Silver Ray - Western Mediterranean: Barcelona to Monte Carlo

Where this cruise calls, day by day

8 ports and 1 sea day over 8 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

   Palamos

   SpainPort

   A Costa Brava fishing town on a deep bay, still landing a daily catch that gets auctioned in the afternoon - the local prawns are a regional speciality. The town is low-key and the beach is right there, but most passengers head inland to Girona or up to Figueres. Cruise calls here are a small enough affair that the town does not feel taken over.

   • The Museu de la Pesca and the working fish auction on the quay
   • Girona's medieval Jewish Quarter and cathedral steps, about 45 minutes away
   • The Dali Theatre-Museum in Figueres, roughly an hour inland
   • The Cap Roig gardens and the coastal path at Calella de Palafrugell

   Getting ashore

   Ships normally berth alongside in the harbour with a short walk into town, though smaller vessels occasionally anchor and tender.

   Best months

   May-Jun and Sep-Oct

3. Day 3

   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)

4. Day 4

   Valencia

   SpainPort

   Spain's third city, and the birthplace of paella - the rice dish comes from the Albufera lagoon just south of town. Valencia's silk exchange and central market anchor a well-preserved old quarter, while Calatrava's white City of Arts and Sciences occupies a drained riverbed that now runs through the city as a nine-kilometre park. The two halves are far enough apart that you generally pick one.

   • The City of Arts and Sciences, including the Oceanografic aquarium
   • Mercado Central and La Lonja de la Seda, the Gothic silk exchange
   • The Turia gardens, laid out in the old river channel
   • Paella at El Palmar on the Albufera lagoon

   Getting ashore

   The cruise terminal is 4-5 km from the centre in the commercial port; take the shuttle, a taxi or the bus rather than walking.

   Best months

   Apr-Jun and Sep-Oct (mid-Mar for Las Fallas, if you want the fireworks)

5. Day 5 · At sea

6. Day 6

   Alghero

   ItalyPort

   Alghero is a walled Catalan town on Sardinia's northwest coast - Aragon took it in the fourteenth century and the local dialect is still a form of Catalan, with street signs in both languages. The sea walls and bastions are the best of it, walkable end to end at sunset. Cruise calls are infrequent and the harbour is a small fishing and marina port.

   • The bastions and sea walls of the old town, and the cobbled lanes inside them
   • Neptune's Grotto at Capo Caccia, by boat or down the Escala del Cabirol steps
   • The Nuraghe di Palmavera, a Bronze Age stone tower complex outside town
   • Local red coral, still the town's craft speciality

   Getting ashore

   Alghero's harbour is a small fishing and leisure port, so cruise ships generally anchor off and tender in; some itineraries use Porto Torres, 30km north, instead.

   Best months

   May-Jun and Sep-Oct

7. Day 7

   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

8. Day 8

   St. Tropez

   FrancePort

   A fishing village that became shorthand for Riviera money in the 1950s and has been trading on it since. The Vieux Port is still lined with ochre houses and pastel shutters, now with superyachts moored bow-in where the fishing boats used to be. Only smaller ships call here, and the town gets uncomfortably full when several are in at once.

   • The Vieux Port and the artists' easels along the quay
   • Musee de l'Annonciade, a strong Pointillist and Fauvist collection in a former chapel
   • The Citadelle and its maritime history museum, above the town
   • Place des Lices market on Tuesday and Saturday mornings

   Getting ashore

   A tender port - ships anchor in the gulf and tenders land at the Vieux Port, right in the middle of town.

   Best months

   May-Jun and Sep (Jul-Aug is gridlocked)

9. Day 9

   Monte Carlo

   MonacoArrive

   Monaco is two square kilometres of banked hillside, and a cruise call drops you at the bottom of it in Port Hercule. Everything is walkable if you are willing to climb, or you can use the public lifts that thread up through the rock. The appeal is concentrated and unapologetically expensive: the casino, the palace, and a harbour of boats worth more than the ship.

   • The Casino de Monte-Carlo and the square in front of the Hotel de Paris
   • The Musee Oceanographique, built into the cliff face at Monaco-Ville
   • The Prince's Palace and the changing of the guard just before noon
   • Walking the Grand Prix circuit - the tunnel and the Rascasse hairpin are ordinary streets

   Getting ashore

   Larger ships anchor in the bay and tender into Port Hercule while smaller ones come alongside the Quai Rainier III jetty; either way you land in the middle of town.

   Best months

   Apr-Jun and Sep-Oct (May is Grand Prix month - spectacular, but the town is fenced off)