Must Sights in Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca & Provence (Marseilles)

[JeffH]

Appreciate any insight on what to see and do in a limited time when Allure stops in Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca & Marseilles on a cruise this spring. Any excursions you’d recommend? Do it yourself, skipping excursions and buying tickets in advance for sights instead? Thanks! 

[FionaMG]

8 hours ago, JeffH said:

Appreciate any insight on what to see and do in a limited time when Allure stops in Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca & Marseilles on a cruise this spring. Any excursions you’d recommend? Do it yourself, skipping excursions and buying tickets in advance for sights instead? Thanks! 

For Barcelona, the must-see is Gaudi's Sagrada Familia. You can do this yourself but you'll want to book the tickets in advance to make sure you can get the day and time that suits. You can choose a self-guided audio tour or a tour with a live guide. If you do the latter, you will be able to stay and wander around at leisure for however long you want to afterwards. Pick a time that's maybe a couple of hours after your arrival in port to allow for any delays. You can get a taxi at the port. It's too far to walk.

Tickets should be bought from the official website here: https://sagradafamilia.org/en/. They go on sale about 3-4 months in advance and they sell out quickly so you'll want to keep an eye on it.

Once you're finished at the basilica, you can get a taxi to the top of La Rambla, which is the famous street that leads down through the centre towards the port. Stop at La Boqueria Market at grab some food. https://www.boqueria.barcelona/home

When you reach the bottom of the La Rambla you can either grab a taxi or get the cruise bus back to port:

https://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/faq/cruise-ship-terminals/shuttle-bus-barcelona-cruise-terminal.html

The Barcelona tourist guide site that I've linked for details of the cruise bus is a vast site that you can use to see if there's anything else you'd rather do in Barcelona.

If you'd prefer to do something like a walking tour, I can highly recommend Runner Bean Tours. They offer two free tours (tip at the end). You'd need to check if their times are suitable. Alternatively, they do private tours that they would cater to your needs. https://runnerbeantours.com/barcelona-free-tours/

 

For Palma de Mallorca, the must-see is the Drach Caves. https://www.cuevasdeldrach.com/en/index.php

You will want an excursion to visit the caves as they are not very close to the cruise port. Royal will offer an excursion but they charge a premium. I have a cruise booked on Allure for next spring and the excursion to the caves has been running at between $88 and $104 per person depending on whatever sale they have on. However, since the BF sale began the other day, the price of that excursion has shot up to $159 per person! You will certainly be able to find an independent operator offering a much cheaper rate for an excursion that will probably let you spend more time at the caves than Royal's will, as they have to fit in the obligatory visit to a cameo or pearl factory... .

Otherwise, if caves are not your thing, there will be a shuttle into the city of Palma from right outside the cruise terminal. Last time I was there it was $10 per person round trip, or you can just grab a taxi, which will give you greater flexibility. The cathedral in Palma is supposed to be stunning. I have not visited it myself so I can't give you a personal opinion.

 

For Marseille, lots of people will say it's not worth the bother, you should book an excursion to somewhere like Aix-en-Provence or Avignon, but I would respectfully disagree. I personally like Marseille and you can definitely enjoy your time there unless one of the places I mentioned is an absolute bucket-list item for you.

You do not need an excursion to visit Marseille. You can grab a taxi at the port into the city centre. Ask to be dropped at the Vieux Port: https://www.marseille-tourisme.com/en/discover-marseille/culture-heritage/discover-the-sites-and-monuments-in-marseille/the-vieux-port-old-port/

From here, you can get the Petit Train to the hilltop basilica of Notre Dame de La Garde. https://www.petit-train-marseille.com/en/

Note that it's not a hoho train. Everybody gets off at the top, where you can visit the basilica and admire the fantastic view. Then you just get on the next train back down when you're ready.

One thing that Marseille is famous for is its soap, so when you come back down from the basilica, you can visit the Marseille Soap Museum. Here, as well as learning about how the soap is made, you can actually customise some soap to take home with you: https://www.savon-de-marseille-licorne.com/marseille-soap-museum-guided-tours-workshop-vieux-port-marseille?lang=en.

Here's a pic of the one my daughter did a few years back. She could never bring herself to actually use the soap, though, so you might have to buy a separate bar if you want to use it!

Sorry for the very lengthy post but I wanted to give you lots of options. I hope it helps and you have an amazing cruise.

[ChessE4]

For Barcelona, I am not a Gaudi fan, but a bus ride to Montserrat is an option (go for a 6hr or longer excursion), in addition to wandering around the Gothic Quarter.  Do be aware of pickpockets/scams.  We knew cruisers who lost their passports at Barcelona. Videos cover these threats.  We did Montserrat by arriving Barcelona early and using Viator, but Royal also had an excursion.

[JeffH]

FionaMG, you went above and beyond being generous with great info, links and pics. Thank you so much! 

[JeffH]

Thanks, Chess4, for idea on Montserrat!

[JeffH]

How much of a gamble is making reservations for some sights in Barcelona? Allure’s itinerary shows gangway 5:30 the morning we arrive in early May. Is guesstimate 7am for actually getting off the ship? 

[ChessE4]

13 hours ago, JeffH said:

How much of a gamble is making reservations for some sights in Barcelona? Allure’s itinerary shows gangway 5:30 the morning we arrive in early May. Is guesstimate 7am for actually getting off the ship? 

We were on bus to airport by 715 am, but this was 2 years ago. 

[KWong]

On 11/15/2024 at 5:41 PM, JeffH said:

How much of a gamble is making reservations for some sights in Barcelona? Allure’s itinerary shows gangway 5:30 the morning we arrive in early May. Is guesstimate 7am for actually getting off the ship? 

If you can get reservations for the Sagrada Familia, go for it. I'd recommend the guided tour because you get a lot of information.

If that's not your speed, look for a tapas food tour. We went on a nighttime tour after debarkation and it was well worth it.

Other spots in Barcelona are:
- Castell de Montjuic on the hill. There's also the Olympic stadium which, if you're lucky and a sports stadium junkie, is open for people to pop in and take a look.
- Catedral de Barcelona. If you can do the Sagrada and then take the Metro here, it provides a nice contrast. You can even head to the roof of the Cathedral which is definitely unique.
- I've been told that the Mercat Boqueria is the touristy market, while Mercat de Santa Caterina is more a local market, so that might be worthwhile to look into if you don't like huge crowds.

Off the beaten path, you can buy some high-speed train tickets and visit Girona (nice medieval city with Game of Thrones shooting locations) or Figueroa (Dali museum). But only if the times work out for you to get back to the ship in time.

Marseille I'd agree that Vieux-Port and the basilica are the top two things to see. Cathedral La Major and MUCEM are also worth checking out.

For Mallorca, there's a shuttle that takes you to and from the Basilica, which is very impressive. I've seen recommendations to take a train to Soller but we didn't go for that. Crew members apparently really like Mallorca so it may be worthwhile to ask them for recommendations when on board.

[Pattycruise]

Marseilles-had lunch in a square.  Wandered off to look for a bakery I was told was one block over, didn’t find it so went one additional block and  on the opposite corner was a pile of people’s belongings- luggages, knapsack’s, wallets  purses-contacts were about 4 ft high-pile about 3 ft wide.  I kid you not.  I should have taken a picture!

 Anyhow-mind your items. lots of dummies in the square with purses over the back of their chairs or bags in the floor-I assume the next victims!!

 Recently walked in the Canary Islands Las Palmas and noted people had purses in laps, bag straps tied to chairs.  Smart people!!

 Sorry, no recollection of what places I visited in Marsailles!

[loki007]

Barcelona is so incredible. Sagrada Familia has already been mentioned and is a must. I would also just take a walk down Las Ramblas and thru la Boqueria 

https://www.boqueria.barcelona/home

we love Barcelona

Really didn't care much for Marseille. We walked up to the Cathedral (its a hike) and had lunch in the square. Don't stop too long or you might get painted with graffiti 

[KWong]

Forgot to mention that Cassis is a short train ride away from Marseille and is quite picturesque. If you feel like Marseille's Vieux-Port is a little too commercial and touristy, Cassis will feel very calm and laid back (but still a little touristy) in comparison. You'd probably have to get a taxi to the port from the train station though.

[Tammy LR]

You’re going to love that itinerary. 
 

in Barcelona, as others have said, definitely see the Sagrada Familia. We actually did a tour with Get Your Guide and it was very good. I recommend a tour, rather than on your own so you get insight into everything. We took a taxi right at the port to get there. It was super easy to do. 
 

In Palma my recommendation is DON’T go to the city beach. We were extremely disappointed as it was very dirty and had things floating in the water. If you want a beach day, definitely go to one of the resorts. We had several people on our cruise who did that and said it was fantastic. 
 

For Marseille, we did the RC excursion to Cassis and loved it. To be fair, we aren’t ones to go on all day excursions. We like to come back to the ship and relax before dinner. So if you’re one to go all day, the Cassis excursion may not be for you, but it was a beautiful city. 
 

Enjoy your trip! No matter what you decide, it’ll be fantastic! 

[FOB]

As Catholics my husband and I take great exception to the fact that we were being told we had to pay to enter La Sagrada Familia on a Sunday to say some prayers ! No other church we had ever visited had insisted that people pay to enter even to pray. Most have a small side area where you can enter for free to have some devotional time. 
the basilica in Palma Mallorca is stunning - although it is 15 years since I was last year I doubt it will have changed much

As Fiona McG said it is easy to walk about in Marseille and there are lots of quirky places to look at

to make it as difficult as possible for the pickpockets I always use a cross body bag and have it under my jacket at the front of my body. It makes it much easier to keep an eye on it. Never ever sling your bag over the back of your chair. If you do need to take a backpack then keep it between your feet while sitting at a table. 

[JeffH]

Thanks, all, for your valuable insight and advice. My trip's almost here!

[Glowin]

@Tammy LR how can we look into the beach resort options for Mallorca? We want to do beach at this spot 

[JeffH]

Tammy LR, I suspect Royal has an excursion (likely pricey) to a beach resort for Mallorca. Alternative, GetYourGuide has been reliable and worked for me in the past. 

[JeffH]

Back from cruise. Thanks to everyone who offered such great tips. Sagrada Familia was unbelievable in person. Really cool to see views from the tower. Cinque Terre was breathtaking. It was our 16th cruise, but first international one. Love at first sight with Italy. Could’ve stayed there forever. Glad we did land first (Rome, Florence, Pisa and Venice) before cruise. Greece next on bucket list.