Resilient Lady - Western Mediterranean from Barcelona

Where this cruise calls, day by day

7 ports and 1 sea day over 7 Nights.

1. Day 1

   Barcelona

   SpainDepart

   The busiest cruise port in Europe, and for many Western Mediterranean itineraries the place the whole trip starts or ends. Barcelona is a full-scale city rather than a port town: Gaudi's unfinished basilica, a dense medieval quarter, and a working waterfront all within a few metro stops. Ships berth on a long industrial mole well outside the centre, so the day begins with a bus ride rather than a gangway stroll.

   • Sagrada Familia - book a timed entry well ahead; walk-ups are usually turned away
   • Park Guell and the Gaudi mosaics on Carmel hill
   • The Gothic Quarter and Barcelona Cathedral, on foot from Placa de Catalunya
   • La Boqueria market and a walk down La Rambla to the Columbus monument

   Getting ashore

   All cruise ships now use the Moll d'Adossat terminals roughly 3 km from the old city; the paid blue Portbus shuttle runs to the foot of La Rambla, and walking out is not practical.

   Best months

   Apr-Jun and Sep-Oct (Jul-Aug is hot, crowded and expensive)

2. Day 2

   La Spezia

   ItalyPort

   La Spezia is a naval town at the head of a deep gulf, and ships call because the Cinque Terre villages start about fifteen minutes up the coastal railway. The town is workmanlike - a good market street, a naval museum - so the day belongs to the train. Trail passes and village crowding are both genuine constraints in high summer.

   • Riomaggiore, Manarola, Vernazza and Monterosso on the Cinque Terre Express train
   • Portovenere and the island of Palmaria, reached by boat across the gulf
   • The Museo Tecnico Navale beside the naval arsenal
   • The Via del Prione market street and the covered market at Piazza Cavour

   Getting ashore

   Ships dock at Molo Garibaldi with a shuttle into town; La Spezia Centrale station is where you pick up the Cinque Terre trains.

   Best months

   May-Jun and Sep (Jul-Aug the villages are genuinely overloaded)

3. Day 3

   Rome (Civitavecchia)

   ItalyPort

   Civitavecchia is a working port town on the Tyrrhenian coast, and it is not Rome - the city is about 80km southeast, roughly 80 minutes each way. Budget for that honestly: a Rome day is some four hours of transit bracketing whatever you actually see. The port has Fort Michelangelo on the quay and good fish-market lunches, a real option if you have done Rome before.

   • St Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museums, with a timed entry booked well ahead
   • The Colosseum and the Roman Forum, a short walk apart on the Termini side
   • The Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain on a walking loop of the centro storico
   • Fort Michelangelo and the Terme Taurine Roman baths, for a day that stays in Civitavecchia

   Getting ashore

   Ships dock in Civitavecchia and a free shuttle runs to the port gate at Largo della Pace, from where it is a short walk to the station and a 70-80 minute train into Rome.

   Best months

   Apr-Jun and Sep-Oct (Jul-Aug hot, and the Rome queues are brutal)

4. Day 4

   Ajaccio

   FrancePort

   Corsica's largest town and Napoleon's birthplace, which the town has never let anyone forget - his statues, his family house and his name are all over the centre. Ajaccio is more relaxed than the Riviera ports, with a good covered market and a genuinely first-rate art collection assembled by Napoleon's uncle. The mountains behind the town rise fast, and the coastline west of the harbour is the scenic draw.

   • Maison Bonaparte, the family home where Napoleon was born
   • Musee Fesch and its collection of Italian Renaissance and Baroque painting
   • The morning market on Place Foch and the Rue Cardinal Fesch
   • A boat trip out to the Iles Sanguinaires at the mouth of the gulf

   Getting ashore

   Ships berth at the Quai l'Herminier or the Quai des Torpilleurs, both a few minutes' walk from the market and old town; larger vessels sometimes tender.

   Best months

   May-Jun and Sep-Oct

5. Day 5

   Marseille

   FrancePort

   France's oldest city and its largest port, founded by Greek traders around 600 BC and still visibly a working, unpolished place. The Vieux-Port is the centre of gravity, with the Notre-Dame de la Garde basilica on the hill above and the limestone inlets of the Calanques to the south. Marseille also serves as the gateway to Provence, with Aix-en-Provence about 40 minutes inland.

   • Notre-Dame de la Garde and the panorama over the harbour and islands
   • MuCEM and the Fort Saint-Jean footbridges at the harbour mouth
   • Le Panier, the hillside old quarter behind the Vieux-Port
   • A boat trip into the Calanques or a coach to Aix-en-Provence

   Getting ashore

   The cruise terminals sit in the commercial port several kilometres north of the centre, so a shuttle bus to the Joliette or Vieux-Port area is effectively compulsory.

   Best months

   May-Jun and Sep-Oct (the mistral can blow cold and hard in spring)

6. Day 6 · At sea

7. Day 7

   Palma de Mallorca

   SpainPort

   Mallorca's capital wraps around a wide bay with a sandstone Gothic cathedral, La Seu, standing right on the seafront where you can see it from the ship. Beyond the cathedral there is a genuine old town of narrow lanes, courtyards and patio bars that has nothing to do with the package-holiday coast further east. Most calls are long enough to add a mountain drive or a beach afternoon.

   • La Seu cathedral and the adjacent Almudaina royal palace
   • Bellver Castle, a circular hilltop fortress with views over the whole bay
   • The Passeig del Born and the old-town lanes around Placa Major
   • A drive over the Serra de Tramuntana to Valldemossa or Soller

   Getting ashore

   Ships dock at the Estacio Maritima terminals on the western side of the harbour, about 3-4 km from the cathedral; take the shuttle, the number 1 bus or a taxi.

   Best months

   May-Jun and Sep-Oct (Jul-Aug is very busy)

8. Day 8

   Barcelona

   SpainArrive

   The busiest cruise port in Europe, and for many Western Mediterranean itineraries the place the whole trip starts or ends. Barcelona is a full-scale city rather than a port town: Gaudi's unfinished basilica, a dense medieval quarter, and a working waterfront all within a few metro stops. Ships berth on a long industrial mole well outside the centre, so the day begins with a bus ride rather than a gangway stroll.

   • Sagrada Familia - book a timed entry well ahead; walk-ups are usually turned away
   • Park Guell and the Gaudi mosaics on Carmel hill
   • The Gothic Quarter and Barcelona Cathedral, on foot from Placa de Catalunya
   • La Boqueria market and a walk down La Rambla to the Columbus monument

   Getting ashore

   All cruise ships now use the Moll d'Adossat terminals roughly 3 km from the old city; the paid blue Portbus shuttle runs to the foot of La Rambla, and walking out is not practical.

   Best months

   Apr-Jun and Sep-Oct (Jul-Aug is hot, crowded and expensive)