds...lol

Thanks all :):) Keep the suggestions coming :)

You are doing well Linda. I was going to ask for help with ours for April, nearly all first timers, but as Ray not walking far I suppose we will just be doing the port buildings unless the towns really close or have a shuttle bus. Brilliant itinerary starting from Tenerife. Las Palmas, Arreclife, Gibraltar, Cartagena, Palma, Civitavecchia, Naples - been, Messina, Corfu - been, Kotor - been, and fly back from Dubrovnik.

You are doing well Linda. I was going to ask for help with ours for April, nearly all first timers, but as Ray not walking far I suppose we will just be doing the port buildings unless the towns really close or have a shuttle bus. Brilliant itinerary starting from Tenerife. Las Palmas, Arreclife, Gibraltar, Cartagena, Palma, Civitavecchia, Naples - been, Messina, Corfu - been, Kotor - been, and fly back from Dubrovnik.

Will you have a wheelchair for Ray, Gill? Cartegena is lovely. There is a lift up to the castle, but not sure Ray would be able to manage the steps when you get up there. He could sit on one of the seats and you could have a whiz round. The town is on the flat and is very nice. I don't think he will be able to manage the amphitheatre, but there are lots of shops and cafes, also a cathedral (I think) I will put some photos on fb later. xx

He doesn't have a wheelchair, but manages on 2 sticks but slowly. He didn't get off the Dream at the tender ports Roatan and Belize, but got to the port area at Costa Maya, Cozumel and Cartagena.

Reckon we will be the same in the Med. I would love to find a beach somewhere near the ports we visit where Ray can sit at a bar while I have a swim. That would be ideal as I only got a couple of hours on one beach all fortnight, in Montego Bay when Ray stayed on the ship, and ended up feeling guilty over it.

He wouldn't mind being parked in a bar somewhere as long as he didn't have to walk far and no steps. Cartagena Spain does sound good though.

He doesn't have a wheelchair, but manages on 2 sticks but slowly. He didn't get off the Dream at the tender ports Roatan and Belize, but got to the port area at Costa Maya, Cozumel and Cartagena.

 

Reckon we will be the same in the Med. I would love to find a beach somewhere near the ports we visit where Ray can sit at a bar while I have a swim. That would be ideal as I only got a couple of hours on one beach all fortnight, in Montego Bay when Ray stayed on the ship, and ended up feeling guilty over it.

 

He wouldn't mind being parked in a bar somewhere as long as he didn't have to walk far and no steps. Cartagena Spain does sound good though.

Gill, my sister in law has mobility problems and they sometimes get a taxi to take them around (they did it in Cadiz). I know it is a bit expensive, but at least you would get out of the dock area ;)