BARCELONA: Culture, sunshine, nightlifene, nightlife

If you want excellent cuisine, culture, nightlife, and a beach holiday all rolled into one, Barcelona is just right for you. From an architectural point of view, this city is a jewel. This is largely thanks to Antoni Gaudi, who lent Barcelona its special character. You can admire Picasso’s works of art in the museum in the Carrer de Montcada. Taste a Catalonian speciality “la escudella i carn d’olla” a typical stew containing vegetables, rice, noodles, and potatoes. The international jazz festival in October and the costume parades at the height of the carnival season (at the end of February) are just some of the many cultural highlights.

BARCELONA: AIRPORT

Del Prat is situated 12km south of the city.

Trains: there is a train to Barcelona Sants every 30 minutes.
Coaches: The Aerobus is the quickest way to the city centre.
Taxi: you may have to pay for oversize bags.

BARCELONA: INTRODUCION from Barcelona Travel Guide

Barcelona has boomed since the early 1990s, when preparations for the Olympic Games wrenched it into modernity, and today it remains well in the vanguard of other Spanish cities (with the possible exception of Madrid) in terms of prosperity, stability and cultural activity. It’s a confident, progressive city, looking towards the rest of Europe for its inspiration and its innovations – the classic tourist images of Spain seem firmly out of place in Barcelona’s bustling central boulevards and stylish modern streets. And style is what brings many visitors here, attracted by enthusiastic newspaper and magazine articles which make much of the outrageous architecture, user-friendly city design, agreeable climate and frenetic nightlife. Even the medieval Gothic quarter and its once-notorious red-light area have been swept up by the citywide renovation programme, which is still running at full tilt. As the new millennium starts Barcelona has continued to blossom from provincial city to putative European capital.