Information /Sources, Barcelona

Favorite thing: In case of emergency ,here is a list of hospitals for this matter :

1. Hospital Comarcal Sant Antoni Abat
Address : Carrer Sant Josep 21-23
Phone: 93-8931616

2. Hospital del Sagrat cor
Address: Calle Viladomat 228
Phone: 93-3221111

3) UMCA - Clinica D'ara
Address: C.del Bergueda 17-19
Phone: 93-3638163

Pharmacy : 010
Dentist: 93-2274747

Favorite thing: To supplement whatever retail book you buy, have a look / download at Maribel's Guides - http://maribelsguides.com

The site has free downloadable .pdf files for the major cities and regions of Spain. It's updated just about yearly. I recently used it along with Frommer's Barcelona Day by Day book on my Barcelona trip in May. I also have the DK Top 10 Barcelona app on my iPod Touch.

My frequently used guides were the real, old-school, paper ones when I am out and about. I basically used the "virtual" guide when I am in my room and I am planning out the day. The printed out Maribel city guide was great to read and refer to while on the plane.

Rick Steve's Snapshot: Barcelona is also good since it is compact, and right to the point.

Favorite thing: I am looking for a short term rental (one month) apartment in BCN for a family of four.
There are many sites and offers, but does anyone have any tip / recomendation / good or bad experience to help me?
Saludos
Emilio

Favorite thing: hi danny
easyjet have good deals to barcelona on at the moment from East Midlands Airport

ryanair also are offering cheap deals to barcelona area - they fly Doncaster -Sheffield to Girona ( from where you can get a bus into barcelona centre - bookable at the airport -or opt for somewhere like callela or pineda de mar on the coast - you can book resorthoppa to these places)

Shouldn't be too difficult to get to either of these airports from your place-- doncaster does have the better flight times though
check out alpharooms or travel republic for hotels at a decent price -- the more distant your stay the cheaper it gets

if you go to the coast outside barcelona you can have a city/beach holiday in one -- depending on how long you are intending going for

Me i loved Barcelona and want to go back

If you are into Football you need to go to The stadium -- there are tours you can pay for -- not a bad price either -
plenty of nightlife down la ramblas in the centre of barcelona with the Hard Rock Cafe at the top end on Placa Catalyna
If you are staying in Barcelona look at Comercio Hotel - Alpharooms did it for us at a good price - nothing flashy but its just off la ramblas so its very central

Hope you find this useful

Let us know how it goes
Julie

Fondest memory: Everything
Such a lovely city - need to return soon to see some more

Favorite thing: I loved Barcelona. There was so much to do and see and if I went again I'd make even more out of it.

Airport - the bus service is excellent and runs every 6 minutes to Placa Catalunya which is in the city centre. Costs €4. To get back to the airport you just get the bus back again - there are always buses sitting at Placa Catalunya. Trip takes about 30 minutes. There is a locker facility at the airport to store luggage which costs €4 per day which we made use of on the last day as we had been on a cruise and didn't want to carry out stuff about on our last day of holiday.

The metro is excellent. You can get everywhere so cheaply. Just works like London.

There are very few public toilets - none in the metro. Best place to go is McDonalds at the Placa Catalunya - otherwise you have to go into a bar or cafe and buy a bottle of water in order to use the toilet - I drink a LOT of water so it was a bit of a nightmare trying to find toilets but most of the main tourist places like Nou Camp and Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell have toilets.

The heat is stifling so make sure and drink enough or you'l get dehydrated and cystitis like I did. Thankfully there were literally pharmacys every hundred yards and I got tablets and was ok.

We went to Nou Camp, Parc Guell, Sagrada Familia, Parc della Cituadella (in which is the zoo) and the Ramblas. Be carefull of pickpockets (have a short handled shoulder bag) and also of overpriced food though we ate the first night on a streetside cafe on the Ramblas (just pizza and coke) for €20 and the atmosphere was nice. Lovely ice cream and waffles on the Ramblas.

Fondest memory: Renting boat in the lake on Parc della Cituadella.

Favorite thing: .
You may like to read a fiction book happening in Barcelona before, while or after your visit... Here you have a few ideas:

- "Cathedral of the Sea" ("La Catedral del Mar") by Ildefonso Falcones. I love Historic novels, provided these are well documented. This is one I really enjoyed reading. The plot takes place in 14th century, during the construction of Santa María del Mar church. You'll follow the life of an imaginary character, Arnau Estanyol, born as servant, he managed to become a wealthy man, then... (you have to read it to know!!)

- The best novel placed in Barcelona I've read so far: "The Shadow of the Wind" ("La Sombra del Viento") by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. It was a real phenomenon: the novel most sold in Spain (from a Spanish author) during two consecutive years, and well sold in other countries after translation. It is a mystery story, the action happens in Barcelona during the Franco's regime. It can be very instructive about our recent history. Most of the places that appear at the book do still exist (even there are touristy tours based on the book).

- "City of Marvels" ("La ciudad de los prodigios") by Eduardo Mendoza is quite interesting too, and it happens at the changing Barcelona at the beginning of the XX century.

- "Murder in the Central Committee" ("Asesinato en el Comite Central") by Manuel Vazquez Montalban: I don't remember much of this book as I read it too many years ago. But the adventures of the private detective Pepe Carvalho are always a pleasure to read, and you'll learn quite a lot about our eating and drinking culture!

Fondest memory: .
And a couple of classics now:

- "The Time of the Doves (Diamond's square)" ("La Plaça del Diamant") by Merce Rodoreda. To know the Barcelona during and after the Civil War. The history took place at the Gracia district, around the Plaça del Diamant (Diamond Square). This one can be a bit depressing, but really good literature.

- "The gray book" ("El Quadern Gris") by Josep Pla. Autobiographic history, from the youth years of Pla (who later became one of the best Catalan authors)

Favorite thing: During summer (I'm not sure if it is here at other times of the year) there is a tourist information centre set up on the walkway in the middle of La Rambla.

These guys and girls will help you out with any questions you have about Barcelona. There are free maps of the city and lots of guides. You can also buy the tickets for the hop on/hop off bus tours here.

My friends and I had a couple of questions about tours and the lady there was very helpful and friendly and gave us some great advice.

Favorite thing: For more photos of Barcelona, and some under the radar tips, check out this new blog on the city. It also links to some other helpful websites, and the writer is open to questions by email!

http://www.labarcelonista.blogspot.com

Favorite thing: Barcelona can be pretty expensive for tourists, so one of the best tips I can give you all is to buy a discount card, it saves you soo much money! I bought one, named the Go and Connect discount card, which was only 12 euros. With this card I was able to go out for almost nothing. I got discounts in a lot of shops, restaurants, clubs, transport rentals and more!
If you are interested you can check out their site to see where you can get the card and where you can get discounts:
http://www.goandconnect.com/en/Discounts/
I think it is a must in an expensive but amazing city like Barcelona.

Favorite thing: And you may like to see a film that happens in Barcelona:

"l'Auberge Espagnole" ("Una Casa de Locos", the Spanish title :) , a French film about foreign students in Barcelona. It shows quite well the authentic contemporary Barcelona. Not to be missed by anyone planning to study in Barcelona or to stay there for a while... even it's so fun that's highly reccomendable in any case.

"All about my mother" ("Todo sobre mi madre") You may love or hate Almodovar's films, but you'll see many parts of Barcelona at this film.

"The burned city" ("La ciutat cremada") Film about the events from 1899, which were later known as the "tragic week". It's difficult to imagine now, from this cosmopolitan and peaceful city, that we had such a bloody past. Really disturbing film, I'll only recommend it if you're very interested on these historic events.