The city of Barcelona is very high on my list of favourite destinations. It is a buzzing hub where - somewhat paradoxically - relaxing is easy. The city has attained a high score on the yuppie hip meter, but it is just as enjoyable for old folk and young students alike. Every couple of years I find myself drawn to it, there is something in the vibrant Barcelona mix that makes it incredibly addictive.Barcelona has just about everything you could wish for: architecture, history, museums, nightlife, beaches, hills... It is terribly difficult having to choose between all the dishes on the city's menu, so I hope to make the choosing a little bit easier.
Getting there
Quite a few low budget airlines offer flights to Barcelona at reasonable prices (last time I paid sixty euros all in return). Most fly to Girona, a little over a hundred kilometres from the city. Three transport options are available once at Girona airport: car hire, train or bus (Sagalés). By far the easiest way is by bus - Ryanair flight times coincide with bus schedules. It is also a fairly cheap option: nineteen euros for a return fare; the ride is about an hour and ten minutes. Be sure to take the bus that goes directly to Barcelona, not the one that goes through Girona first! Also take note that tickets must be purchased either at the airport or online, as the airlines do not sell them.
The bus goes to the Estacio del Nord, from where it is a short walking distance to the city centre. If you have a lot of baggage, there are usually a few taxis around and fares are relatively inexpensive.
Places to sleep
It of course depends on what you are looking for, but I always go for the cheapskate option: a hostel. The best one in Barcelona in my opinion, is Kabul Hostel on the Plaça Reial, smack bang in the city centre. It is ridiculously good value for money - especially if you go for a dorm bed - prices starting from about sixteen euros per night (including free breakfast and dinner); check out the website for details.
I keep referring to hostelworld, but this website offers a great range of all types of accomodation; if you are with a large group and want to stay on for quite a while, it would be a good idea to rent an apartment.
Another good option would be free lodgings. Yup, free. This requires some googling, but there are people who let you apartment-sit while they are away, or just let you stay at theirs for a couple of days without having to pay for lodgings. I myself haven't tried this yet, but I think it is well worth looking into.
For those of you wanting to stay outside of the city, there are quite a few campings around Barcelona, a quick search on the web comes up with campings as close as twelve kilometres to the city (camping Tres Estrellas).
Getting around
Barcelona has a brilliant public transport system: very user-friendly and not too expensive. Most of it is operated by TMB, Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona. I would strongly recommend buying a tourist and leisure ticket: they go from ten euros for two days to a little over twenty euros for five days. These tickets allow you to travel on the TMB metro and bus network, Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat urban lines, Renfe's Rodalies train network and the tram. It excludes the tourist buses and funiculars. You can purchase tickets on the TMB site or at the metro stations. I suggest buying a map of the city with a metro map included, which makes it very easy to find your way around.
The city also has quite a few information kiosks, where they speak English and/or French; very convenient if you find you are not such a dab hand at reading maps.
One note of caution: mind your handbags and rucksacks, as in every city, tourists are an easy target and the metro is one of the pickpocket's favourite stomping grounds.
Things to see and do
I have chosen the Plaça de Catalunya (PdC) as a starting point for its central location; a lot of buses leave from/come through here, and the metro station provides good connections to other stations.
The city's famous Ramblas start from the Plaça and go all the way down to Mare Magnum; here are a few higlights:
- Plaça Reial (left hand side coming from PdC): pretty square, Hostel Kabul is located here. An absolute must if you want to lunch or dine at a good restaurant, is Les Quince Nits, very popular and not too expensive but quite a long queue if you don't show up a bit early!
- La Boquería (right hand side coming from PdC): market halls offering a plethora of fresh fruit, vegetables, dried fruits & nuts, meat & fish...If you are a bit peckish, pop down and treat yourself to a delicious fruit salad or an all-fruit smoothie.
As mentioned above, at the end of the Ramblas (Columbus's column) you will find Mare Magnum, a shopping and cinema centre (there is even a club on the top floor).
If you cross Mare Magnum and walk to the beach of Barceloneta, you can go left to the pretty Palau del Mar and a bit further to see famous Frank Gehry's Fish. If you go right, you can walk to the cable car tower. Here you can take the cable car to Montjuïc, one of Barcelona's hills. It offers beautiful views of the harbour and the city. At Montjuïc, you can visit the Olympic Complex and go for a stroll in the park halfway up the hill. To go down, there are two options: walking to the Plaça de España (best option, as you will pass the palacio and quite an impressive set of steps) or taking the funicular. From there you can take the bus or metro back into the city centre.
Starting out again from the PdC walking towards the sea, you will pass the Barri Gòtic and El Call, the old city centre - be sure to visit the cathedral. You can spend quite a while here shopping, dining, sauntering...
With your back to the PdC, you can go left to the Parc de la Ciutadella to relax after all the walking you have been doing. You are likely to find acrobats and hippies playing guitar, entertainment and relaxation at the same time!
At the other side of the Ramblas, opposite the Barri Gòtic, lies El Raval. This cool quarter has undergone quite a bit of rejuvenation, but it would be best to avoid this area late at night (that goes for most of Barcelona's little streets). Things to visit here are the Palau de la Virreina and the Museo d'Art Contemporani.
North of the PdC lies the Passeig de Gracia. There is so much to see and do there, that it would be best to take a look on your map and decide which museums and casas you would like to visit. One of the most famous casas is Gaudí's Casa Milà, definitely worth a visit.
One of the city's must-sees is of course the Sagrada Familia, a stunning piece of architecture. Keep in mind that if you are going to visit it (as in going inside), you might be queuing for the better part of an hour.
It is easily reachable by metro and not very far from Domenech's Hospital de Sant Pau, also an architectural highlight.
From the Sagrada, you can go on to Parc Güell, an absolute jewel of a park. It is a bit of a walk from the nearest metro station, but they help you out with signs everywhere. If you go up by the way indicated from the Lesseps station, you get a bonus thrown in: escalators! It saves you the very steep climb but lets you enjoy the views.
If you don't feel like walking too much, you can take bus 24 (Paral.lel - Carmel) from the Passeig de Gracia. It takes about thirty minutes, but it stops very close to the park (eighteenth stop).
On the other side of Barcelona, opposite Montjuïc, lies Mont Tibidabo. You can go up there by bus and tram, but it would be good to check if public transport will run during your visit. I believe they have made some changes since February 2007, or that at least is what this article tells me.
Tibidabo offers some beautiful views of the city (especially at dusk), and entertainment for everyone at the amusement park.
Finally, for those of us who enjoy the nightlife, you can go down to Vila Olimpica (metro station by the same name) where you will find a short stretch of club after club, with free drinks galore. Cocktails start from three euros, tipsyness from six and major window-humping, backing up and stranger-snogging from fifteen. Making your way back is best done by taxi, but one word of advice (sounds rather dumb, but please take it to heart, I speak out of experience): make sure at least one of you is sober enough to know where you are going, the area is rather seedy.
You will also find a quite few clubs spread throughout the city; Fellini's on the Ramblas is very popular, so is Jamboree right next to hostel Kabul.
I think that you are all set to go, enjoy your citytrip!
