Day 20 ·
Sagrada Família, Picasso and the farewell dinner
Barcelona · Spain · 3 min read
The last full day: the Sagrada Família with a guided tour in Spanish and a tower, Sant Pau Recinte Modernista, montaditos at Quimet i Quimet, the Picasso Museum and the farewell dinner at 7 Portes.
- 1
Sagrada Família
We got to the Carrer de la Marina entrance at 9:15, by the Nativity facade. Guided tour in Spanish and, at 11:00, the Nativity Tower. Passport required.
Our guide Outside it is a mess of construction, lines and pickpockets; inside it is something else. Go early, with a guide, and do not settle for the photo of the facade. Read the full guide - 2
Plaça de Gaudí
The pond where the basilica is reflected in the water, the most repeated photo of the building. In the rain the reflection doesn't work.
- 3
Sant Pau Recinte Modernista
700 meters in a straight line along the Avinguda de Gaudí. Tickets at the ticket office and 45 minutes for the Administration Pavilion, the gardens and one pavilion.
Our guide It's the best companion to the Sagrada Família and it's a ten-minute walk away. In 45 minutes you see the essentials, without the Gaudí crowds. Read the full guide - 4
Quimet i Quimet
A taxi of about €12–14 to Poble-sec. A standing-room bar since 1914, cash only and open only Monday to Friday from 12:00 to 16:00.
Our guide Worth it if you like top-quality conservas and can handle standing in a tiny, packed room. Cold montaditos assembled at the bar, no kitchen, and a cheap house vermouth. Read the full guide - 5
El Quatre Gats
Coffee in the Puig i Cadafalch building where Picasso had his first exhibition in 1900. For a coffee, fine; as a restaurant it has a reputation for being expensive.
Our guide Worth it for a coffee in the Modernista room where Picasso exhibited. As a restaurant it has a reputation for being expensive for what it serves; go for 25 minutes, not for a meal. Read the full guide - 6
Picasso Museum
Five Gothic palaces on Carrer de Montcada. We went for the essentials: the early works and the Las Meninas series.
Our guide If you come looking for Cubist Picasso, you'll be disappointed. If you want to see how a teenager learned to paint perfectly before breaking the rules, this is the place. Read the full guide - 7
Santa Maria del Mar
A last walk through El Born: the Gothic basilica, the Fossar de les Moreres with its flame and the Passeig del Born. Then back to the hotel to pack.
Our guide Worth walking slowly: within 200 meters you get the Gothic basilica, the 1714 memorial and the old jousting ground. Use it to stroll and have a drink, not to eat at the terraces. Read the full guide - 8
7 Portes
The farewell dinner, at a restaurant open since 1836. We booked online and asked by phone for the main dining room, not the terrace.
- 9
El Xampanyet
A last glass of cava at the bar, three minutes from 7 Portes. At 22:00, back to the hotel: the alarm was going off at 3:00.
Our guide Worth it for the house cava, the anchovies and a tiled room that has barely changed since 1929. Order the simple things and ask the price of everything else. Read the full guide
We spent the last full day of the trip on the Sagrada Família and what surrounds it. We booked it months ahead on the official website: a guided tour in Spanish at 9:30 and the Nativity Tower at 11:00. We designed the rest of the day to slow down: a Modernista hospital, montaditos standing at a bar, an air-conditioned museum and a long dinner.
Why we planned it this way
The Sagrada Família is calmest between 9:00 and 10:00, and that is when the morning light comes through the stained glass. That is why we took the first guided slot. Coming out, Sant Pau Recinte Modernista was 700 meters away in a straight line. It is the work of Domènech i Montaner, the other great architect of Modernisme, and almost nobody leaving the basilica walks over there.
Quimet i Quimet closes at 16:00 and doesn’t open on weekends, so Friday at 1:00 was our only chance. We took a taxi to save our legs.
Coffee at El Quatre Gats was the bridge to the Picasso Museum: Picasso had his first exhibition there in 1900, and the museum is five minutes away. We bought the 15:15 ticket online and it was nonrefundable, so the whole midday was timed to get there with a buffer.
The farewell
At 17:00 we went back to the hotel to pack: the taxi to the airport was leaving at 3:30. At 19:30, dinner at 7 Portes, open since 1836, with arròs negre for two. We had the toast written into the plan since April: 20 days, 7 cities, 2 countries. Then a last glass at El Xampanyet, three minutes away, and in bed before 22:30 to sleep four and a half hours.
What we booked and tasted
Sagrada Família: guided tour in Spanish with tower climb
- Guided tour in Spanish of the Nativity facade and the interior
- Nativity Tower at 11:00: elevator up and spiral staircase down
- Audio guide in the official app
- Free lockers for backpacks before going up the tower
The audio guide tells you what you are looking at; the guide explains why Gaudí designed it that way. With the tower on the same ticket, €40 per person, everything was settled with a fixed time from home.
See ticketsWeb oficialQuimet i Quimet
Order Smoked oyster montadito with cream cheese and honey, boquerones with capers, razor clams in olive oil, Iberian pork cheek montadito and a vermouth
Four generations and more than a thousand tins on the walls. You eat standing up and they only take cash: bring €40–50 for two. Plan B was La Cova Fumada, in Barceloneta.
El Quatre Gats
Order Two cortados or cafè amb llet and a crema catalana to share
Twenty-five minutes in the Modernista room, a five-minute walk from the Picasso Museum. For a full meal there are better options.
7 Portes
Order Pa amb tomàquet, escalivada, grilled shrimp, arròs negre for two and crema catalana, with a white from Penedès or cava
Open since 1836, with Picasso, Miró and Hemingway among its past guests. The arròs negre is the house specialty. About €45–60 per person with wine.
El Xampanyet
Order House cava and anchovies
The bar we went back to three nights in a row in Barcelona.
Jaume I Sagrada Família
L4 to Passeig de Gràcia and change to the L2 toward Badalona to Sagrada Família. Exit on Carrer de la Marina. We used the 10-ride T-Casual card.
Sant Pau Poble-sec
About €12–14. Tell the driver "Quimet i Quimet, Carrer del Poeta Cabanyes". It drops you on the Avinguda del Paral·lel and it is 150 meters to number 25, a facade with no eye-catching sign.
What we learned
Tips
- Bring your original passport: the Sagrada Família asks for it at the entrance and tickets are issued in your name.
- For Quimet i Quimet you need cash in small bills; there is no ATM in sight from the bar.
- Shoulders and knees covered at the Sagrada Família. Bring a light layer even if it is hot.
- If it rains, this day barely changes: everything is indoors except the Avinguda de Gaudí and the photo at the pond.
Do
- Walk the Avinguda de Gaudí from the Sagrada Família to Sant Pau: it is 10 minutes and from halfway you can see both buildings.
- Call 7 Portes a few days ahead to ask for the main dining room; booking online doesn't guarantee where they seat you.
- If your flight leaves before dawn, pack before dinner. We had our bags ready between 17:00 and 19:00.
Don’t
- Don't buy Sagrada Família tickets from anyone on the street: there is no same-day ticket office and all legitimate tickets are sold online.
- Don't eat on the Avinguda de Gaudí between the basilica and Sant Pau: it's all tourist menus.
- If you already did the guided tour, skip the basement museum and the Sagrada Família gift shop.