3Likes
LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
Reply With Quote
Hooked, I hope there are some sea days in between the port days, otherwise you’ll be exhausted. There will in general be very long days as there is so much to see.
Ok, here are some of my suggestions for a few of those port of calls.
You have to remember I am from Europe so there might be different things that should be on your “must do” list as an American.
Barcelona
The “son of the city” is Antoni Gaudi, an architect with his own style, to say the least. One impressive piece is the unfinished church Sagrada Familia and the nice Park Güell.
If you like art you may want to visit the museums of Picasso (I have not been there myself yet) and Miro.
La Rambla is an area between two streets with a lot of restaurants and outdoor shops. There are also a lot of living statues (give them a coin and see what happens).
Marseille
I have not spent so long time in this city but a nice place is Vieux Port (the old harbor) and the view from around the church Notre Dame de la Garde is really impressive. The palace Longchamp with it's fountain was also a very nice, relaxing place in the middle of city.
Livorno/Florence
If you have to choose between Pisa and Florence, my advice is to choose Florence (but it’s easy for me to say so as I have already seen the Leaning Tower in Pisa, which was a nice experience too). It may be possible to see both during a day. In Pisa the only thing really to see is the Field of Miracles with the Leaning Tower.
In Florence on the other hand – what is there NOT to see…? Just to walk around in the (relatively small) old city center is a very nice way to get to learn this city. You have for example the old bridge (Ponte Vecchio) and the impressive cathedral (Santa Maria del Fiore). There are a lot of exclusive boutiques and jewelry stores as well as other buildings. From the Michelangelo Square you have a nice view of the city. I have only spent a couple of hours in Florence but am aiming for a full day during my Med cruise in October.
Civitavecchia/Rome
Here you’ll have to choose wisely. During a day you won’t be able to see everything there is to see.
“Must see” would according to me be the St Peter’s Church with the Sistine Chapel and also Colosseum (at least from the outside). Nice would also be Forum Romanum, the Spanish Steps and Fontana Di Trevi (both these last may be a bit “touristic”). There are historic buildings and pieces of art everywhere in the historic city center.
Venice
(Sorry, no photos as I didn’t have a digital camera back in 1999 – and my photo album is… somewhere…).
It’s very nice just to stroll around in the city, on the narrow walkways. St Marc Square, with all the Pigeons, is not to be missed. Here you also can see the church of St Marc and the Campanile. There are also lots of palaces, like the Palazzo Ducale close to the St Marc Square, with the “bridge of sighs”.
You also would want to see the Rialto Bridge and maybe take a boat trip on Canal Grande.
I have just spent a couple of hours in Venice so I’m sure there are some more “must see” things there. Be prepared not to be the only tourist…
That was what I first could come up with for some of the ports. If there are some things I missed I’ll be back.
I'm sure we have a bunch of other C@'s with experience from the Med. I hope they can give you more ideas about what to see.
/Erik
Bookmarks