Barcelona

Travel to Barcelona

We visited Barcelona as it was part of our itinerary on our cruise. Please click on following link to find further information regarding the cruise and all the destinations we visited Highlights of the Mediterranean Our ship docked at Barcelona port on 15th July 2022. We were then taken to bus to the centre of Barcelona which was arranged by the cruise ship. There was a small fee to use the bus 7.50 euro’s return.

Hop on Hop Off Bus

We decided to get on the hop on hop off bus rather than a guided tour. There are two different hop on hop off bus routes around Barcelona (West – Orange route and East – Green Route). You may need to use both of these routes to see the sights that you want to (we needed to). We originally got on the West Orange route as one of the sights we wanted to see was Camp Nou home to FC Barcelona and is only on this route.

When you get on the bus you are given headsets and plug them in at the side of the seat. There is a button to change the language in to English if it is not already on this. The information provided is extremely interesting with facts about each destination, places of interest etc on the route. You can just stay on the bus all the time until the end of the journey or you can get off as and when you chose. Each route takes about 2 hours to complete if you remained on the bus.

Destinations – Orange Route

We got off the bus at stop 5 which is Camp Nou. Camp Nou translates to new field. This was a very popular destination to get off at as most of the bus got off at this point. Some people had booked tours of the stadium but has time was limited we were unable to do this. We wondered around the outside of the stadium along with lots of other people as this is obviously a main tourist destination. We took several photo’s and then got back on the bus. The buses run every 15 minutes to each stop on the route.

Our next destination was Casa Batilo which was 2 stops away from Camp Nou. Casa Batilo is sometimes known has “the house of the dragon. Casa Batilo is a building in the centre of Barcelona. It is a bit strange to see it surrounded by designer shops and chain fast food places. It is a very interesting building and nothing like anything we have seen anywhere in the world.

We decided to plan where we were going to go to next therefore we stopped and had a bite to eat and a cold drink. Temperature was already 39 degrees at 1pm. In these temperatures drinking a lot of water is essential.

Destinations – Green Route

We decided to walk to get on the East – Green Route to go to Basilica de a Sagrada Familia which is a large unfinished church. It is the most popular tourist attraction in Barcelona. When you get off the bus you can see how popular it is as it is very crowded but still well worth the visit. If in Barcelona this is a must see. Although it is still unfinished even though it was started being built in 1882 it is breath taking. We took a lot of photo which we have looked back on and even now see something new as there is so much detail gone in to this church.

The queue to get back on the bus was very long but it did go down pretty quickly. We got on the bus to the end of the line and then decided to walk down the Las Rambles the most famous boulevard in Barcelona. It is lined with nice bars, restaurants and street sellers. It would have been nice to have had a drink and a bite to eat on Las Rambles but unfortunately did not have enough time as the last bus back to the ship was 5.30pm.

Summary

Although we did not get off at many stops we did manage to see a lot of the sights of Barcelona. Barcelona is one of the trendiest cities in Europe. It has something to offer everyone of all ages. We would have loved to have had more time in Barcelona. To have time to visit the beaches and have a Sangria and some Tapas in one of the traditional bars and Restaurants. There was so much more we wanted to see and do. We think you need at least a few days in Barcelona. We will definitely come back to Barcelona.

Images

Things to do

There are so many places of interest in Barcelona the hop on buses take you to all the sites. There are 2 routes Orange and Green.

Top Tips

• If you only have a short time in Barcelona plan what you want to see (Route maps of hop on and off bus can be found on line)
• Ideally spend a few days in Barcelona.
• If on a cruise get on the earlier coach to the centre of Barcelona therefore giving you more time.
• The designer shops are cheaper than in England so bag yourself a bargain.
• Plan time out of your day to sample the local cuisine.
• Check out the festivals in Barcelona – La Merce Festival in September is a large street party. There are a lot of other festivals but this is the biggest.
• Check weather below for best time to visit Barcelona. These are averages therefore

Weather

Temp – Celsius Rain – mm	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
High Temp	13	14	16	18	21	25	27	28	25	22	17	14
Low Temp	6	6	9	11	14	18	21	22	19	15	10	6
Rainfall	33	41	33	37	54	11	25	64	75	87	34	35
Number of days	3	5	4	5	5	2	2	5	5	6	4	5