Buy your tickets for Sagrada Familia and other Barcelona attractions on line. Trust me on this. The lines for SF are insane otherwise.
We’ve also generally had no problems with Chase cards overseas–I usually call them, although they say it’s no longer necessary to do this. The only times we’ve had to call was for a big purchase in the US.
The one place in Spain that I wouldn’t overlook is Alhambra. It’s in Granada and well worth a trip. I’ve been there twice and both times I’ve been blown away by the calm and beauty of it.
Other advice: when you go to the Prado–get a guide. The guide we had (through our hotel) was quite knowledgeable and also was able to take us around so we got to see all the highlights. We also went back later on our own. Contemporary works of art are in the Reina Sofia, which is where you can see Picasso’s Guernica. We used the same guide in this museum as well.
WE LOVE ROMAN RUINS, TOO. When we lived in Europe, we spent every summer stomping all over Europe seeking ruins.
We did 2 Roman-ruin themed trips to Spain.
TRIP 1: Tarragona
It’s a beach resort an hr outside of Barcelona. There is an amphitheatre on the beach, and in the outskirts of town there is a compact but gorgeously preserved aqueduct. Aqueduct is not on the beaten path so it’s a nice private treat when u find it. Great place for a sunset photo.
http://www.spaintravelguide.com/6-best-roman-sights-in-spain.html
Also in Tarragona is a lovely medieval inner city.
TRIP 2: Extremadura province & Segovia
The aqueduct in Segovia is one on the most jaw-dropping sights u will ever behold. When we drove there and the aqueduct appeared as we rounded the corner, all of us in the car (our little kids too) all simultaneously said OMG… If u like pork, crispy suckling pig is the local speciality.
Extremadura is home of the conquistadors. When u see how arid and bleak the landscape is, u will understand why they left to seek their fortune in the New World. They conquered and brought back their booty to build lavish palaces.
We stayed in Trujillo, home town of Francisco Pizarro, in an awesome convent that was converted into a luxury hotel. Can’t remember the hotel name except that it’s managed by Melia. Ask for a room in the old section that is in the convent, not in the boring new wing. One of the most memorable hotels we ever had!
Using Trujillo as a base, we did day trips to Merida (just awesome) and Caceres. If u are short on time, skip Caceres. The town is a dump, and roman temple site is rather limited.
We also did a day trip to a hilltop medieval town (a UNESCO site) My memory fails me and i have forgotten the name. All i can remember is that it was really, really, really hot but worth seeing.
You are going to love this Spain ruins trip. I am envious. Since u love roman ruins, u have probably already seen the Provence region in France (Arles, Nime, Pont du Gard). Not as well known are the sites in Germany (Trier & the Mosel River is one of my favorite itineraries, Koln).
When (if) things ever settle in northern africa, would love to visit the great archeological sites there, too.
I spent a year in Barcelona as a teenager and it’s pretty much my favorite place in the world. When I finally took my family there a few years ago, my wife wanted to move there. So . . .
For Roman ruins fans, Barcelona has numerous ones (albeit not as sensational as Segovia or other sites). The Museum of the History of the City of Barcelona has a good tour of some of them.
Places to go in Barcelona that are not quite on (and not quite off) the beaten path:
– Two single-artist museums, representing the two great Catalan artists of the 20th Century (besides Picasso, of course, who spent most of his life elsewhere): the Fundacio Joan Miro, which is part of Parc Montjuich on a hill directly above the city center, and the Fundacio Antoni Tapies, which is right in the middle of the most beautiful neighborhood, the Eixample. Tapies is not that well known here – certainly not at the level of Miro – but he is a pretty rewarding artist to spend a few hours contemplating. As a bonus, the Tapies museum is in a building designed by the other great modernist architect of Barcelona, Lluis Domenech i Muntaner.
– Definitely visit the Gaudi highlights (Casa Battlo, La Pedrera, Parc Guell, and Sagrada Familia - which is my least favorite of the bunch), but the great Domenech i Muntaner buildings are also really worth seeing, and get about a tenth of the traffic: the Palau de la Musica Catalana, the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau (out of the way, but a nice walk from Sagrada Familia), and the Casa Lleo i Morera. The last is on the same block as Gaudi’s Casa Battlo, and there are several other sensational modernist houses in between them. (The Tapies museum is around the corner.)
– The Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA) is super-hip and fun. It is where the central neighborhood around the Placa de Catalunya and the historic University borders the Raval.
– The Raval, the medieval neighborhood (and sometime red-light district) on the other (southwest) side of the Ramblas from the much more touristy Barri Gotic. It has the great Boqueria market, but also the Antic Hospital de la Santa Creu, a beautiful gothic building, as well as a bunch of hipster stores. Also the Born neighborhood, northeast of the Barri Gotic, which has the Santa Maria del Mar church and more hip stores and clubs.
– The Parc de la Ciutadella, a lovely urban park right by the port.
– The beaches in Barceloneta. Yes, real beaches, like they have in Santa Monica.
– Tibidabo, a mountain north of the city, with a tram ride up and an amusement park.
You can pretty much walk everywhere in Barcelona, although there is decent public transportation as well.
The one consistently disappointing tourist attraction is the Picasso Museum, which is really second-rate as far as the art goes. There are three things interesting about it: (1) It is cobbled together from three townhouses built in three different centuries, (2) it has a lot of juvenalia that puts to rest any suspicion that Picasso lacked the draftsmanship to do realistic painting, and (3) its final room has a first-rate set of works that he made expressly for the museum – a massive re-vision of Velasquez’ Las Meninas, alongside a bunch of studies for it.
If you are there when people dance sardanes in the Placa de la Catedral, that’s worth seeing.
Obviously, not everyone will have the same experience. However, note that this was not exclusive to Amex. It happened in similar fashion to credit cards from Chase and BOFA. The issue seems related to charging more than once in a rapid fashion. It also does not seem to be related to a particular customer. On one trip, we were a party of six and it was common. We started planning the restaurants and make sure to use a “virgin” card a day.
Interestingly enough, the cards that always went through without a hitch were debit cards from non US banks. My guess is that the credit cards are on the hook for proven fraudulent uses a lot more than a debit card might where the funds are withdrawn immediately. But in a way, it is a scary proposal if one travels with a debit card tied to banks with large balances.
The point of all of this is that it is wise to have a number of cards available and that it might not be the best idea to decide to travel light and leave most cards at home. Of course, this becomes easier when traveling with a group or family. It is also wise to note down all the numbers that give you a direct access from abroad as the “free” numbers might not work from hotels or cell phones. Also, one should hesitate to log into the online accounts from public internet café or even hotels. They are hardly safe.
It is a not a huge deal but it is better to be prepared.
@GMTplus7 Were you thinking of Guadalupe as the hilltop town? So Caceres was a dump. I thought it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site though the two aren’t mutually exclusive I suppose. Thanks for the tip on the Trujillo hotel. Next to Roman ruins, my other love when traveling are little towns that time forgot. No modern anything, except plumbing, ha.
Now that I think about, we have had issues with using a single card in rapid fashion. I’ve had it happen (I think in New York), that I wanted to buy three fare cards from a machine in the subway, and while the first two charges went through, the third didn’t. Later in the day, the card was successfully used for other charges without calling anybody. So perhaps this is a situation to look out for.
@Tatin,
My mind is getting feeble. Caceres was that impressive UNESCO town i mentioned. It is not a dump-- I confused the name, sorry. **Definitely do go see Caceres & Merida. **
I need to look thru my kids’ travel journals to get the name of the city that was a dump. It had one limited Roman ruin, but that was it.
We also spend a short while in Toledo. Also nice.