What to see in Barcelona
January 8, 2019 12:48 PM Subscribe
A day and a half in Barcelona, to see whatever. Difficulty level: medium blizzard.
I'm going to have a day and a morning free to roam in Barcelona near the end of April. I would like to use the time to visit some interesting museums or see some nice buildings or something.
The problem: I've been to Barcelona multiple times, so I've seen a lot of the usual suspects. My most recent visit was 2016, and I did the Gaudi round - Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, Casa Batllo, La Pedrera.
Wherever I go, it needs to be not too off the beaten path, since I'll be traveling with a group and while I'll be exploring alone, I may at any point get messaged and told "we're meeting at X in an hour or so".
I do not speak Spanish or Catalan. Museums are my happy place (I went to Paris and I spent an entire day at the Louvre and could've gone back the day after, for an example). I'm not that fond of modern art. (I know there's a Picasso Museum, but I don't actually like Picasso. I don't think I'd like the Contemporary Art Museum either.)
My very vague idea right now would be "go to the Sagrada Familia and see if the towers are open this time, go to the aquarium, ??? maybe the Miró museum???" which is... yeah. I like my plans firmer than that.
Where do I go?
I'm going to have a day and a morning free to roam in Barcelona near the end of April. I would like to use the time to visit some interesting museums or see some nice buildings or something.
The problem: I've been to Barcelona multiple times, so I've seen a lot of the usual suspects. My most recent visit was 2016, and I did the Gaudi round - Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, Casa Batllo, La Pedrera.
Wherever I go, it needs to be not too off the beaten path, since I'll be traveling with a group and while I'll be exploring alone, I may at any point get messaged and told "we're meeting at X in an hour or so".
I do not speak Spanish or Catalan. Museums are my happy place (I went to Paris and I spent an entire day at the Louvre and could've gone back the day after, for an example). I'm not that fond of modern art. (I know there's a Picasso Museum, but I don't actually like Picasso. I don't think I'd like the Contemporary Art Museum either.)
My very vague idea right now would be "go to the Sagrada Familia and see if the towers are open this time, go to the aquarium, ??? maybe the Miró museum???" which is... yeah. I like my plans firmer than that.
Where do I go?
I felt like the most impressive parts of the Segrada Familia were not to be found in the towers. Miro museum was just sort of ok, the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya nearby was better and seems more up your alley taste wise. its big although i preferred the big museums in Madrid.
In an off the wall suggestion we did a food tour with Culinary Backstreets focusing on the Gracia neighborhood and it was pretty amazing (we have gone on their tours in a number of cities and always found the quality extremely high).
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 1:30 PM on January 8, 2019
In an off the wall suggestion we did a food tour with Culinary Backstreets focusing on the Gracia neighborhood and it was pretty amazing (we have gone on their tours in a number of cities and always found the quality extremely high).
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 1:30 PM on January 8, 2019
The natural science museum!! It’s up by diagonal Del Mar. I mostly stayed in the gracia neighborhood (didn’t do any of the Gaudí or other touristy things) roaming from one meat shop to a bakery to another meat shop. Lots of great things to poke around in in Gracia.
posted by bilabial at 1:43 PM on January 8, 2019
posted by bilabial at 1:43 PM on January 8, 2019
I enjoyed the science museum CosmoCaixa. It's a bit out from the town centre but accessible by the metro. Has a cool indoor rainforest biome.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 1:48 PM on January 8, 2019
posted by EndsOfInvention at 1:48 PM on January 8, 2019
You don't like Picasso, or you don't like Picasso's cubism work? In 2015 almost all of the exhibit was work from his pre-cubism younger days. The exhibit had a linear layout, showing how his work changed as he got older. Once the pieces transitioned from his initial efforts at cubism to cubism, I headed for the exit. Most of the other visitors did too.
posted by Homer42 at 4:18 PM on January 8, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Homer42 at 4:18 PM on January 8, 2019 [1 favorite]
I really liked El Born Cultural Center (http://elbornculturaimemoria.barcelona.cat/en/the-center/) And it's free to get in. It's previous layers of the city unearthed (better described by the photo in the link above) and you can look down into it. The displays are labeled in English...It's also near El Born Market, which is a little touristy I'm sure but also historical and has lots of typical Barcelona fare to eat.
posted by Tandem Affinity at 4:33 PM on January 8, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Tandem Affinity at 4:33 PM on January 8, 2019 [1 favorite]
Another vote for the MNAC. The Caixaforum is nearby and has temporary exhibitions, check if they've got something you're interested in. Both are accessible from (Plaça d')Espanya metro station.
The Maritime Museum is near Drassanes metro station, and afterwards you can eat at the Maremagnum shopping mall. The Aquarium is next to that.
You can also take the funicular from Paral·lel metro station to Montjuïc and see the castle.
posted by sukeban at 10:27 PM on January 8, 2019
The Maritime Museum is near Drassanes metro station, and afterwards you can eat at the Maremagnum shopping mall. The Aquarium is next to that.
You can also take the funicular from Paral·lel metro station to Montjuïc and see the castle.
posted by sukeban at 10:27 PM on January 8, 2019
On Carrer Barra de Ferro there is the European Museum of Modern Art, which is all representational art, which might be more up your alley. It's a couple blocks from El Born Cultural Center, so you could check out both. You'd also be close to Park Ciutadella, which is nice for a wander around. You can check out the Cascada Monumental, which is the most ridiculously over the top fountain I've ever seen. I've looked at it basically every day for 7 years and it's still amazing. Not in an admirable way, in a "I can't believe it" way.
posted by conifer at 12:01 AM on January 9, 2019
posted by conifer at 12:01 AM on January 9, 2019
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posted by vacapinta at 1:00 PM on January 8, 2019 [1 favorite]