OT for AKB: Barcelona Travel

[BostonNit]

My son is spending this semester in Barcelona through the PSU program with EIS (European International School). My wife, son and I are traveling over in late March to visit him.

Questions for anyone who's been to Spain and even better, Barcelona:

1) Are we better off renting a car for the week (they are dirt cheap) or relying on public transit, uber, etc. Is it reasonably safe to drive?

2) Any recommendations for reasonable hotels in safe areas?

3) Better off staying IN Barcelona or somewhere in the 'burbs?

4) Found a GREAT looking beachfront apartment in Castelldefels. Safe area? It looks like a 20-30 min commute to Barcelona, and 35 mins to EIS.

5) Any other thoughts, pointers, recommendations?

 

[LongJakk]

Use public transportation, but be very wary of pickpockets on buses and trains. Money belt?
If you want to stay in Barcelona then try along Las Ramblas. It is awesome and has lots of hotels and restaurants on it or just off of it.

Sightseeing highlights are sagrada familia cathedral, museums and parks. Along the north end of las ramblas is Boqueria Market. Its huge and has more choices of meats, fish, shellfish, fruits, candies, flowers etc. than you can imagine. It's amazing.

 

[Tom McAndrew]

1) Are we better off renting a car for the week (they are dirt cheap) or relying on public transit, uber, etc. Is it reasonably safe to drive?

- public transit, uber, and walking, IMHO

2) Any recommendations for reasonable hotels in safe areas?

- we used AirBNB (or perhaps it was VRBO), and got a great place (lots of space) for not all that much $$. If I'm staying somewhere for several days, I usually prefer this approach over a hotel

3) Better off staying IN Barcelona or somewhere in the 'burbs?

- in Barcelona, IMHO. That's where most of the interesting sites are

4) Found a GREAT looking beachfront apartment in Castelldefels. Safe area? It looks like a 20-30 min commute to Barcelona, and 35 mins to EIS.

- I can't speak to whether or not that's a safe area, but that shouldn't be hard to check online. I just don't like losing 20-30 minutes, each way, for each visit into Barcelona.

5) Any other thoughts, pointers, recommendations?

place to visit include:
- La Sagrada Familia (I don't normally visit churches as a tourist, but this Guadi place is amazing)
- if you have time, Montserrat Monastery (that's outside of Barcelona, and takes most of a day to visit)
- Park Guell
- check if FC Barcelona is playing while you're visiting. If so, see if you can get tickets to catch a game @ Camp Nou
- Barcelona City History Museum
- Montjuic (they put a light and fountain show on at night which is spectacular)
- walk the Las Ramblas. It's a lot of fun, and you'll see many things along the walk that will interest you
- Casa Batllo (another Gaudi structure that is pretty amazing)
- if you like Picasso's art (not everyone does), consider the Museu Picasso (Picasso Museum)

that's my quick take. I'll probably make another post or two in the thread in the coming days, as I remember other things I'd recommend.

 

[dmdpsu]

Use public transportation, but be very wary of pickpockets on buses and trains. Money belt?
If you want to stay in Barcelona then try along Las Ramblas. It is awesome and has lots of hotels and restaurants on it or just off of it.

Sightseeing highlights are sagrada familia cathedral, museums and parks. Along the north end of las ramblas is Boqueria Market. Its huge and has more choices of meats, fish, shellfish, fruits, candies, flowers etc. than you can imagine. It's amazing.

Agree with this poster.
Barcelona is fascinating.
But in crowded areas, be wary of pickpockets. They are common in Las Ramblas.
I am always nervous in other countries as your son should be.
Best of luck. It should end up being a great experience.

 

[EdH85]

My son is spending this semester in Barcelona through the PSU program with EIS (European International School). My wife, son and I are traveling over in late March to visit him.

Questions for anyone who's been to Spain and even better, Barcelona:

1) Are we better off renting a car for the week (they are dirt cheap) or relying on public transit, uber, etc. Is it reasonably safe to drive?

2) Any recommendations for reasonable hotels in safe areas?

3) Better off staying IN Barcelona or somewhere in the 'burbs?

4) Found a GREAT looking beachfront apartment in Castelldefels. Safe area? It looks like a 20-30 min commute to Barcelona, and 35 mins to EIS.

5) Any other thoughts, pointers, recommendations?

2 Restaurants - Paco Meralgo and Cal Pep.

 

[BostonNit]

Thank you for all the responses. Right now all we have is our flight. Everything else is TBD. Lots of great input here!

 

[PSUSignore]

If you want to get out of BCN for a day trip (1/2 day really) and take a break from everything Gaudi architecture, check out the Salvador Dali museum in Figueres. You can get there via public transit and it's the most unique museum I've ever been to.

 

[psuro]

Take a side trip to Monserrat and a Spanish Vineyard. Do a Bus Trip so you don't have to deal with traffic.

Get a multi day pass for the "on/off bus". You can run around the city for one price and it stops at all touristy locations.

Go to the neverending construction site

Food is amazing.

 

[Realoldnavy]

Was there for 6 days Spring 2019. Stayed in VRBO near Sant Antoni Market. Great accommodations and much more reasonable than hotels. Used public transportation or walk almost exclusively only used cab 2X. You can get to most parts of the city by subway or surface.

Second all previous recommendations especially La Sagrada Familia.

Many sights have advanced booking on the internet. We landed in Madrid and spent a day there and made all of our tour reservations from there. You go to the head of the line ( at LFS, and all Gaudi places had long lines, nice to bypass)

See Trip Advisor for great details about Barcelona.

If you are a fine dining fan, get reservations for Tickets or Egnima. Must be booked a month in advance. Can't go wrong eating all most anywhere. Great food and wine.

 

[BiochemPSU]

Agree with others, Montserrat Monastery. Along this route, there are also local wineries that you can do day tours of. While the wine is okay, getting the tour bus to take you around the countryside to the winery is worth it by itself.

In Barcelona, there are a surprising number of free walking tours through companies that are given by locals and some are excellent. We did one and it was fantastic, just tip the tour guide at the end. They can point out many local or out of the way places that are authentic for you to see after the tour. Google can help you out there.

While the Spanish purest will likely shout me down, there is a great, reasonably priced Flamenco show on La Rambla called Tablao. If you have never been to a Flamenco show, go now for an evening.

Otherwise, see the market, Sagrada Familia, and La Rambla. If the weather cooperates, the beach area is also pleasant. Good luck and have fun.

Never had a problem with pickpockets. Just be alert and you will be fine.

 

[EdH85]

Be wary of the pickpockets on the subways. That is where they tend to be most active, especially when crowded. My daughter lived there for a summer and she got picked twice. And she’s a sharp cookie most of the time.

 

[PrtLng Lion]

Was just there over the holidays. There’s very little parking in the city- don’t rent a car. The metro is excellent and easy to use.

I stayed on La Rambla near the water, and loved the location (right near Gothic Quarter and la Boqueria market). But it is a well-known pickpocket area. Lots of activity, including fake designer clothing, sneakers, artists, street performers, wine and tapas, etc. till wee hours of the morning.

Went to Montserrat (awesome) and La Sagrada Familia (amazing- take the elevator to top of Passion tower and walk down staircase) which were two of the highlights. Also did a paella and tapas cooking class- very unique experience. We hiked around the mountain at Montserrat and had some views of the Pyrenees and Tibidabo that we’re just jaw dropping. The cable car getting up to the monastery is pretty breathtaking itself. If you go to La Sagrada Familia get skip-the-line tickets on Trip Advisor in advance- you’ll be glad you did.

 

[LongJakk]

I highly recommend not taking a wallet or purse when you are in public. Lock them and passports in hotel room safe. Only carry 1 credit card each in your pocket and some cash in a different pocket.

If you see a sign warning about pickpockets then refrain from checking to see if yours is still there.