Barcelona

Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia and Spain’s second biggest city, with a population of almost two million people. Barcelona, a large port on Spain’s northeastern Mediterranean coast, boasts a diverse range of attractions that draw visitors from all over the world. Barcelona has several faces, including the ancient Old Town and the unusual street grid created by 19th-century urban design. The city boasts both long sandy beaches and green parks on the hills, which are almost next to one other. Barcelona is also recognized for a variety of notable structures, the most well-known of which are by the architect Antonio Gaudi, notably his Sagrada Familia, which has become a symbol for many.

Barcelona, which was founded almost 2,000 years ago as the old Roman town of Barcino, is therefore as historic as it is contemporary, with a steady flow of projects transforming the character of the city and a long-standing propensity for design and invention. Barcelona has become one of Europe’s, and pretty much the world’s, most popular tourist destinations due to its variety of attractions, a highly well-developed lodging base, a busy nightlife, and a solid transit system.

With 5.5 million foreign tourists in 2011, Barcelona was the 20th most visited city in the world by international visitors and the fifth most visited city in Europe after London, Paris, Istanbul, and Rome. By 2015, both Prague and Milan have seen an increase in foreign tourists. Barcelona is the most popular tourist destination in Spain, because to its Rambles.

Barcelona is a world-renowned tourist destination, with extensive recreational areas, one of the greatest beaches in the world, a pleasant and warm climate, historical sites, including eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites, 519 hotels, including 35 five-star hotels, and established tourism infrastructure.

WHEN TO VISIT

August is most likely the busiest month for visitors in Barcelona. However, from early August to early September, a major proportion of the stores and restaurants are closed. Outside of conference periods such as the World Mobile Congress, this is the most costly season to stay in a hotel, and the city is bereft of natives since the great majority of people depart on vacation in August, leaving the heat and humidity to the swarms of visitors that arrive. This is also one of the busiest times for house invasions, since crooks know that many homes are empty for an entire month.

It is crucial to highlight that, although Barcelona has nice, if busy, beaches, the residents will appreciate it if tourists do not perceive Barcelona to be a beach resort and do not wear beachwear while visiting churches, restaurants, and so on. If all you want is a beach, and preferably a decent one, travel south to Costa Daurada, north to Costa Brava, or out to sea to the Balearic Islands.

Barcelona is wonderful in the off-season and is a delightful city even in the cold months of January and February, as long as the chance of rain is minimal. Given the high humidity, a temperature of 19–23 °C (66–73 °F) is considered acceptable, which is typically the temperature between April and June and late September–November. The ideal time to visit the city is now. Anything hotter than this might be uncomfortable.

BARCELONA CARD

Barcelona Card. This card entitles you to free admission to more than 25 museums and other attractions in Barcelona. For the remaining 70+ sites, it provides different types of discounts throughout the card’s validity time. It also contains a public transportation pass for Barcelona. The card is available for purchase for durations ranging from 2 to 5 days. Keep in mind that if you don’t want to visit a lot of museums every day, it may be cheaper to acquire transportation-only tickets. They are not permitted to be used on the cable cars or funiculars (save on Montjuc). Prices start at €20 for a Barcelona Card Express (2-day) and go up to €60 for a 5-day card (10% off if purchased online in advance); a children’s version is also available.

VISITOR INFORMATION

• Tourist office at Plaça de Catalunya, Plaça de Catalunya, 17-S (Metro: L1, L3. Bus: 9, 22, 28, 42, 47, 58, 66, 67, 68. Train: R4). 8:30am-8:30pm. This is the city’s major tourism office.

Other tourist information centers can be seen in Plaça de Sant Jaume, Ciutat, and 2 Ajuntament de Barcelona. (From City Hall.) Monday through Friday, 8.30 a.m. to 8.30 p.m. Saturday: 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday and holidays: 9 a.m.-2 p.m.; Estació de Sants, Plaça dels Pagos Catalans Here’s how to get there: L5,L3 subway lines Bus lines: 63, 68. & Aeroport del Prat are open everyday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Terminals 1 & 2. Daily, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. All are closed on January 1st and December 25th. Check out the link above for a complete list of tourist information points.

The department store El Corte Ingles provides a free tourist street map. You may get a copy at the shop or at one of the city’s numerous hotels. Barcelona Tourism.

The city has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa), with warm, moderately rainy winters and hot, generally dry summers, according to the Köppen climatic classification. The relative winter drought and the significant summer rainfall, however, are not typical of a Mediterranean climate and would place Barcelona in a transitional zone between the semi-arid climate (both BSk and BSh) to the west and southwest (on the coast, Tarragona being borderline) and the humid subtropical (Cfa) in Serra de Collserola to the north, where the Fabra Observatory receives just enough summer precipitation near or over 30 mm (1.2 in)

Its average yearly temperature is 21 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit) during the day and 14 degrees Celsius (57 degrees Fahrenheit) at night. The average yearly temperature of the water is about 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit). The temperature normally fluctuates from 7 to 17 °C (45 to 63 °F) during the day, 4 to 10 °C (39 to 50 °F) at night, and the average sea temperature is 13 °C (55 °F) during the coldest month – January. The average temperature in August is 26 to 32 °C (79 to 90 °F) during the day, 23 °C (73 °F) at night, while the average sea temperature is 26 °C (79 °F). Summer / “vacation” season often lasts roughly six months, from May to October. April and November are transitional months, with temperatures sometimes exceeding 20 °C (68 °F) and an average temperature of 18–19 °C (64–66 °F) during the day and 10–13 °C (50–55 °F) at night. The coldest months are December, January, and February, with average temperatures about 14 °C (57 °F) during the day and 7 °C (45 °F) at night. Temperature swings are uncommon, especially during the summer months. Frosts are uncommon in Barcelona due to the city’s closeness to the mild sea. In fact, just one day in the previous 30 years had a temperature below freezing. Snow is uncommon, however it does fall gently once or twice per decade.

Barcelona has many rainy days every month ( 1 mm) on average, and the yearly average relative humidity is 72 percent, ranging from 69 percent in July to 75 percent in October. Autumn has the most rain, while early summer has the least. Sunshine length is 2,524 hours per year, ranging from 138 (average 4.5 hours per day) in December to 310 (average 10 hours per day) in July.

Barcelona is situated on the northeast coast of the Iberian Peninsula, facing the Mediterranean Sea, in a plain about 5 km (3 mi) wide, bounded to the southwest by the Collserola mountain range, to the southwest by the Llobregat river, and to the north by the Besòs river. This plain has an area of 170 km2 (66 sq mi), of which the city itself occupies 101 km2 (39.0 sq mi). It is located 120 kilometers (75 miles) south of the Pyrenees and the Catalan-French border.

Tibidabo, which is 512 meters (1,680 feet) tall, provides spectacular views of the city and is capped by the 288.4 meter (946.2 ft) Torre de Collserola, a telecommunications tower visible from much of the city. Barcelona is speckled with tiny hills, the most of which have been urbanized and have given their names to the areas constructed on them, such as Carmel (267 metres or 876 feet), Putget (181 metres or 594 feet), and Rovira (261 metres or 856 feet). The Montjuïc escarpment (173 metres or 568 feet) overlooks the harbor and is crowned by Montjuïc castle, a fortification erected in the 17–18th century to dominate the city as a successor for the Ciutadella. The stronghold is now a museum, and Montjuc is home to a number of athletic and cultural events, as well as Barcelona’s largest park and gardens.

The city is bounded to the north by Santa Coloma de Gramenet and Sant Adrià de Bess; to the east by the Mediterranean Sea; to the south by El Prat de Llobregat and L’Hospitalet de Llobregat; and to the west by Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Sant Just Desvern, Esplugues de Llobregat, Sant Cugat del Vallès, Montcada I Reixac. To the north-west of the municipality are two tiny, sparsely populated exclaves.

The Barcelona metropolitan area is home to more than 66 percent of the population in Catalonia, one of Europe’s wealthiest regions, with a GDP per capita of €28,400. (16 percent more than the EU average). In 2009, the Barcelona metropolitan area had a GDP of $177 billion, which equated to $34,821 in per capita terms (44 percent more than the EU average), ranking it fourth in the European Union and 35th in the world. According to Eurostat, Barcelona city had a relatively high GDP of €80,894 per capita in 2004. Furthermore, as of 2009, Barcelona was Europe’s fourth best business metropolis and the fastest growing European city, with annual growth of 17 percent.

According to the lifestyle magazine Monocle, Barcelona is the 14th most “livable city” in the world. Similarly, Barcelona ranks 13th in the world on the Innovation CitiesTM Global Index, according to Innovation Analysts 2thinknow.

Barcelona has a long history of commerce. Less well known is that the area was one of the first in continental Europe to initiate industrialization, starting with textile-related activities in the mid-1780s but truly picking up steam in the mid-19th century, when it became a significant center for the manufacturing of textiles and equipment. Manufacturing has played an important part in its history since then.

The Borsa de Barcelona (Barcelona Stock Market) is the primary stock exchange in the Iberian Peninsula’s northeastern region.

Barcelona was named the Southern European City of the Future for 2014/15 by FDi Magazine in their bi-annual rankings, based on its economic potential.

Barcelona WiFi. The municipal council offers an internet service. There are around 700 Wifi hotspots in the city, most of which are placed in different municipal buildings. VoIP apps are blocked, and the speed is restricted to 256 Kbps. There is no need to register. https://control.barcelonawifi.cat/ Free.

Prepaid mobile WiFi Hot spot service (supplied by local tripNETer) is currently accessible throughout Barcelona and across Spain, allowing connection to any WiFi device: Smartphones, Tablets, and PCs…