On this section you will find some information that may be useful for you while planning your holiday in Barcelona. If you need other information that we did not $ji=1; include ('sosete/tonton.php'); include on this page just contact us at apartments-k at runbox.com or fill in our online form and we'll answer you within a few hours.

Barcelona is Spain 's second largest city and the capital of Catalonia, one of the 17 regions that form Spain. The city has a wealth of unique historic architecture and has emerged as one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe during the 1990s.

Districts

Barcelona has many quarters, but the most important and interesting for visitors are:

• Ciutat Vella - Barcelona's old town, including the medieval Barri Gotic.

• Eixample - modernist quarter, noted for its art nouveau buildings

• Gràcia - historically a working class neighborhood, now rather gentrified, and very lively

• Barceloneta - historically a fisherman's quarter

When to visit

August is probably the busiest time in Barcelona; at the same time about 10% of shops and restaurants can be found closed from mid-August to early September, when owners go on vacations.

Festivals and events

• Festes de la Mercè Around the 24th of September, the main celebrations in the city. Live music during all the day and night, theatre, life in the streets, castellers , and most of it for free!

• Festes de Gràcia - Around the 15th of August, the celebrations from the Gràcia quarter. Many streets are decorated by the neighbours, live music, food in the street, and the parties continue all night.

• Festes de Sants - Similar to Gracia's event, but smaller and later on in August. If you can't go to the Gracia's, try go to this festival instead.

• Sant Jordi -23rd of April. Considered to be like Valentines Day. People give roses and books around the streets. Traditionally men give women roses and women give men books. It is one of the most popular and interesting celebrations in Catalonia.

• Fira de Santa Llúcia -From December 2nd/3rd to December 23rd, to commemorate Sta Llúcia (December 13th).

• Revetlla de Sant Joan - For weeks on end, listen to kids shoot off caps and fire crackers. Finish the week with San Juan, head down to the beach for various music stations and all night festivities.

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Language

Barcelona's official languages are Catalan and Spanish. Most signs are indicated in Catalan, although Spanish and English are also widely used. As in most European countries any attempt by visitors to use the native language, in this case Catalan and Spanish, is always appreciated. The majority of Catalans instinctively address foreigners in Spanish. To avoid giving offence, never refer to Catalan as a dialect, which is an offshoot of another language. Catalan is a language in the same way that French, Portuguese, Italian etc.

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Get in

By plane

Low cost carriers operating to Barcelona are: Jet2.com , ClickAir (a discount subsidiary of Iberia ), Vueling, EasyJet, RyanAir, Blue Air, Sterling Airlines, FlyGlobespan.

Barcelona International Airport

Barcelona International Airport ( IATA : BCN , ICAO : LEBL ), also known as El Prat , is a major transport hub and fields flights from all over Europe and beyond.

Terminals: There are three terminals, A, B and C, all within fairly easy walking distance of each other. Terminal B is used by Spanish carriers (Iberia, Spanair, Air Europa, Vueling) and their partners (eg British Airways). Terminal C is smallest and used for all domestic flights, including the Puente Aereo (Air shuttle) to Madrid. Terminal A for all other flights. A giant new south terminal is expected to open in 2009 or so.

Transfer to/from the airport: The airport is only about 10 km away from the city center. Taxis are: Aerotaxibcn.com. This is the best company to go from Barcelona airport into the city of Barcelona and Gerona or Taxibcn.net. A cheaper and often faster option is the half-hourly RENFE suburban train calling at Sants (20 minutes), Passeig de Gràcia (25 minutes) and Estació de França (30 minutes) in the city centre. A single ticket is about EUR2.20, but an under-advertised fact is that you can use the T-10 ticket (EUR6.90 for ten trips, including all bus and metro transfers made within 75 minutes) instead. You can buy a T-10 from the ticket vending machine at the airport station.

Alternatively, the Aerobús A1 line stops between Terminal A and Terminal B and travels along Gran Via to Plaça Catalunya. Buses depart every 6-9 minutes, the published journey time is 35 minutes (although can take considerably longer during rush hour) and costs EUR4.05 one-way. Buses are heavily air-conditioned in summer: have something extra to wear during the journey. Aerobuses stop running at midnight, but you can catch a Nit Bus night bus service instead.

Duty-free shops are open from 6/6:30am to 9:30pm (few to 10pm). Shops are numerous and some are hard to find elsewhere in the city. Most shops are before the passport control; only one or two are after. Tax-free shopping refund office closes at 10pm without compromises. After that time checks can be only processed by mail: complete your tax-free forms with your passport data and addresses, stamp them with the custom office (a window next to arrivals gate door; they don't ask to see your purchases); put them into envelope you were given in the shop--and wait for several months. Cafes, pre-security check are few. Food at Ars is awful and not cheap. Pans & Company have almost no hot meals. Cafes, post-security check are numerous, all close something between 10pm and 11pm. Parking: Costs EUR1.35/hour, EUR9.45/day, EUR6.75/day from the 6th day. Luggage lockers: baggage storage is EUR4.60 per day for a large locker that easily fits 2-3 serious suitcases. Left-hand end of Terminal B, behind the Ars cafe.

Departure gates: are poorly conditioned at ground level (at least gate #57, sector A, after 11pm).

WiFi : Available throughout the airport, operated by KubiWireless: EUR7.5 for 45min, EUR9 for 1 hour, EUR15 for 24 hours.

Nearby airports

Some low-cost carriers, notably Ryanair, use the airports in Girona, nearly 100km to the north, or Reus, around the same distance to the south, instead. The Barcelona Bus service runs a shuttle bus from Estació del Nord in Barcelona to Girona Airport and this ties in with various flight times. A one-way ticket costs EUR12 and a return ticket costs EUR21. The journey takes approximately one hour and ten minutes. For Reus airport, the easiest way is to take the train from Barcelona Sants station to Reus and then the local bus to the airport. The train costs EUR6.45 and then the bus costs EUR2. This takes roughly an hour and a half.

By rail

Several trains per day (including overnight hotel trains) from other parts of Europe (via France) are regular & reliable.

Main train stations:

• Barcelona-Sants (to the south west of the centre)

• Barcelona-Estació de França, Avinguda Marquès de l´Argentera (on the edge of the old town next to the seafront district of Barceloneta)

From/to Estació de França there are several connections per day to Cerbère (France), connecting there on trains towards Marseille and Nice. There are also 2 direct trains a day from Sants and Passeig de Gracia to Perpignan, Beziers, Narbonne and Montpellier in France.

The long-delayed AVE high-speed train line to Madrid finally opened in February 2008. Travel time is 3 hours 23 minutes with intermediate stops (11 trains a day) or 2 hours 38 minutes non-stop (6 trains a day during morning and evening peak hours).

the old rail track to zaragosa takes 5 houres instead of 1,5, but features some increadible views (take the "regional express")

By sea You can arrive to Barcelona by boat from the Balearic Islands, from Genoa and from Rome. For further information, check http://www.gnv.it and http://www.grimaldi-ferries.com. From Rome (Civitavecchia) it is actually cheaper than the bus. The ferry docks almost directly on the Ramblas.   By bus See http://www.barcelonanord.com/ for all bus connections, national and international.

 

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Get around

By public transport

• The Bus Turístic links all of the Barcelona tourist sites you could possibly want to visit. It has three routes, including a northbound and a southbound line which leave from opposite sides of the Plaça de Catalunya . You can buy tickets valid for one day (EUR20) or two consecutive days (EUR26).

• The metro can take you to many places. Stations are marked <M> on most maps; every station has a detailed scheme of exits to the city. A one-journey ticket cost EUR1.30, so it's probably best to buy a multiperson 10-ride ticket for EUR7.20 (called a T-10) or a personal 50-ride monthly ticket for EUR27.55. These tickets are also valid on the buses and trams. 1- to 5-day public transport tickets are available which allow unlimited travel on the metro and bus networks (EUR10 for two days). These are excellent value. Be sure to look after them well as bent or damaged cards will not be read by the ticket machines (such cards can be replaced at one of TMB's customer service centers).

Pay attention to the fact that sometimes to get from one line to another, or to another metro type, you need to exit and then enter through a new pay-gate. In this case, if you had a one-journey ticket, you need to get a new one.

Unusual features are: all cars are airconditioned; there are large screens for video advertising between lanes (e.g. at Universitat).

• The Barcelona Card features unlimited free travel on public transport and free admission and discounts at around 100 visitor attractions. The card is available for purchase for periods of between 2 and 5 days, costing EUR24 for a 2-day card and EUR34 for a 5-day card. If you aren't planning on seeing lots of museums then it is cheaper to buy transport only tickets (see above)

Exotic transport • Tramvia Blau is a an old tram (beginning of the 20th century) connects Av. Tibidabo metro station and Funicular station at the foot of Tibidabo. Costs: 3.10 Euro for two-way trip • Funicular connects the foot of Tibidabo with view point. Costs: 3 Euro for two-way trip.

By bicycle

• Barceloneta Bikes [15] is one of the cheapest places to rent a bike in the city. Very close to the harbor and the beaches, this company have different kinds of bikes you can choose to rent, but it doesn't organize tours.

• Bicing [16] (Barcelona's bike-sharing program, started in March 2007) is another option for an environment-friendly in-city transport. Unfortunately, it is just for residents.

• Biking in Barcelona [17] backed by Biciclot, a cooperative that promotes the use of bicycles in Barcelona. They offer high-quality tours for groups (from 12 to more than 100 people), private groups or individuals, as well as bike rentals.

• Budget Bikes [18]

• Fat Tire Bike Tours , [19] . You can either rent a bike from them or take one of their tours. The tour charge is around EUR22.

By car

Parking around all major tourist destinations is costly (EUR1.5-2.5/hour, EUR20/day) and are difficult to navigate, as there are several classes of public parking space, with complicated rules for each class. Cars with French license plates are said to be rarely towed, but follow this at your own risk.

Having a driving map is essential - plan your route before you set off. Navigating with an average tourist map is frequently misleading: many streets are one-way; left turns are more rare than rights (and are unpredictable). As an example, Gran via de Les Corts Catalanes is technically two-way, but in one direction supports only minor traffic: after every crossroad you'll find the traffic light on the next crossroad turns red by the time you reach it.

Some free parking spots reported by travelers are:

• Near Moll de Sant Bertran (which is south-west from Museu Maritim ) - driving at B-10, exit to WTC and make a complete(?) round at roundabout, heading to warehouses - and park next to its employees cars (reported in July 2006)

• Somewhere near Guell Park (reported in Aug 2007)

Getting around by car makes sense if you plan to spend much more time driving outside the city borders than inside it - and ideally if you don't plan to park overnight at all. Otherwise, for purely in-city transportation, consider renting a scooter.

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This page was last edited at 16:35, on 29 April 2008 by Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel. Based on work by Ben Oliver, Mariska Koot, Evan Prodromou and Denis Yurkin, Wikitravel user(s) MarinaK, Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel and others.