Best Car Rental Barcelona

History Barcelona

Barcelona, the capital and the most popular city of Catalonia is the second biggest city of Spain, situated at Mediterranean coast, between Besos and Llobregat rivers. Barcelona was first founded by Hercules, 400 years prior to building Rome, after which it was reconstructed by the Carthaginian Hamilcar Barca and named it Barcino in 3rd century BC. According to another legend it was discovered directly by Hamilcar Barca. During 15th century BC, Barcelona was redrawn by the Romans as castrum (Roman camp for military) located on "Mons Taber", a small hill near the present day city hall (Pla'a de Sant Jaume). Under Roman reign Barcelona was a colony, named as Colonia Faventia Julia Augusta Pia Barcino. Some significant Roman wrecks are found under Pla'a del Rei. The typical grid-planning by the Romans is visible even now in the outline of the Barri G'tic. Some residual portions of those Roman walls are still incorporated in the cathedral, known also as basilica La Seu, founded around 343BC. Barcelona was defeated by the Visigoths, then by the Moors, before it was conquered back by the son of Charlemagne, Louis in 801 who made the city the place of Carolingian “Spanish Marches”. Barcelona continued to be Christian territory when Al Mansur sacked the city in 985.Between the Middle Ages and today's Barcelona, the city has been known as Barchenona, Barchinona, Brchelona and Bar'alona. Its history is ancient and interesting and much of its history can still be seen in its architecture today. It is also possible to see a number of the ruins from these ancient sites, making it a fascinating city to visit.

Weather

With this Mediterranean weather you should expect hot summers and mild winters, and September being the wettest month in the year. The best time to visit is during the months of June and September, in September you should expect a rain, while in November its mild cold. The temperature during November ranges from lowest 8 degrees C to the highest 17 degrees C. Check out the weather chart for more information

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Arrival To Barcelona

The major chunk of the tourists comes to Barcelona by plane. After your arrival on the airport, you can either take a taxi or bus to go to the city centre. Taxis will usually cost around €20-25 while the buses are cheaper. The network of buses in Barcelona is known as Metro bus system which is expanded all over the city.

If you are coming from France, you can also arrive in Barcelona by train. You will either arrive at Sants Station or Estacion de Francia. From the train station you can get a bus or taxi to go to the city centre. Tourists from the nearby cities also come to Barcelona by Internationalcoach services. There are many Internationalcoach operators serving in the city. These Internationalcoaches drop the passengers at Sants Central railway station, from where the tourists can take taxi or bus.

Taxis are common in Barcelona however, they are usually expensive. If you travel by bus, then it costs less than €10. There are many buses which travel from airport to the city centre therefore; tourists are also using these airport buses. However, the buses are usually crowded and they cannot take you directly to your accommodation.

City Transport

Barcelona is one of the well developed tourists’ destinations. There are five ways to travel in the city including Metro, Barcelona taxis, buses, walking and car hire. The most common mode of transportation in Barcelona is Metro which is available throughout the city.

Metro system is clean, punctual and air conditioned system. Since travelers cannot walk by foot in summers therefore, Metro is useful in summers. Metro system is considered as the most economical mode of traveling in the city however, it is usually crowded. Taxis are also common in Barcelona and they provide affordable alternative to public transport.

Taxis usually charge about 10 Euro for 15 minutes journey. For carrying extra luggage with you, will increase your taxi fare. Before traveling in taxi, you should check the rate list displayed inside the cab. For the disabled visitors, there are handicapped taxis available in Barcelona. Barcelona is a well developed city and the infrastructure of the city is also well developed so that the local and foreign people may not find any problem in commuting.

In addition to Metro and taxi services, clean buses are also serving the city and local people prefer the bus services. These buses are very cheap and traveling in these buses can be very economical for you. The visitors usually come to have fun and entertainment in Barcelona.

Best Barcelona

Barcelona is the capital city of Catalonia, Spain. It is home to natural beauty and the best architectural works. These two features attract people from all over the world. In addition to the natural beauty and architectural works, the city of Barcelona also contains around 68 parks which cover about 10% of Barcelona Twelve of these are historical parks, six are forest parks, five are botanical parks, and forty five are city parks. The largest park is Montju'c. It is located on the Montju'c mountain. The other parks are Guinardo Ciutadella, Park G'ell, Oreneta, Castle, Nou Barris Central, Can Drag' Sports and Labyrinth. Barcelona has seven beautiful beaches. Barcelonata and Sant Sebasti' are the most ancient and largest beaches of Barcelona. The Olympic port splits them from other beaches. The beaches that split are Nova Ic'ria, Mar Bella, and Nova Mar Bella. These beaches were opened during restructuring of Barcelona to host the Summer Olympics. The city houses numerous museums. The museums cover different eras and areas. For instance, the National art Museum of Catalonia Art, has the best collections of the Romanesque art, while the Barcelona museum of contemporary arts mainly focuses on the post-1945 Spanish and Catalan arts. The City History Museum, the Archaeology Museum of Catalonia, the Barcelona Maritime Museum and the Museum of History of Catalonia, as well as the Erotic museum and the Cosmocaixa science museum are certainly worth visiting. Modernism architecture of Catalonia, built from 1885-1950 left a significant influence on Barcelona. Most of them are classed as World Heritage Sites. The works by Antoni Gaud' are remarkable, the Sagrada Fam'lia church being the most popular.

Top Attractions of Barcelona

Barcelona is the hub of entertainment and fun for the tourists and there are many attractions for the tourists in the city. The major attraction for the tourists in the city is La Sagrada Familia which is a giant temple designed by the world’s famous architect Antonio Gaudi.

About 2,056,448 visitors visit this temple every year which shows the popularity of this temple. L’ Aquarium de Barcelona is another major attraction for kids and young ones. Espanyol de Montjuic or Spanish village is another interesting place for the visitors because it has different styles of houses to show the architecture from different areas of Spain.

La Pedrera Casa Mila is among the top ten attractions of Barcelona and it is a masterpiece of Barcelona architecture. Imax Cinema is another popular attraction of Barcelona and you can see 3D movie in this cinema. You will really enjoy “Killer Sharks” in Imax Cinema. Finally, you should visit Magic Foundation of Montjuic in Barcelona. This Barcelona attraction is a “must visit” for the tourists because it offers great fun to the travelers.

Before planning the visits to all major attractions of Barcelona, you should check their opening and closing timings.

Exploring Barcelona

Barcelona, the 2nd biggest among the Spanish cities and the capital city of Catalonia, is one of the main economic centres of Europe. The airport is also the second biggest of Spain. The city is a very popular tourist destination, particularly for those interested in culture and architecture. Barcelona has around 68 parks; among them 12 are historical parks, 45 city parks, 6 woodland parks and 5 theme parks, covering about 10% of Barcelona city. Montjuic park, situated on a mountain sharing the same name, is the largest of all. Some others include Guinardo Park, Ciutadella Park, Orento castle and Diagonal Mar. You will never be short of park visits in other words. Barcelona also has seven different beaches. Barcelonata and Sant Sebasti' beach are among the oldest and largest beaches of Barcelona, and the are separated from the other five beaches by the port of Olympic. Barcelona is not best known for its beach culture, but it certainly gives people the opportunity to relax and chill out for a while as well, having a short break from immersing themselves in art, culture and architecture. Also, the beaches make a great spot for a late night paella with some sangria on the side! Barcelona is home to numerous museums, covering different eras and styles. The National Museum of Art of Catalonia displays renowned Romanesque art, the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art mainly focuses on the post-1945 Spanish and Catalan art. The Fundaci' Joan Mir, Fundacio Antoni Tapies and Picasso Museum are specific to the artists they are dedicated to. The Cosmocaxia science museum received European Museum of the Year Award in 2006. There are also renowned architectural works by Lluis Domenech and Antoni Gaudi, which were designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Eating drinking Barcelona

Probably the most famous Spanish food dish in Barcelona is Paella, whose name comes from the Catalan word for frying pan. Other names for paella are arros (rice) or albeit. Paella does not have a single recipe. Traditional paella recipes use seafood and fish near to the coast and pork, rabbit or poultry inland. The invention of refrigerators makes it easy to make paella with any ingredients, whatever the season. Of course, fresh ingredients taste better than frozen. Most restaurants now have the fish dish as a staple item on the menu. Often, the best places to enjoy tasty real paella are gloomy restaurants where the local enjoy set menus. These are usually excellent dishes. The traditional day to eat paella is Thursday, and that is often the most appropriate day to eat it in these restaurants. You will often find special offers or discounts in restaurants if you eat paella on Thursday. It is also the day that you will find an increase of students, who are then able to eat out for less money. Other similar dishes include arros negre (black rice), which is made of cuttlefish and fideua, which is like a fish paella but made with noodles instead of rice. Food lovers will enjoy the taste of these special foods, which taste even better when cooked in an iron pan. Spain as a whole is known for its excellent sea food dishes, ranging from lobster to cuttlefish, so if you enjoy seafood, it really is the place to be.

Night-Lifebarcelona

The vibrant Spanish city of Barcelona is famous worldwide for its night-life. Every possible activity is available to satisfy the tastes of any visitors, including bars, coffee shops, ice-cream parlours, nightclubs, shows, theatres, street entertainers, sports events and even a casino. Entertainment is available until 6am, every day of the week.Tourists dominate the city on Friday and Saturday night, but Sunday is especially good for the locals with many restaurants and shops closing on Mondays. The centre of the action is La Rambla, the famous broad avenue that stretches from Placa de Catalunya to Port Vell. Street entertainers perform to the crowd, including clowns, acrobats, flamenco dancers and mime artists. Close to La Rambla is Born and Ravel, a Gothic district, with numerous bars aimed at Budget travellers and students. Nearby Port Vell has a great complex with five clubs and bars that fill up from 1am until around 5am. Around the Marina is Port Olympic, which has a casino and many small clubs and bars. A gentle stroll along the Barceloneta beach from the casino will pass three attractive restaurants that become clubs or lounge bars at 1am.Another great venue is the Razzmattazz, a trendy nightclub that held a recent concert by Missy Elliot. This club has dance floors that play five alternative music genres. Barcelona night-life has so many great options that appeal to visitors and locals alike. You are sure to have a great time in Barcelona, no matter where your interests lie.

Shopping Barcelona

Barcelona is the second biggest city in Spain, with the largest population. It is also the capital of the Catalonia region. It is known as the hub of Spain and a very popular destination for tourists. It is home to a number heritage sights that have been included on the UNSECO list. In amongst all this culture and architecture, it is also well renowned for its night-life and festive atmosphere. As well as this, shopping lovers can shop to their heart's content in Barcelona as it has shops to suit all tastes. Anything from cheap souvenirs to expensive designer gear can be purchased here. Also, there are a number of outlet stores, where expensive designer wear can be purchased at rock bottom prices. Barcelona has recently gone through a lot of development and is now one of the major economic centres of Spain. Since it attracts a huge number of tourists and visitors from all parts of the globe every single year, it has developed new shopping complexes and created a lot of specialized malls aside their ancient souvenir shops specifically designed at the tourists. Most of the malls and shopping markets are situated in Avinguda Diagonal, the commercial hub of Barcelona. The best shops are found in the upper levels of the Avinguda Diagonal. Most of these shops cater to the needs of tourists, selling souvenirs and beautiful art and crafts typical of Barcelona, as well as regular shopping needed by all, such as clothes, shoes, jewellery, food stores etc. You can really shop till you drop in this fantastic place.

Disabled Visitors Barcelona

The most popular place in Catalonia, Spain, is the capital city of Barcelona. As of 2006, Barcelona has an estimated total population of 1,605,602. Barcelona is located on the Mediterranean coast, the city is between the rivers of Besos and Llobregat. It also bounded to the west by the ridge of Serra De. Barcelona has numerous architectural works, parks, beaches, bars and clubs and is a place that attracts visitors from all over the world. The city saw a need to draw additional tourist and visitors, so they went through a measure that is set to boost the figure of visitors. Depending on the needs of the individual person, Barcelona has formed and is still forming different facilities. These are the types of facilities that are specifically designed for disabled people. The reason that disabled people around the world do not get a chance to spend their holidays in the location of their choice is because they need specific services that are not always available. Barcelona, however, is adding hotels and lodges providing facilities to fit the needs of the disabled. These hotels and lodges have special paths made for using wheelchairs for instance. Moreover, toilets and the kitchen are made of such height that they can be used by a wheelchair user.

Accommodation In Barcelona

Finding an affordable accommodation is Barcelona is very easy because of the availability of hotels, hostels, private rooms, homes on rent and apartments.

However, for arranging accommodation in Barcelona you should take three steps including the selection of right accommodation for your need, choosing the right location and finding the most competitive price. If you want to stay at business hotels then you can go for Ayre Hotel Gran Via, Vincci Arena, Barcelo Hotel Sants, Ciutat Del Prat or Tryp Barceona Aeropuerto.

If you are planning to stay at a hotel near the tourists’ attractions, then you can go for Aparthotel Cost, Surf Mar, Hotel Ia Palmera or Guitrat Capri All Inclusive. Some tourists also love staying at hotels near the museums and monuments such as Grand Hotel Central, Eurostars Laietana Palace and Catalunya. Accommodations in Barcelona are usually categorized by top tourist areas such as Barcelona hotels near City centre, Barcelona Hotels at sea front, Barcelona hotels at Sants Train Station and Barcelona Hotels at Nou Camp FC.

Before selecting any accommodation, you should check your requirements and facilities. Moreover, the fares of accommodations are usually higher in the peak season therefore; you should make an early reservation before your arrival in the city.

City Transport

Barcelona is one of the well developed tourists’ destinations. There are five ways to travel in the city including Metro, Barcelona taxis, buses, walking and car hire. The most common mode of transportation in Barcelona is Metro which is available throughout the city.

Metro system is clean, punctual and air conditioned system. Since travelers cannot walk by foot in summers therefore, Metro is useful in summers. Metro system is considered as the most economical mode of traveling in the city however, it is usually crowded. Taxis are also common in Barcelona and they provide affordable alternative to public transport.

Taxis usually charge about 10 Euro for 15 minutes journey. For carrying extra luggage with you, will increase your taxi fare. Before traveling in taxi, you should check the rate list displayed inside the cab. For the disabled visitors, there are handicapped taxis available in Barcelona. Barcelona is a well developed city and the infrastructure of the city is also well developed so that the local and foreign people may not find any problem in commuting.

In addition to Metro and taxi services, clean buses are also serving the city and local people prefer the bus services. These buses are very cheap and traveling in these buses can be very economical for you. The visitors usually come to have fun and entertainment in Barcelona.

Useful Contact numbers in Barcelona

Barcelona is a peaceful city of Spain and has very low crime rate. But for the sake of convenience, it is recommended to note down the useful contact numbers of the city, if you are planning to visit Barcelona. Some of the numbers are given below:

Emergency contact numbers:

Police services:

General emergencies: 112

Local Police (Guardia Urbana): 092

State Police (Policia Nacional): 091

Fire service: 080

Traffic accidents: 088

Medical services:

Medical emergencies 061

Duty pharmacies information: 93 481 00 60

Medicines:93 218 88 88 (these services offer night home delivery)

Medical emergencies: 93 322 66 63 / 934178834

First aid: 93 408 43 45

Dental emergency: 93 415-9922

Hospitals:

Hospital del Mar, near Barceloneta: 93 248 90 11 /10

Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau: 93 291 91 91 Hospital General de la Vall dHebron: 93 274 61 00

Hospital Clinic i Provincial 93 227 54 00

Transportation:

Taxis: 93 481 10 85 / 93 225 00 00

Transportation services: 93 490 22 22 / 93 3 30 08 04 /

Call radio cab: 93 2 12 22 22/ 93 3 58 11 11/ 93 300 38 11

Transportation services for physically disabled people: 93 3 58 11 11/ 93 420 80 88

Other useful numbers:

Directory enquiries: 10 03

Internationalinformation: 10 25

Barcelona Festivals

Barcelona is the city of amusement and exhilaration therefore; millions of tourists visit the city every year. There are many festivals in the city which are organized throughout the year. The major festival of Barcelona is Dia De Sant Jordi which is celebrated on 23rd April. In this festival, men give a rose reminiscent of St Valentine’s Day to women while women give a book to men in tribute to Cervantes.

Festival De Sonar is organized in the mid of june and this festival features advanced music and multimedia art. In the last week of June, Festival De Sant Joan is organized in Barcelona which celebrates the start of summer with fireworks and bonfires.

Since major chunk of the tourists visits the city in summers therefore festivals in summers are very popular among the tourists. Grec Arts Festival is organized between June and August and it is the city’s largest dance, theatre and music festival. Festa Major de Gracia is another festival which is organized around 15th August and it features live music, fireworks and heavy drinking.

The two other festivals celebrated in Barcelona are La Diada and Festes de la Merce which are very popular among the tourists.

Museums & Monuments In Barcelona

Barcelona has many museums and historical monuments which shows the history, culture and heritage of the city. You should visit some of the best museums in the city. One the top of museums’ list, Barcelona FC Museum comes which is located in Aristides Maillol and it displays trophies, statues of the great and pictures.

This museum also has various other facilities such as changing rooms, press conference rooms and VIP lounge. Picasso Museum is another museum in Barcelona which is visited by 887,957 visitors per year. This museum displays the paintings in the chronological order. If you have interest in art collection, then you should visit this museum.

Miro Museum is another good museum located in Parc de Montjuic. This museum is famous for its art work collections of 1914. It also has collections of sculptures, early sketches and tapestries. National Museum of Art of Catalunya is another famous museum in the city which has collection of art work.

The best thing about these museums is that they are providing special facilities to the disabled people; therefore disabled visitors can also visit these museums.

Kid's Amusements In Barcelona

Barcelona offers great fun and activities to kids. There are many kids’ amusements in Barcelona and the favorite of all kids is the Barcelona zoo. Barcelona zoo is 100 years old and it is expanded to 13 hectares of Ciutadella Park. There are more than 400 species of different animals in the zoo.

Total 7500 animals have been kept in the zoo. Barcelona zoo is the favorite place for the local and foreign kids. This zoo was opened in 1892 and a lot of focus has been given towards the development and maintenance of the zoo. Another attraction for kids in Barcelona is L’ Aquarium which is located in Moll d’ Espanya del Port Vell.

This aquarium carries different variety of fish and kids can really have great fun here. L’ Aquarium remains open from Monday to Friday however; you should check the opening and closing timings before visiting the place. Kids always love parks and gardens and one such place for kids in Barcelona is Tibidabo amusement park in Barcelona. Moreover, you can take your kids to Universal Mediterranean Port Aventura in Barcelona which has various entertaining activities for the kids.

There are many attractions in Barcelona, and kids can also find a lot of fun in all tourists’ attractions.