Palau concert tickets

What the concert is

The concert is billed as a tribute to Paco de Lucía, played by three guitarists described as the Barcelona Guitar Trio, with flamenco dancers and a percussionist, in the concert hall of the Palau de la Música Catalana. The booking page gives about 1.5 hours, and every date in the calendar has a start time of its own. Visitors who have reviewed the show praise the setting, the musicians and the dancers, and one calls it a taste of flamenco in which the guitar trio takes the lead. Treat the line-up on the page for your date as the one that counts. The booking page lists local taxes, live entertainment and entry to the Palau among what the ticket covers. Its highlights name Spanish guitar, flamenco guitar and flamenco dance.

The hall behind the ticket

Lluís Domènech i Montaner built the Palau between 1905 and 1908 as the headquarters of the Orfeó Català, a choral society, and, the Palau says, public subscription helped to pay for it. The Palau says it is the only concert hall to be declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, on 4 December 1997. Its concert hall is crowned by a central skylight that represents the sun, with muses around the stage and Wagner's Valkyries emerging from the ceiling. Much of what you pay for is the setting, so look up before the music starts, and read the history guide if you want the full story.

Read next: Palau history and design

The names on the bill

The organiser names Manuel de Falla, Federico García Lorca, Chick Corea and Paco de Lucía among the sources of the programme. De Lucía, born in Algeciras in 1947, was one of the first flamenco guitarists to branch into classical and jazz, which is why a guitar trio can sit between those worlds. Programmes can change from date to date, so do not book for one particular piece. If a composer matters to you, ask the booking page whether your date names the pieces, and read the guide to the tribute for the background on each name.

Read next: Paco de Lucía tribute

Platea, first floor or second floor

The booking page names three categories: Platea on the ground floor, the first floor and the second floor. It also says two categories are offered, Platea and the second floor, so the calendar for your date has the final word on what is open. Groups who buy two or more tickets together are seated together, and seat numbers are shown when you collect your tickets. Because the numbers come only at collection, you choose a category when you book, not a seat, so the category is the one decision that is yours. Seat numbers are shown only at collection, so a category is a promise about the floor, not about a row.

What the reviews say about seats

Reviews on the booking page praise the venue, the musicians and the dancers, and describe the show as polished. A few mention views blocked from certain seats and ask for clearer guidance on the better sections. One reviewer says the seat gave a poor view because the dancers' area was so far in front. That points to the ground floor as the safer pick if the dancers are your main reason for coming, while the upper floors give you height and the hall's decoration. It is an inference from reviews, not a seating plan, so look at the plan on the booking page.

Collecting your ticket

Ticket collection is where visitors most often slip. The booking page says your mobile voucher must be exchanged for a physical ticket before you enter the hall. Tickets are collected from the organiser's staff, not at the Palau's own box office, and the product photos show where. Collection runs from about an hour before the show, and doors open about 30 minutes before it. Read the instructions in your confirmation the day before, and give yourself time to find the collection point, because the meeting-point note only tells you to look at the photos. For a party, buy the tickets in one booking so that everyone is placed together.

• Exchange the mobile voucher for a paper ticket before entering
• Collect from the organiser's staff, not the Palau box office
• Use the product photos to find the collection point
• Seat numbers appear when you collect

A concert or a visit to the building

Concert and visit are separate tickets. The Palau's own visit page says visits and concerts are separate, that concert tickets are bought independently, and that a visit lasts about 50 minutes. A self-guided visit to the building is on the booking site as its own ticket, sold by the Palau, and it suits a daytime slot. If you want to hear the hall as well as see it, book the concert, and do the building visit on another day. The tour-or-concert guide sets the two out side by side. A visit also takes you through the foyer, the grand staircase and the Lluís Millet hall.

Read next: Palau tour or concert?

The Palau's own concerts

This concert is run by a separate organiser, not by the Palau, which also sells its own concerts online and at its ticket office. The Palau's programme page lists cycles and festivals that include flamenco, guitar and piano series, so a guitar evening may also exist through the Palau directly, with its own dates and rules. Compare the calendars before you book. The booking on this site gives you a calendar of dates with a guitar and dance tribute, a ticket collected from the organiser's staff, and the booking site's own terms. The Palau's own box office sells tickets online and at the venue, subject to availability. Series named on its programme page include Arte Flamenco and Maestros de la Guitarra.

This concert or a small flamenco room

The Palau holds a large audience and a polished programme. A flamenco bar offers something else: a small room, a short show and a drink. One short flamenco show in central Barcelona, with a drink included in selected seating, runs about 55 minutes, and its ticket is separate. The two evenings answer different wishes. Choose the Palau for the hall and the guitar tribute, and a small room for the closeness of the dancers' feet. The flamenco guide goes into the difference.

Read next: Is it a flamenco show?

Who this isn't for

A reviewer who loved the evening still says it is not the tourist-style flamenco show. Anyone after a dinner, a drink in the hand and dancers a metre away should book a small room instead. If stairs are a problem, ask the booking page about seating before you pay, since the upper categories are on the upper floors. A fixed set list is not on offer, because programmes can change. And for a look at the building alone, a visit ticket is the more direct choice. If someone in your party needs step-free access, ask before you pay: the Palau lists lifts to every floor, but the organiser sets the seating.

Booking checklist

Before you pay, run through these points. They cover most of the questions that arrive after booking, and each one is something the booking page or your confirmation answers for your date. Do this check on a computer if you can, because the seat plan and the product photos are easier to read on a larger screen, and the photos are what you will rely on to find the collection point.

• Pick a date in the calendar and check which seat categories are open
• Choose the category by what you want to see
• Note the collection point and the voucher exchange
• Bring a passport or ID card for any child
• Remember that infants under 24 months do not need a ticket