Key tips for Barcelona?

later12

Hi guys, I'm just wondering if any of you have any key tips for Barcelona? I'm here for 6 days and feeling particularly stupid in relation to the public transport in particular.

I've had two conflicting explanations as to how T10 ticketing works, and have found apparently conflicting explanations online as well (as to how many modes of transport can be used, and for how long). My Spanish is ok but rusty, and they speak so fast, and with that accent, I find it difficult to understand! Does anyone have any advice as to which ticket I should use, is the T10 the best or the Barcelona visitors ticket?

I know which galleries and sites I want to see, but if there are any other specifics that you wouldn't normally be told in a lonely planet guide (pr which may not be updated therein) I'd really appreciate it:)

kingofburt

The T10 is the most practical ticket for a tourist, you get one ticket with ten journeys that can be used by multiple people, as long as the ticket is stamped by each passenger. For all tmb tickets you get unlimited use of metro, train, bus and tram for 1 hour 15 minutes from first validation. Don't forget that you can also use your T10 to get the train to the airport, much cheaper than the bus or taxi. Hope that explains without too much rambling!

If you want a seriously good "local" lunch that won't be recommended in tour books go to Bar Morrysum on the corner of C/ de Rossello and C/ Girona, the nearest metro is Verdaguer. For €9 midweek or €13 on Saturday you get a three course homemade feast (paella, steak, fresh fish) plus wine and bread. They also do great tapas.

later12

Aha, that clears it up... I had read something about 3 bus, 3 metro, 3 train, and variations of the time allowed thanks for clearing it up.

Verdaguer is only a few stops away from me on the metro so Ill give that place a try. Mmm tapas.

Thanks for the advice

Beruthiel

later10 wrote: »

I know which galleries and sites I want to see

I'm off to Barcelona for a few days over the Easter weekend.
I haven't started my research yet on what to see (other than the obvious Gaudi buildings), so what sites and galleries are you going to?

Where do you purchase these T10 tickets?

kingofburt

Beruthiel wrote: »

Where do you purchase these T10 tickets?

You can buy this tickets at any train, metro or tram station. There are electronic kiosks that you can use cash or cards with and you can change the language also. They're very user friendly. There is one at the airport train station so easy to get straight away.

With regards to Easter, check the opening times of museums and restaurants as alot of the places may be closed for holidays. The Catalans love closing for a day off, which is great if you live here but a pain if you're a tourist. I'd imagine that all the shops will be closed Easter Sunday and very possibly Good Friday and Easter Monday also, so schedule your timetable accordingly.

slave1

Be extra careful with your belongings, Barca is a lovely city however has a terrible pickpocketing problem, it's rife unfortunatley.
I was on a trip there a few years back with folks from work and a lot of us got stuff stolen, shame.

ScottSF

My wife and I were there last weekend for a quick trip. It was surprisingly colder than Dublin during our visit! The T10 tickets was perfect for getting from the Barcelona airport quickly and using the metro. Otherwise it is a great walking city with many scenic neighborhoods to stroll. Don't forget that most shops are closed on Sunday unless you are in the touristy areas.

Everybody knows La Boqueria is a wonderful market in the heart of the city near Las Ramblas, but for a more authentic (local) farmers market go to Mercat del Ninot (L'Hopital metro stop in L'Eixample).
http://www.barcelona.com/barcelona_city_guide/shops/barcelona_markets/mercat_del_ninot

I highly recommend Park Güell which you can get to on the metro. Beautiful spot designed by the famous Gaudi of course. Worth the ride.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_G%C3%BCell

The cable car (gondola) wasn't running from the waterfront to Montjuïc (park) - maybe because it is still winter.

I don't understand why everyone mentions pickpocket problems which is a shame because I found Barcelona (visited two times) to appear no more unsafe than any other European city I've visited over the years. Just never keep your wallet in your back pocket and hold onto your purse (make sure it is the kind that zips closed) when in a crowded area. Keep your passport in the hotel room safe (if available) or use a money belt.

Happy Traveling...

Princess Peach

The open top bus tours are great. They're not too expensive. If you are going for 6 days I recommend getting the bus ticket for 2 days. The sights are quite spread out so you can use that to see the ones that are far away. Also you get a big book of coupons with discounts for some of the galleries and museums. The you have your T10 ticket to get around the other days.

Architecture wise go to Park Guell, Sagrada Familia, Caso Balto and Casa Calvet, all by Gaudi but are fantastic.

Galleries are your personal choice! I went to the Picasso Museum. Lots of comtemporary art museums, which aren't really my thing though.

Fun things then are of course a stroll down Las Ramblas. I loved the aquarium there! And if you have time the zoo is good too. Great atmosphere down by the pier on the weekend too. I took a day trip to Universal Studios Salou also.

And for sure check what nights the fountain is running. Shouldn't be missed!

later12

Beruthiel wrote: »

I'm off to Barcelona for a few days over the Easter weekend.
I haven't started my research yet on what to see (other than the obvious Gaudi buildings), so what sites and galleries are you going to?

It depends what you're into really Beruthiel. In retrospect, unless you're big into Gaudi, I wouldn't necessarily go inside the Sagrada Familia. I thought the exterior was far more impressive, and the view from going inside was totally underwhelming and a bit of a waste of the morning I spent there. Instead, I would spend the entrance fee on having a nice lunch outside in the sun enjoying the view from the little park with the church in the background,and move onto something else.

Montjuic is amazing if the weather is nice. I went up there one morning when the sky was completely clear and the sun was shining,and the panoramic views of Barcelona city on one side, and the entire harbour on the otherside was really impressive. It's also free, although the cable car is no longer in operation. Some tour guides hesitate to call this a must-see, but for me it was one of the best parts of the trip.

Another thing i really wanted to visit was the Hospitale de Sant Pau, but unfortunately, the interior is closed for renovation work and you can only look at the exterior of the building. It's close to Sagrada Familia though (walking distance), so you could still kill two birds with one stone if you like the architecture. And you're sure to find other things that impress you on the walk... Barcelona has art and little quirky stores and sites strewn all around the city.

It's difficult to give anyone advice on art galleries, since art is so subjective. Personally I really liked the smaller galleries with the weirder exhibitions that more commerical galleries don't want to take on (e.g. Metronom Gallery) but the MACBA (museum of contemporary art) is a safer bet because it includes the wackier stuff as well as the more traditionalist contemporary art. This is particularly useful if you're visiting galleries with other people. I went with my brother and a friend, and my friend hates that kind of art, but found MACBA less of an ordeal because it's not quite as alternative.

There was also a pretty cool exhibition in the Architectural College of Catelonia (situated directly opposite the front of Barcelona Cathedral) which showcased student work... some of it was amazing, some I didn't understand, but it was all fascinating. Apparently they do exhibitions regularly enough there, so if there's something on it's always free, and it's worth popping in.

In fact, architecture and public art is one of Barcelona's strongest assets. As I said earlier, just wandering about the city will uncover really intriguing art & architecture - some of it brilliant, some of it terrifically strange, but inevitably interesting.

I can't think of anything else for now. As others have said, the T10 ticket is the best ticket to buy for public transport, and the metro is very efficient and always regular. Having said that, I always walked wherever possible, because barcelona is just one those cities where you want to spend the least time indoors or underground as possible.

One more thing (and I know there is no such thing as an entirely 'friendly' people) but I found Barcelonians to be especially friendly and pleasant in general. Often in a queue or browsing around La Rambla, people would just smile at you for no particular reason (maybe they were laughing at the dumb Irish tourists and our bad Spanish, I don't know), but the atmosphere amongst the locals is a particularly warm one.

In fact, a few nights ago my brother and I went to see Barcelona play Valencia in a pub/ cafe that was packed with locals. They were all exceedingly nice and friendly, and gave us an impression of the real barcelona; I would definitely recommend going for drinks in these sorts of authentically Catelonian places as opposed to tourist-oriented cafe-bars surrounding La Rambla, if you want to meet real Barcelonis.

Anyway, have an amazing trip; it's a really special place.

tricky D

later10 wrote: »

It depends what you're into really Beruthiel. In retrospect, unless you're big into Gaudi, I wouldn't necessarily go inside the Sagrada Familia. I thought the exterior was far more impressive, and the view from going inside was totally underwhelming and a bit of a waste of the morning I spent there. Instead, I would spend the entrance fee on having a nice lunch outside in the sun enjoying the view from the little park with the church in the background,and move onto something else.

I' disagree with this on the Sagrada Familial interior, the architecture pulls the eyes upwards, and would also recommend including the vaults when buying the ticket. As said, it depends what you're into.

There's another Gaudi gem a few miles out of the city which you might be interested in for its architecture. Colònia Güell was an industrial village built by Güell for the local factory and has about a dozen and half buildings designed by various renowned architects. There's also an unfinished church by Gaudi with only the crypt built. The detail on this is amazing and he designed it using strings and bits of wood to work out the layout and then turned it upsidedown so it would work the right way up. Have a look on Google Images. He did the same for the Sagrada:



Trains: S3, S4, S8 from Playa Espanya
The Colònia Güell is in zone 2 and is 200 yards from the entrance (follow the blue feet).
You can get off at Molí Nou in zone 1 and walk just over twice as far.

later10 wrote: »

Montjuic is amazing if the weather is nice.

+1 once you've done the climb.

later10 wrote: »

In fact, a few nights ago my brother and I went to see Barcelona play Valencia in a pub/ cafe that was packed with locals. They were all exceedingly nice and friendly, and gave us an impression of the real barcelona; I would definitely recommend going for drinks in these sorts of authentically Catelonian places as opposed to tourist-oriented cafe-bars surrounding La Rambla, if you want to meet real Barcelonis.

Anyway, have an amazing trip; it's a really special place.

+1 on this. When I arrived on a rainy Sunday night there was a Barce match on at 10 in the evening and I watched it in an authentic local bar way, way off the tourist areas. Great atmosphere, tapas and very friendly, especially when the crowds come out after the game until all hours. No loutish football stuff at all.

Enjoy!

later12

ScottSF wrote: »

I don't understand why everyone mentions pickpocket problems which is a shame because I found Barcelona (visited two times) to appear no more unsafe than any other European city I've visited over the years.

Just spotted this and I'd very much agree.

When I first came to Barcelona I was a little more wary about this than was entirely necessary. Obviously, you should always be careful with your belongings to a reasonable degree, but if watch what the locals do, you'll see that they don't behave in a particularly guarded way, and are often seen using their iphones and smart phones in public places; I even saw what looked to be a local walking around Eixample on his i-pad at night time, which is something I wouldn't do in London or Dublin. I myself often carried around my laptop on just a laptop sleeve, and there's never been any suggestion of problems.

Maybe Barcelona does have a higher incidence of muggings or pickpocketing than other European cities, I'm not sure; but it isn't something that I would say looks to be particularly rife, or proportional to the warnings you hear about such events.

tricky D

Very basic precautions and anything above pretty stupid will prevent pickpocketing or mugging. There's plenty of americans with loads of gear hanging off them which would be much more interesting to any perps. Never saw anything dodgy bar the dealers and hookers around the port/Barcelonetta in the small hours and they were no hassle.

Nou camp all the way

franc 91

I can assure you that pickpockets are a problem especially on the Ramblas - but if you take the usual precautions you should be OK. I found the Boqueria a bit of a tourist rip-off, but if you go to the far end, prices tend to get cheaper. I found the ticketing system for transport worked very well. I enjoyed my stay in Barcelona a lot, though I'd prefer not to go back in August.

Tar.Aldarion

franc 91 wrote: »

I can assure you that pickpockets are a problem especially on the Ramblas - but if you take the usual precautions you should be OK. I found the Boqueria a bit of a tourist rip-off, but if you go to the far end, prices tend to get cheaper. I found the ticketing system for transport worked very well. I enjoyed my stay in Barcelona a lot, though I'd prefer not to go back in August.

Why not in august?

franc 91

Because of the heat - luckily we had pre-arranged to rent a flat with air-conditioning in a central but quiet and very nice part of town. We did our own catering, which meant that we almost became part of the local population, doing our shopping and talking to people and so on. But walking round visiting the place was quite tiring. What I do like in the Old Gothic Quarter was that usually the old buildings have courtyards where they put out tables and chairs and you can sit down for a drink in the shade. The parks and the various buildings designed by Gaudi were of course well worth seeing as well as the monumental fountains below the national museum that are lit up in the evening. I'd like to go back, but more probably in Spring.

Tar.Aldarion

That sounds lovely. Planning on heading there at the end of august, sounds sweaty. Where did you book your apartment through? Was it expensive? Would quite like to cater for ourselves too. Have no Spanish so no talking to locals :pac:

franc 91

If I remember rightly it was through Apartments Only (though I'm not sure that we're allowed to mention that on this forum) but if you look around there are several agencies that you can rent from. It was made abundantly clear to us that we weren't to disturb the neighbours by being noisy, it was in an old building in the Carrer de Viladomat in the Sant Antoni quarter. There were four of us (but our children were staying with friends or at the campsite.) We didn't always take the metro but walked eastwards towards the Ramblas and to el Gotic or southwards to Parc de Monjuic where there are several important museums, art galleries and gardens. I liked the Museu Miro and gardens just below it - Jardins de Laribal, Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya. Seeing Picasso's early paintings was also an experience. We found a nice café restaurant opposite the main door of the church of Sant Maria del Mar and in the evenings all the artists that perform on the Ramblas come and do a quick show in front of the church. (I made one of our friends at table laugh so much, that everybody came over to see why) Parc Güell is worth it. Take a phrase book, but please note that though they do speak Castillian Spanish, you are in the capital of Catalonia so try using some Català.

Tar.Aldarion

Thanks, you've been a great help. Really appreciate it.

blarney_boy

Just came back from Barcelona yesterday, here are my thoughts on the trip . . .

travel: you'll definitely need to use to metro to see all the sights (or you can hire a bike during your stay) you can get the T-10 ticket in any metro station

weather: Scorchio! I found the weather to be oppressively hot and it's not even the high summer, high factor sun screen recommended.

locals: the few I met were very friendly but mostly meet other tourists as Barcelona is a tourist hotspot (lots of Americans)

sights: I thought the Sagrada Familia was the highlight, amazing architecture inside and out, with really informative audio guides, museums and model displays explaining the building and it's architects vision. The Barca stadium was the lowlight, 24 euros to look at an empty stadium, what a rip off!

catalonia: I went to Girona for two days and Tarragona for one day, I loved my time in Girona and highly recommend a visit, beautiful city without the tourist hustle and bustle of Barca. I found Tarragona to be less frantic and it has some interesting Roman ruins. Both cities are a one hour train ride from Barcelona so can be done as a day trip.

pickpockets: A number of friends warned me (from bitter experience) about pickpockets in Barcalona, and while I was there some guests in the hotel I was staying in were victims of pickpockets, so I would recommend caution/common sense, don't carry all your credit cards/bank cards and cash in the one wallet purse!

franc 91

One thing I forgot to mention is that most people get the metro to Lesseps to get to the Parc Güell, but personally I think it's better to take the metro to Vallcarca. From there you go south east along the Avinguda de Vallcarca and turn left into Baixada de la Gloria - this leads you up to the top of the Parc and where the going gets steep there are escalators in the middle of the street to help you on your way. We picknicked up there near the children's play area and then you can walk down through the park to the well-known features such as the terrace and its stone bench and the lovely view, the colonnade underneath it (there'll probably be a musician playing there as the acoustic is excellent) the fountain and the fairytale-looking cottages at the entrance. There's another Gaudi building further to the east in the park but I think it's usually closed to the public, but a walk along that way is nice and shady anyway.