Tucked away in the labyrinthine heart of Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter, Plaça de George Orwell was created in 1989, when an entire block of housing was torn down. The creation of this, and other similar plazas, was conceived as a way of opening up the Gothic Quarter and presumably went hand in hand with the generalized…
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CCCB: Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona
The Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona, or CCCB for short, is contemporary arts centre in Barcelona’s Raval neighbourhood. The centre opened in 1995 in a historic building which was once an almshouse and houses three main exhibition areas, as well as an auditorium, a bookstore, an arts cinema and a digital archive, all of…
How to Get to Sitges from Barcelona Airport
Sitges is a beach town located thirty-five kilometres south of Barcelona. Once a sleepy fishing village, the picturesque narrow streets of the old town, sandy beaches and lively nightlife have been attracting tourists since the nineteenth century. If you’re flying into Barcelona and planning to spend a few days in Sitges, you might be wondering…
How to Travel from Barcelona Airport to the Costa Brava
The Costa Brava, or Wild Coast, is the stretch of coastline which runs from Blanes, sixty kilometres northeast of Barcelona, to the French border. The area is known for its good weather, good food and pristine sandy beaches, and is one of the most popular holiday destinations in Spain. The Costa Brava is served by…
Fundació Antoni Tàpies (Visitors guide, tickets & tips)
Situated in an impressive Art Nouveau building in central Barcelona, the Antoni Tàpies Foundation was inaugurated in 1984 to promote modern and contemporary art. The museum houses temporary exhibitions by Antoni Tàpies and other artists and an extensive library of books and journals dedicated to art. On the roof, there are two large sculptures, which…
Bus & Coach Services from Barcelona Airport (Both terminals, all destinations)
Every year, approximately fifty million passengers pass through Barcelona Airport. While most of them head straight to the city centre, the airport also serves as an entry point for other popular destinations such as Sitges, Girona and the Costa Brava. Many travellers who arrive at Barcelona Airport continue their journey to their final destination by…
Vic Travel Guide: What to See and Do in Vic
Located seventy kilometres inland from Barcelona, with a population of only 50,000, Vic is a charming city that boasts one of the largest arcaded plazas in Spain. The plaza is the heart of Vic’s historic quarter, which features a magnificent medieval cathedral and a smaller Roman temple dating back to the second century. The plaza…
Free Train Travel in Barcelona During 2024 With The “ABONO RECURRENT” Ticket
In September 2022, the Spanish Government introduced two new train passes aimed at frequent travellers to encourage more commuters to start using trains. The scheme was extended throughout 2023 and has now been continued into 2024. The idea behind the scheme is that commuters pay a small deposit every four months to obtain a frequent…
Hiking the Camí Ral: The Old Medieval Road from Vic to Olot
The Camí Ral is an old Medieval road connecting the cities of Vic and Olot in central Catalonia. The road was originally built during the middle ages to transport wood from the forests of the La Garrotxa region to the Royal Shipyards in Barcelona. The forty-five-kilometre section between the towns of Vic and Olot was…
Hiking the GR 6 from Barcelona to Sant Cugat
This post describes the section of the GR 6 long-distance hiking trail from Barcelona to Sant Cugat. The hike is approximately twelve kilometres long and takes about three hours to complete. The trail starts next to the Parc del Laberint, on the outskirts of Barcelona, and crosses the Collserola Natural Park to the nearby town…
From Barcelona to the Santa Maria de Montserrat Monastery by Train and On Foot (A Hiker’s Guide)
The Monastery of Santa Maria de Montserrat is an eleventh-century Benedictine monastery set in an idyllic mountaintop location approximately thirty-five kilometres from Barcelona. If you’ve already read my Ultimate Guide to Visiting Montserrat from Barcelona, you’ll know that the most convenient way to reach the monastery is by taking the R5 train from Barcelona, followed…
MACBA: Barcelona’s Iconic Contemporary Art Museum
Housed in an emblematic concrete and glass building designed by Richard Meier, Barcelona’s contemporary art museum, the MACBA or Museu d’Art Contemporani de BArcelona, was inaugurated in 1995. More than just a museum, in addition to its permanent and temporary collections, the MACBA is a centre for art education and research. As the museum’s name…
A Fan’s Guide to Seeing FC Barcelona Play at Camp Nou (written by a local)
Futbol Club Barcelona, aka Barça, is one of the best football clubs in the world, and their ground El Camp Nou is the largest football stadium in Europe. If you like football, no matter which club you support, then seeing Barça play at Camp Nou should be high on your list of things to do…
Visiting the Picasso Museum in Barcelona (Info, tickets and tips)
The Picasso Museum of Barcelona (Catalan: Museu Picasso de Barcelona) is one of the city’s most popular tourist attractions and one of Spain’s best-known art museums. Founded in 1963 by Picasso’s friend and secretary Jaume Sabartés, the museum contains more than four thousand paintings, the most extensive collection of Picasso’s work anywhere in the world.…
Monument to the People Executed Between 1939 and 1952
The parapet of the people executed 1939-1952 (Catalan: Parapet de les executades i executats 1939-1952) is a fifty-five metre-long memorial to the 1,706 people executed in Barcelona during the early years of Franco’s dictatorship. The executions were by firing squad, and victims were lined up against a concrete wall which stood next to an area…
The Ultimate Guide to Visiting Montserrat from Barcelona
Tucked away amongst the jagged peaks of Montserrat, the Benedictine Monastery of Santa Maria de Montserrat is one of the most popular day trips from Barcelona. The monastery dates back to the eleventh century and was built to house a wooden statue of Our Lady of Montserrat, which, legend has it, was found in a…
The Twenty-Metre Tall Granite Obelisk in Plaça Cinc d’Ors
If you keep walking along Passseig de Gràcia, past La Pedrera, towards the Vila de Gràcia, you’ll come to a large and rather chaotic intersection called Plaça Cinc d’Ors. The plaza, which is really just an overgrown roundabout, takes its name from one of the cards in a pack of Spanish playing cards; the Cinc…
Olot: Things To See & Do In The Capital Of The Garrotxa Region
Olot is the largest town in the Garrotxa Volcanic Zone, a natural park approximately one hundred kilometres northwest of Barcelona. As the name implies, the area is known for its volcanoes, four of which are located within the city itself. The volcanos last erupted more than eleven thousand years ago and are now mostly covered…
What To Do If You Run Out Of Medication While Visiting Spain
When travelling abroad, whether on holiday or for work, you should always ensure that you have enough medication for the duration of your stay. For longer stays, your doctor may be able to write you an extended prescription. On the other hand, sometimes plans go awry, causing you to run out. Maybe your bags got…
Peralada Travel Guide: What to See & Do
Peralada is a picturesque medieval village approximately one hundred and forty kilometres north of Barcelona. The town dates back to the fifth century BC and rose to prominence during the middle ages when it was home to the Counts of Peralada. Nowadays, Peralada is best known for its impressive medieval castle, El Castell de Peralada,…
The Monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes (and how to get there)
The Monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes is a Romanesque-style Benedictine monastery which overlooks the Costa Brava, one hundred and fifty kilometres north of Barcelona. Legend has it that the monastery was built by monks who fled from Rome during the seventh century, taking with them the remains of Saint Peter. In reality, the first…
El Port de la Selva Travel Guide: What to See and Do
Set in a natural bay and surrounded by mountains, El Port de la Selva is a small fishing village on the Costa Brava, just twenty kilometres south of the French border. Although there are a few hotels in the village as well as a campsite, some holiday apartments and several good restaurants, El Port de…
Sant Pau del Camp: The Oldest Church in Barcelona
The church of Sant Pau del Camp (English: Saint Paul of the fields) is the oldest Christian church in Barcelona and was built between 897 AD and 910 AD. It is also one of the best examples of Romanesque architecture to be found in the city. Located in the multicultural Raval neighbourhood and off the…
The Controversial Monument to Slave Trader Antonío López y López
Many of Barcelona’s squares and plazas feature large and impressive statues. Some of the statues are decorative works of art, while others are monuments which honour famous people. Some of the monuments honour kings or heroes of yesteryear. Others feature famous artists, writers, politicians and wealthy businessmen. One such monument was the statue of Antonio…
The Martinet Valley, Aiguafreda de Dalt and the Dolmen de Cruïlles (Montseny Natural Park)
This easy, ten-kilometre hike in Montseny Natural Park is best undertaken in spring or early summer when there will be water in the Riera de Martinet. You can also walk it at other times of the year, but the pools and waterfalls near the start of the trail will likely be dry. The circular route…
Monument to Lluís Companys (Statue of a girl with a handkerchief)
Born in Tarrós in 1882, Lluis Companys was one of the founding members of the Catalan political party Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya and served as president of the Generalitat de Catalunya from 1934 until he was executed in 1940. The first part of the twentieth century was a time of political unrest and upheaval in…
Doing Laundry In Barcelona (Laundries, Laundrettes, Dry Cleaners & More)
If you are staying in Barcelona for more than a week, or are visiting the city as part of a more extended trip, then chances are, you’ll need to find somewhere to wash your clothes. Doing laundry when travelling has the advantage that it allows you to carry less luggage, but it does require some…
Monument to Santiago Roldán (The Ass Monument)
Barcelona is well known for its public art. Wherever you go in the city, you will see statues and monuments decorating plazas, parks and other public spaces. Designs range from classically styled monuments and busts to more unusual, modern and even surreal creations. One of Barcelona’s most unusual and quirky statues is the Monument to…
Taxis in Barcelona: Information, Fares, Apps & Tips
Taxis are a quick and easy way to get around in Barcelona. The distinctive black and yellow cabs operate twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and in most areas, you will only usually have to wait a minute or two to flag one down in the street. Alternatively, there are more than two…
Contactless Payment in Barcelona (Credit & Debit Cards, Google Pay, Apple Pay & Samsung Pay)
Contactless payment has been available in Barcelona since 2012 and has become so widely available that you no longer need to carry cash. All shops and supermarkets in Barcelona now accept contactless payment, and you can pay with credit cards, debit cards and smartphones at bars, restaurants and tourist attractions. The only caveat is that…