3 Days Pre-Cruise in Barcelona

[sunlover757]

My husband and I will be arriving in Barcelona three days before our cruise starts in late April and are sifting through some ideas of things to do. We've spent several days in Barcelona before, so we're thinking of exploring areas outside of the city, such as Montserrat, Sitges, Andorra or Girona. The other option would be to take a flight over to Majorca and spend time there.

 

Our flight arrives in Barcelona early on Wednesday morning and the ship leaves on Friday afternoon. Any suggestions and insights would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your help!

[ssb]

That's a personal choice thing.

There is so much to do in Barcelona.

With the hoho buses and la Rambla

and gaudi and museums and sagrada familia.

Remember lines are long and there are waits.

It hard to do it justice in three days.

Especially trying to do Montserrat and girona and others

which we have done. Be sure and not miss boys choir

at Montserrat at noon only. Get there early early. V

And buy some Internet passes for lines can be long at

sagrada familia just to buy tickets and them lines are long to reach top.

We have done Majorca and its wonderful too

and want to Ibiza ! But you can't do all without more time.

Just have to come back. We still want to do Ibiza.

 

And when your in Spain one should do Granada Alhambra !

 

But Barcelona is special with lots and lots to do!

I would do Barcelona first and maybe stay longer if you can!!!

 

See maps I posted on some the other bacelona threads here on this forum

to get bearings on Barcelona.

[sunlover757]

That's a personal choice thing.

There is so much to do in Barcelona.

With the hoho buses and la Rambla

and gaudi and museums and sagrada familia.

Remember lines are long and there are waits.

It hard to do it justice in three days.

Especially trying to do Montserrat and girona and others

which we have done. Be sure and not miss boys choir

at Montserrat at noon only. Get there early early. V

And buy some Internet passes for lines can be long at

sagrada familia just to buy tickets and them lines are long to reach top.

We have done Majorca and its wonderful too

and want to Ibiza ! But you can't do all without more time.

Just have to come back. We still want to do Ibiza.

 

And when your in Spain one should do Granada Alhambra !

 

But Barcelona is special with lots and lots to do!

I would do Barcelona first and maybe stay longer if you can!!!

 

See maps I posted on some the other bacelona threads here on this forum

to get bearings on Barcelona.

 

 

Thanks so much for all your insights and great ideas! We've been in Barcelona for multiple days twice before, so we've already visited La Rambla, Sagrada Familia, Gaudi sites, the museums, etc. several times. That's why we're looking at exploring other places near Barcelona this time around. We could use Barcelona as a base for day trips to Montserrat, Sitges, and/or Girona, or we could fly over to Majorca. We were in Majorca for one day before and loved it, but there's a lot we didn't have time for there. I will check out your suggestions and thanks again for your input.

[ssb]

Definitely go do those other things!

If you like night life do Ibiza

And Granada Alhambra is worth the time and effort

But it is little far.

[mskaufman]

Last year we had three days pre-cruise in Barcelona. We did Girona one day (left the hotel at 7 am and were back in town by 3pm). We had a great time walking through the call and looking at the old streets. If we had to do it again, we would also think of taking a bus from Girona to Besalu. We also did Montserrat. An awesome and spiritual place. Both are well worth the trip. Picture links for both places follow.

 

http://markandkareneurope2012.shutterfly.com/pictures/362

 

http://markandkareneurope2012.shutterfly.com/pictures/450

[nellydean]

May I suggest Tarragona. It has some of the best Roman ruins around, which are a designated World Heritage site, plus an interesting Gothic quarter. We took the train from Barcelona (about and hour and a quarter) and spent a very interesting day there. If you are driving, and especially for anyone with kids, it is also near to the beach resort of Salou and the Port Aventura theme park.

 

You can get some ideas for days from Barca from this website:

 

http://gospain.about.com/od/barcelon1/a/barcelonadts.htm

 

Montserrat was also fabulous, although I can't offer any travel tips, as we went on a ship's tour on the day we got back to port.

[mskaufman]

May I suggest Tarragona. It has some of the best Roman ruins around, which are a designated World Heritage site, plus an interesting Gothic quarter. We took the train from Barcelona (about and hour and a quarter) and spent a very interesting day there. If you are driving, and especially for anyone with kids, it is also near to the beach resort of Salou and the Port Aventura theme park.

 

You can get some ideas for days from Barca from this website:

 

http://gospain.about.com/od/barcelon1/a/barcelonadts.htm

 

Montserrat was also fabulous, although I can't offer any travel tips, as we went on a ship's tour on the day we got back to port.

 

We also did the ship's tour the day we got back. It may have been more expensive than a DIY but it was a tremendous time saver. We were off the boat early and at Montserrat by 9am. Around noon we were at Placa Catalunya to get to our hotel.

[sunlover757]

Thank you so much for these great ideas. My husband and I are going to start researching them now. We want to make the most of our three days before the cruise. Your help and insights are greatly appreciated!

[English_in_Spain]

Here is a link to some ideas for day trips from Barcelona.

 

Another option would be to go to Madrid for a couple of days. You can fly or go by AVE high speed train.

 

[nellydean]

We also did the ship's tour the day we got back. It may have been more expensive than a DIY but it was a tremendous time saver. We were off the boat early and at Montserrat by 9am. Around noon we were at Placa Catalunya to get to our hotel.

 

Yes, we were staying on in Barca, as usual, after the cruise, and it was a great time filler, we got back in time for lunch. Arriving early in Montserrat was a definite bonus as well, as it was extremely quiet and peaceful, and we had the benefit of seeing the place before the hordes arrived. :)