One of the most common inquiries we receive at ComeToBarcelona is about how to arrive to the city from El Prat (BCN) Airport. The transfer from the airport to the city center is confusing for many visitors because the airport is not actually located in the city of Barcelona itself, but rather in the neighboring city of El Prat de Llobregat.

Landing in Barcelona's El Prat (BCN) Airport

However, that doesn't mean you should be worried about finding your way to the city upon arrival. Thankfully, there are a wide variety of options available for transportation to and from the airport. This article will provide you with the inside scoop on how to get in to the city, and back to your plane, in the manner most convenient for you.

ComeToBarcelona recommends the following modes of transport for travelling between the city and the airport: 

Train

Renfe, the Spanish national rail system, offers twice hourly service to and from the airport with stops at the stations Clot-Arago, Passeig de Gracia, and Sants Estació (the city's main train station); all of which are located in or near the city center. The trip takes approximately 30 minutes and tickets may be purchased at the machines located inside each station. Trains generally run from 5 A.M. until midnight, though be sure to check the schedule as timetables may vary on holidays or during special events. Also, beware that this is a very popular service and during peak times the trains may be extremely crowded. 

Aerobus

The Aerobus is an express shuttle which serves as the main bus connection between BCN airport and the center of Barcelona. Running every 15 minutes, the bus makes stops at Plaça Espanya, Gran Via, and Plaça Catalunya (the heart of the city). Tickets are 4.25 € per person each way, and may be purchased on board the bus. However, be sure to check the schedule as the bus does not run early in the morning or late at night, and there are two different routes (one serving Terminal 2 and the other serving the new Terminal 1). 

Taxi

Taxis are an extremely common, if more expensive, way to get to and from the airport. There is a taxi stand at the exit of the airport if you wish to take a taxi upon arrival. Within the city, look for a taxi stand on the street or simply hail any passing cab that has it's green light turned on. One should note that there are supplemental charges for entering or leaving the airport, as well as for each piece of luggage brought on board. With a cab the transfer should take about 20 minutes, though travel times may vary depending on the time of day and the corresponding amount of traffic! 

Private Transfer

For those who wish to avoid the hassle of standing in line for a taxi, or hauling their suitcases to and from the bus or train stops, we recommend arranging a private airport transfer prior to your arrival. Private transportation will provide you with door to door service and make your trip as simple as possible. Simply arrive, pick up your bags, and get in the car that's waiting for you.

If you are looking for private transport at a low price, you can make your booking directly with us here. This service is provided by our affiliate, Viator, and comes highly recommended both by us, and by our clients who have used it.

For the most discerning traveller, there is always the option of arranging a private car with chauffeur for all of your transportation needs, including going to and from the airport. Our affiliate, Cars Deluxe, is the best and most experienced high-end private transport company in Barcelona. Their fleet is entirely comprised of brand new Mercedes-Benz vehicles. Make your reservation here to experience the ultimate in luxury transport when you come to BCN.

Your Flat in Barcelone, just one click!

The Sant Pau Hospital (Hospital de la Santa Cruz y San Pablo) is comprised of a group of buildings designed by the well-known modernist Catalan architect, Lluís Domènech i Montaner.  With a large main building plus numerous other wards, the Sant Pau Hospital, along with the Pere Mata de Reus Institute--also designed by Montaner, make up one of the largest areas of modern Catalán architecture in Barcelona.

The buildings were designed to occupy a nine block area in the Ensanche/Eixample area of the city, on a square measuring 300x300 meters.  The hospital consists of a main building dedicated to administrative tasks, plus twenty seven medical wards.  All of the buildings are united by underground tunnels capable for transporting patients.  These tunnels are ventilated with fresh air, making their upkeep easier. 

In 2003, work began on the new buildings, with construction taking place at the extreme North end of the old building, and the goal to transfer services located in the older wards to the modernized areas as they were completed.  The question remains what will be done with the old wards as they have been declared historical buildings by UNESCO.

Since 2004, The Sant Pau Hospital has formed part of the Barcelona Institute of Urban Scenery's Modernist Route (la ruta del Modernismo del Instituto del Paisaje Urbano de Barcelona).  It is open for guided visits daily from 10am-2pm.

On July 3, 2009, a large inauguration party was held in the new building's honor, even though services won't be completely transferred to the new wards until January 2010.

Take a tour of the Modernist Route, and check out one of our Barcelona apartments located in the Sagarada Familia neighborhood!  

Unique experiences await you at Maremagnum!  If you like shopping, you will find more than thirty popular stores in this huge open aire mall.  Also, you and your friends can experience a social and leisurely time in the expansive open spaces and sea side terraces of the main building while enjoying just about any kind of food you desire.  Maremagnum is open from 10am-10pm every day of the year, including Sundays and holidays.

Besides its year-round offerings, Maremagnum has even more opportunities for fun in the summer.  For example,  you can visit the Bubble Park! 

This very entertaining park definitely offers unique experiences never before seen until now, like the ability to float in water without getting wet, jump eight meters in the air, and pedal a trike faster than ever before!  Bubble Park at Maremagnum offers these three great attractions:

1. Bungydome
   You can jump freely up to eight meters high while enclosed in a geodesic dome measuring 10x12 meters.
2. Triketrack
   Pedaling, speed, and staying on the ground are no longer incompatible with the Triketrack!
3. Bubblepool
   What do you think it would be like to have an inflated transparent bubble around you while you are submerged in a pool?  Everything feels different and is worth the experience in this new dimension! 

In addition to Bubble Park, Maremagnum encourages you to enjoy an “Experience Day” tour there.  This is a great attraction for anyone who wants to get a better feel for the city of Barcelona.  Maremagnum maps out a route that takes you through the heart of the city and allows you to discover all of its corners, anecdotes, and curiosities.  Plus, it's as easy as downloading a tour file to an mp3 player.  The tour begins in Plaza Cataluña and ends in Maremagnum.    

Check out one of our many apartments in Barcelona, and from there you can discover and get to know all of the cities offerings, like Maremagum and more! 

Camp Nou is the stadium for FC Barcelona, the city's immensely popular soccer team.  When the stadium was inaugurated in 1957, it was officially named The FC Barcelona Stadium.  When it underwent construction throughout the 1950s, there was speculation that it would be renamed Juan Gamper Stadium, but this never happened.  It´s rumored that the President of FC Barcelona at the time, Francesc Miró-Sans, quelled this initiative and dreamed that the stadium would eventually carry his name, like in the case of Berabeau Stadium in Madrid.  However, problems near the end of his term as president reaffirmed this would not happen, and the name popularly used by the public, Camp Nou, became the official name of the Stadium. 

With  room for 98,771 spectators, Camp Nou has the highest capacity of any soccer stadium in Europe!  It is located on Arístides Maillol Avenue, in the Les Corts district of Barcelona, very close to a principal artery of Barcelona traffic, Avenue Diagonal.

Another interesting fact about Camp Nou is that it is one of the very few European stadiums with the distinction to be categorized a five-star venue by UEFA.
FC Barcelona's headquarters is also located in Camp Nou as well as administrative offices, and the FC Barcelona Museum---the most visited museum in all of Catalonia! 

Besides housing FC Barcelona, Camp Nou is also the main part of a complex that houses the “Mini Estadi,” a soccer stadium with room for 20,000, a residence for the league´s youngest soccer players, and the “Palau Blagurana,” a multiuse area with capacity for 8,000 spectators used for basketball, handball, and hockey games. 

Fall in love with our many Barcelona apartments near Camp Nou,  and you will be close by to enjoy the spectacle of one of the greatest soccer teams in the world!

The Spanish Village, in Catalan, Poble espanyol, is a huge open-air museum located on the famous mountain of Montjuic in the capital city of Catalonia, Barcelona.

The village was constructed in 1929 for the world's International Exposition, hosted by Barcelona that year. The concept of the village was the brain child of the Catalan architect, Josep Puig i Cadaflach, but was carried out by French architects, Francesc Folguera and Ramón Reventós, and artists, Xavier Nogués and Miquel Utrillo.

Located deep inside Barcelona, this attraction recreates and showcases the different regions of all of Spain.  In a sense an urban collage, the village's 49,000 sprawling square meters unite and represent the variety of architectural styles prevalent to Spain.

One hundred seventeen reproduced to scale buildings form the “ideal model” of the Spanish Village, encompassing the principle characteristics of each region in Spain.  One can pass through the streets and plazas of the village and feel as if they are strolling through each diverse region of Spain.  Also, the streets are filled with many bars and restaurants allowing one to enjoy all the typical foods of Spain.

With out a doubt, this area is full of many surprises, being a lively center for leisure, culture and artisan craftsmanship.  In fact, many of the peninsula's best artesian craftsmen can be found in the Spanish Village. 

Besides purchasing delightful handcrafted works, visitors can also learn more about how exactly their purchases were constructed with certain artisans opening their workshops to spectators during the weekends. 

The leisure offerings of the village are many, including story-tellers,  festive street processions, puppet shows, and music concerts.  The open-air Jardín de Esculturas (sculpture garden) and the contemporary art collection of the Fran Daurel Foundation are also worthwhile sights one could take in at the Spanish Village.

Don't leave Barcelona without enjoying the Spanish Village, and let us help you do this with one of our apartment Barcelona located near the spectacle!

ComeToBarcelona, your flat on line!

The Barcelona World Trade Center is one of the most up and coming icons to the Port Vell area, as it has grown to become one of the main business nucleases in Catalonia.

In fact, the trade center is now widely considered a privileged door for gaining entrance to business in Southern Europe.  Born in 1998, the center’s focus was on the management of integrating different real estate projects, and since then its successes have led it to become an example in its field.

The complex is comprised of four eight-story buildings, each one measuring more than 130,000 square meters.  The architects in charge of the project were Pei, Cobb, and Fred & Partners, who, among others, contributed to the Louvre´s famous glass pyramid.  The building´s 48 meter facades are adorned with glass and plates of white and beige concrete.  The World Trade Center Barcelona also serves as a 273 room hotel and a parking garage for 800 vehicles.

This impressive example of Barcelona, besides containing a convention center of more than 6,000 sq. meters, is also home to a hundred small businesses and twenty five ventures specializing in both products and services, including the luxurious Eurostars Grand Marina hotel.  What´s more, The WTC offers the integration of all of its services from telecommunications to maintenance, and security to translation.

During 2008, WTC Barcelona hosted 400 events with 59,000 people in attendance! Some of the clients who have utilized the WTC Barcelona during the past year were HP, Microsoft, Vodafone, BASF, Esteve, Danone, Banco Sabadell, Renfe, and The Generalitat (regional government) of Catalonia--- among others. 

If you plan on attending one of the WTC's events, or if you would like to experience the best Port Vell has to offer, check the availability of our many apartments Barcelona! 

Montjuic is both a mountain and a village in Barcelona.  The attractions offered here are numerous and diverse, but because of the abundance of sporting institutions located here, an athletic ambience is evident. 

In the fold of this mountain one will discover many of the Olympic facilities created especially for the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympic Games, including the Lluis Companys´ Olympic Stadium, the Saint Jordi Palace, designed by the Japanes architect, Arata Isozaki, as well as the event’s diving and competition pools.  Also located here is the old Sports Hall of Lleida Street which has now been converted into the Barcelona Music Theater.  The grand offering of sports facilities also compliment the Joan Serrahima athletic stadium and the facilities of the National Physical Health Education Institute of Catalonia. 

On Montjuic one will also encounter other areas of touristic interest like the Poble Espanyol (Spanish Village).  This “village” is comprised of streets and plazas that model typical architecture from the diverse regions of Spain.  Although deep in Barcelona, one can feel as if they are on a street of Andalucia full of its typical flowers, and traditional foods.  Full of lively tourist spectacles, this village is a major leisure attraction showcasing all of Spain on one mountain in Barcelona.

 Besides the village, Montjuic is also home to the notable telecommunications tower, “la Torre,” designed by Santiago Calatrava and 
the public park: Jardins Joan Brossa (Joan Brossa Gardens).  Finally, the area is known for the numerous cultural and sporting events that have taken place there over the years, including the Spanish Formula 1 Championships (1969, 1971, 1973, 1975), and the notable “24 Hour Motorcyclists of Montjuic.”  Besides the mentioned Barcelona Musical Theatre, Montjuic also contains the Lliure Theatre, The Flower Market, the Grec Theatre, The Joan Miró Museum, and the CaixaFòrum Museum.  
 
Check out the availability of our Barcelona apartments near Montjuic and come enjoy the fun cultural events that this area of the city has to offer!

Grec 09 is a major music festival in Barcelona lasting a month and a half from June 20 to August 2. This summer marks its 33^rd edition and offers a program list of acts that demonstrate its increasing prestige. The focus this year is on Italy, as there are 19 artists from this country, including a couple internationally known names. The festival showcases many genres of music that are sure to please all different types of fans, especially those interested in inventive and creative means of reflection through art.. Over 60 different theatre, music, and dance shows are displayed at some of Barcelona´s finest venues across the city. One of the better known venues is the classical-stlyed Teatre Grec, which is located in the beautiful Montjuïc area and is an absolute must for those who enjoy outdoor concerts.

The main goal of this festival is to provide people with the opportunity to see some of the highest quality entertainment. The festival is meant to reflect the openness and creativity of the Barcelona people and showcases rising Catalan artists as well as acts from all across the world. Check out the list of artists to plan out your customized festival! There are options available for a younger crowd as well as plans that cater towards family.

 Don´t miss out on one of the most interesting events in Barcelona! The Grec 09 festival has several different venues across the city and there is no excuse not to attend at least one show. Book your ComeToBarcelona reservation today to get as close as possible to the action!

A meal at ‘Els 4Gats’ in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona will transport you to the beginning of Modernistic art and leads you to imagine a young Picasso enjoying evenings with his many contemporaries, discussing matters that transformed into some of the most famous works of art in the 20^th Century.

The history is rich with importance and intrigue, starting with its name. ‘Els Quatre Gats’, is Catalan for ‘The Four Cats’, and is a slang term meaning just a few people. It was chosen by Pere Romeu, the creator, in a self-deprecating play on words, as in: “Nobody was at the restaurant but four cats.”

Romeu was a successful performer in the famous cabaret bar ‘Le Chat Noir’ in Paris and he wished to establish a meeting place for him and his conversationalist companions in Barcelona that would resemble this restaurant.  ‘Els 4Gats’ was born in June of 1897 and it quickly became a favorite spot for poets, painters, musicians, and architects, the most famous being Picasso, who held his first public exhibition in the café. However, Romeu was overcome by his idealistic dream of owning the restaurant as a birthplace for artistic ideas rather than as a profitable business, and soon his generosity with bills and tabs forced him to shut it down in 1903, to the dismay of the people of Barcelona.

It was later reopened by another artistic circle and thrived until the Spanish Civil War changed the entire city until the 1970´s where it was once again brought back to life by three businessmen. Now it is a beautifully renovated restaurant with art hung on all the walls and even a menu depicting an original drawing by Picasso for that very purpose. The atmosphere is different than the numerous other cafes in the Gothic Quarter and the food is also of high quality and taste.

‘Els 4Gats’ is tucked away in the Gothic Quarter at Carrer de Montsió 3, just a couple short blocks away from Las Ramblas. The menu features a diverse mix of Catalan cuisine and an extensive wine list, and if you are interested in dining during for lunch, the Menu del Día offers a surprisingly diverse list of two courses and a dessert for a relatively inexpensive price of 12,50€.

Learn more about the history and menu of El 4Gats and also check out Las Ramblas apartments  near the restaurant.

Barcelona hosted the Tour de France 2009 last weekend for the first time in 44 years. The riders battled the rain during a rare couple of stormy days for Barcelona and the slick roads caused several accidents in the city. However, Norwegian sprinter, Thor Hushovd, triumphed through the conditions and brought his team, Cervelo, their first stage Tour win, as the passage through Barcelona concluded Stage 6 of the 2009 tour.

After leaving the city, the riders biked into the Pyrenees in a difficult 224km stage whose end only marked a third of the entire 21 stage race. Barcelona residents and visitors were able to view the riders at two times during the race last week. On Thursday July 9, they arrived in the early afternoon through Montjuich and left from around the Plaza Espanyol the next morning heading towards Andorra.

The Tour de France is an annual bike race that attracts the top biciclists from around the world. It has been going on since 1903 and has since been considered one of the greatest sporting speculations in the world. The tour route varies from year to year, but always ends in Paris. This year Barcelona was lucky enough to experience the sporting tradition.

For coverage and photos  of the Tour de France 2009 in Barcelona click here and also check out Barcelona accommodations that were right near the action this July.