Destinations
Proud, inveterate, explosive, full of geniuses and fools, one that falls in love with tourists, one that make tourists feel tired … it’s all about Barcelona – one of the most beautiful cities not only in Europe but the whole world. Barcelona is Kiev with the sea, it’s crazy energy of Dali, Gaudi’s plush architecture, stunning LGBT community outfits, active cycling traffic, frantic parties and endless sangria.
It would be crazy to start listing at least part of its monuments in the introduction to the Catalan capital: they are found here at every turn, the ancient Roman port breathes with history, every stone is ready to tell its legend, and all modern monuments are worthy of at least a hymn. In short, Barcelona is a city of the arts. Arriving here gray, bored, tired and devastated, you leave the city of love with such a charge of creative energy, sun, strength and good mood that the border guards at the airport squint. The radiance of Barcelona will stay with you for a long time, illuminating the cozy evenings with the Mediterranean flora.
In Barcelona, several hundred hotels of different stars have been built: from luxury to fully democratic. Also apartments, hostels and campsites are available. However, in the high season, any accommodation option must be booked as early as possible, otherwise you risk losing the chance to make any choice at all.
Barcelona is a big city and there are hotels in every area. As it stands, the most luxurious are located in the center, near Rambla, Gracia Boulevard, Catalonia Square. A room in a such five stars hotel costs about 150 EUR per night, and this is far from the limit. If you are planning to stay at more budget room, be sure to check the map where the hotel is located: cheap hotels are usually in the Old Town and in L’Eixample but there are both near the port and in Barry Chino – and these areas are no longer so nice .
The difference between Barcelona’s top hotel segment and others is there are the many design and boutique hotels. The budget segment also has its own peculiarity: a large number of hostels, which are divided into public and private. A place in the dormitory of the Barcelona hostel will cost the traveler from EUR 15 per day.
The number of restaurants, bars, pubs and cafes in Barcelona is just crazy. In addition, the city has more than 20 establishments with Michelin stars. It is best to choose a restaurant by following two simple rules: 1) what do you want to eat (national, European or Asian cuisine) and 2) starting from the number of people.
And in this case, the rule “the bigger the better” works perfectly. Do not spare the time to queue, if any – such a food establishment is clearly popular. In addition, it is advisable to pay attention to all the small stickers on the door with the date: Cheque Gourmet 2011 or Trip Adviser 2009, which say that this place has received at least good reviews from tourists.
On average, a full breakfast in Barcelona (as they call it “English breakfast”) will cost 8-10 EUR. It includes bacon or fried sausages, a couple of eggs, toast, beans or mushrooms, coffee and sometimes fresh juice. For those who are not accustomed to stuff their stomachs with mushrooms in the morning, a traditional breakfast with coffee, juice and croissant is suitable – 5-8 EUR. For lunch, you can use the menu del dia – a Spanish version of a business lunch. It starts from 12:00 and until 16:00, the price – from 12 to 20 EUR. It usually includes a salad, carpaccio or soup, followed by a hot meal, dessert and a drink – beer, a bottle of wine, coffee or juice.
Dinner time in Barcelona comes when establishments begin to open after siesta – usually eight o’clock in the evening. The traditional Catalan dinner consists of three dishes – appetizers, main course and dessert.
Materials are from the site: tonkosti.ru
The fastest and the most convenient way to get from Ukraine to Barcelona is by plane. SkyUp operates direct flights from the Ukrainian airport to Barcelona (BCN). Flight time – 3 hours 40 minutes, estimated cost from 230 EUR. You can also fly to Barcelona from Kiev and Lviv.
Barcelona’s ATM general public transport system includes subways, buses, trams, Rodalies city trains (RENFE) and FGC trains. For most tourist trails in Barcelona metro is quite enough. However, by purchasing a common ATM, you will be able to use all of the above modes of transport within the tariff zone defined in it.
The Barcelona subway is very convenient. It opens at 5:00 and closes at 24:00, on Friday – at 2:00, and from Saturday morning runs continuously until 0:00 Sunday.
The one-way trip costs EUR 2.20, so it is more advantageous for tourists to buy a 10-trip (T-10) ticket for EUR 10.20 for tariff zone 1, which contains most of the attractions. The same tickets can be used on buses, trams, the Catalan rail FGC and the main RENFE trains.
There are only 6 long tram lines in Barcelona. Trams run almost on a subway schedule, they are fast and drive one stop in an average of a couple of minutes. It is not so easy with buses: their schedule depends on the day of the week, there are many routes and they are quite confusing. In addition, you have to catch buses at the stop and stop buss by pushing a button if you need to get off.
Taxis in Barcelona are not difficult to find: these are black and yellow cars that are found everywhere. There are 4 rates for city transfers, depending on the time of day and day of the week. Starting price is around € 2.20 (for pre-booked taxi it is increasing). Next, the cost of the trip is calculated by the counter.
Ciudad Lineal (18.21km)
Móstoles (16.15km)
Alcalá de Henares (42.73km)
Fuenlabrada (21.25km)
Euro, €
AND, FRA, GIB, PRT, MAR
1.57 €
10 €
+34
