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Beautiful BARCELONA - Easy Travel Guide |
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Beautiful city of Barcelona, capital of Catalonia (a Spain's province), is situated on onshore ofMediterranean sea and bordered at either end by two river deltas. Barcelona issecond largest city in Spain after its capital city Madrid. Barcelona haspopulation of one.five million, over four million including suburbs. The varied, eventful history ofcity dates back four,zerozerozero years tofirst settlements by ancient farmers. Later it becameRoman colony,Visigoth's capital city, then it came under Moorish rule. It went through sieges, destructions and occupations, finally to becomeautonomous democracy oneninesevenfive. The city has always playedimportant role in political and cultural life of Spain and it is well reflected invariety and quality of historical buildings, museums, many other tourist attractions. Today Barcelona is one ofmost diverse european cities with unique culture and rich traditions. You can find hereformidable balance oftraditional things andavant-garde. A cosmopolitan metropolis, Barcelona affords visitorswarm and sincere welcome, being aknowledged worldwide as one ofbest tourist-friendly cities in Europe.Barcelona's organisation ofonenineninetwo Olympics provided regeneration of this dynamic city, gavefresh start to its infrastructure development.
WHAT TO SEE AND WHERE:
POINTS OF INTEREST - La Rambla istree-lined pedestrian boulevard packed with buskers, living statues, mimes and itinerant salespeople selling everything from lottery tickets to jewellery. Pavement cafes and stands selling craftwork, street performers surrounded by curious onlookers,noisy bird market, Palau de la Virreina,grand oneeightth-century rococo mansion,Gran Teatre del Liceu,famous onenineth-century opera house- these are all colourful parts of La Rambla's mosaic. La Rambla ends atlofty MonumentColom (Monument to Columbus) andharbour.
Barri Gotic - also known as Gothic Quarter, it isold part ofcity. Picasso lived and worked in Barri Gotic from oneeightninefive to oneninezerofour and Joan Miro was born and lived here during his youth. Gothic Quarter is situated onright hand side ofLa Rambla, it containsconcentration of medieval tall Gothic buildings (onefour-onefiveth century) on narrow cobbled streets and now is home to much ofcity's nightlife.
La Sagrada Familia - La Sagrada Familia is one ofmost famous and magnificent among Barcelona's landmarks. The life's work of Barcelona's famous architect, Antoni Gaudi,magnificent spires ofunfinished cathedral imprint themselves boldly againstsky with swelling outlines inspired byholy mountain Montserrat. Above each facade there are four towers, onetwo in total, which are dedicated toApostles. The tower incenter,tallest of all at onesevenzero m., is dedicated to Jesus Christ. Around these there aretowers offour Evangelists, andtower overapse is dedicated toVirgin. They are encrusted withtangle of sculptures that seem to breathe life intostone. Gaudi died in oneninetwosix before his masterwork was completed, and since then, controversy has continually doggedbuilding program. Nevertheless,southwestern (Passion) facade, is almost done, andnave, begun in onenineseveneight, is progressing.
La Pedrera - Casa Mila (Mila House) isapartment building,last example of Gaudi's civil architecture.It is one of his finest and most ambitious creations, extraordinarily innovative in its functional, constructive, and ornamental aspects. Visitors can tourbuilding and go up toroof, where they can see spectacular views of Barcelona. One floor belowroof ismodest museum dedicated to Gaudi's work.
Montjuic -largest open space incity, its main attractions areOlympic installations,Spanish Village andhilltop fortress. Montjuic,hill overlookingcity centre fromsouthwest, is home to some fine art galleries, leisure attractions, soothing parks andmain group of onenineninetwo Olympic sites. Montjuic is covered in ornamental gardens with water features and ismost popular destination in Barcelona on Sundays.
Tibidabo - ishighest hill inwooded range that formsbackdrop to Barcelona. It has amazing views ofwhole of Barcelona,stunning cathedral, andfamily fun park Parc d'Atraccions with old-style rides offering breathtaking views. A glass lift atpark goes oneonefivem (threeeightthree ft) up tovisitors' observation area at Torre de Collserola telecommunications tower.
Modernisme - spectacular modernista architectural creations dotted aroundcity by famous Antoni Gaudi and his contemporaries.
Camp Nou - home of F.C. Barcelona, one of Europe's leading soccer teams, with capacity of almost onezerozero,zerozerozero spectators.
The Seu Cathedral - Built in medieval times onsite ofRoman temple, La Seu is one ofgreat Gothic buildings in Spain.
Parc de la Ciutadella - Barcelona's favourite park andSunday afternoon rendezvous for families, friends and ducks
The Sardana - traditional Catalan dance, performed outsidecathedral and at national festivals, with everyone encouraged to join in.
MUSEUMS - The Barbier-Mueller Museum of Pre-Columbian Art -the only museum in Europe devoted exclusively to Pre-Columbian cultures. Housed ingothic palace, its collection is one offinest of its kind and gives visitorsinsight intorich world ofearliest cultures onAmerican continent. This tiny museum contains one hundred pieces, including wood and stone sculptures, ceramics, tapestries, jade, often found in international exhibitions and prestige publications. The exhibits representedOlmec, Maya, Aztec, Chavin, Mochica and Inca civilisations.
Palau de la Musica Catalana - one ofworld's most extraordinary music halls, it isBarcelona landmark. From its polychrome ceramic ticket windows onCarrer de Sant Pere Mes Alt side to its overhead busts of Palestrina, Bach, Beethoven, and Wagner,Palau isflagship of Barcelona's Moderniste architecture.
Museu Picasso - is Barcelona's most visited museum. three,fivezerozero exhibits make uppermanent collection. Picasso spent several years (oneninezeroone-zerosix) in Barcelona, and this collection, is particularly strong on his early work. Displays include childhood sketches, pictures frombeautiful Rose and Blue periods, andfamous oneninefivezeros Cubist variations on Velazquez's Las Meninas (Ladies-in-Waiting).
Gaudi Casa-Museu - Gaudi lived in this pink, Alice-in-Wonderland house from oneninezerosix to oneninetwosix, which now housesmuseum of Gaudi-designed furniture, decorations, drawings, and portraits and busts ofarchitect.
Fundacio Miro - it wasgift fromfamous artist Joan Miro to his native city. The museum opened in oneninesevenfive, and now it is one of Barcelona's most exciting showcases of contemporary art.
BEACHES - One of Barcelona's greatest draws is undeniably its beautiful beaches. Beside world-famous Costa Brava and Costa Dorada which are within one-hr drive time from Barcelona, there are also several nice beaches over four km long withincity boundaries, we will list just several of them here: Nova Icaria- Closest toOlympic marina, always crowded, this wide swathe of rough golden sand is great for food goers. There are three perfect beach bars and two very popular restaurants onpromenade (Mango and Chiringuito de Moncho) and countless bars and restaurants are justshort stroll away. Bogatell- This beach is twicelength of adjoining Nova Icaria and fringed bystretch of stone walkway perfect for jogging, roller blading and cycling. Three large informal restaurants onpromenade. Mar Bella (Metro Ciutadella Vila Olimpica, plus twozero-minute walk)- Barcelona's only naturist beach close topeaceful park - good forpicnic or siesta undertrees. Barceloneta- wide and long,traditional and popular stretch with locals, crowded, noisy and very jolly.
WHEN TO GO, WEATHER: The best times to visit Barcelona are late spring and early autumn, whenweather is still comfortably warm, around twoone-twofive°C. Summers are usually hot and humid, with temperatures averaging +threezero (+ eightsix Fahrenheit). Especially avoid"dead" month of August, when many shops, bars and restaurants close formonth as many local inhabitants head out ofcity. Winters are cool with average daytime temperatures around +onetwo C (+fivenine Fahrenheit), occasionally rainy.
GETTING THERE AND AROUND: Bydirect flight to Barcelona, or through Madrid or via another large European city from almost any major airports inworld. The highest fares are from May to September,lowest in March-April, October-November and December to February (excluding Christmas and New Year when prices are hiked up). Note also that flying on weekends may increase your ticket cost. If traveling to Barcelona from within Europe you can also chose train, bus or car, though these take much longer thanplane and often work out no cheaper. Many Mediterranean cruises include Barcelona asport of call.
ACCOMODATIONS: We can offer yourange of choices. You can choose vacation rentals in Barcelona starting from $ onetwofive USD fordouble room infour-star apartment hotel. Or you can opt for hotels from $ sixfive USD fordouble room inthree-star hotel. Accomodation prices do not change much throughoutyear due tosteady all-season flow of visitors to this extremely popular tourist city and surrounding resorts.
DINING: Besides restaurants you can eat at bars where you would havesuccession of tapas (small snacks- three or four chunks of fish, meat or vegetables, or salad, which traditionally used to be served up free withdrink) or raciones (larger ones). The bar option can belot more interesting, allowing you to dorounds and sample local specialities. Generally,average cost formeal consisting of two dishes and dessert would come to about twofive Euros. Travellers onextremely limited budget can do well for themselves by usingexcellent markets, bakeries and delis and filling up on sandwiches and snacks. Decent restaurants and cafes are easily found all overcity, though you'll probably do most of your eating where you do most of your sightseeing, inold town, particularly around La Rambla and inBarri Gotic. Look forbest and most authentic seafood restaurants in Barceloneta,seaside neighbourhood. Gothic Quarter neighbourhood is home to some ofoldest and most traditional restaurants incity. Gracia isvery popular area among young people duringweekend, it leadsway in terms of exotic restaurants (Lebanese, Egyptian, Thai etc.).
TRANSPORT: Barcelona has excellent transport system comprisingmetro (subway), buses, trains andnetwork of funiculars and cable cars. You can findlink to transport maps atend of our guide. On allcity's public transport you can buysingle ticket every time you ride, but even over onlycouple of days it's cheaper to buytargeta -discount ticket strip. The T-onezero targeta is valid for ten separate journeys onmetro, buses and trains. These tickets can be used by more than one person attime. The metro isquickest way of getting around Barcelona. For black-and-yellow taxis there isminimum charge of $ two euro. You'll obviously havegreat deal more freedom if you rentcar . Major roads throughoutcity are generally good, and traffic is generally well behaved, though Spain does have one ofhighest incidences of traffic accidents in Europe. It also has some oflowest fuel prices oncontinent.
SHOPPING: Barcelona, one ofmost stylish cities in Europe offers great shopping, from designer clothes and accessories to household items. You will findcity to be quite cheap forlot of items, especially if you coincide withannual sales ( rebaixes in Spanish) lasting from mid-January untilend of February, and throughout July and August. The best shopping areas in Barcelona areold streets offupper part ofRamblas. Souvenirs include ceramics, which are widely sold instreets aroundcathedral; leather goods; city's delicatessens, particularly cooked Catalan meats and sausages;porron (the long-spouted glass drinking jar); CDs and tapes of Catalan rock and pop, sardana music, Spanish rock or flamenco. If you're looking for original gift ideas, some ofbest hunting can be found inshops of any ofcity's museums, where you'll find reasonably priced and unique examples of Catalan disseny (graphic), and other original items ranging from postcards to replica works of art.
We wish younice and safe trip!
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