We are booked on the Voyager Safaga to Barcelona in November 2011, and were looking for post cruise suggestions.

• places to stay
• places to eat
• things to do
• tour guide recommendations

We were thinking 3 or 4 days. We prefer B&B or small Boutique hotels (like the Ava in Athens). would also be interested in renting a car (or taking a train) and seeing some of the country-side if worthwhile. Am totally ignorant of area and any help would be most welcome.


Greg

Greg,

You'll love Barcelona. The first thing I'd suggest is that you get an excellent, free, online guide to Barcelona and the surrounding area at: Barcelona Guide . You can customize the guide by only selecting the sections of the guide that interest you but I suggest selecting the entire guide. You then download the guide to your computer. The guide is formatted as a PDF file. The Barcelona Travel Newsletter ( Newsletter ) also contains a lot of useful information.

I can't help you with accommodations since we stayed at the Grand Marina Hotel. I'm sure others will have good suggestions.

We used the Hop-on, Hop-off bus one day in Barcelona and enjoyed the day. There are three routes and you can take any or all of them on a day pass.

IMO, Montserrat is a must see. There are tours there from Barcelona but we like to tour independently on land and went there by train. If I remember correctly, it was about a 60 to 90 minute train ride. You can buy train tickets from a machine at the station. You have a choice of taking the train all the way to the monastery or, you can take a cable car from the valley floor to the monastery, which is what we did.

There are so many great restaurants in Barcelona, it is difficult to narrow it down to a few restaurants. Probably our favorite dinner was at a restaurant in the Gothic Quarter called: Café de L'academia. We also really enjoyed a funky, non-touristy restaurant called Tapioles 53. Both restaurants are highly rated on Trip Advisor.

If you like cheese, Formatgeria La Seu, run by a woman from the UK, is excellent. ( http://www.formatgerialaseu.com/ .) For breakfast, lunch or a snack, don't miss Bar Pinotxo in the Boqueria market on Las Ramblas. It's a Barcelona favorite and a real adventure. :D

I'll try to add more as I think of things but this should get you started.

I whole heartedly agree with Dave's suggestion about Montserrat
- train from Barcelona and the rack rail or cable car to the top. We thought it was truly an awesome place!

A friend of mine recently went to Barcelona and they asked me for info on Montserrat beforehand, so I have a couple of links handy with information on getting there by train:

Train on your own

Montserrat Rack Railway

Montserrat Cable Car

Hi Greg,

I agree about the recommendations above to go to Montserrat.

Recently in Barcelona I have stayed at the Atrium Palace, a small 4 stars hotel located in the Eixample area , not too far from Plaza Catalunya. Website: http://www.hotel-atriumpalacebarcelona.com/en/ .

One place I visited last time and loved is the Palau de la Musica Catalana, a concert hall from the early 1900's. They offer guided visits , and also feature concerts. Unfortunately there was no concert when I was there, but that would have been a great experience, it's a gorgeous building.

And of course, La Boquería market as well as the Gaudí buildings as well as Parque Guell are a must.

If you are there on a Sunday, at noon in front of the Barcelona Cathedral in the Barri Gothic you can see people doing the "Sardana", the typical catalonian dance.

Regarding restaurants,two very good tapas places near Plaza Catalunya and the Atrium Palace hotel are Ciudad Condal : http://www.barcelona.com/barcelona_directory/restaurants/tapas/ciudad_condal

and Cervecería Catalana: http://www.bcnrestaurantes.com/eng/barcelona.asp?restaurante=cerveceria-catalana

Enjoy (just watch out for your wallet, unfortunately Barcelona is Europe's pickpocket capital)!

Dave,
The Guidebook and Newsletter are great resources. Thanks so much.

Cindy,
The "Train on you own" was a great link and this is just our speed.

Maria,
I've added your resaurant links to my file, they look great. Gretchen and some other Navy Medicals had gone to Malaga and Gibraltar one long weekend when they were stationed in Landstuhl and she was really looking forward to more Tapas. BTW, I always keep my wallet in the bottom of my front trousers pocket :D .

Thanks again to all,

Greg

If your sense of humor is intact a trip to the Dali Museum in Figueres is unforgettable. Its a few hours outside Barcelona. We had a car and driver so cant advise about the train but after La Sagrada Familia and the Picasso Museum in Barcelona, this was a highlight. Have a great trip!
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Helen