Visiting Barcelona

When you have a choice, you'll find that there is never bad time of year to visit the ancient Spanish city of Barcelona!  Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain and it has a lot to offer visitors. Whether you plan to stay a few days or a few months, you'll find yourself enraptured by this city and its sights.  What can you expect when you are visiting and what do you need to see?

One thing that many visitors love is the fact that Barcelona is right on the coast.  Not only does this ensure beautiful weather eight to nine months out o the year, you'll also be able to take advantage of the miles and miles of beaches that stretch away from the city.  The main beach of the city of Barcelona is split into roughly five different beaches, and each one draws a slightly different crowd.  When you want to enjoy yourself outdoors and on the beach, this is the city to do it.

When you are tired of playing in the sun, why not have lunch in the marina area? That's a great place to rest that puts you in the very center of Barcelona.  You'll be very close to lots of delicious restaurants, tapas bars and the aquarium.  Furthermore, if you have a taste for brilliant dance and a vibrant culture relating to it, stick around for the summer flamenco festival, which draws dancers rom all over the world.

A simple stroll through the city will show you how beautiful it is.  The architecture of the city goes back hundreds of years, and just by taking a stroll through the Gothic Quarter and the Eixample, you'll see the same city that people generations before you have visited. The Roman period, the Gothic period, the Renaissance, and Catalan Art Nouveau have all left their marks on this city, and just wandering the streets you will be able to see a riot of architecture that is as much a part of the city as the stores or its museums.

Of course when you want to enjoy all that Barcelona has to offer, make sure that you do not just plan your vacation around a hotel.  When you are interested in finding some truly wonderful accommodation in Barcelona, why not consider a Barcelona vacation rental?  More and more tourists have found that the privacy and luxury offered by apartments in Barcelona can enhance their experience a great deal.  When you are tired of dealing with the impersonality of a hotel room, and when you want to make sure that you are experiencing everything the city has to offer, you'll soon realize that apartments in Barcelona are the way to go!

Viva! Life in Barcelona!

 At certain days of summer, life in the city of Barcelona can seem like one long, joyous and raucous fiesta from morning till night.  Almost in the blink of an eye, the big city of Barcelona transforms into one big barrio where the people spill out into the streets to party, where the food and drinks are overflowing, and where the energy is just so contagious you just cannot help but take part in the fiesta, too!

Add in the various festivals, both of the religious and secular kinds, happening all year round and you have a Barcelona that truly offers life in so many ways.  We suggest that tourists come to Barcelona during the merry Catholic celebrations of the castellers (human castles), the carrefocs (fire runs) and the sardana dance.

Of course, not to be missed are the feasts of Sant Joan and the Festes de la Merce when pyrotechnics compete with food and drinks in getting the energy up just one more level and the sound just one more decibel higher.  Just remember that the people of Barcelona take their religion fairly seriously so always visit their churches in relatively modest attire - no shorts, please. 

Be sure, however, to book your Barcelona Vacation Rental preferably through the Internet, weeks in advance before coming to Barcelona.  You definitely want a comfortable bed to rest your tired but happy body in after all those fiesta celebrations. There are plenty of options of luxury and cheap accommodation in Barcelona.

In more normal days, however, Barcelona is quite the relaxed town.  Siestas are observed, too, even by government offices so it pays to be respectful of siesta hours.  Besides, it will be a good time to catch up on much-needed sleep after the party of the night before and the party that is to come. 

During the night, the nightlife is a throbbing, heaving mass of people dancing to the beat of Spanish and world music.  Be prepared to eat and drink to your heart's content for indeed Barcelona is not the culinary center of the region for nothing.

Fortunately for many tourists, Barcelona prides itself on being a multilingual city.  Spanish is spoken as the official language but English, French and German are easily understood in the hotels, restaurants, theaters and other local attractions. It definitely makes for an easier living in Barcelona instead of spending your time gesticulating wildly and still not being understood. 

But to make your life as a tourist in Barcelona easier, you can always provide tips to your service providers!  It can be the taxi driver, the waiter and the bellboy, all of whom will appreciate a small tip for their services.  Just be sure to tip in cash and be sure that you do not tip a public official - that can constitute bribery. 

Barcelona offers its tourists the opportunity to enjoy life to the fullest.  The people are friendly and yet respect your privacy, the attractions are beautiful and yet possess restrained elegance, and the life is exciting with pockets of peace amidst the madness.  Now, that is life as God may have wanted it to be.