Barcelona city Because Barcelona combines everything that is most charming about Mediterranean cities – a relaxed pace, months of endless sunshine, unbeatable food – with the cultural and design clout of most any city in the cold north, Its patchwork of architectural styles displays dark, Gothic façades next to the harlequin buildings of the Modernistas and the skyline-piercing constructions of Jean Nouvel or Herzog and de Meuron, and a day spent admiring them can be topped off with a sundowner on one of the city’s seven beaches before dinner at any number of Michelin-starred gastronomic temples or humble, family-run tapas bars.
When to go?
Winter can throw up some azure skies and improbably warm days, while summer – though humid – is not as blisteringly hot as other Spanish cities. Spring and autumn are the safest periods, perhaps, weatherwise, though they are the most prone to sudden showers, particularly around October and November.
The period from late July to early September is a strange one – most locals with the means leave town, which makes for a quiet, traffic-free experience but it means most restaurants are closed and cultural events are thin on the ground. The busiest period is Easter and prices of flights and hotels are correspondingly high.
Getting there
Flights
El Prat airport (902 404 704; www.barcelona-airport.com) is around 15km from Barcelona city centre. Airport buses (Aerobús) leave for either terminal from in front of the El Corte Inglés department store on Plaça Catalunya every 15 minutes or so – the journey takes around 40 minutes.
Trains for the airport leave Passeig de Gràcia and Estació de Sants every half an hour and take around as long as the Aerobús, but note that if you’re flying to or from the new Terminal 1 you’ll need to catch a fairly lengthy shuttle bus between the terminal and the train station.
Trains
Most long-distance trains arrive at Sants (902 320 320, www.renfe.es), though some services from France arrive at Estació de França.
Coaches
Most coaches terminate at Estació d’Autobusos Barcelona-Nord (C/Ali Bei 80, 902 260 606).
Getting around
Metro
Barcelona’s metro is fast, easy and straightforward and covers most of the city. Maps are available from tourist offices or any metro station.
Buses
The main hub for buses, and particularly night buses, is Plaça Catalunya. Pick up a bus map at the subterranean tourist office there
Trams
Though expansion is planned, for now the trams are of limited use to visitors, with the exception of the line that runs from the Parc de Ciutadella to Diagonal-Mar via the Plaça de les Glòries.