Barcelona Travel Forum

I'm travelling in late july .. & My flight is from London to Barcelona main airport (BCN) & then I'm going back thru Girona airport ..
My question is How to leave from "Passeig dels Castanyers, 21
Barcelona, 08035" where the hotel is TO Barcelona Estaciَ del Nord where I can get Barcelona Bus to Girona Airport ..

Note : My flight is very early ,I need to get there at 4 a.m
SO, Is there any metro or if Taxi is the only possible way .. How much would it cost ?

Thanks in advance

the first bus from Est. del Nord to GRO seems to be at 3:15, arriving at GRO at 4:30, would this suit you?

http://www.sagales.com/pubdocs/1207_aeroport-girona-costa-brava---barcelona-(estacio-nord)-2009-06-22.pdf

anyway, unless you are traveling on Saturday night, there is no metro at that time so I'm afraid a taxi is you only option. Cost may be around 15 € (your hotel is a bit out of the way. There is a supplement of about plus 1 euros per piece of luggage and maybe station supplement

another option is you travel the day before to Girona town by train (7 euros), explore a bit of it (is well worth it) and take the first bus at 4:00, arriving to GRO at 4:29 (not sure how much does it cost, I think 2-3 euros)

http://www.sagales.com/pubdocs/1163_girona-fornells-de-la-selva-aeroport-costa-brava-2009-06-01.pdf

That was very helpful .. I think I would go with the first option since I already booked that night at the hotel "Don't ask me why I did? , It doesn't make any sense now . lol"

The time for the bus is fine & I probably would take a taxi to that bus station .. but is it easy to find a taxi at that late time in that area ? or do i have to preorder or somthing .. & if so , How ? thru the hotel ?

One more thing please , Can u tell me more about the area where the hotel is located .. like transportaion to major toursit sites ?
Thanks again

I forgot to tell u this .. It would be on early sunday .. 5 a.m

can't you cancel this hotel night? it makes really little sense. If at least it was a hotel near the bus station....

better ask to your hotel to book a taxi for you. Is not likely there will be many around that area at that time of the night. The area is fine, residential, I guess quiet... can't tell you more as I rarely went there, the only "interest" is a huge hospital nearby where I had to visit friends now and then ;) It will be about 20-30 min by metro to the city centre and sights

But if i cancalled that night , I would have to stay the whole day with my luggage in the street .. loool

Anyway , You did actually help me alot with ur great tips
Thanks , young lady

One more last thing I promise .. Take a look at this 3-day itinerary .. My frined told me to visit these places .. So, Are these places close to each other? & what do u think about it ? Any changes u might suggest ..
I think he didn't leave a single place in barcelona .. hehe


Day 1:
1.Plaça Cataluña
2.La Rambla
3.Mirador de Colón (Columbus Monument)
4.Plaça Reial
5.Barri Gòtic
6.Catedral
7.Casa Batlló
8.Casa Milà
9.Arc de Triomf


Day 2:
1.Montjuïc (Telefric)
2.Palau Nacional & Magic Fountain
3.Mies van der Rohe Pavilion
4.Poble Espanyol
5.Plaça d'Espanya
6.Sagrada Família
7.Parc Güell
8.Torre Agbar


Day 3:
1. Parc de la Ciutadella
2. La Ribera
3. Picasso Museum
4. Santa María del Mar Church
5. Port Vell

hehehe... I did not meant you stay all day around with your luggage!!... I though you may still change to a hotel near the bus station, or travel the afternoon before to Girona (I love Girona!) or maybe leave your luggage in the lockers of the bus station and party until 3 am before catching the bus....

The itinerary of your friend is really ambitious, and not really doable in the form he/she put it... my thoughts:

Day 1:
1.Plaça Cataluña
2.La Rambla
3.Mirador de Colón (Columbus Monument)
4.Plaça Reial
5.Barri Gòtic
6.Catedral
7.Casa Batlló
8.Casa Milà
9.Arc de Triomf

La Rambla is between Pl. Catalunya and Colon. Do not miss checking La Boqueria food market, the rest of La Rambla is just a huge tourist trap IMHO... and watch out your belongings! I never went up to the Colon monument so I can't say about this.

Plaça Reial is just off Las Ramblas (nothing to do there apart of seating in a cafe). Barri Gotic is the part of the old town "right" off La Rambla and the Cathedral is in Barri Gotic, so it's all in the same area. Better than Plaça Reial I'd would go to Plaça del Pi and Carrer de Petritxol. All this can be done in a morning.

Then... I'd change your points 7 and 8...

Arc de Trionf is next to Parc de la Ciutadella, it makes little sense putting these 2 on different days. And most of the points in your day 3 are in Born/Ribera that is the neighborhood next to Gotic.

As you are already in Gotic, keep walking, cross the Via Laietana and take Carrer Princesa.... El Born is full of great small restaurants where you can have lunch. Santa Maria del Mar is very close to Picasso Museum. I'm not sure I'd visit the museum (only if you're really interested in Picasso) but Santa Maria del Mar is a real must.

If you keep walking you will arrive to Parc de la Ciutadella and Arc de Trionf

If you could finish the day with a concert in Palau de la Musica Catalana it would be perfect!

Day 2:
1.Montjuïc (Telefric)
2.Palau Nacional & Magic Fountain
3.Mies van der Rohe Pavilion
4.Poble Espanyol
5.Plaça d'Espanya
6.Sagrada Família
7.Parc Güell
8.Torre Agbar

All this is just impossible to do in a single day!

- Palau Nacional is the MNAC museum. You need a half a day for this one.
- Font Magica only runs at sunset/night and not every day (check the schedule!!) it makes no sense puting it at the begining of the day.
- Poble Espanyol would take half a day too, at least 3 hours, its expensive and it's just a fake touristy town (somewhat interesting as it's from 1929, but there are more interesting and "real" sights IMHO)
- Sagrada Família, Parc Güell and Torre Agbar are in different parts of town, it woudl take a lot of time from A to B to C.

The Torre Agbar is not near to anywhere else, I'd skip it for this trip. It's a lot more interesting at night when illuminated anyway (you can take the metro to Glories at the end of the day if you really want to check it).

So, lets re-organize your 2nd day :))

You can start your day taking the metro to Pl. Espanya. If you are an art buff, visit the MNAC, if not there are many other attractions in the area. The bus 50 will take you around the mountain, you can see the Olimpic stadium, etc. I'd skip the POble Espanyol, instead I'd visit CaixaForum that's a very interesting art center (and free) just in front of the Mies Van der Rohe pavillion. If you plan well your visit, you can finish the visit to Caixaforum by the time of the Magic Fountain show.

Day 3:
1. Parc de la Ciutadella
2. La Ribera
3. Picasso Museum
4. Santa María del Mar Church
5. Port Vell

With my re-organization, you already had seen all this except Port Vell ;)

I would change this day to a "Gaudí Day". Start early at Park Güell and you will enjoy it not-so-crowded. Then, take the bus #24 to Casa Milà (La Pedrera) and Casa Batlló (these are 10 minutes walking from each other). Walk a bit along Passeig de Gracia and Rambla de Catalunya (the nicest avenue in town for me). Then take metro L5, or walk, to Sagrada Familia (I would not enter, it's interesting but you are already seeing too many sights! ;)) I'd better invest this time in walking Av. Gaudi until Hospital de Sant Pau (a gem most tourists miss). You can end the day with a nice seafood dinner at Port Vell... by the time you'll really deserve it!

wow, I wrote more than I planned to do!

I'm speechless .. I'm deff re-considering my trip & i'm doing exactly what u said , It makes more sense ..
Thank u sooo much for ur precious time .. Very apperciated .. & I can't wait to visit ur beautiful city .. I might also go for a daytrip to Montserrat ..
Thanks again