Barcelona Luxury Hotel

About Barcelona city

Barcelona is Spain's second largest city, with a population of 1.5 million people, and the capital of Catalonia. The city is on the Mediterranean coast, and has a wealth of unique historic architecture. Barcelona emerged as one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe during the 1990s.

It’s a beautiful city, full of markets, shops, museums and churches, and great for walking around. There’s an area called “La Rambla” where people like walking. It’s a favorite tourist attraction because there are flower sellers, street performers, paintings and restaurants. However, you can go to the beach, which is near, or you can walk around.

In 1992 Barcelona hosted the Olympics and the Games were very well organized. However, some time before the city was prepared for that, and the transformation was very important; new areas were made and the city was opened to the sea. This transformation and the games made the city known all over the world, and tourists began to come and a lot of ships dock here, because they like it. But concerning international businesses it’s not very important because companies are in Madrid; 15 years ago, there were in Barcelona, but they have moved to Madrid.

Get in

By plane

Low cost carriers operating to Barcelona include: Air Berlin, Monarch Airlines, Jet2.com, ClickAir (a discount subsidiary of Iberia), Vueling, WIZZ Air, easyJet, Ryanair (only to nearby Girona and Reus airports, see below), Blue Air, flyGlobespan, Transavia among many others.

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 now two terminals, T1 and T2, the latter with A, B, and C subdivisions. T1 and T2 are linked by a bus shuttle (every 6 to 8 minutes, travel time 10 minutes).

T1 has opened in June 2009 and hosts Spanair and a variety of major international airlines (e.g. SAS, TAP, Lufthansa, Austrian).

Sectors A, B and C of T2 are all within fairly easy walking distance of each other. T2 B is used by some Spanish carriers (Iberia, Air Europa, Vueling) and their partners (eg members of Oneworld alliance for Iberia). T2 C is smallest and used for all domestic flights, including the Puente Aereo (Air shuttle) to Madrid. T2 A is used for all other flights except those now departing from the new T1.

Please be aware that you can check in for your flight only at the respective terminal T1 or T2, and since they are miles apart and there is little information available at the train station and bus stops, it will be good advice to know where to go before arriving at the airport. AENA provides information about the allocation of airlines to terminals.

Transfer to/from the airport

The airport is only about 10 km away from the city center. Airport transfers can be arranged for groups, taxis are available but expensive (€20-30 to the city center). A cheaper and often faster option is the half-hourly RENFE C-10 suburban train line calling at Sants (20 minutes), Passeig de Gràcia (25 minutes) and Estació de França (30 minutes) in the city center. The train terminates next to T2, with a connecting bus service to T1 (plan for an extra 15 minutes of travel). The drawback of arriving at T2 by train is that you should overcome several flights of stairs--think twice if with huge luggage, a stroller or a wheelchair. A single ticket is about €1.35, but you can also use the T-10 ticket (€7.70 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 at T1 and between T2A and 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 €5.00 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 (Nit Bus N17, between 22.00 and 05.00. The ride from Plaza Cataluña to Airport El Prat takes about 40 minutes).

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.

For Girona Airport: 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 €12 and a return ticket costs €21. 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 €6.45 and then the bus costs €2. This takes roughly about an hour and a half.

By train

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

Main train stations:

• Barcelona-Sants (to the south west of the center).
• 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).

By boat

The city's port is one of the busiest on the Mediterranian. It supports both ferries and cruise ships.

You can arrive to Barcelona by boat from the Balearic Islands, from Genoa and from Rome. From Rome (Civitavecchia) it is actually cheaper than the bus. The ferry docks almost directly on the Ramblas.

• Grandi Navi Veloci, +39 010 2094591
• Grimaldi Lines, +39 081 496 444
• Balearia, +39 902 160 180
• Rent a boat

Large cruise ships dock 1-2 kilometers to the southwest. Many offer bus-shuttles to points near the south end of La Rambla.

See

Museums

• Caixa Fòrum, Plaça Espanya. This place hosts great exhibitions. Free entrance.
• Joan Miró Museum. This museum is on the Montjuïc accessible by the metro (L3 Paral·lel and then the funicular). Treasured museum dedicated to Joan Miró and always has interesting temporary expositions on display. Entrance €8.
• Military Museum. In the military fortification on the Montjuic. The museum was closed definitively on 24th May 2009.
• Palau Nacional. Hosts the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (Catalan National Museum of Art).
• MNAC (Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya) in the Palau Nacional. Has the single best collection of Romanesque art in the world, and a fine Gothic collection as well. Includes the Pantocrator from the Taüll Romanesque church. Free on the first Sunday each month (but they close at 14:30).
• The Football Museum. This is one of Barcelona's most visited museums near the stadium.
• Catalan Archaeological Museum. Situated on the Montjuic, it exhibits archaeological findings from Catalunia from different periods.
• Museu Etnologic (Catalan Ethnographical Museum). Passeig Santa Madrona, 16*22 (Montjuic); 934 246 807. This museum mainly exhibits exponents which were imported by Catalan sailors as they explored the new world. Free on the first Sunday each month (11:00am to 3:00pm)
• El Museu de l'Esport Olímpic
• The German Pavillion (El pavelló Alemany) A must visit if you like architecture. Designed by Mies van der Rohe.

Many museums have free entry on the first Saturday or Sunday of each month

Gaudi architecture and Modernist Barcelona

Gaudi architecture, including the Parc Güell, the still unfinished Sagrada Família and the houses; La Pedrera/Casa Milà and La Casa Batlló.

The Ruta del Modernisme run by Modernisme Centre (Pl. de Catalunya, 17, subterráneo; phone +34 933 177 652): guidebook and discount voucher book for €12. Takes you round all the best Modernisme (art nouveau) buildings in Barcelona. The main part of the route can be walked in a couple of hours, providing you don't stray too far from the main routes. The Tourist Offices offer a pack which includes discounted tickets to many attractions such as La Pedrera and La Casa Batlló. All can be seen from the outside for free.

• Casa Vicens, Gracia, C/de les Carolines 24 (buses 22, 24, 31, 32). The first building Gaudi has built himself in Barcelona. Can be seen outside, as it's a property of a private owner. In Unesco World Heritage Sites list since 2005. The only exception is May 22 every year, when it is open to "neighbours and citizens".
• La Pedrera (Casa Mila), (Diagonal metro station). Hosts a large exposition of Gaudi works, covering Sagrada Familia and Casa Batlio, not only La Pedrera itself. The exposition is a good place to start your exploration of Gaudi; it reveals many hidden details for the art novice. Entrance: approximately €9.5.
• Güell Park (Parc Güell). This is on a hill overlooking Barcelona, so expect a relatively steep walk to the top (Gracia, Lesseps metro station, then follow arrows which are met every 300 m); you will be rewarded with a panoramic view of the whole city. For more off the beaten track, the park can be also reached from metro Vallcarca. The park has two distinct parts, a relatively undeveloped (and uncrowded) natural area near the top of the hill, and the more famous sculpture park below (really crowded most of the time). The sculpture portion is full of walkways and other structures exhibiting the distinct and colorful style of Gaudi, including the famous terrace. The undeveloped part is isolated from the sculpture park with a fence. If you take the bus 24, it is full of pickpockets--be careful) Free entrance.
• Sagrada Família. To get up to the tower by elevator costs €2,5 (long queues). Previously, it was possible to go up the spiral stairs, but now they only allow you to get back down. The most impressive thing is to see Sagrada Família at night with lights on, this is the time when you understand why people say that it is built of bones. Entrance costs €11. Get the audio commentary €4 it's well worth it. You will gain a much better appreciation of the Sagrada Família. Sagrada Família metro station.
• La Casa Batlló. 9am-8pm. Often overlooked for La Pedrera, (also by Gaudi), La Casa Batllo is equally as stunning with its unique architecture and infamous two ornamental pillars in the entrance to the terrace. Open for visitors from ground floor to a roof, and down by an old-time elevator. Entrance: adults €16.5.

Barcelona – Barcelone - Barzelona – Barcelono – Bartzelona – Barcellona – Barselona – Barcino – Barcillona – Barçellonn-a