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La sagrada familia, Barcelona
1 of Gaudi's working models.
Forn De Pa PUIGGROS
Neo-Gothic Apse of la Sagrada Família
Hi VT's
This will be our second time in Barcelona. During our first travel, we went to Sagada Familia, La Pedrera, La Rambla, FC Barcelona football stadium, Olympic site, etc.
May I ask what tourist spots we can go outside Barcelona for a day tour in Saturday and Sunday?
Kind regards
mybruce0520
Hi! it depends on what you are looking for; i.e.if you like beach you can go to Sitges,it has an old town with narrow streets, museums and very a nice old church and beautiful views all along the coast, full of bars, restaurants, etc. It is 40 km approx. from Barcelona; you can go by yourself by train (Renfe Cercanias, destination Vilanova i la Geltru or Sant Vicencs de Calders)departure from Sants station or Passeig de Gracia station every 10/15 min approx. ticket one way € 2,40 approx.
I hope it is useful. Have a nice trip!!
Do you know most of you visit coincides with La Mercè festival?
This may make you change your schedule. I would not get out of town on Saturday/Sunday, that will be the biggest days, filled with activities for all tastes. Especially do not miss the "piromusical", the closure act of the festival, 40 minutes of fireworks + music + light and water display at the Magic Fountains.
If you insist of escaping the city, there are many possibilities: Sitges as said above, Girona, Tarragona, Montserrat, Penedés (wine country)... etc. All these and more are possible with public transport. Let us know more about your tastes and we can advice better.
Hi Mariawolfi /Belsaita
Thank you very much for the informative reply. Nice to hear that there is La Merce festival. I do not much about the said occasion; can I ask what La Merce festival is? And where is the centre of festivity?
Also, we could be in Gerona Barcelona airport on Friday at 11:50PM, are the “metros” still operating going to the ciudad (hotels near La Rambla)?
La Mercè is the main festival in Barcelona, there is not a "centre" of activities but several... Last year there were more than 600 activities, so you figure! Concerts of all types, traditional events, wine fair, fireworks... and the best is that most if not all are for free.
The definitive schedule is still not posted, but save this website:
http://www.bcn.cat/merce/en/merce-actual.shtml
and stay tuned, more and more info will be added
Metro closes at 2am on Fridays so it should be not a problem after the bus from Girona airport (GRO, that is only "Barcelona" on the Ryanair marketing department!)
Thank you very much again for the reply. Will keep you posted. Cheers
Here's the game - drink a load of beer then run down the street taking pictures of people at random. Yes, I know it only promotes the idea that the English are a bunch or rowdy idiots, but it's still a lot of fun and the pictures you can get are fantastic!
This is one that you'll need to investigate yourself, but I think it would be worth it. At the bottom of La Rambla near Port Vell you see the can't-miss monument to Christopher Columbus. A great photo op, meeting point or place to catch a bus, sure. It's also a nice spot to brush up on your history of how CC supposedly marched through town from the port to deliver his New World findings to the Royal family (or something like that). But apparently there's also an elevator inside the monument that you can take up to the top, so you can see for yourself just where the Hell it is old Chris is pointing anyway. Is that America.....or Africa??
I call it 'little-known' because I never heard of it or saw anyone going inside the monument, nor any line of tourists forming at the base, nothing. I just read about it at a newsstand in a Barcelona guidebook. Maybe everyone knew about it but me.
The night of 23 June is a major festivity in Barcelona (also in the rest of Catalonia and other regions on the Mediterranean Coast).
In the past children used to gather all sorts of old and useless furniture and wood and set bonfires on the street at that night. Now it is more restricted because of security measures and those bonfires must be allowed by the City Council.
Many locals organize a lot of privat parties at home and many other people do beach parties, as you wrote.
There are fireworks everywhere on that night. Here there are no fireworks on New Year's Eve, as in the rest of the world, but on 24th June.
Sant Joan in fact is a pagan festivity disguised with a Christian celebration (just like Xmas o Easter), as it represents the summer solscite, so it is celebrated in a lot of places, not only on the Mediterranean cost but also in Portugal.
There are some very nice areas in town most tourists do miss because these are not right in the center. I do agree these are probably not for a first time visitor with too little time, but once you have seen the "musts", you can reach very interesting places, just 15-20 away from Plaça de Catalunya by metro. Some ideas:
- Les Corts/Sarria/Sant Gervasi: there my favorite is the Monestir de Pedralbes, a Medieval gem. You'll feel as if you were is a different town from the hectic city centre.
Then, walk down to Bar Tomás in Carrer Major de Sarrià 49 for the (allegedly) best 'patatas bravas" in town and if you have sweet teeth, do not miss Foix de Sarrià in Major de Sarrià, 57
If you're into sports, the FCB stadium (Nou Camp)is as well in the Les Corts area.
- Gràcia: I could write pages and pages about my favorite area in town!
Better go there and discover by yourself. Great shopping and eating. Ultra-modern fashion shops neat to old groceries. Lovely small squares to sit in a cafe seeing the world go by. Alternative clubs. All kind of ethnic restaurants. Traditional food market. All this just 15 min by metro from the city center... please don't tell anybody! ;-)))
- Sant Marti: this is a very big district, with quite different areas. The Rambla del Poble Nou is great to walk, shop, have a drink or a meal in a traditional Catalan Rambla. You can imagine how the infamous "Las Ramblas" were 50 years ago before being converted on the bigger tourist trap in town. Near the sea end you can visit the Cementiri del Poble Nou (very "Gothic" cemetery with beautiful artworks and tons of history, there are guided visits on Sundays but I think these are only in Catalan and Spanish). The area known as "22@" (near Plaça de les Glories) is a mix of ultra-hype skyscrapers signed by the most famous contemporary architects (leaded by the Torre Agbar of Jean Nouvel) and old abandoned warehouses. If you want more ultra-modern buildings, take the tram to Diagonal Mar.
... and these are just the few places than come to my mind now. Each of these areas deserve a full day exploring. You'll be not bored!
Happy travels!
This is the entrance to the "Poble Espanyol" (which means "Spanish town" in Catalan), which is a replica of an old Spanish town where there are handcrafts workshops, restaurants and stores... Located in Mont Juic, just a short walk uphill from the Modern Art Museum!
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