• Festes de la Mercè Around the 24th of September, the main celebrations in the city. Live music during all the day and night, theatre, life in the streets, castellers, and most of it for free!
• Festes de Gràcia Around the 15th of August, the celebrations from the Gràcia quarter. Many streets are decorated by the neighbours, live music, food in the street, party all night long. They have a website
• Festes de Sants Similar to Gracia's ones, but smaller and a bit later in August. If you can't go to the Gracia's, try these! They have a website (
• Sant Jordi 23rd of April. Is like Saint Valentine's in many places. People give roses and books around the streets. Is one of the most popular and interesting celebrations in Catalonia.

• Corpus. Late in May (Corpus Christi day). An egg is put over the fountains (most of them in the churches, and decorated with flowers), and "magically dances" over the water. Most of the churches are in the city center: Cathedral's cloister, Sta. Anna, Casa de l'Adriaca, Museu Frederic Marés, and over 10 more fountains.
• Fira de Santa Llúcia From December 2nd/3rd to December 23rd, to commemorate Sta Llúcia (December 13th). In front of the Cathedral, is where the Christmas objects are sold. Some places sell Christmas trees, but most of them sell elements for making the pessebres, the representions of the birth of Jesus that people uses to put at home. You can find from the small sculptures to the wooden pieces to the moss used to simulate grass. By far the star of every year's Santa Llúcia is the caganer, a uniquly Catalan addition to the birth of Jesus. It is a very charismatic figurine of someone squatting, butt exposed, taking a dump, turd included. What's special about them is that they are a great thermometer of fashion and current events WikiPedia:Caganer.

Barcelona's official languages are Catalan and Spanish. Most signs are indicated both in Catalan and in Spanish. Every inhabitant speaks Spanish though - and some speak English or French.

vilaweb.com it is the main local online newspaper. There is a section in english with a guide of city website in english

If you read Spanish, you can visit "salir en Barcelona" , with info about the local events. If you want more information about nightlife in Barcelona visit "Barcelona Nightlife Guide" . Discounts can be obtained by buying a discount card. There are few available although the main discount card for nightlife discounts is the BCN-Nightlife card.

Also, you can buy in all newsstands a magazine called Guía del ocio , with weekly information about; festivals, music, restaurants, cinema, theater, night, arts, kids, tv... A lot of useful information with timetables and prices.

Moreover there's an off the beaten track alternative, visit "maumau" which specialises in recommending good quality events that take place in the city. On thursdays they give away free entrance to Sala Apolo.

Barcelona's airport , called el Prat, is about 10 km from the city center. Once there, you can go to the center by train (every 30 minutes, stopping at Sants and Plaça Catalunya), by bus A1 (Aerobus) that stops at Plaça D'Espanya, Plaça de la Universitat and Plaça de Catalunya every 12 minutes. The bus is the more expensive option at €3.60, with the added possibility of finding traffic jams. Both services run until 11 PM.

There is quite a good taxi service, the only way to reach the center if you arrive at night. The fare is about 12 euros if you go to the center, but this can change depending of the time of the day and, of course, the part of the city you want to reach.

Alternatively, you can rent cars and there is a big car park, though quite expensive if you leave your car there for more than a couple of hours.

The el Prat airport is served by a number of airlines, including EasyJet and Virgin Air, one of many scheduled flight companies.

The VILOBÍ D'ONYAR (tel 972 186600 / 972 186708) regional airport at Girona (around 110km north of Barcelona) is an increasingly popular option for visitors to Barcelona, particularly budget travellers. Girona airport formerly catered largely to charter flights serving the nearby Costa Brava, but lately budget carrier RyanAir added a number of routes to Girona from its existing European hubs. RyanAir's partner Barcelonabus (tel: 902 361 550) runs a non-stop bus directly from Girona Airport to metropolitan Barcelona, arriving at the Barcelona Nord Bus Terminal (just beside the Arc de Trionf and the Arc de Trionf Metro Station) in around 90 minutes. Buses back to Girona Airport leave from across the street. Tickets (a return trip costs 19 Euros) can be bought at a kiosk inside Girona Airport or at the Estació del Nord n°12 box (There's no on board ticket selling, so you must buy it before getting on). The busses are scheduled to pick up arriving travellers 30 minutes after each RyanAir arrival, and to take outbound passengers to Girona Airport in adequate time for each scheduled RyanAir departure. The busses have a "RyanAir Girona Airport - Barcelona" sign in the window (RyanAir Gerona Info) and Bus Timetable .

Then there is an hourly bus from the airport to Girona rail station. Girona is well worth a visit, and has regular rail links to Barcelona (about 6 euro and 1 hour).

A taxi trip from Girona Airport to Barcelona will cost over 100 euros (with unscrupulous taxi drivers willing to illegally charge unwitting tourists even more). Some online agencies offer a door-to-door shuttle service, but this must be prebooked well in advance (and is unlikely to be cost-competitive with the Barcelonabus shuttle).

The main train station in Barcelona is called Estació de Sants, but the most central ones are Catalunya (only regional trains) and Passeig de Gràcia (serving some long-distance lines).

The Spanish train company is called RENFE . Barcelona is very well connected by train with Madrid, Valencia, Zaragoza and the Basque Country.

Inside Catalonia, there are frequent trains from the other three provincial capitals (Lleida, Tarragona and Girona).

A few trains travel across the Pyrenees, but it's possible to reach the eastern part using the train to Tour de Carol (France).

Going by train to the Costa Daurada beaches is the best choice, using the line to Tarragona. Only some parts of Costa Brava are well connected by train. You can either go to the region around Cap de Creus, in its top, or to Blanes, in its bottom.

Buses connect Barcelona to many destinations, and they are the only mode of transportation to reach many places in Catalonia. The most important bus stations are:

• Estació de Sants, serves mainly international routes, and is located next to the train station.
• Estació del Nord, is the main bus station for medium and long routes, and is located next to Passeig de Sant Joan.

The routes within Catalonia are served by different bus companies. Every town is usually served by a single company. To find which bus company serves which route, ask at an information point, or try this site (although in Catalan, it is quite easy to use: enter your origin on the left, your destination on the right, and it will tell you the name of the bus company and its telephone number).

Spanish people don't take hikers often, so make sure you get a direct ride to Barcelona if you come from France (March 2004 the border control is restored and the border is thus a great place to get a hike).

To get out to France you can take a train to Sils and walk to the place where cars coming from the Costa Brava take the paying highway to go north.

• The Bus Turistíc links all of the Barcelona tourist sites you could possibly want to visit. It has three routes, including a northbound and a southbound line which leave from opposite sides of the Plaça de Catalunya. You can buy one day (€17) or two day (€21) tickets.

• The metro can take you to many places. A one jouney ticket cost 1,15 euro, so it's probably best to buy a multiperson 10-ride ticket for 6,3 euros or a personal 50-ride monthly ticket for 25 euros. These tickets are also valid in the buses. More information

• The Barcelona Card features unlimited free travel on public transport and free admission and discounts at around 100 visitor attractions. The card is available for purchase for periods between 1 and 5 days, costing €17 for a 1 day card and €30 for a 5 day card.

• Stroll on Las Ramblas (a tile-covered tree-lined pedestrian walkway, the busied and most lively street of the city), La Plaça Catalunya (emotional center of Barcelona) i El Portal de l'Àngel (a commercial pedestrian road).
• Stroll along miles of beachfront boardwalk starting from Barceloneta or get a tan on the beach.
• Wander the Barri Gotic, the largely intact medieval center of the city.
• Enjoy the nightlife in the city's 200 or so squats.
• Walk in Born, a very popular area with great restaurants and places to have a few drinks.
  

• Gaudi architecture, including the Parc Güell, the still unfinished Sagrada Família and the houses; La Pedrera/Casa Milà and La Casa Batlló.
• La Rambla is the most famous boulevard in Barcelona.
• The Gothic Quarter , with the Cathedral and Santa Maria del Pi Church.'
• La Paça Reial is located next to La Rambla and is considered to be one of the most beautiful squares in the world. Also look at the Guadi streetlights!
• Olympic stadium and village on Montjuïc hill, including the Montjuic Castle with his beatifull sightseeing.
• Tibidabo is located on the mountains of Barcelona and offers a spectacular view of the city.
• Olympic Port. It has a large number of restaurants, bars and other establishments which have made Barcelona's nightlife even more intense.
• Camp Nou Stadium. If you're a football freak then you can't miss this place. Campnou is the home ground for FCBarcelona. This stadium is the biggest in Europe with capacity of 98,600 people, it also has shops and a museum of the history of FC Barcelona.
• Zoo-Barcelona It is located in Parc de la Ciudadella. This zoo once was famous for its white gorilla "Snowflake". Unfortunately he died. But still this zoo has many other features including a science museum inside the zoo.
• Poble Espanyol A village that let you see almost all typical architecture of spanish houses. The village hosts the Fondation Fran Daurel, where you can enjoy an intresting Modern Art collection boasting Miró, Picasso, Tapiès and other, mostly Spanish and Catalan, nowaday's artists.
• Palau de la Música Catalana Modernist desing by Lluís Domènech i Montaner is in the UNESCO World Heritage since 1997, a masterpiece of Catalan's Modernist Architecture.

• 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.
• The Museum of the City of Barcelona includes access to underground Roman ruins and a complex of historic buildings in the center of the Barri Gòtic (Gothic Quarter), as well as being a reasonably good historical museum.
• MACBA Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona (Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art.
• CCCB Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona.
• The Picasso Museum has a lot of art from his first period, before the cubism.
• Caixa Fòrum located at Plaça Espanya, this place hosts great exhibitions (at the time of writing: Dalí - Culture for the masses) and entrance is free!
• Fundació Antoni Tàpies This abstract artist has a great Museum close to Passeig de Gràcia. It is a good size, has great architecture and good international exhibits. Not to mention the Tapies!
• Joan Miró Museum This museum is on the Montjuïc accessible by the metro (L3 Paral·lel and then the funicular). It is a great treasure,maybe the best museum about Joan Miró. It always has interesting temporary expositions.
• L'Aquarium is the second biggest aquaurium of Spain. Watch thousands of fishes, pinguins and sharks in this interactive sea-life museum. Located at the Port Vell leisure center, next to the IMAX cinema.
• The Museum de l'Eròtica de Barcelona on Les Rambles, just in front of the market IS a deep tourist trap. The tour isn't worth it, unless you wish to see old paints of kamasutra. The only interest is the huge phallus in the hallway, makes funny pictures!

Barcelona has some of the best restaurants and cafes in Europe. For starters, you might try any of the large cafes that line the Passeig de Gracia and the Rambla de Catalunya, just north of the Plaça de Catalunya: nearly all offer a variety of excellent tapas (appetizers), although a bit expensive.

You can get food from any part of the world in Barcelona, but make sure you try some specifically Catalan food. The great Catalan staple is pa amb tomaquet: toasted bread, covered in olive oil, then smeared with garlic and tomato. The selection of seafood is consistently great, although not a lot of it is local (this part of the Mediterranean is pretty well fished-out).

The most popular quarter for the Barcelona's citizens is Barceloneta, where you can try fish based dishes, such as Paella or, the real dish from Barcelona arròs negre (Black Rice), that takes its colour because is made using squid ink. It's a very good place to eat tapas as well.

• Cafe de L'Opera, La Rambla 74, is a marvellous place to have a breakfast with fine strong coffee. The inside features 1920's decor.

• Les Quinze Nits, Plaça Réal, is THE place to get cheap, huge and delicious paella. The restaurant opens at 8pm, but come down earlier if you don't want to queue for hours before being able to enter.

• El Glop (four locations) offers excellent Catalan meals at a price within most budgets. Allow about 20€ per person, although you could get out of there for half of that if you let the price dictate your choice of dishes.

• Grupo Tragaluzhave more restaurants in Barcelona. The type of meal that they offer is creative and mediterranean. You can visit the website and decide what restaurant do you prefer http://www.grupotragaluz.com/.

• Suzet A nice place with a modern environment. The best crepes mixing modern and tipical catalan ingredients. C/Tallers,69 T. 93 318 4724

• Restaurant Miria not to be confused with the cafe of the same name right next door. Plaça Rius | Taulet 11. Really good food and reasonable prices (in Gracia). 93 218 51 98

• Juicy Jones about 100 yards from Liceu L3 off side road and down some steps. A great vegan restaurant is hidden behind the juice and tapas bar frontage. Address: C/ Cardenal Casañas 7.

Comer y no Bombas (location variable) shares free vegan food.

If you are looking for a cheap lunch:

• La Boqueria market: it's on the Rambla, and there you can find food at low prices, the only problem is that all that food is mostly raw food! Some stall sells stuff for you such as many kinds of well cooked ready to eat pasta, fresh fruit already sliced, ... La Boqueria

• Supermarket's Gastronomy: in several supermarket you can find a wide Gastronomy stall, with ready to eat dishes in a great selection. Differently from other countries you can have a two courses lunch with less than 5 euros.

• RiBborn , carrer Antic de Sant Joan 3 (map) Tel.(+34) 93 310 71 48. A hip bar in the heart of the Casc Antic , a vibrant section of Barcelona's Ciutat Vella with a variety of bars and restaurants. RiBborn offers "Funk you till you drop" hiphop jazz reggae and soul with dj Chocolito + guests, Tuesday-Sunday 10pm-3am. Live music until 1am on most Sundays and the odd weeknight.

• La Paloma is a very popular night club. In the evening they have shows, but late night it turns to the most crowded party place packed with young people.

• Catwalk is one of the most visited nightclub. Gets busy at around 2 am. They offer 2 different floors with R&B and hip-hop styles mixed with House or Techno.

• Shoko is -just like Catwalk- also down at the beachfront. Shoko offers you a true Feng Shui experience. Depending on the night they play house or Hip Hop music. One of the nicest decorated nightclubs in Barcelona.

• Maumau is a chilled out lounge bar with groovy tunes with an irregular programme of state of the art artistic intervention ranging from performance via shortfilm nights to installations and concerts. It's near the clubs of Paral.lel. It is worth looking at their webpage for the bar's and Barcelona nightlife upcoming events. [1]

For an extensive list of club and bars you can visit either "Barcelona nightlife Guide" (English and Spanish) or "salir en Barcelona" (Spanish Only).

• La Gauche Divine , an incredible multiconcept store near las Ramblas. An example of the catalan design is the decoration of the shop with an exclusive combination of furniture from the sixties and paintings and sculptures all around. The shop includes a little corner where you can have a drink while watching the latest trend publications and an inner patio with plants and sculptures They have a lot of clothes and accessories for men and women, the most original pieces you can find in Barcelona Don't miss the courreges mini dresses brought from Japan and the catwalks and special events they organize every month.

• El Corte Inglés It's a "Harrod's Like" store, multiple buildings, several floors, you can find anything in a wide range and stocks. It sells almost everything, from gastronomy to pneumatics.

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Barcelona offers a great arrangement of accommodations, from cheap, decent "hostel" rooms with the bathroom down the hall to five-star hotels. Here are some that are notable in their price range:

• Hotel Cuatro Naciones, La Rambla 40, Barcelona 08002 , Tel: (+34) 93 317-36-24. Hotel ** on the Barcelona's most characteristic avenue (La Rambla), the nerve centre of the city. This historic area is very close to the Cathedral, the Gothic quarter and the harbor, as well as Barcelona's best shopping streets. Rooms varying from single to Quad size. Prices are very modest - starting at 80€ for a double. http://www.h4n.com/
• Hotel Catalonia Albinoni, Avd Portal De L'Angel 17, Tel. (+34) 93 23 60 00. Central, on a pedestrian street just south of Plaça Catalunya. Rooms of varying sized, but quiet, well maintained and in an excellent location in the Barri Gòtic. About €130/night for a double room with ensuite bathroom.
• Hotel Gran Via, Gran Via Corts Catalanes 642, Tel. (+34) 933 181 900. Very central, and originally a palace, the public spaces of the hotel live up to that history. The rooms are large, but otherwise relatively modest. About €80 per night for a double room with bath.
• Pensión Norma, up 3 flights of stairs at C. Gran de Gràcia, 87, Tel. (+34) 237 44 78. Modest rooms, some with bath, in the relative quiet of Gràcia, about a kilometer north of the center of town. About €25 per night.
• HCC Covadona, Avda Diagnal 596, Barcelona 08021, Tel: (+34 93) 2095511. The HCC Covadona Hotel is situated on the main avenue, in the heart of downtown Barcelona, near key attractions, shopping and the business district. Recently renovated, this hotel offers all the modern conveniences. It's also only 2 km to Barcelona City Centre and only 1 km from Sants Rail Station.

There are three different names given to hotel-like accommodation in Barcelona they are Hotel, Hostal and Pension. It is important not to confuse a Hostal with a Hostel. A hostel offers backpacker-type accommodation with shared rooms. However a hostal is very similar to guest house and is generally cheaper than a hotel.

As the price of hotels rise in Barcelona a lot of people are turning to the alternative of tourist holiday apartments. Holiday apartments are a refreshing change to the hotel scene. For one thing they are 25 - 30 % cheaper. But the real reason is the convenience and privacy. All tourist apartments have a kitchen and refrigerator which means breakfast, snacks and meals and diners with great wine can be organized at the fraction of the cost of a restaurant. Apartments are generally more comfortable and larger than hotels too. Hotels, sensing a threat to their business, have complained and City Hall has duly complied with new regulation, so you may find that the apartments that were formerly rented are now closed. Below are a few agencies to book online with good selections:

• Renting Day Barcelona Renting Day Barcelona is an online booking centre which will enable you to book your accommodation from home. You will fully enjoy your vacations or business trips to Barcelona thanks to a wide assortment of high quality, well priced hotels, apart-hotels and apartments.

• Rentals-Barcelona Comfortable Barcelona apartments for short term rentals on good locations for tourism or business trips. Recently refurbished and good price-quality relation.

• Enjoy-Barcelona Your one-stop access to Barcelona. We have a large selection of more then 30 centrally located quality apartments and offer additional services at good rates. Let us make you Enjoy-Barcelona!

• Bacardi Private Apartments Offers private apartments located at Las Ramblas, with views to Plaza Reial.

• Habitat Apartments Quality holiday apartments in central Barcelona. All apartments are recently and tastefully decorated, and are located within a short distance of Las Ramblas, Plaça de Catalunya and the Gothic Quarter.

• OH-Barcelona.com Your expert in vacation rentals in Barcelona. Zentrally located and well-kept apartments in Barcelona. View photos, description, client reviews and book online. Lowest Prices Guaranteed

• BarcelonaPoint.com How wonderful it is to experience Barcelona! Enjoy a true Barcelona living experience by renting a holiday apartment. Many apartments to choose from with categories like economical, luxuray, family and backpacker.

• Residencia Australia and Hostal Central are located on different floors of Ronda Universitat No 11. Clean, friendly and good value, just off the Plaça de Catalunya. En-suite double rooms for around €60. Some travellers may wish to be warned that part of Residencia Australia's accommodation is a block nearer Les Rambles, next door to a sex shop.
• Alberg PALAU carrer Palau, 6 - Tel.(+34) 93 412 5080 and Hostel NEW YORK carrer d'en Gignas, 6 - Tel.(+34) 93 315 0304 are two youth hostels in the gothic quarter of Barcelona's Ciutat Vella. Clean and friendly, both hostels include breakfast, internet access, kitchen facilities, and a common room; all for under 20€ per person.
• Hostal Levante Baixada de Sant Miquel, 2 - Tel.(+34) 93 3179565 has clean, simple and good private rooms. Renovated bathrooms. Very good location, one block from the Plaça Reial e two from the famous Las Ramblas. Very good price, but breakfast not included.
  

• Infoespai, Plaça del Sol. A free Internet cafe, and social center. Infoespai is in the Gràcia quarter.
  

Barcelona is a very friendly city. Maybe this is the reason that many tourists become less careful and get pickpocketed in Barcelona. Crowded places and metro/busses and areas such as Raval and the famous "Les Rambles" are still the most likely places to get pickpocketed, but if you are just arriving be aware of pickpockets at Estació Nord. Take particularly care of your backpack and handbags. Other places in the city are less secure than the average: Plaça Real and Barrio Xino( the triangle from Colom Monoument to Calle Nou de la Rambla) above the others. Strictly avoid these places at night. Lone women should exercise caution in exploring the more isolated parts of Montjuic. The city beaches, particularly the ones adjoining Barceloneta, have proven to be quite lucrative for bag-snatchers. Anything that one would rather not chance losing is best left in ones hostel or hotel.

There have also been incidents of bag snatching while stopped at the traffic lights whereby the thieves open the car doors and take what they can. Please make sure that you always have your car doors locked during both the night and the day.

Day trips from Barcelona include:

• Figueres home of the impressive Salvador Dali museum
• Montserrat - visit the monastery nestled high on the mountain to see the Black Madonna or hike to the peak to earn a fantastic view of the surroundings.
• Sitges a traditional beachside destination for the locals.
• Madrid An hour by air
• Girona A quiet town with an ancient Jewesh section, narrow streets, imposing walls and plenty of cafes. See directions to the north Airport above.

• The official web page from the City Hall
• Catalonian railways (GFR)
• Spanish railways (RENFE)