Home of the 1992 Olympic Games, the coastal city of Barcelona boasts city life and beach time all in one great package. With a population of 3,000,000 people, Barcelona is a great place for a sight-seeing city break when you have just a few days to spare.
Barcelona has a major International Airport, El Prat de Llobregat. It is only about seven miles from the city centre. Take a taxi from the airport to downtown Barcelona and you will find yourself among the bustling crowds that move in and out among the city's finest restaurants and shops.
ll of Barcelona's best sites are viewable by way of taxi or the city's metro bus service. It will take you pretty much anywhere you want in the city until about 11:00 PM and until 1:00 AM on the weekends. There's also a sky ride that will allow you to view the whole city in route to your destination.
Because lots of Europeans take their vacations in August, you'll find that the tourist locations in Barcelona are more crowded during that time. If you love crowds, that's the best time to go. If you'd rather avoid the crowds, you might want to choose another time.
The accommodation and cuisine are varied, the Ritz Carlton near the Olympic Village is one of the more pricier hotels. Restaurants boast Catalan and Spanish cuisine as well as typically Spanish meal times. Most Spaniards begin their days later than the Bris, but then they stay up far later too. With lunch between 2:00 and 4:00 PM and dinner around 9:00 PM, Spaniards stay up well into the night and have a much more laid back way of life.
Barcelona is home to several spectacular beaches. While many of the beaches offer restaurants and promenades, others are more or less for people who wish to relax and soak up the sun in peace. While these seven beaches are right at Barcelona's door, the area around the resort of Sitges, just a little to the south, also offers pretty beaches with ice cream shops and rental facilities for some great water sports.
Other sights you might want to take in are the National Museum of Art which houses a great collection of Romanesque art as well as the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art which gives its focus to Catalan and Spanish art rendered since 1945. There is much variety in architecture, as well, from the Barri Gotic to Art Nouveau to modern buildings all within the same area, sometimes even the same sections of town. A quick city break in Barcelona will be a time to remember for you and your family and friends.
