Barcelona

Barcelona

Barcelona  the second largest city in Spain and is located directly on the northeastern Mediterranean coast of Spain, has a rich history dating back at least 2,000 years when it gained prominence as a Roman town.  In 1992, Barcelona gained international recognition by hosting the Olympic games which brought a massive uptick to the tourism industry in the city.  Barcelona is today one of the world's leading tourist, economic and cultural-sports centres, and its influences in commerce, education, entertainment, media, fashion, science, and the arts all contribute to its status as one of the world's major global cities.  Barcelona is today an important cultural centre and a major tourist destination and has a rich cultural heritage. Particularly renowned are architectural works of Antoni Gaudí and Lluís Domènech i Montaner that have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites. 

History in short
The founding of Barcelona is the subject of two different legends. The first attributes the founding of the city to the mythological Hercules 400 years before the building of Rome. The second legend attributes the foundation of the city directly to the historical Carthaginian Hamilcar Barca, father of Hannibal, who named the city Barcino after his family, in the 3rd century BC. 

Climate
   Barcelona has a Mediterranean climate.  with mild, humid winters and warm, dry summers. Barcelona is located on the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula, so Atlantic west winds often arrive in Barcelona with low humidity, producing no rain.  The proximity of the Atlantic, its latitude, and the relief, are the reasons why the summers are not as dry as in most other Mediterranean Basin locations. Lows (not surface lows but high-atmospheric "cold invasions") can easily affect the area of Barcelona, causing storms, particularly in August. Some years, the beginning of June is still cool and rainy, like April and May. Together with August, September, October and November these months are the wettest of the year. The driest are February, March, June and July. As in many parts of Catalonia, the annual weather pattern varies greatly from year to year. Snowfalls are rare, seldom causing any disruption to traffic, but frost at night is common on the outskirts of the city. Thunderstorms, which occasionally reach severe limits, are common from mid August until November. Though Barcelona is normally not a windy city, it is affected by sea breezes from May/June to September and winds from the west and northwest in winter. Barcelona is generally a sunny city, however, some days of fog and spells of cloudy days are not rare. Sea fog is frequent in early spring, when the first warm African air masses come in over the cold sea water. Cloudy days are most frequent from April to October/November.
 
Arrival
August is probably the busiest time in Barcelona; at the same time about 10% of shops and restaurants can be found closed from mid-August to early September, when the owners go on vacations. You'll find cheap accommodation and a much quieter city as a vast majority of Spaniards go on vacation in August. Business is low, people from Barcelona tend to be on vacation, hotels that remain open but don't have their business customers tend to lower prices and make offers. However there will still be plenty of tourists. Barcelona has decent enough beaches but the locals will really appreciate it if visitors do not consider it a beach resort and don't wear beachwear when visiting churches, restaurants, etc.

Low cost carriers operating to Barcelona from many major cities. Barcelona International Airport, also known as El Prat, is a major transport hub and fields flights from all over Europe and beyond.  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). Taxis and Minibuses can be pre-booked online.   

Several trains per day (including overnight hotel trains) from other parts of Europe (via France) are regular & reliable. There are three main stations.Barcelona-Sants (to the south west of the center), Barcelona-Passeig de Gràcia (in the center of the city), and Barcelona-Estació de França, Avinguda Marquès de l´Argentera (on the edge of the old town next to the seafront district of Barceloneta). 

You can also get in by sea. The city's port is one of the busiest on the Mediterranean. It supports both ferries and cruise ships.

Get Around

  The Bus Turístic links all of the Barcelona tourist sites you could possibly want to visit. You can buy tickets at the bus stops and elsewhere (e.g., better hotels) valid for one day (€23) or two consecutive days (€30). The metro is also a best way to get around Barcelona.   A one-journey ticket cost €1.45, so it's best to buy a multi-person 10-ride ticket for €8.25 for Zone 1 which includes most tourist areas (called a T-10) or a personal 50-ride monthly ticket for €33.10. These tickets are also valid on the buses, trams, FGC (Catalan Railway Network) and on the main Spanish Trains (RENFE). 1- to 5-day public transport tickets are available that allow unlimited travel on the metro and bus networks (€5.90 for one day, €11.20 for two days, €23.10 for five days). Metro operating hours are: Sunday and Mon-Thur 5:00 to
24:00, Fri 5:00 to 2:00, Saturday 24 hr (continuous service from Saturday at 5:00 until Sunday at 24:00). Trains are fast, often coming in two minute intervals.

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 of between 2 and 5 days, costing €27,50 for a 2-day card and €45 for a 5-day card. But you will get an online discount of 10% if you are booking in advance. If you don't plan to see lots of museums every day, then it is cheaper to buy transport-only tickets   

Some other ways to get around are scooter, bicycle or car.

 

See

  

Main: Buildings and structures in Barcelona

Carrer del Bisbe in the Gothic quarter

Cathedral of Santa Eulàlia

• Sagrada Família, the international symbol of Barcelona
• Palau de la Música Catalana and Hospital de Sant Pau, 
• Park Güell, Palau Güell, Casa Milà, Casa Vicens, Sagrada Família (Nativity façade and crypt), Casa Batlló, Crypt in Colonia Güell. The first three works were inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1984. The other four were added as extensions to the site in 2005.
• The Cathedral of St. Eulalia
• Church of Santa Maria del Mar (Gothic)
• Gothic church of Santa Maria del Pi
• Church of Sant Pau del Camp
• Palau Reial Major, medieval residence of the counts of Barcelona and the Kings of Aragon
• The Columbus Monument
• Forum Building
• The Arc de Triomf
• Medieval church of Sant Pau del Camp

There are more than 40 museums in Barcelona. If you visit all of them then you have to spend a month for museum alone. Here are some important museums in Barcelona.

• National Museum of Art of Catalonia
• Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art
• Fundació Joan Miró
• Picasso Museum 
• Fundació Antoni Tàpies
• Museum of the History of Catalonia  
• Archeology Museum of Catalonia 

  Barcelona contains 68 municipal parks, divided into 12 historic parks, 5 thematic (botanical) parks, 45 urban parks and 6 forest parks. Montjuïc is the largest, with 203 ha located on the mountain of the same name, followed by Parc de la Ciutadella, the Guinardó Park (19 ha/47.0 acres), Park Güell, Oreneta Castle Park, Diagonal Mar Park, Nou Barris Central Park , Can Dragó Sports Park and Poblenou Park and the Labyrinth Park. A part of the Collserolla Park is also within the city limits. 

  Barcelona is listed first among the Top 10 Beach Cities in the world by National Geographic. ^]Barcelona contains seven beaches. Sant Sebastià and Barceloneta beaches,are the largest, oldest and the most frequented beaches in Barcelona. The Olympic Port separates them from the other city beaches:Nova Icària, Bogatell, Mar Bella, Nova Mar Bella and Llevant. These beaches were opened as a result of the city restructuring to host the 1992 Summer Olympics, when a great number of industrial buildings were demolished. At present, the beach sand is replenished from quarries given that storms regularly remove large quantities of material. The 2004 Universal Forum of Cultures left the city a large concrete bathing zone on the east most part of the city's coastline. Barceloneta beach gained status as the best urban beach in the World and total third best beach in the World, according the documentary film "Worlds Best Beaches" produced by Discovery Channel in 2005.

 Dont Miss

• La Rambla, a gorgeous tree-lined pedestrian walkway, the busiest and most lively street of the city.  
• La Plaça Catalunya. Connecting all the major streets in the city, the Placa is known for its fountains and statues, and the central location to everything in the city. 
•  El Portal de l'Àngel. Large pedestrian walkway with many new and stylish shops to browse in.  
• Sit on a wooden bridge to Maremagnum in Ciutat Vella and cool your toes at the waters edge: with a book, sandwich or just for a short rest.
• Enjoy your Sangria at La Plaça Reial in Ciutat Vella, near the La Rambla Street. Great place to sit,relax and drink. While visiting La Placa Reial, check out a Flamenco show at Los Torantos. 
• Ride the Cable Way to get from the sea front to Montjuïc mountain in Sants-Montjuïc