Best (/cheapest) cities to visit from BCN?
 

Hi all,

I'm headed to Barcelona for my spring break with a few friends, as we snagged some cheap tickets on DL ($475!). We're looking to add another city to our itinerary, and I could really use some help figuring out interesting + affordable places to visit!

Our itin looks like:
Fri 3/20 BOS->JFK->BCN (arrive ~6 a.m. Sat 3/21)
Sat 3/21 BCN -> ??
Weds 3/25 ?? -> BCN
Mon 3/30 BCN ->JFK->BOS (departing BCN 11 a.m.)

Those dates are pretty locked in (we're meeting friends in BCN later in the week).

So, where to go? Our ideal place is cheap, warm, full of culture (we'll be doing a lot of partying in Barcelona), and a bit off the beaten path.

The obvious answer is probably Madrid, but one of the people I'm traveling with has spent a lot of time there and doesn't really like the city. We were very into the idea of going to Morocco (either Marrakech or Casablanca), but I couldn't find affordable flights (our budget is ~$125 round trip).

In terms of price, on clickair/vueling Rome, Milan, Paris, Ibiza, Lisbon, Mallorca, Bucharest, Grenada, and Cadiz all fit the bill (as well as others, I'm sure). Any thoughts on those cities, or other cities within reach would be greatly appreciated! I also haven't looked at rail travel at all - does it make sense with our tight timeline + limited budget?

Thanks!
-Daniel

I'd really suggest you stick with Barcelona and places nearby (eg, day trips by train/bus). There is a lot in the Time Out or Lonely Planet guides on "trips out of town", so sneak a read in your local bookstore.

A week based in Barcelona means you don't have to rush, can enjoy a good evening out, take it easy the next morning, visit something each afternoon, then get warmed up for the next night out.. I really don't understand how rushing around spending 30 mins in each city is really a holiday.

Either way bring an umbrella, as it is probably going to rain in March.

Thanks for the reply GK!

I definitely understand your reservations about the whirlwind European tour... but I'm not sure two cities in 8 days is all that rushed.

Are there any day trips from Barcelona you can recommend personally? Or other cities in Spain (other than Madrid) which you'd recommend staying in for a few nights?

Depending on how many of you there are, you might consider renting a car and driving up to the Pyrenees, or across the border and as far as, say, Montpellier. Could be a nice three or four day excursion. It needn't be heavily planned - and if you find that you're enjoying Barcelona too much, it's easy to cancel.

Lisbon is relatively inexpensive by European standards and a quick 1hr 20min flight from BCN. It has an extensive public transportation system that makes it easy to get around and it's a very laid back type of atmosphere.

If you go, make sure you take the train along the coast (30 mins) from Lisbon to Cascais, a small former fishing village that is now a bit touristy but with a "drinking square" in the middle.

I just got back last week from a two-week trip to Barcelona-Marrakech-Lisbon.

I'll second Lisbon. It is a very budget-friendly destination full of charm and character. Definitely a laid-back atmosphere but you can still have a good time partying (the cheap beer doesn't hurt).

Marrakech may be a bit difficult to do on a budget since the flights are relatively expensive (although Easyjet does fly there, so deals are possible) and staying anywhere decent can get pricey. Although if you're willing to rough it for accomodations, it'd be worth checking out.

I'd also agree that 3 cities in 10 days (including travel time) is a bit much. Two cities would be more reasonable, plus would give you a chance to do a day-trip from each city.

Personally, I think you're nuts to miss out on Barcelona on a Saturday night.

It's unfortunate that you'll just have missed out on the Fallas mega-festival in Valencia (which climaxes on the 19th March), but you could celebrate Easter early by going to Toledo for the weekend.

http://www.semanasantatoledo.com/

These images should give you a taster:
http://images.google.co.uk/images?nd...o&start=0&sa=N

I can not agree more!
Anyway, if you're decide to miss a good party night and go away, and you're into extreme-budget traveling, try flying RyanAir. They fly from GRO but you have shuttle bus connection for all their flights from BCN bus station, and they fly everywhere from there (even LPA and TFN!). Airline is crap, but you don't complain a lot when you get a 2€ RT fare...

Thanks for the great advice everyone!! This has been immensely helpful.

Right now we're leaning towards renting a car + driving north through the Pyrenees (thanks jib71!). We're thinking about working our way towards either Nice (~6 hr drive, according to Google) or Bordeaux (~6 hr drive) to see some countryside & do some wine tasting. Does anyone have any recommendations? Or any advice about renting/driving in Spain (what should we expect for <25 year old driver fees)?

(dragonfirebcn & LapLap - Don't worry! I think we're going to go Sunday -> Thursday now, rather than miss a Saturday in BCN!).

Last question - It looks like F.C. Barcelona has a home match on 3/22. I'm not the biggest soccer (err, football) fan, but I've always wanted to experience the drinking/singing/wildness of European soccer. Should I expect this kind of crazyness if we go to the game (and would I be able to get tickets)?

Thanks!!

Just a piece of advice (maybe you already know, but it's worth mentioning):

When you buy tickets, it states that the day and time of the match are not finalized until something like 10 days before. They aren't joking. We bought tickets online a few weeks before a trip to BCN last month, arriving in town Saturday afternoon with the match on Sunday evening. We obviously hadn't checked the FC Barcelona schedule since we'd purchased the tickets but as you can imagine, the match was rescheduled for the Saturday evening that we arrived. We didn't realize this until we were in a bar having a pint and saw FC Barcelona playing Deportivo on TV (the same team we were expecting to see the next day) and wondered why they'd be playing the same team two days in a row. We clued in after a few minutes and checked their website. As you'd expect, there were no refunds for the tickets.

As for the crazyness, the stadium seats around 98,000, so I'd imagine it'd be pretty crazy in person!

The TV schedule determines when the game is played so, as mentioned above, check a few days before to get exact date/time.

Like most European soccer venues, Camp Nou (the Barcelona stadium) does not sell alcohol. If you go and want to drink, there is a small bar across the street from the stadium that is jammed before the games with people doing the pre-game thing. They may let you bring in two plastic cups of beer from the bar, depends upon the security guards.

Camp Nou holds 98,000 so it's crowded. Take the metro to the stadium and back. When we went, I bought tickets on-line about a month before our trip. (You should be able to get tickets unless they are playing Madrid.) I found out after I got there that I had paid 60 euros/ticket for 40 euro/ticket seats. May want to wait until you get there to buy the tickets if you want the best value.

There are perfectly good vineyards and countryside less than 60 mins from BCN.. but if you want to sit on a motorway in a cramped rental car for 6 hrs+ each way.. it's your time wasted. Enjoy France.

Andorra is about 2 hours' drive up to the Pyrenees and is a fun and interesting place to spend a couple of days. You can stop in several cool small villages along the way. Much better than going up into France. Other options for a short trip would be Cadaqués and Figures up to the north. Loads of culture with the Dalí museums, and a different pace than BCN.

WRT the FCB game, they're playing Málaga. I wouldn't expect excessive amounts of drunkeness. :)

We don't usually do group tours, but we found a day trip outside of BCN by bus that stopped at the Gaudi village, stopped for a nice private tour at a Cava house and then went on to a coastal city. We had lots of time to ourselves and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We just signed up at the tourist office at Placa de Catalunya the day before.

It is also very easy to get to the Dali Museum in Figueses by train.

Seeing some of the best football played anywhere would be a good reason to watch a game at Camp Nou. But if you are looking for “drinking/singing/wildness” you’d better of in the UK or in Germany. The crowd in Barcelona (even if there are 98.000 of them) is about the quietest and best behaving bunch of football fans I’ve ever seen. Seeing a Barça game is very often a family affair here that can include the grandmother or granddaughter – whatever applies.

However, they know the game and absolutely appreciate the beautiful way it is played this season by FC Barcelona. And no real football fan would pass the chance to watch a game at Camp Nou at least once.

Up to you to decide what you are looking for…