Suggestions for travel from Barcelona

[ugeauxgirl]

I'll be retiring this summer and we already had a Mediterranean cruise planned with our kids. It departs from and arrives in Barcelona. Since I don't have to go back to work, I was thinking of extending for a few days in Barcelona and then... Not sure where. We actually prefer smaller towns and the countryside, so don't want to do Madrid. I was thinking maybe a few days in Toledo? OR take a high speed train to Marseilles and see some lavender fields and Roman ruins in Provence. Open to other suggestions if you have them. I'm willing to stay for a long time but DH probably won't want to do more than a week or 10 days after the cruise.

 

[Bamaman]

We've cruised through the Mediterranean twice in the last two years, and went on a cruise the year before out of Italy over to Malta, the Greek Islands and Turkey. We especially loved the Greek trip.

We were in Madrid, Granada and Barcelona in June. My wife liked Barcelona so much she went back with her daughter last month. You might consider posting your question on RickSteves.com . We loved Madrid, and it's just 45 minutes from Toledo. We also enjoyed visiting the Alahambra in Granada. Vueling Airlines can get you anywhere in the region inexpensively and in an hour or so.

 

[Pete10k]

We had a great 14 day trip this summer to Spain and Portugal and would go again. Flew into mad, flew to Porto, flew to bcn then back home from there. Toledo is great I hear but you should also try Porto. The food, weather (77F is high year around) scenery, cost of living, nice people and beaches are all amazing.

ps, another shameless plug for Tripmasters.com. Great pricing and very flexible itineraries let you leverage their itineraries and customize to your hearts content! Enjoy! We’re off to Quebec and Montreal this Spring! Can’t wait.

 

[gerntz]

I'd do Barça first to give yourself time to adjust to the new time. Three days isn't too much.

Madrid has tremendous art museums if you like those. You really don't have to "do" Madrid. Yes, Toledo is great, but small. One day is plenty I think. By train, likely have to go thru Madrid to get there. So spend a couple days for museums.

North to San Sebastian & Guggenheim in Bilbao are good too.

 

[audreyh1]

Madrid is pretty far from Barcelona anyway. There are many wonderful days trips from Barcelona. I suggest reading about them on the Rick Steves website.

P.S. Madrid feels quieter and smaller than Barcelona. We love Madrid. We found Barcelona a bit overwhelming and hectic in spite of all the amazing things to see.

 

[OldShooter]

For this type of thing our first choice is to hire a private guide with a car and work with him/her on an itinerary. The nice thing about a private guide is you can make changes as you go and as the guide learns what you like. Last spring in central Europe our guide worked four unplanned cooking schools into the itinerary as he learned what DW likes. One was in the home of a Bulgarian grandmother that he knew.

Another option/long shot might be to see if Road Scholar has an offering near the beginning or end of your cruise. We like their small group tours.

Going to https://www.intltravelnews.com/ and searching for Barcelona and for Spain might give you some ideas too. The articles there are typically written by readers describing actual trips taken, warts and all. Guide names are typically listed too. Some stuff is behind the paywall but the fee is a pittance.

 

[jwkr]

Toledo is lovely but probably not in high summer! As an alternative may I suggest you consider Alcalá de Henares (22km from Madrid). We spent a couple of days there last September staying at the Parador de Turismo (worth going half board). The centre is a UNESCO World Heritage site but I will leave it to you to read about the university and the the link with the Cervantes family. But for us it was just a really nice place to be.

 

[NW-Bound]

Some years ago, we took the train from Barcelona to Valencia, stayed a few days, then took the train to Madrid.

Be super careful of pickpockets in Barcelona. It is among the worst cities for this.

And if driving a rental car, you should search the Web and learn the antics of highway robbers who ply the highways around Barcelona, particularly the southern roads to Valencia and Murcia. I warned people about this in an earlier thread.


PS. Some people got robbed shortly after landing, before they left the airport. Some got robbed at the airport minutes before they boarded the plane to go home. How I knew? I talked to them.

 

[davebarnes]

Day trip - https://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/tour/montserrat-spain.html

Spend 3 days in Sitges and relax. We loved it.

 

[Nemo2]

Malaga is nice.

 

[MrsHaloFIRE]

We did this summer of 2018. From Barcelona we took the train to Lyon and stayed in an Airbnb. THis stay was cut short bc of a french train strike. (look this up, they publish strike dates in advance) Then we went onwards to Dijon and did a wine tour etc etc. We were working our way Northward to a cruise departing from Copenhagen. If you wanted to stay more in Spain I would check Valencia or Malaga. Malaga was enjoyable and more tropical if I recall correctly. Big town squares, nowhere near as crowded as Barcelona. We had no probs with pickpocketing thank god but we also are not idiots. Can walk through the gothic quarter and see folks just waving around money and peeling off bills for their kids. I could have pickpocketed them. I kept my crossbody purse worn under my outermost layer and my husband kept the bulk of the money on a moneybelt inside his pants. If you have not done Barcelona before I do recommend you checkout youtube and there are videos someone made explaining and showing how to use their metro system. Barcelona wants you to succeed at traveling. I felt like most parts of France want you to fail at traveling.

 

[NW-Bound]

PS. Some people got robbed shortly after landing, before they left the airport. Some got robbed at the airport minutes before they boarded the plane to go home. How I knew? I talked to them.

Keep your eyes on your luggage at all times.

The woman who lost her purse and all papers was pushing her luggage cart through the airport. A thief bumped his cart onto hers, knocking off her luggage. While he apologized profusely and helped her put the luggage back, another thief lifted her purse which she put on the higher tray near the handle (it is similar to the supermarket shopping cart in the US, with a shelf where a child can sit and also where people can put their purse).

The man who lost his backpack put it down at his feet, while perusing the large TV screen for his departure flight. He had been to Europe several times.

Another woman I talked to was with a tour group, and was lounging at a hotel lobby with the group while they were being checked in to the hotel. The thief mingled in with the group and took her purse while she was distracted.

Some of the above stories could have happened to me, and I have been to Europe many times.

My niece and her husband were robbed in Barcelona, when he was busy changing the tire of the rental car which was punctured by thieves. The husband is a French native.

 

[whatnot]

I always use a crossbody purse and DH puts his wallet in a pocket with a zipper or buttons. We also use money belts.

 

[NW-Bound]

Losing some cash or even a credit card is a minor inconvenience, compared to losing your passports.

The people I described above were going on a cruise departing from Barcelona. They had to stay behind in order to obtain new passports, then arranged their own travel to catch up with the ship at a later destination. What a hassle!

PS. At least Barcelona has a US consulate. If you lose your passport elsewhere, you will need to travel there, or to Madrid where there's an embassy.

 

[anethum]

We actually prefer smaller towns and the countryside, so don't want to do Madrid. I was thinking maybe a few days in Toledo? OR take a high speed train to Marseilles and see some lavender fields and Roman ruins in Provence. Open to other suggestions if you have them.

North of Barcelona and easily reachable by train is the lovely town of Girona with its medieval quarter. A bit north of Girona and also reachable by train is the town of Figueres, which is very close to the French border. Salvador Dali was born there and his personal collection of his works is in an outstanding museum there.

If you continue to France by train, Aix-en-Provence is a very nice town that is much more manageable than nearby Marseille. If you really want to visit Provence, however, you need your own transport, because most of the best sights are outside of the large towns.

 

[Nemo2]

Here's our painfully boring slideshow of Malaga and surrounding areas:

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f46/stupefyingly-boring-travel-slideshow-s-84440.html

 

[Nemo2]

North of Barcelona and easily reachable by train is the lovely town of Girona with its medieval quarter.

+1 for Girona.

 

[Happyras]

This last year we did a river cruise ending in Arles France. Among other things, I rented a car and drove over to San Sebastian in northern Spain. It is amazing. Driving is not difficult the freeways are great! Parking in San Sebastian is tight, but the hotel had a very interesting elevator and turntable to maneuver the car to park in the garage.

We have been to Spain many times and it is great, but going to San Sebastian, is just a whole new world. They speak Basque but English is not an issue or is Spanish, Pintos instead of Tapas, but wow what a town to walk and dine with a beautiful beach. Check it out but keep it a secret.....

I don't understand the fear some have of driving. Car rentals are fairly cheap, and the roads are usually well marked with international signage, and you simply buy the insurance or use some offered on your credit card. The only crazy thing is getting an automatic, most are manual and in Ireland this is interesting when you drive on the other side of the road. Most of Europe is easy. We ordered a new Mercedes to pick up in Europe that our kids will get on their Honeymoon in May, driving in Germany is fun!!!!

 

[Happyras]

North of Barcelona and easily reachable by train is the lovely town of Girona with its medieval quarter. A bit north of Girona and also reachable by train is the town of Figueres, which is very close to the French border. Salvador Dali was born there and his personal collection of his works is in an outstanding museum there.

If you continue to France by train, Aix-en-Provence is a very nice town that is much more manageable than nearby Marseille. If you really want to visit Provence, however, you need your own transport, because most of the best sights are outside of the large towns.

+1

 

[audreyh1]

North of Barcelona and easily reachable by train is the lovely town of Girona with its medieval quarter. A bit north of Girona and also reachable by train is the town of Figueres, which is very close to the French border. Salvador Dali was born there and his personal collection of his works is in an outstanding museum there.

If you continue to France by train, Aix-en-Provence is a very nice town that is much more manageable than nearby Marseille. If you really want to visit Provence, however, you need your own transport, because most of the best sights are outside of the large towns.

I agree with all this.

 

[ugeauxgirl]

Interesting information! Thanks for the tips. I will do more research on these ideas. Also thanks for the heads up about the crime in Barcelona. I had no idea.

 

[NW-Bound]

I don't think anyone has mentioned Montserrat. It's a mountaintop monastery with beautiful architecture and views down the surrounding, and it makes a nice daytrip. We took an hour-long train, then an aerial tram up the mountain.

For transportation from Barcelona airport to downtown, in the recent trip this year we took the new Airport Metro Line L9 which links the airport to the rest of the metro system. Just one line change from L9 to the L3, and we popped out at Liceu station, and walked a short distance to our hotel right on the famed La Rambla Boulevard.

Thought I mentioned the above, because on the Web you will find a bewildering choice of transportation to/from the airport, but if you stay at the city center, the above way is simple and involves not much walking with your luggage (we travel light and do not use taxis). Line L9 did not exist when we first visited Barcelona some years ago, and I forgot what we did.

 

[Nemo2]

I don't think anyone has mentioned Montserrat. It's a mountaintop monastery with beautiful architecture and views down the surrounding, and it makes a nice daytrip. We took an hour-long train, then an aerial tram up the mountain.

We rode up, then walked the trail down......encountered a mixed group of 'middleagers' jogging up. How far up they were going I have no idea, but they were doing well.

 

[BigNick]

You could get a low-cost flight over to Palma de Mallorca, which is Barcelona's smaller but more perfectly-formed sibling.

 

[Sunset]

I don't think anyone has mentioned Montserrat. It's a mountaintop monastery with beautiful architecture and views down the surrounding, and it makes a nice daytrip. We took an hour-long train, then an aerial tram up the mountain.

...

We did this as well, they had folks who explained which train to take. Of course we had researched it.

It was so lovely doing this way, compared to people who signed up for a tour as the tour buses skip the wonderful aerial tram (and tours pay a lot more).

We did the included meal, (which was not well marked but we found it), and thought the self serve on tap wine was crazy fun !!