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We have an upcoming cruise booked ...Oasis of the Seas August 4-11 and plan on flying into Barcelona a few days early. This is our first trip to Spain and are looking for recommendations on hotels that are are near major attractions. Also, any other do's or don'ts.

Thanks in advance.

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BeI will be in Barcelona July 25-28 before vision.  One recommendation I got from the blog was to try Barcelona day tours...we are doing a half day with them.  We are staying at an air bnb near segrada familia but there are tons of hotels near Las ramblas if you want....we wanted to be a bit more quiet and there are tons of restaurants and grocery stores out where we are.  I know park guel is a must and pretty much anything gaudi related is amazing.  We also are planning on the Picasso and Miro museums. 

   I've been warned there are a lot of pickpockets so traveler beware!

I know @hayley_bopp and @Traveler will have some great advice to share.  Jane

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Hotel 1898!!! Things to see: La Sagrada Familia, Park Güell, Casa Milà, Casa Batlló, Mercado de La Boqueria, Montjuïc, Plaça de Catalunya, Palau de la Música Catalana, Güell Palace, La Rambla, Palau de la Música Catalana, Tibidabo, Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Gaudí House Museum, Picasso Museum, Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar, etc.

And that is the short list. All beautiful places and if you enjoy them, there are many other cities to explore in España, especially the northwest providence of Galicia which is near and dear to me. DON"T forget to eat authentic Paella Valencia !!! Yum! Yum!  ??

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Did a cruise out of Barcelona a few years back. There wasn't a hotel that  we found that was super convenient to the cruise port so we stayed by the Basilica in an apartment about a block away, Marina Apartments on Marina. It came with a full kitchen, living area and king bed. We used the Hop on Hop off bus, a three day pass I think, to move around the city. Besides the Sagrada Familia we enjoyed the Casa Balto, Park Gruell, and Magic Fountain area. Are only day tour was to Montserrat which was very informative and beautiful. Las Ramblas was cool to walk but I would not eat there, lots of better restaurants around. Do hit a few neighborhood tapas bars, soo much fun. Make sure you purchase tickets ahead of time. You will save so much wait time. We took taxi from airport to apartment for convenience. Subway system was easy to use as well.  Check out TripAdvisor and you tube for info and videos. English was spoken by most staff. After cruise we took RC transfer to airport with no issues. Always felt safe and followed the same common sense we do back in the US. 

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We were there 2 years ago and are going back next year. We stayed at Hotel 1898. And will be staying there again.   The roof top bar is a must. We walked  down Las Rambla and had Tapas and Sangria all 5 days we were there. Local taps and people are a lot of fun and food is so good.   Two  days before and 3 days after our cruise.  Shopping and restaurants that the hotel recommended were excellent.  You hear about pick pockets and at times can spot them. Be smart and alert.  Otherwise go to Park Gruell and Sagrada Familia is awe inspiring.  Took taxis from and to the airport and the cruise terminal.  We also did Montserrat.  Very beautiful as well.  If you go to Santorini, Greece do the non ship wine tour.   It goes to 3 wineries and is worth the cost.  Only 8 people and the driver and a sommelier.   

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Barcelona is one of my favourite cities!

As others have said, multi-day pass for the HOHO Buses would be ideal for you. 

If you want to go to Parc Guell, ticketsist be booked in advance although it's very popular so might already be sold out. If you do get there, don't miss the viewing area that's up some steps right at the back of the park. The view over the city is fantastic. 

If not, the funicular del Tibidabo also gives great views. 

If you're a football fan, the Camp Nou stadium is well worth a visit. 

I'd highly recommend wandering around the labyrinth that is the Gothis Quarter- really fantastic architecture, very atmospheric but safe. Find a tapas bar on one of the placas and watch the world go by. We went to Ocana at place Reial and it was very good and reasonably priced. 

The fountain at parc de la ciutadella is stunning. We only had chance for a quick look but said if we went back we'd take a sandwich and have lunch there. 

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5 hours ago, PPIT841 said:

We have an upcoming cruise booked ...Oasis of the Seas August 4-11 and plan on flying into Barcelona a few days early. This is our first trip to Spain and are looking for recommendations on hotels that are are near major attractions. Also, any other do's or don'ts.

Thanks in advance.

Watch out for pick-pockets at the major tourist venues -- try to keep most documents locked in a safe, if possible.  If you must carry them, do so safely and discreetly.

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13 hours ago, hayley_bopp said:

If you're a football fan, the Camp Nou stadium is well worth a visit. 

I didn't know the NFL had a team in Barcelona ?

 

Agree with all of the above, have a great time in Barcelona! Just when we thought the outside of Sagrada Familia was the most impressive thing we'd seen, we went inside and saw how the light through the windows made amazing color-scapes on the floor and walls...we could have filled an entire memory card with pictures!

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32 minutes ago, Auto said:

I didn't know the NFL had a team in Barcelona ?

 

Agree with all of the above, have a great time in Barcelona! Just when we thought the outside of Sagrada Familia was the most impressive thing we'd seen, we went inside and saw how the light through the windows made amazing color-scapes on the floor and walls...we could have filled an entire memory card with pictures!

"Football" is actually "Soccer" in Europe.

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First thing you need to know about Barcelona is that its has a good public transit system so if you have a metro station near by your hotel you will be OK,

Many people will look for hotels near the Ramblas but I do think it worth the money due to the public transportation. until know I used the Hilton hotel (near the Camp Nou) which was very good, four points in area 22 which was good and near lots of restaurants/malls and Holiday inn express 22 , it was fine no more than that. going on Sunday from the hotel to the cruise port will take around 15 minutes and cost around 20 Euros , no Uber in Barcelona but you can use a taxi app call My Taxi which works very well. Do not go to restaurants with big pictures of the food and English menus outside . I am using an app call the Fork to find restaurants in Europe so far it was quite good.

 

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40 minutes ago, hayley_bopp said:

Again, we invented the game, therefore, the correct name is football ?

Records trace the history of soccer back more than 2,000 years ago to ancient China. Greece, Rome, and parts of Central America also claim to have started the sport; but it was England that transitioned soccer, or what the British and many other people around the world call “football,” into the game we know today. The English are credited with recording the first uniform rules for the sport, including forbidding tripping opponents and touching the ball with hands.

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9 hours ago, hayley_bopp said:

Again, we invented the game, therefore, the correct name is football ?

And, as Americans, we made it better by changing the shape of the ball and introducing the forward pass....Happy Independence Day! ??

 

Please don't flame me, I know "football" is "soccer" in other parts of the world not setting off fireworks tomorrow. I couldn't resist the joke :10_wink:

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Ok... So got a suggestion to go to sitges, which led us to an amazing Roman ruin of Tarragona.  Trying to decide if we should pay for a 10 hour excursion to Tarragona and sitges, or just.a more relaxing day of train to sitges and hang on the beach.  Decision, decisions....   Jane

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7 hours ago, Auto said:

Please don't flame me, I know "football" is "soccer" in other parts of the world not setting off fireworks tomorrow. I couldn't resist the joke :10_wink:

Ok , as long as you will be able to explain us baseballs rules in 5 minutes and how its a very interesting game ? (yes yes  , I know I am starting a war now) 

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