Archive for April, 2009
Shopping in Barcelona
Everybody coming to Spain will at a certain moment think about shopping, buying souvenirs, clothes, shoes,… anything. This post will guide you around Barcelona and show you some good streets to go shopping. Make the most of the shopping by staying in a flat or hotel close to the best shopping districts! There is plenty of accommodation available in these hot shopping spots.
Barcelona has a wide variety of shops for all people with different tastes, styles and – of course – budgets. There is a 5km (3-mile) shopping strip, all the way from the water’s edge at Port Vell right up La Rambla to Diagonal. International chains, designer shops and modern department stores can be found in the area around Plaça de Catalunya, Passeig de Gracia and along Avinguda Diagonal. La Rambla and the Barri Gòtic are popular places for tourists to hunt for souvenirs.
There are many different districts in Barcelona, each offering different styles of fashion and different shopping areas. If you want to get a taste of the wide variety and diverse styles that Barcelona offers, than head to different districts.
Store timetables: from monday to saturday 10.00-14.00 / 16.30-20.00
Times may vary by a half hour or less and the full-day schedule is becoming more common in commercial centers and department stores in Barcelona.
Young / Urban
Most of the big high street clothes stores (Zara, H&M, Mango,…) can be found around Plaça Catalunya. One of the streets that you should head to is Portal D’Angél, one of Barcelona’s main shopping streets. This street starts at Plaça Catalunya and leads you to La Rambla. There are enough shops to spend a whole afternoon over there when it rains 
. Which shops can you find there?
Zara:
A popular Spanish clothes chain with shops all over the world. There are several Zara shops in Portal d’Angél, each having more or less their own collection. Expect good quality at low prices. Website Zara
H&M:
Another popular clothes chain, but this time Swedish. Like Zara, H&M has more than one shop on this street. There is, however, one special H&M which you will recognize from the trendy entrance! Worth paying a visit. Website H&M
Stradivarius:
A shop that is part of Inditex, the company that owns brands such as Zara, Massimo Dutti, Bershka and Pull and Bear. Very nice concept with big stores and great designs for low prices. Website Stradivarius
Mango:
Clothes shops with decent clothes of very good quality. Website Mango
Jack and Jones:
A nice, trendy and cheap clothes shop for young men. Website Jack and Jones
Pull and Bear:
Clothes for young urbans, a bit edgier than its sister shops Zara and Bershka. Website Pull and Bear
Desigual:
A clothes shop with a delightful concept: “Nobody is equal”, they sell very colourful and trendy clothes, using eye-catching, bold prints. Website Desigual
MI-SA-KO:
No clothes but a wide range of handbags and wallets for more than reasonable prices, the perfect place to find accessories. Website MI-SA-KO
Besides that, there are also: Bershka, Spirit, Oysho, Springfield,…
Many of these shops not only have a branch in Portal d’Angél but also one on Passeig de Gràcia, on the other side of Plaça Catalunya.
Design
Most of the designer and more expensive labels can be found on Passeig de Gràcia. This street full of hotels, art (Gaudi’s “La Pedrera” and “Casa Batlló”) and shops is wellknown. Among the design shops you can find big international names such as: Louis Vuitton, Armani, Chopard, Gucci, Chanel, Cartier, etc.
Besides these shops there are also some luxurious shops such as: Replay, Diesel, Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, Massimo Dutti, Guru, G-star, etc.
A good tip for some real Barcelona-styled clothes is Custo!
Cheap
If we step away from the big shopping streets and large chains, we can find ourselves going to Barri Gotic. This Medieval district has lots of small streets in which you will find charming, independent shops. Most of the time they are souvenir shops but there are also a nice number of cheap shoes and clothes shops, with original and quirky designs.
In El Raval (the other side of La Ramblas) has similar little shops. Alongside the many souvenir shops in this district you will find a number of shoes and clothes shops.
LOGO is an outlet shop that can be found in both El Raval and Barri Gotic, selling different brands such as Fornarina and Calvin Klein.
Sports
Barcelona is the city of Football, Running and Skating, so a variety of sports shops is indispensable. On Passeig de Gràcia you will find some stores from big brands such as Nike, Adidas and Puma. Nike and Adidas are omnipresent in Barcelona. Nike is co-operating with Fc Barcelona and has planted many FcBotiga stores – the official Fc Barcelona stores – throughout the city.
If you are looking for more specific things, you can always try to go to the Decathlon shop in C/ Canuda or the Corte Inglés in C/ Portal d’Angél, where they have three floors offering a wide range of sports equipment by different brands.
Streets to go to
La Rambla
La Ramblas is probably the busiest street in Barcelona, but this means that there are many shops too. Especially in the northern part (near Plaça Catalunya). Next to all the souvenir shops, you will find many known shops on La Ramblas and in the streets surrounding it.
Avenida Diagonal
For shoppers, Barcelona’s Avinguda Diagonal has it all, from massive department stores such as El Corte Ingles to tiny boutique clothing and shoe stores. It starts at Plaça Francesc Macià, where a quality department store has become a national institution. Just next door is Pedralbes Centre, an exclusive shopping mall which houses just about anything you could want, including brand-name shops, shoes stores, a jeweler’s, perfumeries and high-quality accessories, as well as shops which sell arts, crafts and plenty of great gifts. Further down stands L’Illa del Diagonal, a huge shopping mall with an entire floor dedicated to gastronomic delicacies.
Creu Coberta
C/ Creu Coberta is located a bit outside of the city centre and starts at Plaça Espanya, this is said to be one of the longest shopping streets in Spain, filled with many small clothes and shoes shops. There are almost no big chains present in this street and you will find yourself walking through an area full of character as you pass the neighbourhood full of locals, a very charming experience.
Shopping Malls in Barcelona
On occasional days in Barcelona, it might rain.:) A good way to spend your time when it’s raining here is going to a mall, they have everything you need to spend a nice morning, afternoon or even the whole day there. Cinema, Restaurants, Fast Food, Clothes shops and gadget shops, plenty of things to keep you occupied. A lot of shopping malls even have bars and nightclubs to keep you entertained all evening too!
El corte Ingles
The most famous shop in the city – or even Spain - is the imposing El Corte Inglés. In Barcelona the biggest one is located on Plaça de Catalunya. In this department store you can find anything you need: clothes, make-up, shoes, perfumes, luggage, bags, electronics, furniture, interior decorations, electrodomestics, tickets for concerts and a great supermarket too. They are open from Monday to Saturday, 10 am until 10 pm and also every first Sunday of the month. Website El Corte Inglés
Diagonal Mar
Diagonal Mar is a shopping centre located a bit outside the old city centre, near Forum. There are many stores throughout the two floors such as Zara, Fnac, Mango, etc. The top floor houses almost exclusively (fast-food) restaurants, a cinema and some bars. It is really fun for the whole family to go there!
La Maquinista
La Maquinista is an outdoor, open shopping centre with lots of light and answers to a new concept with a variety of shops, leisure, catering and services spread over 230 establishments and more than 31,000 m2 surface. The shopping and leisure area is distributed over three floors and also has two underground floors with 4,000 parking spaces. You can get there by metro with L1 and get off at Sant Andreu.
Gran via 2
Gran Via 2 is Barcelona’s shopping centre near to the airport. It is at about 5-10 minutes from the airport and right next to the Montjuïc/Gran Via District where the International Trade Fair is located, so a good access is guaranteed (metro, bus and taxi). It is an impressive mall where you will find more than 200 shops with Spanish and international fashion brands; men, women and kids, sports, household goods, beauty, accessories, specialised food, etc. A good tip is to ask for the Personal Shopper and Image Advise Service and be assisted when you are shopping in Gran Via 2.
Maremagnum, Open on Sundays
The Maremagnum Shopping centre is a big American style shopping mall located at the end of La Rambla del Mar. Not only can you find the best shops in Barcelona but also good pubs and even a nightclub.
Stores in Maremagun: Bershka, Jack and Jones, Havaïanas, Oysho, H&M, Quicksilver, Springfiels, Stradivarius,…
Open:
All the stores in Maremagnum are open from 10 am until 10 pm.
The restaurants stay open until 1 am.
The bars are open from 23:00 until 04:30.
Outside Barcelona
La Roca
La Roca is an outlet store / village located outside of Barcelona, in La Roca de Vallès. They are open from Monday to Friday, 11 am until 8:30 pm and on Saturdays from 10 am until 10 pm.
If you want to buy clothes and shoes of international brands at a better price, then this is the place you should go to. To get to La Roca de Vallès you must get a train or a bus. They all leave from Sants- estació.
All newspapers are full of articles on Swine Flu or Mexican Flu, but what is the virus and what are the risks for us, Europeans? What are the symptoms? How should we protect ourselves? Is there a vaccination?
First of all, it must be said that the H1N1 Virus, also known as Swine flu, is very dangerous. The Virus is said to have its origin in Mexico and causes a lung disease for Swines, hence the name Swine Flu, and now it got transmitted from Swines to people. It is a highly contageous virus that is mostly transmitted by coughing, sneezing and human contact. If you want to protect yourself, wash your hands with soap or alcohol-based gel because it reduces the risk of viral infection, keep your hands in front of your mouth while coughing and sneezing and maybe wear a medical mask if you are in close contact with many different people.
The symptoms of the disease are very similar to the ones of normal influenza: fever, body aches, coughing, chills, trouble breathing, and vomiting and/or diarrhea. At the moment, the World Health Organization is working on a vaccine but this can take some months. Meanwhile, the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention advises to use the medicines Tamiflu or Relenza in case of contamination. Normal influenza shots like influvax are said to have no effect on Swine flu.
There are already some cases of possible flu in Spain but none of them has been proven to be Mexican Flu. Trinidad Jiménez of the Spanish Health department also confirmed that Spain is prepared for this and has enough medication. But the Spanish gouvernment, along with many other European countries, discourages people to go to Mexico if its not necessary!
As in the other European countries, Spain is not escaping the swine flu epidemic. Yesterday the Spanish Department of Health confirmed that the first case of Swine flu in Spain was in Albacete.
However, there are about 20 more suspected cases of Swine flu, among which 10 in Catalonia!
The Health Department and World Health Organization are now looking for solutions before the epidemic really strikes. One of them is temporarily blocking the tourist traffic between Mexico and Europe.
Current death toll in the U.S. and Mexico is at 81 persons, so this is a signal for the gouvernments to co-operate and try to find a solution for the threatening A/H1N1 virus!
URL foto: wikimedia
The 38th Feria de Abril in Catalonia is celebrated in Parc de Forum between the April, 24 and May, 3. As in Sevilla, El Parc del Forum is submerged in Flamenco, little market stalls, outdoor tapas bars and Andalusian Music.
http://l.yimg.com/g/images/spaceball.gifThere are lots of stalls in which people can buy anything, from tapas and jamón to flamenco outfits. Besides the stalls you will find many “casetas” (little houses), each belonging to private organisations such as political parties or banks and where you can enter to have a meal, dance “Sevillana” or sing. In front of all the “casetas” there is a big amusement park whith lots of attractions such as the big Ferris Wheel from which you can have a magnificent view over the city.
It is really worth paying a visit to the Feria de Abril and experience some of the Andalucian culture in Catalonia!
Getting there:
Metro: L4 (Yellow line); stop: Maresme i Forum
Bus: For the Feria de Abril, there is a bus service between Plaza Catalunya and Parc del Forum
Metro: T4
Opening times Feria de Abril de Catalunya 2009
Friday April 24 18.00 to 04.15
Saturday April 25 10.00 to 04.15
Sunday April 26 10.00 to 02.00
Monday April 27 18.00 to 02.00
Tuesday April 28 18.00 to 02.00
Wednesday April 29 18.00 to 02.00
ThursdayApril 30 18.00 to 04.15
Friday May 1 10.00 to 04.15
Saturday May 2 10.00 to 04.15
Sunday May 3 10.00 to 22.00
What a beautiful day in Barcelona today on the 23d of April. Not only because of the clear skies and great temperatures but also because of El día de Sant Jordi or Saint George’s day. This day is celebrated by Catalans as if it were Valentine’s Day.
It is all about romance and thinking about your beloved ones, tradition says that among the loved ones, women should buy a book for men and men buy a beautiful rose for women. Roses have always been associated with this day but the exchange of books is a more recent tradition: it started when a smart bookseller started promoting this holiday as a way to remember two of the greatest writers ever: Spain’s Miguel de Cervantes (Don Quijote) and England’s William Shakespeare, who both died on the 23d of April.
Throughout Catalonia, especially here in Barcelona, bookstalls and rose sellers are everywhere. So think about your beloved ones and be a part of this idyllic Catalan tradition!
Want to know more about the origin and tradition of this Catalan holiday?
Catalonia’s world class, three Michelin starred restaurant elBulli, received the price for “the best restaurant in the world”… for the fifth time in seven years!! Chef Ferran Adrià‘s restaurant in Roses on the Costa Brava, now on top of the S. Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2009, is known for it’s complicated moleculary cuisine and long waiting lists. An average meal costs about € 250 but in return you get a 30-course menu of “amuses bouches”.
Ferran Adrià emphasized that winning this trophy was not only good for him but for Spain in general, since the top 5 consist of three Spanish restaurant.
Here is the top 5 out of 50 best restaurants in the world, by S. Pellegrino:
1 – elBulli, Spain
2 – The Fat Duck, England
3 – Noma, Danmark
4 – Mugaritz, Spain
5 – El Celler de Can Roca, Spain
S. Pellegrino World’s best restaurants
More info on elBulli
Tonight the Barcelona game against Sevilla will be one of the most important in the season. Barça’s rival Real Madrid won their derby game yesterday in a thriller against Getafe, thanks to Higuaín they came up fron 1-2 to 3-2. Now they are three points behind on La Blaugrana, that has to win against the third in the league: Fc Sevilla.
Barcelona is facing a thrilling week during which everything will become clear, Champions League (Chelsea, 28th of April) as well as Primera Division (Sevilla, 22nd of April, Valencia, 25th of April and Real Madrid on the 3d of May).
I’ll be looking forward to these games and hope Fc Barcelona wins all of them!
Are you looking for tickets for the Barcelona – Chelsea game?
Are you going to Barcelona soon? Barcelona is a big city and so it might be useful to know more about the means of transport in the city.
In this entry I have taken the time to explore the many different means of transport in and around the beautiful city of Barcelona!
From the airport to the city centre:
First things first, before you can get immersed into the fascinating world of Gaudí, famous Barcelona architecture and a great atmosphere, you have to get from the airport to the city centre.
Barcelona has three airports nearby and depending on which airport you come from, you can choose for a taxi, airport bus or train. Prices of the journey vary: Taxi is off course the easiest but most expensive way to get to the city centre. Bus and Train are about the same price. Here below you will find an overview of ways to go from one of the three Barcelona Airports to the city centre:
El Prat Airport:
El Prat is the closest airport to Barcelona, the easiest way to get from here to Plaza Catalunya (Aeropuerto – Pl.Catalunya), which is considered to be the city centre, is by Airport Bus A1. This blue bus leaves every 10 minutes and brings you to Plaza Catalunya in about 45 minutes. It costs about 4,05€ for a single ticket or 7 € for a roundtrip.
You can also take the train from El Prat Airport to the city centre (Aeropuerto – Pl.Catalunya y Aeropuerto – Sants Estació), this will take you about 30 minutes and 3€.
A taxi will be the fastest and easiest way. There are lots of taxis at the exit of the arrival terminal and they can take you everywhere you want throughout the city. A journey to the city centre will cost you approx. 25-30 € (May differ during weekends and nights).
Girona Airport:
Girona is a small city situated at about 110 km from Barcelona. This is the airport where most of the Ryanair flights arrive. There are multiple ways of getting from Girona to Barcelona:
Every half an hour a bus leaves the airport and heads for Barcelona Estació Nord, this is a journey of about 1h15 minutes and will cost about 12€ single or 21€ for a roundtrip. At the airport, buses go between: 8:30 and 00:15. At Plaza Catalunya, they go between: 3:15 – 19:30.
A cheaper way is to go by train, they leave one or two times every hour, take about as long as the buses and cost about 6€ single and 11€ roundtrip. Trains from and to Girona go between 6:00 and 21:30.
People who are not too fond of public transfer can always choose to take a taxi, this will take about one hour and will cost approximately 120€.
It is also possible to book a private transfer from the Girona Airport to Barcelona: click here
Reus Airport:
Reus Airport is situated at about 80km from Barcelona. The most common way to get to Barcelona is probably by train from the town of Reus to the city centre of Barcelona, the trains go approximately every 30 minutes and this will cost you about 12€. To get to the city centre of Reus you’d best take a taxi from the airport, which will cost about 18€.
It is possible to book a private transfer from the Reus Airport to Barcelona: click here
Getting around in Barcelona:
Barcelona Card:
This card gives you discounts up to 50% off at many tourist attractions including museums, entertainment and leisure venues, shops and restaurants, and free public transport. Sites include Museu Picasso, Casa-Museu Gaudí and Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA). You can buy a card for 1 day – €17, 2 days – €20, 3 days – €23, 4 days – €25 or 5 days – €27 at the Barcelona Tourist Office, Plaza Sant Jaume or Central-Sants station.
Metro:
Almost all interesting places in Barcelona have good connection with the metro. Only the Area Sarrìa-Sant Gervasi is not connected to the Metro. This part you can reach with the City train Ferrocarrils (FFCC). It actually doesn’t really make a difference because the same tickets can be used and they are as well connected at the same stations. In general the Subway-net is very well organized and easy to get use to. Short time intervals at rush hours and as well fairly good intervals throughout the day make it very comfortable to take the metro.
Metro – Hours of operation:
Working days and Sundays 5 am to 12 pm,
Fridays and prior days to festive days: 5 am to 2 am,
Saturday and day prior to 1/1, 24/6, 15/8, and 24/9 non stop service.
Tickets are available at counters and machines at the stations, more day passes are also available at Tourist offices.
For more information go to: www.tmb.net
Buses:
All bus lines are usually operating between 6 am and 10:30 pm. Maps and Tickets are available at the Tourist office at Placa Catalunya. There is also a Night bus (Nitbús) from 10:00 pm to 4 am. It offers a rather wide-meshed net of stops.
Tramway:
There are five tram lines in Barcelona. T1, T2 and T3 communicate within the southeastern parts of Eixample, T4 and T5 in the city areas just behind the new city beach. During the day they operate in 15 minute intervals. The same tickets as for the Metro and Bus can be used.
Bus Turistic:
As in most big cities in Spain, Barcelona offers the possibility to go around by bus. This bus shows you around and you can get on and off whenever and wherever you want to. There are 3 different routes: Red Route, Blue Route & Green Route. Tickets can be bought online , on board of the bus or at one of the TMB customer service centres.
Prices:
1 day adult: 21€
1 day child: 13€
2 days adult: 27€
2 days child: 17€
Trixis:
Trixi is a service for some fun time through the city. It is a bicycle taxi where young, friendly cyclists take you to the different sights in the city. At the monument of Columbus or in front of the Cathedral you can take a seat in one of the comfortable vehicles or a simple hand sign to a available Trixi passing is enough. The prices are about 6 € for 15 minutes, increasing by time – including worth knowing facts about beautiful Barcelona.
Staying in Barcelona for more than 2 months?
Bicing is a new system introduced in Barcelona only a short time ago. It’s a bicycle rental which requests a NIE number available for people staying longer than 2 months. Hundreds of Bicing stations are spread in the city easy to pick up and drop off again. This system is very convenient, especially during summer time. For more information go to www.bicing.com
Outside of Barcelona:
A common way to travel in Spain is by coach. There are many companies offering coach services to different cities troughout Spain. The coaches leave the station and take you directly to your destination. In that way you might be able to visit some other cities in Spain such as Madrid, Valencia or Bilbao. Some companies offering this service are:
Sarfa: Destination Costa Brava
ALSA-Enatcar: Destinations Madrid, Tarragona, Andalucia, Asturias, Zaragoza
Italy, France, Portugal, Poland.
RENFE Iñigo: Destinations Salamanca, Soria
Linebús: Destinations France, Italy, London, Marrocco
Starbus: Destinations Andorra, Germany, France, Holland
Eurolines: Belgium, France, Holland, Italy, London, Morocco
Secorbus: Madrid, Zaragoza, Poland
RENFE (Red Nacional de Ferrocarriles Españoles) is theSpanish railway system and offers trips from Barcelona to all other important Spanish cities. It also provides a great and cheap connection with the most important towns on the Costa Brava and the rest of Catalunya (Cercanias de Barcelona).
Those who want to travel in a faster way, can always fly around Spain. The most important flight companies in Spain are Iberia, Vueling, Spanair and Clickair. They offer both domestic and international flights.
Visiting the Balearic Islands (Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza, Formentera) is possible by boat from Barcelona, more info you can find here or with the following companies:
Transmediterránea
Buquebus
Grandi Navi Veloci
Balearia
Enjoy your stay in Barcelona!!
Every year, there is a running contest that has been held in Barcelona since 1985. It is called La Milla de Barcelona / The Barcelona Mile and is an initiative of the “La Fundació Claror“.The purpose of the contest is to compete in the Trofeu Internacional Ciutat de Barcelona and run a one-mile-race – 1,6 km or 1 and a half laps – around the church: La Sagrada Familia.
When: 26 April 2009, from 9:30, prices will be reached at 13:00
Where: Plaza de Sagrada Familia
Who: There are many different classes in which you can participate, from children to elderly people and professionals.
Barcelona is a music city, big concerts and festival can not be missing here. In 2009, Barcelona hosts concerts of some of the biggest musicians in the world such as U2, AC/DC, Madonna, Beyonce, Katy Perry, Slipknot, etc. But off course there are some good European singers such as the Italian Laura Pausini or the popular Spanish band, “La Oreja De Van Gogh”. Concerts of U2, Madonna, AC/DC and Beyonce aren’t sold out yet so you might check this website out if you are interested in cheap tickets! I really get all my tickets from this website, it is cheap and safe! Besides great concerts, Barcelona is also known for its good festivals. Sonar Festival and Summercase are two of them. Sonar Festival is an electronic music festival in Barcelona on the 18-19-20th of June and hosts some big groups such as Grace Jones, Orbital, Late of Pier and Erol Alkan. Summercase is a festival held each year in Barcelona and Madrid, except for this year. Due to the financial crisis, the festival will be postponed untill 2010!
If you would like to buy concert or festival tickets click here
When you are fed up with the stress and chaos in this concrete jungle called Barcelona, it is time to relax and step away from everything. I wanted to do this, so started looking for a place where I could relax as well as practice some sports. I ended up at Orthos Fitness y Wellness. The Orthos company has more than 30 branches throughout Spain, Portugal and Argentina. They offer many things such as: , Dancing, Yoga, Different therapies, Welness facilities, etc.
I took a look at what they offer and decided to enter some dance classes with my friends. They offer a wide range of dancing styles, from Hip Hop to Jazz. We decided to take the Hip Hop dancing classes as you can see in this movie :
Now we take the dancing classes with some great teachers, teaching us everything from basic choreographics to more complicated moves. Besides the dancemoves we also get to learn some more about music and the structure of it.
Do you want to know more about Orthos? Click Here
T
he shopaholics will love to go to some of the many outlet stores scattered around the city. For example a Mango outlet on C/ Gerona, LOGO on Rambla de Cataluña, and Desigual on C/ Diputación 313.. Here you can find products from the last season that can be 50% cheaper than in the normal shops!
For some nice music sessions I would warmly recommend to go to JazzSí taller de music club in Raval. They have different kind of music on different nights. Fridays are flamenco nights, entrance is 7,50 € with a drink included; on Sundays and Tuesdays they have jam sessions with some truly amazing local artists. The club is tiny but the atmosphere is so warm and lovely that it’s impossible to come out without a smile on your face!
The museum lovers should really take advantage of the free admissions on certain days of the month to many of the museums in Barcelona. For example the Picasso museum and the Geological museum in Parque de la Ciutadella are free of charge the first Sunday of the month, the Maritim Museum the first Saturday and at the MACBA museum the entrance is free on the first day of an exhibition! So grab the opportunity and do a museum-tour around the city!
As the city is very compact it is easy to get around by walking. However, if you want to see things farther out the T-10 card entitles you to travel around the city with buses, metro, trams and underground trains to a very cheap price of 7,70 €. This is a good option if you don’t want to attend any of the fairly expensive bus tours. With the public transportation you’ll reach the same sights anyway.
In the mornings you can have a very cheap breakfast in many of the local cafes. For example a croissant or a mini-bocadillo + coffee costs 1,80 – 2,00 €.
The lunch is the most important meal of the day. The best deals are the special menus of the day (menu del día) which is a three-course meal including dessert and a drink.
To be continued… more smart tricks on how to save a few bucks tomorrow 
Montjuic is one of the two hills around Barcelona and is a very nice place to visit or step away from the crazy city centre. The mountain has two faces, firstly there is the East side of the mountain. You can access it in three ways: on foot, by bus of by Funicular (The cable train/lift who takes you from the Paral.lel Metro station to the top of Montjuic.)
The nicest but most expensive way is off course the Funicular. On the way to the top you will be able to enjoy views of playing children and people relaxing on one of the hillside parks. On top of the mountain you will see a Medieval Castle.
Secondly there is the West side of the mountaitn and this side can be reached on foot from Plaza Espanya. People who don’t like too many stairs can even take the escalators.
Make a walk on this side of the mountain and you will see some of the most beautiful Olympic stadions and artworks designed for the 1992 Olympics. On top you will encounter the colossal palace, the National Museum of Catalan art. On your way down you should stop at the Poble Espanyol, an authentic Spanish village.
Tip: Go to the entrance near Plaza Espanya and watch the magic fountain at night, a really beautiful spectacle!!!
If you want to go out in Barcelona and meet some people from all diferent kind, a good place to go is the club called Get Back. This place is located in the street carrer d’Aribau, 242.
In Get back, you will find two different rooms, in the first one you will be able to listen to House Music and the other one you will hear some spanish music. To enter this club, you don´t have to pay, but you must consume at least one drink. At the entrance, you will receive a red card that you must give to the barman when you get your first drink. After that, they will give one green card that you can´t lose to get out of the club.
When you are looking for a diferent place to go, to see people from all ages and all kind, that´s the place you should go.
If you want to enter some of the best clubs in Barcelona for free, you can check out our guestlist !!!
Yesterday’s game of La Blaugrana was actually a bit redundant given the stunning 4-0 victory in the first game. But never say never!
München, supported by an enthousiastic home crowd, started ferociously but waited too long to score the first goal. Around half time, Frank Ribéry succeeded to round Victor Valdes and score. München were up 1-0 with 43 minutes to play and at least 3 goals to score in order to play extra time. Fortunately, FC Barcelona did not let München score again and ensured their semi-final game against Chelsea via a beautiful goal of Keita.
Chelsea played Liverpool, who had to make up the 3-1 defeat in the first leg. Liverpool planned to do this with two early goals. But the English clash continued and Chelsea came back to 3-2. In the thrilling last 15 minutes, Liverpool got to 4-3 and needed one more goal to go through to the semi-finals, until Frank Lampard scored a last minute goal leading Chelsea towards the semi-finals against Barcelona!
If you want tickets for a game that will undoubtedly be one of the best ones ever, you should check this website: Buy Tickets Here
Despite of the bad weather in Barcelona this weekend, we went to a club called Shôko, not just to go out but to have dinner first. They have one of the most beautiful terraces in the whole of Barcelona. The tight but yet loungy interiour, the nice people working there, the good-looking menu; fine cuisine and the sights from the terrace to the beach at night really attract people to have a nice and cosy dinner at Shôko. Even though the weather wasn’t that good, we sat outside near one of their heaters and didn’t notice the bad weather at all.
We made a reservation when we passed there in the afternoon, but in the evening we arrived too early. However, this was no problem, because then we had the opportunity to take a look around and have a drink at the bar first. Afterwards we moved to the terrace to have dinner and a bottle of Cava for less than 35€ per person. Before heading home, off course, we went inside to start a long night of clubbing at Shôko.Do you want to go out to Shôko or another club without having to queue or pay an entrance fee?
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Barcelona is a great place for fans of Reggae. Concerts, festivals, bars and shops for people interested in this music scene are to be found all over town.
If you like reggae maybe you should check out Rimshot Records in Barri Gotic, the only specialised reggae store (that I know of) in Barcelona, with records, clothes, jewellery etc.
In the same street (Carrer de Gignas) there is a bar with a DJ playing reggae music on Sunday evenings. And the drinks are cheap!
If you want to see a free reggae concert, the band Microguagua are playing in Grácia in Eldorado Bar, Plaza del Sol 4, 22:00 April 16th.
You may listen to their music by clicking this link (http://www.myspace.com/colectivomicroguagua)
To check out more reggae concerts and events, check out this link http://www.bcn-reggae.com/
The perfect nights are the ones that you never really know where they’ll end. You can go out without any plan and have the best night ever!
So one friday evening we went out to have a couple of beers with some friends of my boyfriend. They were visiting Barcelona for a few days and were really excited to make the most of their stay. We started the night at a bar in Barrio Gotico, had some beers, some nachos and enjoyed the great music! After the beers we felt for some sweeter drinks and headed to the Paseo de Colom at the seafront. There is a bar called Chupitos (=shots), which is both tiny and really crowded! The fun thing is to have the shots together with a bunch of people, so our group of seven were just perfect! We had shots like “Harry Potter” and “Acid”… they taste like sugar, but the good thing is that they’re really cheap! Details
