France to Sagrada Famila by car?

[DeepSeededUrbanDecay]

We are driving to France at the end of August. We wanted a day trip to see the sagrada familia. We will be driving from the pyrenees. I would rather drive in and park as this is the only place we will visit and will leave for France immediately after. Unless there is a train/coach that anybody can recommend. Has anyone done this? I have read there is a congestion charge of sorts also.

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Wouldn’t it depend how close you are to Barcelona in the Pyrenees - they go all the way across to Biarritz (which would be a bit impractical for a day trip!).

Thank you for replying. It would be a 2hr 18 min drive.

You won’t be able to enter the low emission zone even if your car is suitable for the zone as you won’t have the sticker. It’s not a congestion charge. You’ll have to park outside the city and take the train in.
That route is often congested during holiday season so it may take much longer than expected.

Thank,i will look into trains. Thank you

Yes it matters where you will be coming from in France. If on the Eastern side of the Pyrenees you can take a train from Puigcerda Spain with Renfe to Barcelona Sants. Puigcerda is close to Andorra. It takes 3 hours.

Or you could take a train from any of the stops on the Puigcerda line closer to BCN I suppose, but driving will take time too.

You can drive into BCN and park in an underground car park and take the metro, google maps will guide you. It costs but the train will cost you anyway.

We have just been to the Sagrada a few weeks ago, unless you are extremely into gaudi architecture/churches it’s not worth a 2 hour drive!

Used to live near by...not familiar with any congestion charges now but the parking was awful....private garages are often full up and booked in advance etc....maybe park furhter out ...you will find street parking easy in places at end of metro line...green one or the yellow line ..poble nou etc area...

Thank you for all these! Will look into them all.

Take the train. Trains are excellent, takes you right into the centre of Barcelona.

If you drive from France to Spain, there's always congestion at the border area and it's a slow road anyway.

Agree with above, August you have to add a bit of extra time to your journey. To be honest whilst it's an interesting visit I wouldn't do a day trip just for that, there are better ways to spend your time!

And it's a long way to go to look at a church! Will you go in and do the tour? You will need to book in advance. Barcelona is such a fab city, there's loads to do and see there.

I enjoyed Gaudi's house museum much more than the Sagrada Familia.

Drive to Girona - easier parking, probably - and catch the train?
And prebook your visit.

I planned on booking a tour which I why I was concerned about timing. Thank you for suggestions on other places to visit. Just in case it's a bit of a let down.

Just had a look at Gaudi's House. That's amazing! DCs would much prefer that. Thank you

Barcelona is a lovely city, would you not contemplate staying just one night? It's a bloody long way to travel just to visit one thing in a city chock full of Gaudi architecture - and that's coming from someone who drives down to southern Spain every year with my kids ( pandemic aside).

Yoda I was just thinking exactly the same! Just googling hotels in Barcelona and am going to add it on to the end of the holiday instead! Though will need to check about how close I can drive the car in.

icouldhavechecked Girona was a good tip. It looks easier to book a hotel there.

Sorry to hijack the thread but can I ask some nosy details about this, where do you go from and to, how long, where do you stop over, how much in petrol?