Barcelona, Spain - Travel Essentials

Where is Barcelona Spain?:

Barcelona, the capital of the region of Catalonia, is located on the Mediterranean coast in the east of Spain. It is located at 41.40°N Latitude and 2.17°E Longitude.

What is the Population of Barcelona?:

The population of Barcelona in 2003 was around 1.5 million people.

Getting to Barcelona by Air:

Barcelona's Airport is 13 km (8 miles) from the city of Barcelona. It has three terminals and its airport code is BCN. A taxi takes 20-30 minutes to get into town and costs 15-25 euros. Train services to the airport are available every 30 minutes from Clot-Arago, Arc de Triomf, Placa Catalunya and Barcelona Sants stations. Cost is 2.10 Euros. A bus runs every 15 minutes from the Plaza Catalunya to the airport. The fee is 3.30 Euros one-way.

Barcelona Train Stations:

The two main stations serving Barcelona are Estaciós (stations) Sants and França. Sants services destinations in Spain and a few international trains, while most long distance trains (from Geneva, Milan, Paris and Zurich) depart from Estació França.

Barcelona Bus Stations:

Estació del Nord is the larger of the two. It handles busses to most major Spanish cities as well as hosting international busses run by Eurolines/Linebús and Starbus. Location: Carrer d'Alí Bei near the Arc de Triomf metro station. The Estació d'Autobuses de Sants near the Sants train station handles buses to Montserrat and international services operated by Eurolines/Julià Via.

Map showing the bus and train stations of Barcelona: Barcelona Transportation map.

Tourist Information:

Centre d'Informació Turisme de Barcelona in the Plaça de Catalunya, tel: 906 30 12 82

Language:

Traveling in Catalonia can be quite a challenge for those of us who speak a tiny bit of Spanish but no Catalán, the language of the region. Rest assured that Barcelona is a major travel destination, so you'll see menus in both Spainish and Catalán, and many folks speak a bit of English as well.

Barcelona Hotels:

I usually use Venere to book hotels directly. You can search for hotels from a map (the Gothic Quarter, or Barri Gòtic is probably your most evocative quarter), or you can list by guest rating, which I find very useful for picking hotels. Barcelona Hotels - Book Direct from Venere.

Barcelona Weather and Historic Climate - When to Go:

Barcelona is blessed with a Mediterranean climate. Summers are warm, and nights don't cool down all that much. August is packed with travelers, so the best time to go is May and June, or September through October. October has the highest rain totals, but they only amount to 4 inches during the month. For historic climate graphs, see Barcelona Travel Weather

What to do in Barcelona:

• Walk La Rambla - One of the world's greatest boulevards. Watch people, gawk at performing artists, grab a bite to eat at the market, and watch your wallet.
• Take in the Picasso Museum - One of Barcelona's top art attractions, known for its large collections of the artist's earlier years. Open Tue-Sat 10am-8pm, Sun 10am-3pm. 5 Euros, Students pay half that. It's free the first Sunday of the Month.
• Fondació Joan Miró - Get contemporary by visiting a museum featuring the works of one of the greatest Catalan artists in the Placa Neptu. 7 Euro admission. Open Tue-Wed 10am-7pm, Thu 10am-9.30pm, Fri-Sat 10am-7pm, Sun 10am-2.30pm.
• Gaudi all over - Visit the Parc Güell that contains the Casa-Museu Gaudí, where Gaudi lived from 1906-1926. Free. Then visit the Sagrada Familia, the church Gaudi devoted 18 years of his life to constructing and it's not done yet. 5 Euros to get inside, which gets you great views of Barcelona and, for the cellar dwellers, a peek into the crypt containing the fascinating history though photos and drawings.
• Walk the twisty lanes of the Gothic quarter - Free and interesting.
• Lunch at the Mercat La Boquería - at 101 La Rambla, it's Spain's best market. Inside are several tapas bars. Pull up a stool and eat the best that comes to market that day.
• Cathedral Crawl - The cloister is a fine and most peaceful place if you ever need to escape the beautiful hustle and bustle of Barcelona.
• Dinner at Los Caracoles Restaurant - on Escudellers Street in the Gothic Quarter.