Home
Contact Us
Add to favorites

Participate in the community

Recommended by:

CITY MAP & INFO ABOUT BARCELONA

Barcelona, the chic catalan capital, barely feels like a Spanish city. The classic tourist images of Spain are almost totally absent in this city of wide boulevards and striking modern architecture. This is a confident, prosperous, youthful, energetic, fun-loving city, with a passion for style and design and an obsession with its own image. The reinvention of Barcelona began in the early 1990s as it prepared to host the Olympic Games. The Modernista architects have been rediscovered and the eccentric genius Antoni Gaudí become an icon for the city. The warm climate, vibrant nightlife and designer shopping are drawing increasing number of visitors, and Barcelona has become one of the cultural hotspots of Europe.
Barcelona is great to explore on foot as the neighbourhoods and famous attractions all fan out from the city centre and make for an interesting wander. Ten minutes walk takes you from the marina area, through Gotico and up Las Ramblas to Plaça Catalunya, the most central point in the city.

It is very easy to find your way around here, due to the simple street structure and its positioning in a valley basin. Most of the city runs in a grid, on a slow incline from the beach up to the mountains, so generally speaking, if you'are not walking up or down, you are walking across!

View Larger Map

City distribution

The districts are also well connected with good-value public transport.
You can hail a taxi almost anywhere and a ten journey city area pass for bus and metro still costs under 7 euro. Buses run a frequent night service to all districts and from April 2007 the metro is open 24h at weekends.

Barcelona, with a population census of 1,605,602 on 1 January 2006, is divided into ten administrative districts, each one with its own district council, which allows a decentralised, local administration, closer to the residents.

The ten city districts are Ciutat Vella, Eixample, Sants-Montjuïc, Les Corts, Sarrià-Sant Gervasi, Gràcia, Horta-Guinardó, Nou Barris, Sant Andreu and Sant Martí.

This division of the city has its roots based on the history of the city. Ciutat Vella is the old centre of the city and the Eixample is where the city expanded after the city walls were knocked down. The other districts correspond to municipal areas which were around the old city, outside the walls, and which became part of Barcelona during the 19th and 20th centuries.

Each district is divided into different wards, each with its own personality and historic traditions.

Public Transport

FROM BARCELONA AIRPORT...

Aerobus (SHUTTLE BUS)

Express bus service to Barcelona city center from/to the airport.

The aerobus service is a shuttle bus service that links Barcelona airport to the city centre. This service normally runs every 15 mins within its fixed hours of operation (see official website below for the exact timetable for the Aerobus)
You can catch the Aerobus from outside all 3 airport terminals. The aerobus will then take you to the city center where you can alight either at Placa Espana or Placa de Catalunya (there are other stops but we recommend you refer to the official Aerobus website. From there you can catch the metro underground.
Ticket Price 4.25 euros for a single and 7,30 Euros for a round trip. Tickets can only be purchased on the bus. Save 20% on the ticket price with the Barcelona Card

Train

Trains take 30 minutes, departing every half-hour from the airport. Take the overhead walkway between terminals A and B to reach the station. You can board with a T10 metro pass, bought from any ticket machine (6,90 Euro for 10 journeys). Service C10 stops at major stations such as Sants Estación Passeig de Gracia, before terminating at Estació de França

Taxi

Travelling by Taxi is a low cost and convenient way to get from the airport to the city centre, especially if you have a family or a lot of luggage.
You will find a taxi rank outside any of the main terminal exists. Look for the sign pointing to the nearest taxi rank. The taxis operate all night and there are several hundred of them so you don't have to worry about not being able to catch a cab.
The journey to the city centre will take you between 20 to 30 minutes depending on road conditions.
Taxi Fare: expect to pay around 25 Euros for the journey into the centre. There will also be an additional surcharge charge for each bag you're carrying. You'll find the rates displayed inside the cab.
All official Barcelona taxis are black and yellow and are required to charge you only the value on the meter (Plus any surcharge. Surcharges include a supplement for travelling from the Airport, or to or from the port and also for each suitcase, all surcharge rates are displayed in the back of the taxi).

FROM GIRONA OR REUS AIRPORT...

These airports are about an hour and a half by coach from Barcelona. Generally, the Ryanair buses which go direct from these airports to Estació Nord (from Girona) or Estació de (from Reus) in central Barcelona, depart about 35 minutes after the arrival of any Ryanair flight. The fare is 12 Euro for a single journey and 20 Euro return; they are sold by the driver on boarding the coach. It is possible to obtain the timetable and information for this service by looking online.
A taxi from Girona airport into Barcelona is highly expensive and not recommended.

The meter will show the fare, but extra fees do occur: Between city and airport, with luggage to be handled, or late at night. This is detailed on a sticker inside the cab. Metro and Bus in Barcelona The Metro underground is a fast and easy way to move around Barcelona. Get your ticket at any metro stop and if you're planning to make more than one journey during your stay, a T10 metro pass is highly recommended, as you get 10 zone-free journeys for about 7 Euro.

The Metro operates Monday-Thursday from 5am till midnight, Friday 5am-2am, Saturday is now open 24 hours around the clock until midnight on Sunday. During certain city fiestas and special events, the metro is open 24 hours. Buses are very frequent and although a slow means of transport, you can enjoy Barcelona's wonderful views and get your bearings. Normal buses run from around 6am until 10.30pm.

There's also an excellent Nitbus service running all night on limited routes from Plaza Catalunya. Your standard metro pass operates on Metro, bus, Nitbus, and also the Funicular to Montjuic Parking in Barcelona There will normally be public car parking facilities spread throughout the city, although taking public transport is a much easier way of getting around town. Most of them are signed with a white P on a blue square. It costs around 2.20 € per hour. Another option is to by a discount card, giving 25, 50 or 100 hours of parking with a discount of up to 30 per cent. On street parking is a nightmare and also expensive.
Different zones have been created and are differentiated by price and the maximum length of time you are allowed to park.

Cultural Tips

In the morning , Barcelonians will usually grab un café sol or café solo (an espresso) or un tallat or cortado (espresso with a little milk) in a bar or café the way to work. This is sometimes accompanied by a mini entrepà or bocadillo (sandwich) or a croissant.
 
Typical sandwich fillings are pernil dolc or jamón dulce (sliced ham), truita or tortilla, (spanish omelette with potato), or even pernil iberìc or jamón, which is Spain's famous hard-cured ham, cut directly off the leg, which has a remarkable flavour and texture.
 As breakfast is quite popularly eaten on-the-go, you can get a coffee and sandwich for about 2,50 Euro.
 
In terms of lunch, it's lovely to pick up some groceries and find a spot for a picnic in the city, as Barcelona has an abundance of beaches, parks and viewpoints. Be aware however, that some supermarkets do close during siesta hours of between 2pm and 5pm.
 
Many lucky Barcelonians benefit from a long lunch of anything up to 3 hours. It's quite common to peruse a restaurant or café with an outdoor terrace and spend the afternoon. Because of their popularity, lunch menus are widely available and affordable. A meal including starter, mains, dessert with a drink would normally set you back between 15 and 25 Euros. Alternatively, there are a huge number of bars and restaurants where you can try some tapas. Best split among friends, sample some tapas of meat, salads and dishes, or the excellent local seafood. These range in portion size and price, from about 1 Euro or less. Tapas however are not usually regarded as a main meal; moreover, snacks to enjoy before dinner, with your copa de vino (glass of wine) or caña (lass of beer). Also try the clara; a refreshing mix of beer and lemon soda.

Dinner in Spain is eaten quite late, at around 9 or 10pm. The city is rife with fashionable international cuisine and has many fine dining restaurants to try, for any taste or budget. As Barcelona has one of the oldest ports in the world, it is well renowned for its seafood and many restaurants have an excellent menu, usually with Spain's national favourite, paella. Order a meat or seafood paella, or for the more adventurous palette, Arroz Negro, which is paella with squid ink.

Save Barcelona?

This is difficult to say because I we don’t want to scare people off from coming to Barcelona. By writing about safeguarding your personal safety in Barcelona and how to ensure you are not pick pocketed or robbed implies that the city is not safe.
However it's true to say that there is a pick pocketing and bag snatching problem in Barcelona.
At night time La Rambla can be seedy and there are prostitutes who are often than not also pickpockets. They operate along the full length of Las Ramblas. They will aim to get physically close to tourists by linking arms or pulling the tourist close to them. That is when they will attempt to pickpocket you. Sometimes they will work with more than one person and one causes the distraction whilst the other steals from you. The stolen goods are then quickly passed on to someone else for safe keeping so that if you ever go back to challenge them (not recommended) they miraculously have nothing on them that was yours!
Please take care at night and particularly on Las Ramblas. The "prostitutes" undertaking these thefts can be quite persistent even if you tell them repeatedly to go away they often still continue to pursue you. However if you just keep on walking quickly past and repeatedly keep saying "no" in our experience they get the message and leave you alone eventually.


Restaurant Tips

Eating out in this city is a real pleasure, with the emphasis firmly on seasonal and fresh produce, and a huge range of restaurants, snack bars, tapas bars, café and "granjas" feeding residents and visitors throughout the day and night. Spain has no true national cuisine, apart from paella (saffron-flavoured rice, chicken and seafood), tortilla (omelette) and gazpacho (tomato- and pepper-based chilled soup), as cooking is firmly regional.


Areas at a glance:

Barceloneta, Port Vell and Port Olimpic: known for its fish and seafood
Barri Gotic: Strong on traditional Catalan restaurants, with some Spanish regional food
Eixample and Zona Alta: Expect high prices with food and serviced to match.
Raval: A multicultural choice
Gracia: More Catalan eateries, and some international (asian food) and regional food
El Born : The hot spot for the newest trends, with designer restaurants frequently opening.