We took two cruises, each of which ended up with two days in Barcelona. From these two trips, we learned that to properly see the sights of Barcelona takes more than four days. I will list the places we saw, ranked in…Read More

We took two cruises, each of which ended up with two days in Barcelona. From these two trips, we learned that to properly see the sights of Barcelona takes more than four days. I will list the places we saw, ranked in order from best to least interesting.

1] Gaudi. Other cities have grand boulevards, like Barcelona’s Las Ramblas. Other cites have have great cathedrals, like Barcelona. Other cities have ancient royal places, like Barcelona has. Other cites have old Medieval buildings, as does Barcelona. Other cities have interesting hills, like Barcelona, but nobody else has anything like the wildly creative, perhaps insane, architect, Antonio Gaudi (1852-1926). Four of Gaudi’s works in Barcelona are each standout attractions in their own right:
1] Casa Mila (fee) or La Pedrera is an apartment building on Passeig Gracia, near the Diagonal Metro stop. An impressive sight from the street, the star of the show is the roof terrace.
2] Casa Batllo’s spectacular exterior facade is just a couple blocks down Passeig Gracia from Casa Mila and it must be seen both after dark and in the daylight. Casa Battlo was a one family house and it has a very interesting interior and another good roof garden (fee).
3]Sagrada Familia, Gaudi’s version of a Gothic Cathedral begun in 1882 is still under construction, but most of the extravagant exterior is finished. The interior(fee) is not very far along, and probably not worth the price of admission.
4] Parc Guell (free) is Gaudi at his gaudy best, easily Barcelona’s top sight. Don’t miss it. In fact, make a trip just to see it. If you go on your own, follow the signs to the "Zona Monumental".

2] The Golden Square is a 100 square block area centered on Passeig Gracia reaching from the Diagonal More station toward the sea coast. The Golden Square is home to an impressive collection of Art Nouveau and Modernista buildings, producing some of the most rewarding street rambles anywhere (free).

3] Montjuic is a City park and home to several museums, grand buildings, great fountains, and the venues for the Barcelona Olympics. The terrace in front of the grandiose National Museum of Art offers fine views over the city. Montjuic can be reached by the toursit bus, city bus, or by cable car from the Paral-lel metro station.

4] The Cathedral neighborhood. Two trips to Barcelona, and on both we ended up going to see the Cathedral (free) during Sunday services when visitors are restricted to the rear of the church. We’ll try it again next trip because the vast church looks to be well worth a visit based on what can be seen from the restricted Sunday view.
A number of good sights are in the immediate vicinity of the Cathedral, especaily on Sunday afternoons when the natives are out doing their thing– a band was playing Catalonian folk music on the steps of the Cathedral while in the square below, the natives were dancing native dances. Every few blocks, some kind of musical or entertainment groups was performing.

Facing the Cathedral, go down the narrow street on the right and take the first doorway on the left to enter the cloister with palm trees and geese swimming in a very small pond.
Further along this street, there is a nice example of a Mediaeval street bridge connecting two buildings that are part of the Ecclesiastical complex. At the end of this street, turn left and go two blocks to the Palau Reial (the Royal Palace) (fee)--- a note: many names of places in Barcelona, like Palau Reial, don’t quite look like Spanish because the language of Barcelona is Catalonian, a dialect of Spanish.
What survives of the 14th Century Palau Reil (Royal Palace), turned out to be a fairly interesting museum (the Museum of the City of Barcelona). A couple of the great rooms of the old palace, the chapel and throne room, remain, but the most interesting part of the museum was the basement where part of the even older Roman city has been excavated within the walls of the medieval Royal Palace. Most of the tour of the Roman city is done on catwalks suspended above the Roman walls and streets. Look for the dye vats at the milliners where traces of the blue dye used to color Roman togas still stains the rock.

5] On our first trip to Barcelona, we missed Las Ramblas, Barcelona’s most famous street, so we set out for a ramble on Las Ramblas, quickly became bored with it, and went off to see Gaudi. I only list Las Ramblas as the #5 top sight in Barcelona because we have only so far visited the five sights listed. Based on Las Ramblas boredom rating, about the same as for Bern, Switzerland, I suspect that on future visits we will find many more places in Barcelona that are far more worthwhile than Las Ramblas. Skip it.

In addition to the above, Barcelona has many more museums, parks, and impressive buildings to visit.

Barcelona is a big city. Since our first trip there was on a guided our, we got a half day introductory bus tour to the city. An even better introduction to the City may be the Tourist Bus (16 Euros for a 24 hour ticket, about 22 Euros for a two day pass). There are three tourist bus routes– red, blue, and green– in the summer, but only two the rest of the year– no green. Each route overlaps the others to facilitate transfers, and each trip takes about 40 minutes to complete its circuit. The buses are double decker with an open top deck. As much of Barcelona charm is in its streetscapes, head for the upper deck so you will get an unrestricted view of the passing scene.
You can get on and off the tourist bus as many times as you like within the duration of your ticket.
The tourist bus stops at or near or almost near all the major sights and many minor sights. Note that the stop for the remarkable Parc Guell is at the bottom of a not inconsiderable hill which must be climbed to get the park entrance.

The web site for UK’s Foreign Office contains a lot of useful information on visiting other nations, especially warnings and problems of personal safety, for which it is far better that the US State Department’s advice because the Sate Department’s information is highly politicized, reflecting as much US propaganda as reality. So always consult the Foreign Office for safety tips.
Like the Foreign Office, lots of sources of advice to travelers to Barcelona warn of petty street crime in Barcelona, apparently assuming you think having all your money or passport stolen is a petty matter. Barcelona scores big when it comes to red flag warnings about street crime. Take these warnings seriously. In our four days in Barcelona, we experienced two attempts at robbery, none successful.
I will eventually add a tip to this journal detailing our experience with Barcelona street crime and how we prevented being robbed. Being prepared can make the difference between a good visit and a disaster.
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Piazza di Spagna - one of the largest squares of the city, was built to the International Exhibition in 1929 at the foot of Montjuic near Sants-Montjuic. That's the view from the mountain to the area you are now and see. In the center -…Read More

Piazza di Spagna - one of the largest squares of the city, was built to the International Exhibition in 1929 at the foot of Montjuic near Sants-Montjuic. That's the view from the mountain to the area you are now and see.
In the center - a fountain designed by Josep Maria Jujol, member of Antoni Gaudi, and sculptures by his side created by Miquel Blay. Buildings were designed by Nicolau Maria Rubio and Tuduri.
Next, see Venetian tower. The museum itself is behind me.
Their height is 47 m. They point the way to the National Museum of Catalan Art across the street, Avinguda de la Reina Maria Cristina.

Who cares, the history of the area in the abridged version: the square was built on the site, which was previously used for public executions. Following the establishment in 1715 the fortress citadel, to date destroyed, the gallows were moved into the castle. The area was designed in 1915, and was built in 1929 and was ready to take the World's Fair in 1929 In 1928, the dictator Miguel Primo de Rivera, who at the time headed the Spanish government ordered the dismantling four Ionic columns, known as Les quatre columns. These pillars symbolizing the four bands on the flag of Catalonia, and the decree of Miguel Primo de Rivera on their dismantling part of its policy of total prohibition of the Catalan character.

Reaching the square fastest on the subway. Spain station (lines L1, L3, L8).
And this is the Plaza de Toros. The old arena for bullfights. Tuned to the mall. Bullfighting in Catalonia is not popular.

National Art Museum of Catalonia or MNAC - Museum of Catalan Art, is the main museum in Barcelona, he is in the National Palace, built for the International Exhibition of 1929.
It is situated on a hill Montjuïc at the end of the Avinguda de la Reina Maria Cristina, the palace was renovated for the Summer Olympic Games in 1992.

The museum houses an amazing collection of Romanesque art (eg, wall painting in the Romanesque churches and chapels near Catalonia, which has been moved to the museum), Gothic Art (Catalan Art XIII-XV centuries), the art of the Renaissance, Baroque and contemporary art. tdel drawings and prints, photography and numismatics department: coins, medals and paper money from the VI century BC. er. and to this day.

Hours: Mon-Sat 10.00-19.00, Sun and holidays 10.00-14.30, closed on 1 January, 1 May and 25 December
Ticket price: Tue-Wed, Fri-Sun 05.08?, temporary exhibitions Tue-Wed, Fri-Sun 5evro, museum and temporary exhibitions Tue-Wed, Fri-Sun 12evro, Fri after 18.00, for children aged 7 to 21 years and persons over 65 years Tue-Sun 30% discount, the first Thursday of the month admission is free.
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Time out is a publishing company based in London that publishes magazines and travel guides for international cities. When I am visiting a new place I usually buy the time out travel guide and I find it invaluable. The one I use the most has…Read More

Time out is a publishing company based in London that publishes magazines and travel guides for international cities. When I am visiting a new place I usually buy the time out travel guide and I find it invaluable. The one I use the most has to be the Barcelona city guide as this is my favourite city and the one I visit most often.

The guide contains everything you will probably ever need to know about the city; at the beginning of the Barcelona book it gives you some background on Barcelona and its complicated history from its start as a medieval city to its expansion in the 19th century. It also gives some information on what makes this city so unique from its language (Spanish is actually the second language of Barcelona the first being Catalan but everyone can speak both) to its architecture and food. The city was not the one we know today after the fall of the Franco regime and it wasn't until it won the right to host the 1992 Olympic Games and the subsequent program of regeneration that allowed the city to become one of the most popular cities in the world. This history is surprisingly in-depth and while it won't be of interest to the casual visitor to the city I found it fascinating.

The book then goes on to Barcelona's sights and it does this by breaking down the city into areas. Within each area the book goes into detail on what sights and attractions are available there. Not only does it mention the more famous ones but also some of the more out of the way sights that a tourist may not normally know about. This is where the book absolutely excels itself as it not only tells you about the sights but lets you know how to find them. A lot of travel books have a bad habit of telling you about a sight and telling the general area but if you are not familiar with the city then it can take you ages to find it.
Each site the book recommends it tells you a little about it so you can decide if you want to visit it and it also gives you the admission price and opening times. Throughout the book there are also gorgeous coloured photographs showing some of the sights of the city.

After the sights of the city the book has a chapter on where to stay. I have never actually used this as I always book online before I get there but I have looked through it and like the rest of the book it is extensive. It also lists the different areas of the city and within each gives you a list of accommodation details with expensive, mid range and budget options and also gives a small review of each of the hotels.

The book then goes into great detail on restaurants, bars, and places to go for tapas. Now Barcelona has literally thousands of places to eat so it's worthwhile to check with the book and see what they say. The reviews in it are independent so you can be assured of an honest opinion and again it gives you an idea of the prices of each place so you can choose according to your budget.
Tables at popular restaurants book up quickly so it's a good idea to phone ahead and book a table and the book gives you the telephone number and website details where available. If the restaurant is fully booked don't worry as there are fantastic restaurants on every street so you will find somewhere but just try to stay off the main tourist areas such as Las Ramblas as these places are without fail over priced and of lower quality than the places the locals and people in the know will visit.

Nightlife in Barcelona is some of the best in the world and there is something to suit everyone no matter your taste, there are concerts, gay and lesbian clubs, comedy clubs in English absolutely everything and the book gives lots of good information on these things. Be careful even though time out update their books regularly things move fast in Barcelona and some of its information may be a little out of date so it's always best to check first. Shopping is also well catered for with information on the shopping available in the city and the special shopping bus that is available.

For those people wishing to escape the hustle and bustle of the city there is plenty of options in the book with details of excursions to the classy beach resort of Sitges and the gorgeous mountain monastery of Montserrat (breathtaking) among many others. There are details on how to get to these places by car, bus and train and the instructions are pretty easy to follow so you shouldn't get too lost.
My favorite part of time out travel books are the maps and metro guide and for anyone unfamiliar to the city they will be a complete lifesaver. For each area there are street maps that are pretty easy to understand. The metro map is great, Barcelona is made up of different coloured lines and while it looks complicated the first few times it is actually one of the easiest metros in any city in the world and the little map at the back shows you the stations and also the different coloured lines that leave them so if you get lost you will know which station to go to to find the right line to get you back.

If you are short on time in the city the book also has an itinerary you can follow taking you to the most important sights and while this is a good thing for some people I think it's better to just allow yourself to wonder a little.
Barcelona is an amazing city from the beaches to the amazing architecture of Gaudi It really does have something for everyone and I really believe that Time Out Barcelona is the best guide book on the city available. Priced at a rrp of 12.99 it is extremely in-depth so for someone only visiting for a couple of days they may want to buy a cheaper smaller guide as the Time Out may be a little intimidating with it having so much information but for those who want to experience everything this wonderful city has to offer then they won't do better than this guide.    Close

Public transport BarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain and has about 5 million inhabitants in the city and surrounding area. Besides the many inhabitants of the city gets every year many tourists in town for a short but sometimes long period visits. With…Read More

Public transport Barcelona

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain and has about 5 million inhabitants in the city and surrounding area. Besides the many inhabitants of the city gets every year many tourists in town for a short but sometimes long period visits. With so many residents and tourists is vital for a city to have a good transport system. Barcelona happy this carefully!

Arriving in Barcelona City

By train

One option is to travel by train to Barcelona. Approximately 5 minutes walk from the terminal you are at the station and for about 2.60 euros you can buy a ticket. The only downside is that you are not in the center, namely Barcelona Sants Station and then Paseo de Gracia. Here You could easily switch to the subway system. By train it’s about 30 minutes.

By taxi.

You also have the choice to travel by taxi and there are plenty of them available just outside the terminals. Fortunately there are little or no queues here and about half an hour later you are standing in the center of Barcelona. It cost you a little more, namely around 25 euro’s.

By bus.

From the airport, the center is easily accessible by Aerobus which depart every 15 minutes towards Plaza Catalunya and only stops a few times in between. The Aerobus is a regular service between the airport and the city and a single costs about 4.05 euro’s. Highly recommended and takes approximately 45 minutes.

In the city

There are basically three good ways to get around in Barcelona, which is by taxi, bus and subway! They ensure that you actually can get around the city and the choice is yours how you want to travel.

The taxi.

The taxi is a general understanding in Barcelona. You can use the taxi compared to a city like New York. You can just signal at taxi at the street. Note that a taxi is available, as its lamp is green. Taxis are in the center therefore always be found and generally available. You can of course imagine that at busy locations this can be different. You have at these sites therefore taxi stands, where taxis are. I think taxis are generally not really expensive. You pay about 1 euro per kilometer and a starting rate of 2 euro’s.

The bus.

The bus is one of my least favorite way of travelling, but may be useful especially if you are further away, such as the airport. The busses and the underground use the same system, the TMB Barcelona. The advantage is that you can buy a card for two days, allowing you unlimited travel for two days in the subway and bus! I mainly use the bus after 0.00, because the subway does not run at midnight and then you have to use the night buses.

The subway

Barcelona has an excellent subway system lets you move anywhere in the city. They have five subway lines:

L1, the Hospital de Fondo-Bellvigte.
L2, Paral-lel - Pep Ventura.
L3, Zona Universitaria - Trinitat Nova.
L4, Trinitat Nova - La Pau.
L5, Cornella Centre - Horta.

In every subway station you can find maps showing the route of each line, so you can easily and quickly see what you need. Also you have the opportunity in every subway station to buy tickets. The subway is a good way to travelling but often very busy. They have a good connection and good information. Also they are often right on time. The only disadvantage of the subway is that it may close early. To 12 o’clock at weekdays and weekends at 2 o’clock at night.

Tickets

For bus and subway you have you to buy a ticket. You can buy a single ticket for 1.35 euro’s, this includes the bus. But instead of each time one-way ticket to buy, you can also get discount tickets. You have the 10 strip card, which you can travel 10 times for 7.70 euro’s. You also have the 1 day pass allowing you unlimited travel all day for only 5.80 euro’s and 5 daycard for 23.10 euro’s. Maybe a good tip for people who are planning to go see many attractions, the Barcelona map.

Useful information

Because it is impossible to describe everything here, here are some helpful resources:

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/spain/barcelona/transport/getting-there-around (English)

My opinion

Barcelona is a wonderful city and public transport is good. With the three options of taxi, bus and subway, you really have the ability to quickly and easily get anywhere. It is clear and obvious, but recommended to plan your trip before hand. It is always smart to do, especially if you go by bus. But the public transportation system makes your stay in Barcelona a little bit easier!
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*Barri Gòtic* Barcelona's gothic quarter is located just off the Ramblas and offers a more sedate and understated atmosphere. There are many places to visit, but the fun, for us, was getting lost in the rabbit warren of interconnecting narrow streets and then stumbling across…Read More

*Barri Gòtic*

Barcelona's gothic quarter is located just off the Ramblas and offers a more sedate and understated atmosphere. There are many places to visit, but the fun, for us, was getting lost in the rabbit warren of interconnecting narrow streets and then stumbling across a fantastic building or statue when you least expect it.

The gothic quarter is home to La Seu, Barcelona's impressive cathedral, which promises an impressive cloister, a tropical garden complete with 'honking' geese and great views of the surrounding buildings from the roof. But make sure your shoulders are covered, or they won't let you in.

*Sagrada Familia*

Occupying an entire city block, Antoni Gaudi's famous cathedral is undoubtedly Barcelona's most famous tourist attraction. Begun in 1882 and still being finished, the impressive gothic building is a source of controversy, with some people saying that the church should be left as it is in memory of Gaudi, whilst others maintain that it should be finished as an honour to him. Whatever the outcome of this debate, the cathedral is famously always surrounding by scaffolding and cranes, to the point that they have become part of the vision almost.

It is an extremely popular attraction and as a result, the queues to get in, snake at length around the building. With the temperatures being so high, we decided to forgo cooking in the queue and took a leisurely wander around the building instead. I would highly recommend this to anyone, whether you venture inside or not, as we found that the back of the building was actually far more impressive than the front and far less obstructed by flocks of tourists and their buses.

*Port Vell and Barceloneta*

Port Vell, at the bottom of Ramblas, offers a completely modern and spacious alternative to the rest of Barcelona's crowded streets. Home to a massive shopping centre, not dissimilar to the likes of those you find here in the UK, it offers shopping and eating aplenty. There's also a cinema complex (although films are very rarely in English), an aquarium (which, at Euro16 per person, is very expensive) and an impressive harbour that makes for a nice place to stroll whilst watching the world go by.

Whilst the harbour is the height of modernism, neighbouring Barceloneta is the opposite. Wandering around the eighteenth century streets and squares is a delight. The main attraction in this area is the narrow beach which stretches for miles and offers wonderful views of the Mediterranean Sea. Despite its coarse sand, the beach is extremely popular indeed, so don't expect people to keep their distance. Also, don't be surprised if you end up towel to towel with someone in all their naked glory. Anything goes on Barcelona's beaches, as I found when I looked up to find a naked octogenarian bent over in front of me adjusting his towel. I'm no prude, but that's enough to put anyone off their Cornetto!

*Parc Güell*

Outside of the city centre is the fabulous Parc Güell. This was another of Gaudi's very ambitious projects that was supposed to be a garden village. In actuality, only two houses were ever built here, but the park still has marks of his flamboyant style all over it and is well worth a visit, even to those who are not Gaudi admirers. The features of the park look like something out of a Hans Christian Anderson fairytale, with gingerbread-looking houses and an ornate bench that stretches around the viewing platform. Getting to the park is a bit of a trek, although if you take the metro to Metro Vallcarca you can take the amusing street escalators up to the entrance of the park.
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There are some things that I think are useful know to make sure you get the most out of your stay in Barcelona: -Learn a bit of the language- As always, it is useful to be able to read signs and so on, but more…Read More

There are some things that I think are useful know to make sure you get the most out of your stay in Barcelona:

-Learn a bit of the language-

As always, it is useful to be able to read signs and so on, but more importantly some of the best food to be had is off the beaten track, where you'll find that menus are entirely in Catalan. Unless you're one for pointing and hoping for the best, some basic phrases are vital.

-Cover your shoulders and knees-

If you enjoy visiting religious buildings, take a wrap or wear a t-shirt rather than a vest if you're a lady and make sure your knees are covered if you're a man. With the weather being so hot in summer, it's sometimes not easy to do this, but you won't be able to enter unless you follow the rules.

-Get a 'tay day-oo'!-

The T-10 (pronounced as above) is a ticket for the metro and bus system that allows you ten journeys for around Euro7 (compared to the usual Euro1.10 per ticket). It is a single ticket that can be used by more than one person (just swipe it once for each person) and offers fantastic value. It's also valid for journeys to anywhere that I've mentioned in this review and many more within the zone and you can change methods of transport within 75 minutes of stamping the ticket.

-Watch the taxi supplements-

We got a taxi from the airport to our hotel originally and whilst it was a reasonable Euro28, we were shocked at the total. The taxis are all yellow and run on a meter. As we approached our hotel the meter read Euro20, however after a few button presses, we were charged a further Euro8! We later found out that this included a Euro1 charge per bag, a Euro3 airport surcharge and Euro3 extra because it was Saturday! There isn't anything you can do about it, but just bare it in mind before you exchange words with the driver.

-Keep an eye on your possessions-

This is generally a given when travelling, but during our stay we witnessed a couple of thefts, especially on the beach. From what we could see, the general modus operandum was to charge along the beach at break neck speed and just pick something up from an empty towel or unattended bag on the way past. The thieves, on all ocassions, where spotted by other members of the public and apprehended until the police arrives (which was always remarkably quickly) and the possessions were recovered. However, it does somewhat sour the experience and would have done even more so, had it been me that was the victim.
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Cheeky Ryanair! Although they do fly to the city of Barcelona, they bill their flights to Girona as "Girona (Barcelona)" even though it is more than an hour's drive down the motorway to the larger city. Just as well my flights were cheap as the…Read More

Cheeky Ryanair! Although they do fly to the city of Barcelona, they bill their flights to Girona as "Girona (Barcelona)" even though it is more than an hour's drive down the motorway to the larger city. Just as well my flights were cheap as the return coach fare to Barcelona costs Euro12 per adult single and Euro21 return. Girona Airport is situated 103 Kilometres north of Barcelona (approximately 64 miles).

In fact, the airport bills itself as "Girona - Costa Brava" and, indeed, many of the passengers on our flight did not board the coach to Barcelona but appeared to be picking up hire cars to head for resorts on the coast. (Lloret de Mar and Tossa de Mar are nearby). Budget and economy airlines from across Europe use this airport from fifty-five airports. Holiday charters use the airport too.

The airport terminal building was spacious, clean and light and airy. The only negative was the lack of seating outside of eating spaces. The cafe-bar and the self-service restaurant both had plenty of seating but if you don't want to buy something to eat or drink the alternative seating was inadequate and the amount of seating at each gate was pitiful. On a positive practical note, the airport facilities used by passengers are all on one level, so good news for wheelchair users or families with pushchairs.

The self-service restaurant serves sandwiches, snacks and pastries as well as a range of hot meals (these were mostly being eaten by Spanish people while the Brits ate junk!). We just had drinks (alcohol is served) and found the prices very reasonable given the location. There was also a small cafe-bar which was almost empty, no doubt because it was hidden away at the opposite end of the terminal building to the main restaurant. Although the airport was reasonably busy we had no trouble getting a table and the staff were busy clearing tables and replenishing food all the time.

There were two shops selling the usual alcohol, cigarettes, fragrances and other gift items; the one beside the restaurant was much larger and had a better selection of items although they are part of the same group. As we were traveling with cabin baggage we hadn't been able to buy any alcohol in town so we took the opportunity to buy a couple of bottles after security and found the prices were, again, quite favourable. Another shop sells book and papers (some in English) and a selection of Spanish food items and speciality (read sangria) drinks. Variety pack of chorizo anyone?

As we had checked in on-line I can't comment on this aspect of the airport but I did notice that there were virtually no queues at the check in desks when we passed though this section of the airport. However, neither were there any holiday charter flights departing around the same time as us so the airport could potentially be a lot busier in the height of summer. Security clearance was a breeze and the staff worked well to make sure people were prepared to go through. (I can't believe there are still some people who don't know they have to take their coat off!)

On arrival at the airport I noticed a car hire office, an accommodation booking service and a tourist information desk. Tickets for the coach service to Girona are bought from a kiosk beside the coach departure point. If you have done your research and have bought a Barcelona Card in advance you can collect this from the information desk at the airport; if you have one you can get a discount on the coach fare. The timetabling of the coach coincides with flight arrivals which makes perfect sense; you may have another hour of traveling but at least you leave straightaway so don't dawdle on arrival! The coach stops only at the main bus station "Estancia del Norte" in the centre of Barcelona.

Other destinations are served by buses from the airport, including Girona of course and the city centre is only about ten or fifteen minutes from the airport. If you arrive late and don't want to continue your journey straightaway, there are several hotels at or near the airport.

Although we were quite tired by the time we finally got to our destination we really didn't mind the extra journey too much as we had paid so little for our flights and we were fully aware of the distance the airport is from the city of Barcelona. In future we plan to fly to Girona again but with the intention of exploring Girona instead. As we are not shoppers and we are happy to sit with a book we don't need much in the way of entertainment so we found the facilities of Girona Airport perfectly adequate. You won't find familiar chains of fast food restaurants or childrens' play areas at this airport and for that reason I can see some travelers might think it's not that great but self-reliant independent travelers will find it is a clean and well run airport - even if it's not really near Barcelona at all!

I will post a separate piece on getting between the airport and Barcelona

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Although it means you’ll see less along the way, the Barcelona Metro is the best method of transport to get you easily and cheaply around the city. It really is a pleasure to use; the trains and the platforms are clean, it’s safe and the…Read More

Although it means you’ll see less along the way, the Barcelona Metro is the best method of transport to get you easily and cheaply around the city. It really is a pleasure to use; the trains and the platforms are clean, it’s safe and the trains are frequent with information tending almost always to be correct. There are, however, a few things you need to know about using the Metro in Barcelona which will make your travels even less hassle-free.
You can buy single or multi-journey tickets. A single ticket (1€ 35) is for one journey including any changes you need to make so long as you don’t exit the station and go and do something else between stages. Therefore you should be careful not to exit through the barriers at stations where you need to change trains and should look carefully for the directions to the other line. The only stipulation is that your journey should not take more than 1 hour and 15 minutes.

You can buy a T10 ticket which is valid for all public transport in any one 1 zone (metro/subway, tram, bus and train services). There are six zones to choose from. Most of the major sights can be accessed with a Zone 1 ticket. As of May 2009 these cost 7 € 70 making an excellent saving of 5 € 80 based on ten single journeys. A T10 ticket is valid for one calendar year although it becomes invalid in January when the new tariffs are announced. If you have journeys left over when you leave Barcelona hold on to your ticket if you know people who might be going to Barcelona. An acquaintance heard we were heading to Barcelona and gave us a ticket with eight journeys left! Other tickets exist - a one day ticket, a two day ticket and so on. You need to make a quick judgement what is best for you. The options are explained on the ticket machines - which are in Catalan so click on the union Jack for English instructions if you aren't sure. You don't need one ticket per person. You can share a multi journey ticket, simply put the ticket through the barrier and pass it back to the person behind and go through in the same way. The number of journeys used is printed on the back of the ticked each time it goes through the machine.

Do look after your ticket as crumpled ones may cease to work. If this happens you should find a station attendant and they will give you a new ticket with the remaining number of journeys on it. When you buy a single or a T10 you need to validate it either on the Metro platform machine for a single ticket, or on the platform machine or on the validation machine on buses for T10s.

If you want unlimited travel on public transport, consider the Barcelona Card which includes free travel across the city for the validity of the card (among other benefits). These can be bought from tourist information offices or online and if you buy this way you even have the option of picking it up at the airport if you fly into Barcelona.

When entering a station you might find that there are two entrances depending on which platform you want and that you may not be able to access both platforms from one entrance. Check which direction the platform takes you before you put your ticket in the barrier. If you get it wrong you may be lucky and a nice station employee will let you through the barrier without passing your ticket through if you explain, but it’s possible they might refuse. I would advise caution as the best approach as it would be a shame to waste journeys for no reason.

Let’s move on to those ticket barriers. First I tried to put my ticket in the right hand side slot of the ticket validation machine and entered on the left hand side turnstile; the turnstile wouldn’t open. Foruntately a local lady spotted my error. You must enter your ticket on the left hand side and enter on the right turnstile. However, at stations such as Catalunya where they are not turnstile barriers but those sliding glass partitions you must do it the other way round.

Some stations have lines for Metro and for conventional train services so again you need to check which platform you are on as they do not use all the same stations and backtracking would mean using up another journey.

Once on the right platform, do not worry too much if you have just missed a train as they are very frequent. An overhead sign counts down the time until the next train and is – as far as I have seen – totally accurate. Once safely boarded you’ll see a line map on board the train for the line you are on and when the train leaves on station, the a dot above the name of the next one lights up red so you know exactly where you are. The name of the station is announced too and this is clear and audible.

Some stations have several exits/entrances and it can be frustrating to exit at one, walk to your destination and learn that there was a nearer one; I’m thinking in particular here of Passeig de Gracia which has a second entrance/exit just next to Casa Battlo, the wonderful apartment black designed by Gaudi. Unless you know this from experience there’s nothing you can do about this but if you look carefully you may see signs to this effect.

The very short funicular ride between Paral-lel and Montjuic is also part of the Barcelona Metro but if you want to ride it just because it’s a funicular then you’ll be disappointed because it’s a very short journey that takes place almost entirely underground. However it only takes two minutes and is the best way to get up the mountain if you are low on time. Note, though, that is operates shorter hours and is in use between 09:00 and 20:00 in autumn and winter and until 22:00 in spring and summer.

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I recently found myself with a tricky situation. It was just a few days before 30 people that I had invited to a meeting would arrive in Barcelona and we still had no firm plan on what to do with them in the evenings. When…Read More

I recently found myself with a tricky situation. It was just a few days before 30 people that I had invited to a meeting would arrive in Barcelona and we still had no firm plan on what to do with them in the evenings. When I realised that many attendees had never been to Barcelona before I decided to hire a bunch of 'Go Cars' and take a tour before dinner. Restaurants don't open in Barcelona until 9 or 9.30 at night so we had a couple of hours free between finishing our work for the day and meeting for dinner.

You may not have heard of Go Cars and they are very new to Barcelona although they are longer-established in other cities such as Miami, San Diego and San Francisco. They are so new in fact that the locals in Barcelona still find them interesting and amusing and other tourists will treat you almost like a celebrity; expect to have your photo taken LOTS of times. I can't help thinking the amusement factor which leads other drivers to wave and smile and toot in a 'non-threatening' manner, will wear off quite quickly and within a few months, these little yellow vehicles will become the focus of a lot of Iberian road-rage incidents. But for now, they are still a novelty.

What's a Go Car anyway?

Go Cars are little yellow 2-seater buggies based on a moped engine and driven like a moped. If you are old enough to remember that classic British design disaster, the Reliant Robin, just imaging one of those, cut the top off, paint it yellow and give it a super-whizzy GPS system and you are halfway to imagining a Go Car.

The GPS is what gives Go Cars a real point of difference compared to other rental vehicles. Each vehicle is pre-loaded with several guided routes and as you drive along, the car will tell you what's coming up and give you some information about the different sites. She'll chat away quite happily, even telling you what lane to get into, when you need to turn left or right and so on. And thankfully she does it in plenty of time. Eventually, the car will then take you back to base so - in theory at least - you shouldn't be able to get lost. There's a lockable boot where you can keep your 'stuff', two small seats, rather limited leg room and that's about it.

How does it work

We'd hired a coach for the evening which dropped us about 50 m from the Santa Catalina market - a large building with a wavy multi-coloured roof. The driver pointed to the roof, then tapped his watch and told us he'd be back at 9 pm to take us to dinner. So far, so much for my limited grasp of Spanish. I unloaded the 27 people with me and we set off to hunt for the office which was completely un-signposted. Thankfully, I didn't need to try to work out how to ask "where is the place with the little yellow cars?" because I had a Spanish colleague with me to do that. After a few minutes standing in the rain, he found someone who knew what he was talking about and we skulked off to find the office.

One of my colleagues said afterwards that as we stood there in the late September drizzle with the light fading fast, he reckoned that 90% of the group wanted nothing more than to turn round and go straight to a bar. A few people had spotted the cars the night before when we were doing a coach tour and they were all quite excited but most people were not at all keen.

The staff split us into 2 groups. We'd not realised when we booked them the week before that we'd need to have a driving license for every driver so it was lucky that 16 out of 28 people had their licenses with them. Not so lucky however that some didn't want to drive. I asked each person who had a license to find a partner who didn't and then we handed over the paperwork. We were taken to stand around one of the vehicles and talked through how to drive them, how to turn on the GPS, how to change the language if necessary, how to turn on the lights and so on. There were maps in the boot of each vehicle in case we got lost, the phone number of the office was on the side of every car (again, in case we got lost) and every car had two plastic-bag ponchos on the seats. We each grabbed a helmet from the racks and were ready to go. Then we took them off again to put the ponchos on.

And they're off!

Suitably attired in our condom-like ponchos, we lined the Go Carts up outside like racing cars preparing for a grand prix. As we left the side street and headed for full-on Barcelona traffic I'm sure I wasn't the only one with a nervous lump in my throat. I've never ridden a moped and I felt very vulnerable in my little buggy.

As we puttered along the streets, our Go Car chattered away, telling us what to do and our colleagues buzzed around us like competitive little wasps. I kept my sensible head on and resisted the temptation to join the battle of cutting in and out of the other Go Cars. These little beasts will do 50 km per hour if they get the chance but we did feel very vulnerable whenever they went over about 30 kph. It's fun in a group but I think if I were on my own without other Go cars around, I would have felt vulnerable. You are very small, very close to the ground and not as visible to other drivers as you maybe would like to be.

Driving the Go Car wasn't too hard at first but as the evening progressed and the rain picked up, my hands got very cold and the hand grips got very wet so it was easy for them to slip when revving. I also have quite small hands and found that braking was getting more difficult the wetter and colder that I got and the wetter the roads became. However, despite the lousy weather, the response we got from the public and other drivers was amazingly warm - toots, waves, lots of laughing, and lots of people taking photographs of us. And of course we also had our little car talking away to us. It was quite a while before we realised that the voice wasn't just supposed to be some random recording - it was the voice and personality of the car.

Ours was a simple short 2-hour tour taking in most of the Gaudi buildings, the beachfront and parts of the old town. A few times the recording gave us an option to go in a different direction and we'd find representatives of Go Cars on bicycles at key points to make sure we stuck to the planned route and didn't take more time-consuming options.

You Win Some, You Lose Some

Two hours later, after bombing about in the rain, we staggered back to the Go Car office to hand back our vehicles. At this point we discovered that 14 cars had left the office and only 12 had returned so four people had gone missing. We waited until 9pm when I sent everyone else back to sit on the bus and warm up whilst I stayed with the manager and rang all the mobile numbers of my colleagues who no doubt didn't hear a thing above the putt-putt of their engines. When the missing people eventually turned up, they claimed that their GPS systems hadn't worked or hadn't been loud enough and one car allegedly had faulty lights and got waved at by a passing police car. I'm still not entirely sure that I believe they GPS was faulty - it's just as likely that the drivers went 'off piste' and lost the signal (they can be a rather independent bunch at times). If they'd taken a few minutes to stop and ring for help or had got the maps out of the boot of the cars, it wouldn't have taken long to get back on track.

Prices

From memory the first hour in a Go-Car costs 35 Euros per vehicle, the second costs 25 and then it comes down after that. A full day costs Euro99 and there's also a charge of around 9 or 10 euros for damage insurance. Helmet hire and plastic ponchos are included, as are maps.

Would I do it again?

Absolutely! It's one of the most unusual and fun ways to get around, although undoubtedly it's more fun on a sunny summer's day than on a dark autumn evening in the rain.    Close

We were embarking on the best kept family secret ....ever. My son’s partner had decided that she wanted to surprise him on his 30th birthday and had decided to book him on a long weekend City Break in Barcelona. Would we be interested in being…Read More

We were embarking on the best kept family secret ....ever. My son’s partner had decided that she wanted to surprise him on his 30th birthday and had decided to book him on a long weekend City Break in Barcelona. Would we be interested in being part of the surprise and booking in to the same hotel on his birthday week-end?

To be honest this was a bit of a no brainer because we’d been considering a weekend in this city for some time. This was the very impetus that we needed and so we, alongside my youngest son and his wife entered into the intrigue. The southern part of the team (my son’s partner) set off with a brief to find a suitable hotel, check on its availability, whilst my internet booker (my wife) started surfing the net for deals on flights.

We’d got plenty of time as it was only January and birthday boy’s significant event was not until August. However, as we were looking for three rooms in the middle of the summer holidays we did not intend to drag our feet.

Within a couple of weeks we were engaged in the first of our secret phone calls and whilst oldest son was involved in a parent’s evening at his school we confirmed the plan to travel Barcelona. The hotel had been identified and the dates agreed so we needed to synchronise our annual leave and then get on with booking. First step achieved we were soon on to the net confirming two bedrooms at the Hotel Casanova. It never fails to amaze me how simple the whole business of booking over the internet proves to be. A few key strokes and the transaction is complete and we then send off a text to the “southern team” to confirm that the rooms are booked. Within seconds we get a reply (the world of texts continues to be a complete mystery to me) confirming that she too has booked in to the Rafaelhoteles Casanova. Woops – that sounds a different hotel to me. We enter mild panic mode and for 10 minutes or so there’s a hurried return to the computer and an exchange of texts confirming the name and address of the hotel. Phew – no problem we’re all booked in to the same place.

Next we’re on line to sort out cheap air fare. Ryanair flies out of Nottingham East Midlands (our nearest airport) and there are great deals on the flight so an immediate booking is made. However, all bargains have a downside and several months later we realise that Ryanair does not fly into Barcelona International Airport. It’s a much smaller airport to the north of the City and now we realise that it will take a good hour to get into the town. Once again it’s panic time (it doesn’t take too much to unsettle me in the early stage of holiday planning) as we try to sort out how the transfer from airport to hotel will be managed. Reason sets in as I decided that we won’t be on our own! There must be some infra-structure to manage the hoards of people that Ryanair and other low-cost airlines fly into the airport and sure enough we find that there’s a regular 24 hour bus service (at least every half an hour) operating between the airport and the City centre. Panic over!

Now all we have to do is manage the next few months without breaking our secret. This proves to be none too easy as our eldest son, being a teacher, was concerned to plan his summer visit back to Nottingham.

There were several key / problematic times.

First when I’d just got back from Rhodes and was telling him how I’d returned with a fair number of Euros.

“Mind you”, I say, “it’s not a bad thing because at least they’ll give me a head start when we go to ......”

“Blimey” he replied “you’ve only just got back from holiday where are you going next”.

“Well” says me “it’s not until November, but winter sun in Lanzarote is planned and it seems daft to change to Euros back to pounds”. My wife scowled at me and I indicate that I think I’d got away with it.

The second problem was that his sister-in-law, part of the conspiracy, was really anxious that    Close