Staying in Barcelona before cruise

[sdtech]

Next fall we (two couples) are catching a cruise out of Barcelona. We thought we would land there 2 days before. Any suggestions of a hotel and what to do? I've been there once and the hop on - hop off bus seemed to work ok.

 

[Markola]

Barcelona is far larger than I expected it to be. A great way to get an overview is to do the full-city Grayline open top bus tour, which is narrated and which allows for hopping on and off at all the major sites. It’s touristy but totally works.

Surprise #2: Any Spanish you may speak is useless. They speak Catalan!

Surprise #3: We also visited in November and it was chillier and wetter than I expected. Take warm clothes and enjoy!

 

[OldShooter]

Six or eight years ago we stayed here: https://www.hispanos7suiza.com/en/ There is a genuine Hispano Suiza car on display in the lobby. We were there two or three days before we opened what we thought was a closet door near the front door and discovered a full kitchen with washer/dryer! Even without discovering the kitchen we liked the property a lot.

Tip: Buying advance tickets for the Sagrada Familia will let you skip a potentially very long line.

 

[brett]

You might consider a day trip to Montserrat.

You can buy a pass (if they still sell them) that covers subway fare to the train stations , train to the base of the mountain, and either the funicular or the cable car up the mountain.

Last time we were in Barcelona we purchased this combo ticket from the small rail office in the retail area of Plaza Catalunya.

Hotels.....get up to date reviews from somewhere like tripadvisior. We stayed at an NH hotel, forget the name, and it was great. BUT...we have not been there for four years. Lots of changes post covid.

 

[Sunset]

You might consider a day trip to Montserrat.

You can buy a pass (if they still sell them) that covers subway fare to the train stations , train to the base of the mountain, and either the funicular or the cable car up the mountain.

Last time we were in Barcelona we purchased this combo ticket from the small rail office in the retail area of Plaza Catalunya.

....

+1 on taking subway to train, then funicular up the mountain, a DIY type of tour. Opt for the lunch included with wine fountains

It is not obvious where the included lunch is actually held when up there.

As for hotel we stayed here for 10 days.
Loved the location as close to some things, and great bus service around the corner (buy tickets at smoke shop) Could go everywhere by bus. Bus was cheap and safe. Subway is where someone tried to pickpocket me.

Website for hotel is poor, but google it on tripadvisor. Rooms are not large, ours had a balcony which is small but usable. It's not fancy at all, but not expensive and is clean.

https://www.medicishotel.com/en/

Edit: we found a taxi ride from airport to hotel was 30 Euros and taxi ride to port for cruise ship was less. I would never drive in that city as they are crazy aggressive with inches between vehicles.

 

[Aerides]

2 days before is not long, and your first day you will have time adjustment/jet lag, most likely. I'd still look for somewhere within a short distance of your port destination, but plan on a longer trip to see much.

 

[braumeister]

And don't forget to raise a toast to my favorite Barcelona émigré.

 

[brett]

+1 on taking subway to train, then funicular up the mountain, a DIY type of tour. Opt for the lunch included with wine fountains

It is not obvious where the included lunch is actually held when up there.

As for hotel we stayed here for 10 days.
Loved the location as close to some things, and great bus service around the corner (buy tickets at smoke shop) Could go everywhere by bus.

Website for hotel is poor, but google it on tripadvisor. Rooms are not large, ours had a balcony which is small but usable. It's not fancy at all, but not expensive and is clean.

https://www.medicishotel.com/en/

We stayed there a few years ago. It was fine.

We also stayed at the NH Sants Hotel. Near the rail station. There was a convention in town and rooms were hard to find. The NH was fabulous but a little out of the way. When they found out we had an early flight the desk arranged for us to go down to the breakfast room 1/2 hr before opening and have a breakfast waiting for us.

 

[HawkeyeNFO]

We had a great experience with AirBnB in Barcelona. It's not an expensive city to stay in and visit.

 

[audreyh1]

Barcelona is wonderful. Easily even a week’s worth of things to do, 2 days will barely scratch the surface plus you have to recover from jet lag. Wonderful seafood eateries as well.

Tons of places to stay - you might think of which part you want easy access to.

 

[brett]

Barcelona is wonderful. Easily even a week’s worth of things to do, 2 days will barely scratch the surface plus you have to recover from jet lag. Wonderful seafood eateries as well.

Tons of places to stay - you might think of which part you want easy access to.

Absolutely agree.

I would suggest a minimum of four full days if you can swing it. Five if you include the day that you are flying in/flying out.

 

[GoBears]

We stayed at the modern Ocean Drive hotel in Barcelona this past May, https://od-barcelona.topbarcelonahotels.com/en/. We very much enjoyed the breakfast buffet (I think I need to go back for more Spanish chorizo) and the rooftop bar. The friends we were with had previously stayed there as part of their Vantage Douro River cruise package.

 

[audreyh1]

We stayed at the modern Ocean Drive hotel in Barcelona this past May, https://od-barcelona.topbarcelonahotels.com/en/. We very much enjoyed the breakfast buffet (I think I need to go back for more Spanish chorizo) and the rooftop bar. The friends we were with had previously stayed there as part of their Vantage Douro River cruise package.

You know, we’ve been all over Spain, and the food is just outstanding. I don’t understand why the Spanish aren’t as famous as the Italians or French for their wonderful regional foods. And for Spain, Barcelona even stands out, ha ha.

Ha ha, I’m here in Cologne and my mouth is watering!

 

[brett]

We have had good food in Spain.

Our practice in Europe is to give any restaurant recommendations made in Ric Steves or other such authors a wide birth. Too crowded.

We avoid all restaurants in the touristy areas. Most especially those who post tourist menus in two or three languages.

We typically look for a local restaurants several blocks or more off the main drag. If we walk in and all we hear is English we don't stay.

It always seems to work out. We split lots of dishes in order to try more. More than once we have resorted to pointing to the plates of other diners. We have never experienced a true language barrier in Europe....we have always been able to work it out with the kind staff's assistance.

On occasion we have just ordered the daily special. More than once we have been taken to the kitchen...though more often in Greece and Italy.

Our last one was in Coimbra, Portugal. The owner could not speak English. Our Portugese was the same. Three specials that day. He said pig, then pointed to his cheeks. We gave him the thumbs up. No need to go further. Food was fabulous...cooked by his wife. Wine was from his brother's vineyard. Good, very acceptable and included in the price. We have done the same where, in order to overcome a language barrier, the server has actually brought out the fish in order to ensure that we understood exactly what we were ordering!

 

[Sunset]

^^^^^ When we stayed in Barcelona for 10 days, at the hotel I mentioned above, it was in a neighborhood. So we ate breakfast at the local restaurant around the corner with locals.

We had to point to the menu items.

My first breakfast included a salad !!

 

[yakers]

Staying a week in the Gothic District this year, used the subways to get around, great food. Get tickets to Sagrada Famila early, they often sell out. Took a private ($) tour to Monserrat was worth it as we arrived an hour before tour busses. Other Gaudi places are worth seeing

 

[Sunset]

Staying a week in the Gothic District this year, used the subways to get around, great food. Get tickets to Sagrada Famila early, they often sell out. Took a private ($) tour to Monserrat was worth it as we arrived an hour before tour busses. Other Gaudi places are worth seeing

We found out a few years ago, a person needed to order the tickets online as they stopped selling them in person. It required a 2 day lead in pre-covid days.

We spent 10 days in Barcelona, loved it.

 

[audreyh1]

We signed up for an independent English guided walking tour of Sagrada Familia which avoided all the scheduling and ticket hassles of buying direct. They met nearby. It was well worth it - the place is a bit of a mob scene.

 

[Lucie]

It was just announced that the cruise port in Barcelona will be changed to a different port. I don’t know the details, but I would get further information about the new location prior to booking a hotel.

 

[DrRoy]

And don't forget to raise a toast to my favorite Barcelona émigré.

"I am from Barcelona!"

 

[Badger]

"I am from Barcelona!"

Que?

Cheers!

 

[Cat-parents]

Barcelona is far larger than I expected it to be. A great way to get an overview is to do the full-city Grayline open top bus tour, which is narrated and which allows for hopping on and off at all the major sites. It’s touristy but totally works.

Surprise #2: Any Spanish you may speak is useless. They speak Catalan

That wasn't my experience at all. I've studied Spanish in Spain (including in Barcelona) and visited Barcelona half a dozen times. Most of the residents you interact with will speak Spanish as well as Catalan.

My favourite neighborhood to stay in was the Eixample district, central but a bit removed from the touristy bustle of the area closer to the port but still close to a number of the sights and with pretty good transit. Parts of it are fairly upscale, and there is some great architecture to see.

I liked the Hotel Balmes in that neighborhood. There are also some chains worth checking out such as H10 and AC Hotels. Make sure you do your research on tripadvisor.com for bed bug reports.

 

[ER2B]

We’ll be doing the same thing in January. Arriving two days before our cruise. We’re staying at the Ibis hotel because of the central location and reviews. This is our second time in Barcelona. I highly recommend the seafood paella in the Barceloneta area. Expensive but very good.

 

[ChrisC]

We stayed in this hotel for 2 days after a river cruise in France and before heading out to Mallorca for a week, several years ago. It was off the major tourist spots, a block away from the metro/subway and across the street from a giant mall. The hotel itself was unique (when we were there the rooms were either all black or all white -- I now see that might have abandoned the all black room motif for half of the rooms), there was an amazing indoor atrium and roof-top pool, and the price was really cheap back then -- I think the rooms were around 100 plus Euros, but they seem pricey now. They also had an amazing breakfast and club lounge (with top shelf liquor), free to people with Marriott platinum status.

https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/bcnrf-renaissance-barcelona-fira-hotel/overview/

 

[MrsHaloFIRE]

Years ago we booked a blast minute hotel in batcelona on Hotwire. We got vinci mae (sp?). It was reaaaallly nice and we had a great breakfast nearby.