Barcelona…City of Dreams !!

CITY INTRO

Barcelona is located at the northern coast of the Iberian Peninsula, facing the Mediterranean Sea and is famous for its beaches, water sports, night life and yes the main game of the Spain Soccer!!
The city is a must visit place for the one who loves to do lot of water sports as you can find almost all the water sports in its best form in Barcelona.
Barcelona provides one of the best option to enjoy the night life . You can find here people partying 24 hrs a day. Night clubs, Bar all are fully active and full of crowd any time you go in the night even on the weekdays.
The city is also famous for its culture, Cuisines and fabled architecture. If you are a person looking for a historical visit or loves to know the varied culture of the world, Barcelona is the best place for you.
And Yes if you are the Soccer lover you can’t afford to miss this city of Spain. Its really a fabulous and fantastic place to watch your favorite game and feel it !!

In short Barcelona is a single package where you can see a lot of things like beaches, adventure sports, architecture, famous cuisines of the world and a lot more. I can just say this is a place one cannot afford to miss if you are on a Europe tour!!

HOW TO VISIT

Exploring the city of Barcelona depends fully on what one like. If you want to explore the the every part of the city, like its beaches, water sports, culture, architecture, minimum period of 4 days is must.

One of the way to travel the city is to take the T-10 Cartel which cost 10 Euro and and you get the 10 tickets which can be used in any public transportation. You can also think to buy the Barcelona City Card (Cost 45 Euro for 3 days) which will provide you the following benefits:

a. Free travel to all the places

b. Free entry to the museums

c. Discounts at the entry of 70+ places.

I personally think that if you are not that interested in the museums, city card is not that worth, rather one should opt for the City Bus turisitc for 2 days which cost around 37 Euro. The benefit of the Bus Turistic are:

a. It is like a guided tour to entire city of Barcelona. You can understand the historical facts about the city, its culture and the architecture.

b. You can get down from the bus and visit the places of interest and again get back on the bus any number of time.

c. One get the discount coupons which will also provide the discount at the entrance of various places.

COST ESTIMATION

The amount one spends here fully depends on what activities one does. If one is going for water sports, enjoy the wonderful cuisine each day, night parties apart from the sight seeing, Barcelona will cost around 350-400 Euros for 4 days (excluding travelling cost to Barcelona). The major cost breakup are:

Accommodation : Youth Hostel cost around 30-40 Euro per day and can be booked online through various websites like Hostel Bookers and Hostel world.

Food :  5-7 Euro per meal in an inexpensive restaurants. However if one go for Tapas it might cost from 14-20 Euro (incl of Sea foods)

Transportation Cost : As described above T-10 cartel cost around 10 Euro. If you go for the Barcelona city Card, transportation will be free.

Sight Seeing : Barcelona has lot of things to see, however it is not possible to cover all the places in 4 days. On an average sight seeing will cost 100-150 Euros and you can cover best part of the city in that.

Night Club : Check with your hostels/hotel staff about the clubs with which they have tie up. Generally in those clubs entry is free or is at minimum cost of 4-8 Euros.

Money Saver Tips :

1) Travel with the T-10 Cartel card if you are not interested in Museums, else go for the Barcelona City Card. You can take the Bus Turistic which also provides the discount on entry of various attractions.

2)  Many Hostels/Hotels have tie up with Night clubs of Barcelona. In those night clubs entry is generally free or at discounted price of 4-6 Euros. Ask at the reception for the Night Clubs with which they have tie up.

3) Some Hostels/Hotels provide discount coupons for the various Tapas restaurants. Check at the reception.

4) Plan your travel in well advance. Booking in last moment will increase your cost by 50-80 Euros.

MUST WATCH PLACES/THINGS TO DO

Walking Tour

Barcelona has lot of architecture and history within itself. If one needs to understand the culture of the city, I strongly recommend to take the walking tour organized by various organization here. The tour takes around 2.30 hrs and you will go to the various hidden streets of the city. The guide will take you to the history and the importance of the each place. There are following two important walking tour which one must take in order to understand and appreciate the culture and history of the city:

Old City free walking tour

Gaudi Free walking Tour
This walking tour happens twice or thrice a day. You can check at the reception of your hostels/hotels for the timings of the tour.

Antoni Gaudi Work

Antoni Gaudi was a Spanish architect from Reus. He is famous for his unique and wonderful architectural work. Most of his work can be found in Barcelona. If you are in the city, you must look into his work and understand the same. Following are the example of some of his unique work.

a. Casa Batlo

Casa Batlo is one of the renowned building of the Barcelona and is considered as a masterpiece of theAntoni Gaudi, the famous architect of the city. The house is all in together built in a different way having a oval shape windows, flowing sculpted stone work etc.

b. Le Pedrera

It is also another important work ofAntoni Gaudi  . The visit to this building includes the exhibition about his work in the attic space, the rooftop, and the recreation of a period apartment.

c. Sagrada Familia

The Sagrada Familia is a large Roman catholic church in Barcelona. It is a dream of Antoni Gaudi to which he devoted much of his life. Started in 1882, the construction is still under progress. The church is a part of the UNESCO world heritage.

d. Park Guell

The park Guell is named after Gaudi’s great Patron, Count Eusebi Guell. It is a public park composed of gardens and architectonic elements.

Aquarium

La’ Aquarium is located at Port Vell, a harbor in Barcelona is a home of around 11000 sea animals. representing around 450 species.  It is very interesting and all together a different experience where you feel like underwater with the sea animals including sharks :).

Placa de Espanya/Musical Fountain

Place de Espanya is one of the most important square of the City. This is one of the biggest square of the city. At this place you can see the musical fountain which run every Thursday to Saturday in the night. This is one of the must watch place of the city.

Football Club

This place is a must visit place for all the football lovers. The club was founded in 1899. Within the club you can visit the museum and also discover the secrets of the Camp Nou stadium, the dressing rooms, the director’s box the pitch etc.

Montjuic

Here you can take a cable car and discover the breathtaking views of the city. You will be able to enjoy the city’s most most impressive green areas on the unique transport which travels upto the castle in the top of the hill.

Tibidabo Mountain and amusement park

Here you can enjoy the magnificent views of the Barcelona.  You can also visit the Amusement park here which cost around 28.50 Euro per adult. The place is wonderful and one of the must visit place of the city.

Beach and water activities

There are lot of beaches in and around the city. In the city there is a famous Barceloneta beach. This is a man made beach with the sand brought from Italy. There are lot of other beach around the city . The list can be found on the website of theBarcelona tourist guide.

If you are interested in the water sports, then this is the tight place for you. There are lot of water sports at the beaches of the city including scuba diving, banana ride, wake boarding, Jet ski etc.

Night Clubs and Bars

If you want to enjoy the night life, again the Barcelona is a best place for you. There are lot of night clubs and each day there is a theme party in almost every club. The entry fess range from 10 Euros to 25 Euros.  You can find the details of various clubs and parties by clicking here.

La Rambla Street

This is one of the most visited street of the Barcelona. You can find here lot of restaurants and clubs. The street is also location for the various city attractions like Teatre Principal, the oldest theater of the city, Opera House etc.

This travelogue was first published by Travel and Photography .