We love Barcelona and believe it is one of the most beautiful cities in all of Spain as well as Europe. We hope to give you some helpful hints and travel info, as well as get you the best prices for hotels in Barcelona Spain.
Barcelona lodging ranges from extremely contemporary to very ornate. We lean towards boutique hotels and one of our favorites, pictured below is the Casa Fuster Hotel, A Leading Small Hotel of the World and available here at hot rates. The Casa Fuster with just 96 rooms is located in the heart of the city in the elegant area of Paseo De Gracia Avenue, the most elegant avenue in Barcelona with international luxury boutiques such as Luis Vuitton and Armani. A few minutes walk from the famous Gaudi building Casa Battlo and close to Las Ramblas with one mile of exciting sights and sounds, mimes, exotic birds and flowers for sale, almost anything you can think of. Another one of the great Barcelona boutique hotels is the Claris Hotel formerly Palacio Vedruna, totally redone with antique rugs and furniture, small and wonderful with just 120 rooms. There are more luxury hotels in Barcelona than most other major cities.
 Elegant buildings are everywhere, many designed by Gaudi, Spain's most famous architect, who's imagination has forged the streets of Barcelona into an unbelievable city vista. He even made the sidewalks a thing of beauty, they are colorful bas relief tiles, but I must say very hard to walk on. Remember I told you, you would discover the reason for espadrilles! If you do plan to walk a lot - Barcelona can be confusing, so get a Barcelona A-Z map which is on sale almost everywhere. And if the walking becomes too much for you, there are black and yellow taxis that are quite reasonable. So lace up those espadrilles and catch some of Barcelona's top ten attractions. From the Catalan Cathedral to Parc de la Citadella to Port Vell Marina. There is so much to see and I think by now, you have gathered that shopping is important to me. The Boulevard Rosa will satisfy most with it's fashion boutiques and designer shops. Loewe on Paseo de Gracia is a favorite for leather goods!
Oh! and the food is wonderful. If you pick up a menu and expect it to be in English or Spanish, better look again, you may not recognize any words at all, the reason being, most are offered in Catalan, the native language of Barcelona, so be sure to take a "Catalan" basic language guide book with you. Another "must" visit The Les Quatre Gats (4 Cats Restaurant", made famous by Picasso) and still a great favorite for it's charming atmosphere and free local wine, it is always crowded! Famous for it's coffee, you might try it for breakfast when it is not so crowded.
We love to try all the native foods and tapas are a great way to do that. There is a wonderful Spanish ham, the freshest seafood, which you must try prepared the Catalan way and great red wine. Just try it all, except the water! Buy bottled water, supermarket prices are best. The best bars and restaurants are at the Olympic Port, which was established in 1992 the year Barcelona hosted the Olympics. In Spain the service is not included, so please be sure to tip. 10% is still considered okay here. Try to tip taxis 15% of the fare (remember they are fairly reasonable. And never less than 100 pesatas!
 Pictured at left is Barcelona Palace of Music museum, there are so many other outstanding sights, try Medieval Monsasterie or the Picasso Museum on for size. Do not miss the Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's life work, started in 1882 and still not finished. All the funds were to come from the people, no government or benefactors involved. Gaudi knew he would probably not live to see this masterpiece completed (he died in 1926) he put all his life's earnings into the cathedral and died penniless. But no matter how many cathedrals you have seen, this one is special!
And for even more of Gaudi, take a stroll through Parc Guell, the entrance alone is entrancing. Be sure and take a seat on the winding bench, made entirely of the tiles Gaudi made famous. You'll get a wonderful view of the city from this vantage point.
Take the cable car up to Mountjuic (hill of the Jews), visit the "Spanish Village" a collection of all the different types of architecture in Spain, a feature of the 1929 Olympics, also visit Fundació Joan Miró for a large collection of this famous contemporary artist's works.
Now for some practical information - Because Barcelona is on the sea, the weather changes a lot. We usually like to layer our clothes. Be sure to bring a raincoat (that goes everywhere) and sometimes is needed, as well as an umbrella. You can bring silk underwear if you go in winter and that will usually work for everything but the coldest days. Bring a hat or scarf in winter. In summer, still be sure to bring a jacket or a sweater for the cool nights or cool breezes that come up.
As in most of Europe there is a VAT tax. the tax here is now 16% included in the price of merchandise, if you speak up at purchase you have a chance of getting a refund if you live outside of Europe. However, I have never been too successful getting my refund for one reason or another!
And as regards safety - Barcelona is a Big city and as in any major city in the world - caution is the keyword.
We hope you enjoy Barcelona as much as we do and if you get the chance be sure to hop over to Majorca. Flying is best. But if you have lots of time you might want to try the Ferry. It is an experience you'll never forget. Search our Hotels in Barcelona, you won't be disappointed.
Barcelona Travel Info and City Facts
Getting from the airport to town and exploring the city
El Prat International Airport is six miles (10 kilometres) south-west of the centre of Barcelona and taxis are available at the airport 24 hours a day. It takes about twenty minutes into the centre of town and the fare is about 16 EUROs. There's a RENFE train every 30 minutes to Sants Station (central Barcelona) from 6:00 am to 10:30 pm The fare is about 1.80 EURO and the journey takes about 16 minutes in air-conditioned trains with plenty of luggage space.
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