Barcelona (Spain)

Located in the North East of the country in the Catalonia region, Barcelona is Spain's second largest city attracting visitors from around the world. Barcelona has the reputation of being the most cosmopolitan and modern city in Spain.

Why go there?

Barcelona offers a variety of artistic treasures, Romanesque churches and the great names in modern art and architecture including Dali, Gaudi, Miro and Picasso. Barcelona has an impressive choice of bars, restaurants and cafes ranging from colourful tapas bars, outdoor cafes, fashionable wine bars and night clubs.

Sights and Attractions

Visit the impressive La Sagrada Familia, the unfinished cathedral which was designed by Guadi and has been under construction since 1882. Take a stroll down the bustling tree lined boulevard La Rambla, also called Las Ramblas. The pavements are packed with buskers and living statues for you to admire and the noisy bird market is well worth a look as is the Palau de la Virrenia, a grand 18th century rococo mansion. Wander around the little streets around the cathedral in the Gothic quarter (Barri Gotic). With its concentration of gothic buildings and it's maze of interconnecting dark streets linking with squares with plenty of bars and cafes it's the nucleus of old Barcelona. Visit Barcelona's most visited museum, the Museum Picasso located in the fashionable El Born district. The museum shows numerous works from the artists early years including his blue period with canvasses like The Defenceless. A visit to the impressive Nou Camp football stadium of the Olympic stadium is a must for the sports enthusiast.

Getting around

The subway is the easiest and fastest way of getting around the city. Barcelona has two different systems, the subway with its five lines and the FCG, with two lines in Barcelona and four more line going to nearby towns. The bus offers a slower way to get around whilst in Barcelona but it also allows you to enjoy the magnificent views around the city. Black and yellow cabs are easy to flag down in Barcelona and display a green light when they are free.

Food and drink

Barcelona has a reputation for producing some of Spain's finest cuisine with a variety and fresh, high quality seafood, meat and poultry dishes and plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. These often come in unusual combinations, meat with seafood, poultry with fruit or fish with nuts.

Monster Travel has thousands of short city break deals available to Barcelona with accommodations available to suit all budgets and booking online couldn't be easier with one simple and easy to use search. The growth in low cost airlines makes a short city break to Barcelona easily accessible from most UK airports.