Barcelona apartments, Barcelona Hotels,

On the 29th of June a very special cinema opens its doors: The SALA MONTJUIC which is an open-air cinema situated on top of the mountain Montjuic and which lasts until the 31st of July.

You are on holiday in Barcelona during this date? You are staying in a comfortable Barcelona apartment or in one of the charming Barcelona beach hotels? Then you should not miss to face the opportunity to visit at least one movie in the open-air cinema which is displayed on a huge screen every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, starting at 08:30 pm in an exceptional location.

The movies are played in original version with Catalan subtitles. The entry ticket costs 5 € and you can loan a chair for 3 €.

Tickets are limited to 2500: 2000 tickets can be bought online on the website of Sala Montjuic, the other 500 tickets can be bought in advance from ServiCaixa.

The organizers Ways Band are very enthusiastic about this year's edition which is in collaboration with the « Cinema Verdi », a cinema which is specialized in movies in original versions. Information regarding the cinema program and its dates can be accessed on the official website of the Sala Montjuic.

This is the perfect occasion to spend some joyful time with your family or some friends in an exceptional atmosphere. It's also a good chance to make a picnic together with them and also to discover Montjuic - one of the spots that must be seen when travelling to Barcelona.

Fancy shopping areas are spread across the whole city and vary enormously. The world-famous street Las Ramblas which ranges from Plaza Catalunya to the harbor of Barcelona is in fact a famous shopping street - yet, it is more likely to buy expensive tourist souvenirs there. If you are looking for famous and sophisticated brands such as Chanel, Gucci, Armani, Cartier, Miró or Zara, you should better go for Passeig de Gracia, Diagonal or around Plaza Catalunya. However, if you rather prefer alternative brands from the very famous ones, I recommend you to go to the winding alleys in the districts El Borne or Barrio Gotico. There you can find some small, unknown but yet hip and innovative labels. Besides, shopping in the Barrio Gotico enables you combine a shopping trip with visiting some of Barcelona's most famous cultural sights (e.g. cathedral). Besides some small fashion and clothes shops, you'll also find plenty of antique shops, small bookstores and of course welcoming cafés and restaurants to take a rest. In case you are seeking for music stores, alternative clothes or second-hand shops, then you should go to the district El Raval (the other side of Las Ramblas).
Very famous Spanish brands are - among others - Zara, Mango, Bershka, Stradivarius, MiSaKo and Desigual.

General infos about shopping in Barcelona:

Barcelona shops opening hours:
Monday to Saturday from around 10:00 am to 08:30 pm. Smaller shops often have "fiesta" between 02:00 pm until 04:30 pm. Many shops on Las Ramblas are open the whole week (also Sunday).

Barcelona sales:
Generally, there are 2 main sales in Barcelona: Winter and summer sale. Winter sale: From the second week of January until end of February. Summer sale: From middle of July until end of August. Discounts range between 20%-50% and finally up to 70%.

Barcelona shopping bus:
The Tombus is a bus which is considered for all shopping lovers and brings you to all the most important shopping spots within Barcelona: Departure takes place every 7 minutes from Plaza Catalunya. From here it drives up to Placa Pius XII (Diagonal). The air-conditioned bus costs 1.50 € and stops at 28 different stops.

The opening of the new Barcelona airport terminal T1 in Barcelona's airport El Prat on the 16th of June 2009 strengthens Barcelona's position as an "exemplary airport within the Mediterranean and the south of Europe".

It has been said, that the project for the terminal T1 in Barcelona's airport belongs to one of the largest civil engineering projects ever undertaken in Europe and the result can be shown in any case:
A processing building where check-in is taking place, baggage reclaim and airport shopping areas, two lateral piers and one longitudinal pier for passenger boarding, and an intermodal lobby where the various transport systems will come together.
Not only will it increase the numbers of passengers travelling to and from Barcelona but the opening of the new terminal means the creation of more than 3000 jobs in the terminal T1.

The Airlines operating in the new, innovative Barcelona terminal T1 - among others - are:

• Austrian Airlines
• Adria Airways
• Brussels Airways
• Lufthansa
• US Airways
• Turkish Airways
• Swiss International Airlines
• BLUE 1
• Croatia Airlines
• Egyptair
• Spainair

A great variety of cheap Barcelona hotels or apartments in Barcelona can be booked online in order to perfectly complete your trip to Barcelona.

The Caribe water park which is situated in the theme park Port Aventura is the perfect place to spend some great holidays with your family or some friends.

With its 9000m2 large swimming pool, the palm trees and the Mediterranean sun which is always shining over the beautiful Costa Daurada you will feel as if you are in the Caribbean itself.
Even more, if you are spending a night in the tropical paradise Port Aventura hotel "Caribe". Staying in this hotel in Port Aventura, enables you to receive free entrance to the Caribe water park and to the theme park Port Aventura.

Furthermore, when spending your time in the Caribe water park you will benefit from: Beaches of the "Bahamas", the waves of the "Bermuda triangle" and your children will love playing in the "lagoon of Woody Woodpacker".

Port Aventura tickets as well as tickets for the Caribe water park can be bought online along with some special offers which will make your stay even more attractive! Enjoy it!!!

If you are spending your next holiday in Barcelona and you are seeking for a Barcelona accommodation close to the beach, I recommend you to go either for one of the chic Barcelona beach hotels or one of the numerous comfortable Beach apartments Barcelona at Barcelona Vila Olimpica (just beside the Olympic harbor) - depending on your preferences.

The Barcelona district Parc de Mar is northwards of Barceloneta situated. Where nowadays the modern, futuristic Olympic complexes rise up to the sky, there used to be the miserable backyard of Barcelona: marked by lapsed junkyards and slums. The city took advantage of the Olympic Games in order to "clean up". The Olympic harbor was located where nowadays the chic marina is situated. The Olympic Village comprised about 2000 accommodation units which were designed in 1992 by the architects Oriol Bohigas and Josep Martorell. Only the most-wealthy people could afford the high premium prices of these luxury real estates. An even later emblem of this area is the huge bronze-colored fish-sculpture designed by an American artist called Frank Gehry. Just beside, the high two towers with 44 storeys are placed. They flank the entrance to the Barcelona Vila Olimpica from 1992. Furthermore, the kilometer-long beach promenade of the Port Olimpic is another famous boulevard of Barcelona, which features plenty of popular bars, restaurants and night-clubs. The Casino of Barcelona is also located in this area.

Spending holidays in this district of Barcelona, is just ideal for all beach and sea lovers among you!

Arriving to a new city can often cause some problems with getting around with the public transportation. In order to support you that you won't have any problems with getting around during your Barcelona holidays I will provide you some useful information about the Barcelona Metro. It will help you to get around easily, no matter where your Barcelona apartment or your Hotel in Barcelona is located.

Hours of operation of the Barcelona metro:

Monday - Thursday: 05:00am - 12:00pm
Fridays and public holidays: 05:00am - 02:00am
Saturdays, as well as 1st January, 15th August and 24th September: 24 hours non-stop
24th December: 05:00am - 11:00pm

Costs of Tickets for the metro in Barcelona:

Single ticket: 1.35 €

But there are also special tickets available:

T-10: 10 rides for 7.70 €
T-Dia: Daily ticket for all public transports within Barcelona for 5.80 €
T-Mes: Monthly ticket, which is valid for 30 days for 47.90 €
T-50/30: Ticket for one person, 50 rides within 30 days for 31.50 €
T-Familiar 70/30: Ticket for 70 rides in within 30 days, can be used from different persons of the family for 45.40 €
T-Trimestre: Ticket valid for 90 days, ID required, for 131.50 €

There are some other special subscriptions for tourists:

2 Dies = 2 days: 10.70 €
3 Dies = 3 days: 15.20 €
4 Dies = 4 days: 19.50 €
5 Dies = 5 days: 23.10 €

Below you can find some very important Barcelona sights and how you can access them:

Las Ramblas: accessible with metro line L3 (green), take metro stop "Plaza Catalunya", "Liceu" or "Drassanes".
Park Güell: accessible with metro line L3 (green), take metro stop "Vallcarca".
The Sagrada Familia: accessible with metro line L5 (blue) or line L2 (purple), take metro stop "Sagrada Familia".
Beach of Barcelona and Port Vell: accessible with metro line L4 (yellow), take metro stop "Barceloneta".
Olympic port and its' beach: accessible with metro line L4 (yellow), take metro stop "Ciutadella (Vila Olimpica)".

If you would like to have more information, please visit the webpage of Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB).
Have a good trip and enjoy your holidays in Barcelona!

The Barcelona Elton John concert takes places on the 20th of October 2009 at Palau St. Jordi on Montjuic. Tickets for the Elton John concert are already available and I recommend you to hurry up and get your tickets before it is too late. The tickets cost between 45€ - 75€. One can buy them from FNAC.

If you are planning to spend Barcelona holidays in the city during this date, I suggest you to book a comfortable and cheap Barcelona Hotel early enough in advance from where you can visit the magnificent concert of Elton John in Barcelona.

"Barcelona is a city full of wonder and beauty. I first went when I was 19 years old, with some train money and a backpack and not much else. I fell in love with the city's passion for life, its food, culture, and of course, its architecture. Where else can you surf in the morning, do a master- tour of Gaudí's surreal buildings (the Sagrada Familia and the Parc Güell, just to name a couple), eat the best tapas of your life and get lost wandering the labyrinthine, majestic streets of the Barrio Gótico? It is a city worth exploring and falling in love with...."

This is what the famous actor Gwyneth Paltrow thinks about Barcelona and I'm absolutely of the same opinion. Barcelona is just great, hip, fancy, unique,...
And I'm sure, once you have visited the city - you'll think so too!

Gwyneth Paltrow revealed some of her favorite places to eat and drink in Barcelona in her webpage newsletter "Goop" and below you can find some of them.

Places to eat in Barcelona:

INOPIA: "I would fly all the way to Barcelona just to eat at this completely regular-looking, crowded, noisy tapas bar..."

Inopia
c/ Tamarit, 104
+34.934.245.231
www.barinopia.com

BOTAFUMEIRO: "Botafumeíro feels like a warm family restaurant where you would also see dignitaries and local celebs..."

Botafumeíro
El Gran de Gràcia, 81
+34.932.184.230
www.botafumeiro.es

EL BULLI: "El Bulli may be the world's most talked about restaurant. Owned by world-renowned chef Ferran Adrià, it is famously open only six months of the year and it is basically impossible to get a table. It's already booked for 2009, but think ahead...."

El Bulli
c/ Montjoi, Roses
+34.972.150.457
www.elbulli.com

Places to go for a Drink in Barcelona:

BARCELONA PIPA CLUB: "Loved the Pipa Club. You have to ring a bell to get in, and upstairs you'll find a happening jazz club.."

Barcelona Pipa Club
Plaça Reial 3
+34.933.024.732
www.bpipaclub.com

LES GENS QUE J'AIME SAVE: "I wandered into this bar a few years ago with some friends and we stayed all night. Cool, darkish (in a library way, not a dungeon way), great drinks and good music..."

Les Gens que J'aime Save
c/ Valencia 286
+34.932.156.879

Places to stay in Barcelona:

HOTEL ARTS: "I adore the Arts. It is a big hotel done RIGHT. Amazing views, beautiful rooms, great service. It's where I bed down in Barcelona most of the time."

Hotel Arts Barcelona
c/ de la Marina, 19
+34.932.211.000
www.hotelartsbarcelona.com

So, now that you have all this great suggestions, don't you think it's time to experience and live the city Barcelona by yourself?
All you need is a comfortable Barcelona accommodation and you are ready to start the exploration of this magnificant city.
Why not staying in Gwyneth Paltrow's favorite Barcelona Hotel "Arts"...?

The Barcelona Grec festival is one of the most important annual festivals in Barcelona featuring fantastic dances, theatres and music.
It has a complete, magnificent program of performances which take place in various places within the city of Barcelona. A Greek amphitheatre is located just beside the Olimpic stadium on the mountain Montjuic where a great number of the 45 different events take place.
The Grec Festival 2009 in Barcelona offers a great variety of well-known musicians. In the past years, popular artists such as Joss Stone, Brian Wilson, Craig David or Marianne Faithful hit the stage during this event.
Besides, the festivals' organizers try to carry out something different every year for its passionate audience.
This year, the Grec festival lasts from the 20th of June until the 3rd of August - with the special show of "El Jardi dels estels" by Marcello Chiarenza and Serene Alexander.
The famous festival attracts annually thousands of passionate guests who enjoy music, theatres and dances.

If you belong to these kind of music and event lovers, I would like to suggest you something:
Visit the event from your Barcelona hotel or your Barcelona apartment. In case, you travel to Barcelona with a (large) group, I recommend you to book a comfortable, economic Barcelona Group holiday apartment.
If you would like to have more information about the Barcelona Grec festival 2009, please visit the official website.