Sagrada Família. The basic timed ticket is €26, the one with a tower €36, and slots go a week or two ahead in spring and summer, a few days ahead in winter. Buy on sagradafamilia.org or the official app only. It opens at 9 a.m. and closes around 6 p.m. in winter and 8 p.m. in summer.
Park Güell. The Monumental Zone is timed and tickets are sold online in advance. You have 30 minutes after the time on the ticket to get through the gate, then it is dead, so allow for the steep walk up from Lesseps or Vallcarca metro. The ticket is cheap, around €10; the slot is what matters.
Casa Batlló, La Pedrera and Picasso. The two Gaudí houses on Passeig de Gràcia are both timed and both from €29 by day; booking ahead saves up to €15 at Casa Batlló. The Picasso Museum is €12 online, closed Monday, and free on Thursday afternoons from 5 p.m. and the first Sunday of the month; the free tickets are booked online and go fast.
One ticket for the metro. The T-casual is €13 for 10 journeys in zone 1, which covers the whole city. It is personal: two people cannot share one. A one-way ticket is €2.90. It is not valid at the Aeroport T1 and T2 stations on the L9 Sud, where the airport ticket is €5.90 each way.
Pickpockets. The L3 metro around Liceu and Drassanes, Las Ramblas, the crowd outside the Sagrada Família and the beach are where it happens. Phone in a front pocket, bag zipped and in front of you, nothing left on the sand while you swim. The stranger who hugs you or spills something on you is working with someone behind you.
Meal hours and the menú del día. Lunch runs 2 to 4 p.m. and dinner starts at 9 p.m.; kitchens are closed between about 4:30 and 8:30 p.m. The menú del día is a weekday lunch of three courses with bread and a drink for €13 to €18. Small shops close from about 2 to 5 p.m. and most shops close on Sunday, as does the Boqueria market.
The beach. Highs are about 77°F (25°C) in June, 84°F (29°C) in August, 79°F (26°C) in September and 72°F (22°C) in October, and the sea reaches about 79°F (26°C) in August. Swim from June to September; September and October are the wettest months.
On the day. Work backwards from the Park Güell gate, not the metro station, and allow for the steep walk up. Eat the menú del día at 2 p.m. so you are not hungry at 7, and buy the airport metro ticket separately at the machine. Put the slot times on the stops in Waystop and its hours check will flag the Picasso Museum on a Monday.