To fully enjoy the architectural & cultural aspects of this wonderful city, I have designed a four day itinerary, constructed for a long weekend with travel beginning after work or school on Thursday night and ending Monday morning.
1. Book a hostel downtown within a few blocks of La Rambla (a popular street in Barcelona filled with both tourists and locals).
2. For photography enthusiasts, this is your dream vacation. Be sure to overpack your photography options; bring your tripod, wide angle & zoom. Forget about the middle lens. Leave your 18-55 mm at home & keep the wide angle on.
Thursday evening / afternoon:
If you arrive at the airport before everything closes go to the Tourist Information Center and buy an Art Ticket and either a Barcelona Card or a T-10.
Here is why:
>The Art Ticket not only gives you a discounted package deal on several of the art museums, but it allows you to skip the public lines, and if you plan to go to the Picasso Museum on one of the free entry days this ticket alone will save you up to 3 hours of waiting time.
>The Barcelona Card will get you on most metros along with discounts to many of the museums that the art ticket does not cover. If you do not plan on visiting other museums outside of this ticket you can just buy the T-10 which gives you a discounted price for buying metro rides in bulk.
If you arrive via plane into the main airport (the one closest to Barcelona) take the metro to the La Rambla stop or the airport's bus to Plaça de Catalunya. If you are able to, go settle into your hostel/hotel, lock up your valuables and prepare your attire for a high pick-pocket risk evening. I personally would recommend one of those shoulder bags which has a flap where you can position the bag to have the opening flap closed toward your body. While the night is still young, take a stroll down La Rambla where you can watch the dozens of street performers put on their nightly shows. Be extremely careful because some of these shows are used solely to lure tourists in to be pick pocketed by the performers' friends.
Friday (Day 1):
Grab breakfast at the local cafe before heading for the metro. If you have not purchased your T-10 ticket already, you can purchase it at one of the kiosks in the metro station (bring smaller bills since some of the machines do not accept bills larger than 20 €). Take the metro to Paral-lel. Once at Paral-lel look for the "Funicular Montjuïc" which is located down a long hall by the exit, still inside of the station (you do not need to scan your metro card again to access it so don't exit the station). Note that the funicular is only open from 09:00 - 22:00.
When you get off of the metro at the top of Montjuïc take a left out of the station and follow signs for the Parc Montjuïc. From here you have a few options,
Option 1
- Walk roughly 5 minutes to the Fundació Joan Miró which will be on your right (if you have not purchased your art ticket you may do so here) Spend 1 - 2 hours walking around & admiring the art. **Get the audio guide, it is totally worth the extra Euros** Photography note: You are not allowed to take photos here. So if you are wanting to break the rules I would recommend keeping your wide angle lens on and putting your camera strap around your neck (yes you will look like a tourist) then if you want a pic cross your arms over top of the camera loosely with your left hand behind your right forearm so you can tilt your camera up toward the picture and press the button to capture an image without anyone noticing.
- Walk roughly 10 minutes through the park next to Joan's Fundació to the road way & up the big stone staircase. At the fork take a left toward the road & cross the street to visit el Museo Olimpico y del Deporte (1-2 hours) or continue on to look at the Olympic Stadium (20 minutes max). For a less scenic view you may walk along the road in which case you just walk straight along the road following signs for the Olympic Stadium.
- Back track up the hill about 3 minutes to the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (it will be on your left). Place your things into a locker (it costs 1 € to pull the key out of the locker which you will get back when you return the key) and grab a map. If you have an art ticket you will need to show it to the customer service desk where you will get another ticket which will get you into the separate exhibits. Allow 2-4 hours to walk through the entire museum.
- Once outside take a break and sit with the locals on the large stone steps that overlook The Magic Fountains of Montjuïc (if you are here during the warmer months the famous fountain show makes these stones the prime location for viewing the extravagant show).
- Ending 1: From here walk down the steps to the round about with the large statue. Take the metro back to La Rambla and begin to look for places to have dinner.
- Ending 2: If it is still early in the day, you can also backtrack to the Castell de Montjuïc which may be accessed by foot or by gondola. This place supposedly has the best views of Barcelona.
Option 2
- Take the gondola or walk up to the Castell de Montjuïc which is said to have the best view of the entire city of Barcelona. Allow 1-2 hours of transportation & exploration time.
- Once you are back down the hill walk roughly 5 minutes to the Fundació Joan Miró which will be on your right (if you have not purchased your art ticket you may do so here) Spend 1 - 2 hours walking around & admiring the art. **Get the audio guide, it is totally worth the extra Euros** Photography note: You are not allowed to take photos here. So if you are wanting to break the rules I would recommend keeping your wide angle lens on and putting your camera strap around your neck (yes you will look like a tourist) then if you want a pic cross your arms over top of the camera .......loosely with your left hand behind your right forearm so you can tilt your camera up .......toward the picture and press the button to capture an image without anyone noticing. .......(you didn't read this here)
- Walk roughly 10 minutes through the park next to Joan's Fundació to the road way & up the big stone staircase. At the fork take a left toward the road & cross the street to visit el Museo Olimpico y del Deporte (1-2 hours) or continue on to look at the Olympic Stadium (20 minutes max). For a less scenic view you may walk along the road in which case you just walk straight along the road following signs for the Olympic Stadium.
- Back track up the hill about 3 minutes to the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (it will be on your left). Place your things into a locker (it costs 1 € to pull the key out of the locker which you will get back when you return the key) and grab a map. If you have an art ticket you will need to show it to the customer service desk where you will get another ticket which will get you into the separate exhibits. Allow 2-4 hours to walk through the entire museum.
- Once outside take a break and sit with the locals on the large stone steps that overlook The Magic Fountains of Montjuïc (if you are here during the warmer months the famous fountain show makes these stones the prime location for viewing the extravagant show).
- From here walk down the steps to the round about with the large statue. Take the metro back to La Rambla and begin to look for places to have dinner.
Saturday (Day 2):
Wear your best walking shoes. Seriously. I wore what I thought were my best walking shoes & I ended up limping home with the world's worst charlie horse throughout the bottom of my foot.
1) Start your day out at the Park Güell. Take the metro to the Lesseps stop, exit to the left and follow street signs for the Park Güell (it is about a 20 minute walk / hike from the train station). For those with older knees, you may take the #24 bus to one of the park's entrances. If you would like a self guided tour Rick Steve's Best of Europe 2011 has one on page 1125 (be forewarned that in this book many of the entry fees & various costs are very outdated). While in the park you may want to consider visiting the Casa Museu Gaudí. Make sure that you get a chance to climb to the top of the mountain of the cross before you exit the mountain via the eternal stair case (that is my personal name for the stairs which are carved all of the way down the side of the mountain. Once at the base of the other side of the mountain take the metro to
2) the Sagrada Familia. If you have the Rick Steve's Best of Europe 2011 there is a self guided tour of this gorgeous church on page 1121. If you do not have the book it is totally fine to walk in and still look around in awe. Just call & purchase tickets ahead if you plan to go in around noon or during the tourist season so you don't get trapped in ridiculous lines. There is also a real legit museum below the cathedral which explains pretty much everything if you opt out of the tour or lugging the book around.
3) Continue your day with a visit to the Casa Milà (La Pedrera) by taking the metro to the Diagonal stop. If it is not near sunset / within 2.5 hours of closing stop somewhere for lunch, a snack or dinner. As far as I know the admission fee includes the audiobook which was totally worth listening to. If you are given the option grab the 75 minute audio guide and begin with the top stories of the building first.
4) End your day with a walk down La Rambla to the Old City Columbus Monument which is said to have an amazing view of the city at night.
Sunday (Day 3):
The perk of exploring The Cathedral area on Sunday is that everything is free, but you need to be wary of what time you start your day because many of these sites close as early as 12:45.
1) Follow THIS guide for a self-guided tour of La Seu Cathedral. Allow yourself 3-4 hours to cover the entire Cathedral premises.
2) Once you have finished taking in all of the sites at La Seu Cathedral make your way over to the Museu Picasso using these directions. Allow yourself 1.5-3 hours to walk through the entire museum. There is a require bag check at this location, but just like at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya your 1 euro will be returned to you when you return the key. Do not forget to look for the separate entrance for those holding an Art Ticket. You will literally save yourself hours of waiting in line.
3) After touring the beauty of Picasso, meander on over to the Museu de la Xocolata. Depending on what time you get finished at La Seu Cathedral you may want to visit the Museu de la Xocolata first since it closes earlier than the Museu Picasso.
4) Once you have finished the above mentioned, take the main street which you walked along to get from the Museu Picasso to the Museu de la Xocolata and through the park. Admire the beauty of this man made jungle as you turn left to make your way to the Arc de Triomf. Where you may end your day watching another onslaught of street performers, working their magic to make a living.
5) Depending on what time you finish, if you are into photography I would highly recommend returning to the hostel to grab your tripod & both lenses before trekking up to the top of the mountain of the cross (next to the Park Güell) for some amazing night shots.
Monday (Day 4):
If you are scheduled to fly out today, make sure you grab a hot chocolate with churros before you leave. This tasty treat is a classic of Spain which is sure to put you into a food coma in time for your long flight / train ride home. If you are not quite finished with your time in Barcelona I would recommend looking through the perks of your Barcelona Card for a list of hot tourist spots at discounted prices.
*For a visual tour of this trip in photos click HERE*