The vivacious Spanish city of Barcelona which was immortalized forever in Woody Allen’s 2008, hit oeuvre Vicky Christina Barcelona is a truly magnificent destination that is a year round tourist magnet. In fact Barcelona which is located in the autonomous Spanish community of Catalonia is largely regarded as a gateway to the famed Spanish coastal region of Costa Brava.
Blessed with a year round Mediterranean climate Barcelona which is home to a proud Catalan population is usually inundated with tourists in the blazing hot summer months of July and August. However if you want to avoid long queues at Barcelona’s many museums and other attractions, you should try and visit this port city before the crowds arrive in late May or early June or towards mid- September when the city celebrates its most popular festival, the Festes de la Mercè which features the immensely popular parade of the Gegants (giants) and the fire runs or Correfocs along with much other revelry.
In fact Barcelona like so many other Spanish cities has a yearlong event calendar that is a chock a block with feasts and festivals and in order to experience the true character of this vibrant city, you should try and coincide your visit to with a major Barcelona festival like the Dia de Sant Joan which is an annual festival celebrated in honor of Saint John in mid- June , the Fira de Santa Llucia which is the annual Christmas fair of Barcelona or La Diada de Sant Jordi(St George’s Day), which is celebrated with much fanfare every year in mid-April.
Barcelona is served by its El Prat de Llobregat Airport (BCN) which is located seven miles(12km) to the southwest of the city center. The Barcelona airport plays host to most of the global major carriers as well as several low cost airlines. US Airlines such as Continental, Delta, United and American Airlines offer direct nonstop connections to Barcelona from New York City. However you can also choose access Barcelona by flying into various other European cities from the US and then buying a separate ticket on one of the many European low cost carriers like Ryan Air, Easy Jet, Air Berlin etc all of which provide cheap connections to the Barcelona International Airport. Barcelona is also connected by long distance train services to other European cities like Paris, Milan and Zurich.
If your visit to Barcelona is scheduled for the summer months your luggage must include cool, cotton clothing and comfortable footwear as this city which is also a perennial favorite with cruise liners is best explored on foot and public transport. However if you choose to visit Barcelona in the fall or early spring, you will probably need to exchange your summer clothes for light woolens and a jacket for although Barcelona enjoys a year round Mediterranean climate, the nights and evenings can get decidedly cool when temperatures hover around the low 60’s .
Barcelona like several other European cities has a well developed and efficient public transport system which is made up of metro, buses, trains, funiculars and cable cars and the best way for you to navigate Barcelona’s public transport is by investing in a Barcelona City Card that offers free travel on public transport as well as discounts on various popular Barcelona attractions. The price of the Barcelona City card varies according to the number of days you intend to use it for. This card can be bought online on the official website of tourism department of Barcelona even before arrive in the reigning queen of Catalonia .
Barcelona is almost always associated with the world renowned outlandish creations of its native son, the world famous architect Antoni Gaudi. Several weird and wonderful Gaudi creations dot Barcelona’s cityscape however some of the most popular Gaudi attractions in Barcelona include the Parc Guell which is located on Camel Hill and is filled with Gaudi’s fanciful works like flights of stairs, columns, colorful mosaics, a plaza that affords great views of the city and a pink colored house, la Torre Rosa which was once occupied by Gaudi and his niece and which is today a museum which houses Gaudi-designed furniture and other arte-facts.
Yet another not to missed Gaudi attraction in Barcelona is La Sagrada Familia which is thought to be Barcelona’s biggest attraction. This Church of the Holy Family was begun by Gaudi in 1882 and it displays his characteristic Art Nouveau styling though it is an incomplete work which is still in progress. Aside from these Gaudi centric attractions, Barcelona is also renowned for its famous tree lined avenue known as Las Ramblas which extends from within the Barcelona port at Placa Catalunya to Port Vell and is filled with lively but rather touristy restaurants, bars and shops. Las Ramblas traverses through the old Gothic quarter of Barcelona which is known as Barri Gòtic. The Barri Gòtic was once a fortified Roman settlement which today is a maze of narrow streets that has within its boundaries several attractions like the magnificent Cathedral le Seu.
To get a bird’s eye view of the city you may also want to head out to the two hills that overlook it namely Montjuic which overlooks the city center and Tibidabo which is located four miles to the northwest of the city. Both these elevations are filled with an assortment of attractions like the Joan Miro museum and the National Art Museum of Catalonia which are located on Montjuic and the Parc D’Attraccions (an amusement park) and the Torre de Collserola( a telecommunications tower with an observation deck) which are located on Tibidabo, accessible by funicular.
For those tourists who enjoy visiting museums, the city of Barcelona has much to offer in the form of its Museu d’Història de la Ciutat which has displays of the subterranean Roman settlement of Barcino, the Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA) housed in a Richard Meier designed building that has displays of numerous magnificent 20th century contemporary works, the Museo Picasso which has exhibits of the artist’s early works and the FC Barcelona Museum and Stadium which catalogs the history and achievements of one of Europe’s most beloved soccer clubs, FC Barcelona which is affectionately referred to by legions of its fans as ‘Barca’.
The soul of a city is most often revealed at its markets and in order to discover the soul of Barcelona you should head to the city’s main market called the Mercat de La Boqueria or simply ‘La Boqueria’ which is located near the Las Ramblas and is populated by over a thousand stalls whose vendors sell all sorts of products like fresh fish and seafood, meats, poultry, game, fruits and vegetables, herbs, breads and pastries, frozen items, artisan products, charcuterie(Spain’s famous cured hams), wine and much more. There are several cafes are located within the market which offer shoppers and tourists a spot to rest and relax as they grab a bite while taking the wondrous sights and sounds of this great food market. Aside from the animated and colorful La Boqueria, Barcelona is also home to a fascinating flea market which is held on the Plaça de les Glories on several days of the week. This market which is called Els Encants or the Mercat Fira de Bellcaire is populated with various kinds of vendors who offer a wide array of goods like antique furniture, jewelry, books, apparel, trinkets, second hand electronics as well as food and beverages.
Barcelona is a proud Catalan city which has its own unique language( the Catalan dialect) and cuisine and you must make it a point to sample some of its characteristic native fare in the form of dishes like the Pa amb tomàquet which is a traditional Catalan breakfast food that consists of a toasted bread with tomato, seasoned with olive oil and salt and the Crema Catalana which a rich custard that is often served with caramelized sugar for desert or used as filling for pastries amongst others. The city’s many excellent tapas restaurants also offer a wide range of unique finger foods like patatas bravas (fried cubed potatoes), bocarones (vinegar or oil cured anchovies), calamares (fried squid) and chorizo which are definitely worth sampling as well .
If you wish to take home a genuine piece of Barcelona with you then do try and avoid shopping for mementos and gifts at the many touristy souvenir shops that litter La Ramblas for they merely sell ‘Made in China’ trinkets rather than authentic souvenirs. A better et would be to shop at indigenous Catalan stores like Ici et La which is a clever design store located on Barcelona’s Plaça Santa Maria that sells decorative pieces designed by local artists or Custo Barcelona which is located on Calle Ferran and is the flagship store of the world famous homegrown in Barcelona label that is known for its unique one of a kind colorful t-shirts. Better still you could also take home gifts of some excellent but still relatively unknown Barcelona artisan chocolate that is produced by local Barcelona artisan chocolatiers like Cacao Sampaka , Oriol Balaguer and Escribá which is bound to be a hit with your friends and family back home.
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