Barcelona apartments, Barcelona Hotels,

If you are staying in a Barcelona Hotel or in a Barcelona apartment you probably want to discover more of the city everyday but you don't know where to go exactly or how to do it in a fun way. Here is a nice vehicle to discover the sightseeings of the city in an original way: Segway Barcelona.

The Segway is a two wheels electric vehicle invented by Dean Kamen. It was first produced in 2002 and is now used all around the world for city tours or even by the police. It is possible to use it in major cities and you will be able to try it in Barcelona.

Segway Barcelona offers you different tours and packages so that you can discover most of the city. You must be at least two to create a group for visits and activities. It can be ideal if you are a couple or with friends. Segway is also a nice way for companies to entertain their employees or clients in Barcelona for business, during their free time.

There is a lot to see in Barcelona, and of course, a day is not enough to see all the sightseeing of the city! That's why, the Barcelona city tour buses offer you tours by night : instead of staying in your Barcelona hotel or Barcelona apartment after a good restaurant, jump in the night bus to see the amazing views of Barcelona by night!

Be on time for the departure at 9:30pm at Plaça Catalunya in front of the Corte Ingles since there is only one bus and it is "first come first served"! You even have to be there 20 minutes before to buy your tickets. You also have to remember that the touristic night bus only runs during the weekends (Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays).

The tour lasts 2 hours and a half, just the time to see the major monuments like Plaça Catalunya, la Sagrada Familia, La Casa Mila, La Casa Batllo, Plaça Espanya but you will also do a special stop to admire the Montjuic fountain and its lights.

The Parc d'Atraccions Tibidabo is a theme park overlooking the whole city from the Tibidabo mountain, which is the local mountain of Barcelona. Soaring 512m into the Barcelona sky, the Tibidabo offers a magnificent view together with several park attractions.

If you have booked your family holidays at Costa Brava or directly arranged an accommodation in Barcelona, you and your family should not miss the Tibidabo mountain. Part of a mountain chain, the Tibidabo offers a great view over the city, sea and the surrounding areas. The theme park is the main attraction offering several nostalgic rides.

The park has been built at the beginning of the 20th century by a wealthy pharmacist. Several years ago, the park encountered financial problems, so that it has been bought by the City of Barcelona. Since then, the park has been renewed and renovated. Thus, it is onre of the main attractions for visitors.

In May, the park is usually open every weekend from 12am - 9pm. It will be also open at Whitsun 2010 (May 24th) and additionally in June (9./10. - 16./17./18. - 24./25.)  During Juli and Augsut, the park will be open from Wednesdays to Sundays from 12am to 11pm. The park can be reached easily by public transport from Plaza Catalunya.

The capital of the autonomic region in Northern Spain is worth travelling almost every time. Especially in spring, the city awakes from it's winter sleep. A lot of tourist use the days of Whitsun to take a short trip to this vivid metropolis.

Barcelona incorporates art, culture, sun, sea and beach. It has all what you need to spend a relaxing short trip. No matter if you are staying in an apartment in Barcelona or in a hotel in Barcelona, there is something for every taste and every pocketbook.

This year, Whitsun takes place at 23 May and 24 May (Monday). For working people, it could be interesting to combine this with one or two days of a holiday. Due to its diversity, nice weather and cultural activities Barcelona is the perfect destination for a short trip. A good tip for visitors who have a limited time in the city are the numerous bus tours that are offered across the city. Buying a "day pass" gives you the opportunity to see most of the attraction within a short period of time. Be aware of the fact that there are several routes. Though, with a day pass you are eligible to use all of them as often as you like.

You can find cheap flights with low cost carriers that depart from numerous airports in the UK and Ireland. Ryanair for example offers cheap flights to Girona or Reus. Those airports are close to Barcelona and can be reached easily by bus. Also, using a low cost carries makes a lot of sense for short trips. Due to the severity restrictions you usually pay more for luggage that exceeds 10 - 15 kilos. Consequently, you will not only save money but also strech your nerves at the airport. 

Located at the centre of Barcelona right next to "Las Ramblas", this scenic place can be reached very easily. Visitors that walk by, from one attraction to another, often recognize this beautiful place by chance. Most of them do not know that this is one of Barcelona's major gathering points.

The Plaza reial stands for little restaurants, bars and some clubs. Therefore, it is no wonder that the plaza is very vivid in the evening hours. Because it is no central, it can be reached within several walking minutes from one of the numerous central located hotels in Barcelona or one of the apartments in Barcelona.

This place became famous from the movie "The Spanish Inn" (original title: l'auberge espanole). The movie tells the story about a couple of international students that live to gether in an apartment in Barcelona. Also, some of you might know that Antoni Gaudi has designed one of the architectural sights at this place. He is one of the most famous artists that contributed a lot of other sights to the city.

Surrounded by tall palms that rise up to the sky makes this place a nic e place to rest during the day and a gathering point point for Barcelona's nightlife. At that time, you will recognize crowds of people pilgrimaging to the clubs. Being located at the Gothic quarter (Barri Gotico), you will also find there many small souvenir shops that are waiting for you! 

The Cosmocaixa - Museum of Modern Science has opened its doors in 2005. Since then, it is one of the most modern and most innovative museums in Barcelona and even in Spain.

Those who want to take advantage of their holidays in Barcelona beside exploring the culture and lying on the beach should visit this museum. 30,000 m² exhibition area with its unique attractions invite you not only to be lionized but also to be tried out. Interactivity and didactics are the main keywords when describing the concept of the museum.

Especielly for children, the different exibitions offer a variety of chances to improve their knowledge in the area of maths, technique, chemestry and geology. Adults are also very welcome to explore the interactive exhibitions throughout the museum. If you decide to spend an afternoon in the museum, you should be aware that you will need at least 2 - 3 hours to explore everything!

Beside fix exhibitions, like the planetarium, there are also flexible exhibitions throughout the year. Particularly interesting for visitors are the days that do not require an entrance fee. These are:

Address: Isaac Newton, 26
Town: 08022 Barcelona
Phone: 932 126 050
Web site: www.lacaixa.es/obrasocial
How to get there: Bus 17, 22, 58, 60, 73, 75 and 196. | FGC, stop Av. Tibidabo + Tramvia Blau or bus 196. 

Few visitors use the transport system of private bus companies. With them, you can explore the surrounding cities and landscape, such as the Costa Brava that offers beautiful Mediterranean atmosphere. South of Barcelona, the Costa Dorada = the golden coast - offers wonderful golden beaches and historic small cities.

Having an apartment in Barcelona or a hotel in Barcelona let you use train or bus services directly from the Barcelona city center. The cheapest way to do so is by train. For instance, fares are only 4 Euros reaching Sitges, which is an hour and a half. Of course, there are several destinations available as well. Fares are oriented towards the type of train you use.

Exploring Catalonia by bus is very easy. Sagalés is one of the bus companies. One of its destinations is Sabadell, a small city in the catchment area of Barcelona. There are also other numerous destinations. Visitors from Barcelona can easily explore the region, the people and particularly the breathtaking landscape.

Another bus company is Sarfa. With them, it is possible to reach destinations like Roses, Lloret de Mar and Tossa de Mar. Both bus companies use the Estació del Nord, which is located at the city center and can easily be approached by metro using line 1 (Arc de Triomf) and line 2 (Tetuan).

In general, the bus fares are higher than the train fares. Therefore, it is more comfortable to travel by bus. Also, the bus can reach destinations that cannot be reached by train. Tossa de Mar, for example, can be reached better by bus, because Tossa de Mar does not have an own train station. So, the travel method depends on the destination you have chosen. 

Are you going to spend some time during summer in Barcelona? If not, why don't you come and spend some exciting holidays in Barcelona in either a Barcelona hotel or an apartment in Barcelona?

Beside the typical sights that Barcelona can offer you, you could get to know the city from another point of view: Namely, as the scene of plenty of internationally known movies. The latest well-known movie which was shot in the metropolis was Woody Allen's successful movie "Vicky Cristina Barcelona". Yet, there are many other movies which were actually shot in Barcelona but didn't play in the city, for instance "The perfume".

The medieval Gothic quarter "Barrio Gotico", where one can also find many comfortable Barcelona apartments and the dry Mediterranean climate ensure ideal conditions for many movies.

When spending some Barcelona holidays, you should definitely participate in a Barcelona Movie walk and explore the original settings. Beside the tours "The Barcelona of Woody Allen" and "The Barcelona of Perfume" one can also take the tours "The Barcelona of "Salvador"" and "The Barcelona of Pedro Almodavar". Of course there are also tours which bring you to the French movie settings of "L'Auberge Espagnole - Barcelona for a year" as well as to the movie settings of the Italian movie "Manuale d'amore 2".
In case you don't want to participate in a guided tour, you can just follow the movie tracks by yourself. On the webpage WITUR you can find the certain movie walks.

Starting on the 6th of June until the 6th of september 2009, a very special exhibition takes place in the Barcelona Maritim Museum, called „Tutankhamun: Discover its tomb with its magnificant treasures".
Tutankhamun's tomb was found and opened for the first time in the year 1922 - And you have the great chance to visit it in Barcelona.If you are - like me too - an inspired fan of the history and myths of the ancient Egypt you should definitely NOT miss visiting this exhibition. It enables you to see all precious objects of Tutankhamun's gravesite.

Besides, you can visit the exhibition of Tutankhamun with a monitoring audio-guide which can be obtained for free when buying an entry-ticket. This tool guides you through the whole exhibition and informs you with practical and supporting information and facts.

Entry fees for the Tutankhamun-exhibition:

Adults: 17 €
Retirees (65+): 11 €
Students: 11 €
Children: 9 €

Yet, there are some special offers. For instance the "family rate" (2 adults, 1 child). Tickets can be obtained either directly at the entry or via ServiCaixa.

My personal recommendation:
Spend a informative, and at the same time relaxing, summer-weekend in Barcelona by the sea, from where you are only a stone's throw away of the Barcelona Maritim Museum and its exhibition. A cheaper option would be to go for a Barcelona holiday apartment at the sea.
For instance in a comfortable Barcelona beach apartment, located in the charming district Barceloneta, just beside the sea. This location is the perfect starting point in order to discover Barcelona by foot and also let one's minds wander in the evenings at the Barceloneta beach in an authentic Mediterranean atmosphere.

Did you already come up with some plans for the coming summer holidays?
No?? Well, then it's eaxtly the right time to do so...

What about spending a relaxing summer holiday at the beautiful Costa Daurada which

ranges along the Spanish east-coast to the south of Barcelona?
Numerous, kilometer-long (and partially untouched) sandy beaches, pleasant Mediterranean temperatures as well as plenty of famous holiday destinations, such as Sitges, Tarragona, Cambrils, Salou and Deltebre expect you there and ensure you a wonderful holiday in Spain together with your family or friends.
If you, for instance, go for holidays in Salou where you stay in a comfortable Salou hotel, make sure that you visit the amazing theme park "Port Aventura".

My tip:
Don't miss to book a cozy Costa Dorada apartment or a attractive Costa Dorada hotel early enough - And your holidays can begin...

Barcelona itself has loads of attractions and sights to offer BUT also the surrounding area is absolutely well worth seeing it. So, if you are staying in Barcelona over a longer period in a comfortable Barcelona apartment, you should definitely take your time to explore it.
My tip is - among others- to make an excursion to Sitges (with the Renfe train from Sants Estacio). The charming coastal city is located only 40km away from Barcelona and belongs to one of the most famous and attractive destination for people who are spending their holidays at the Costa Dorada.
Kilometer-long sand-beaches invite its' guests to swim in the turquoise-blue sea. The international gay-scene, which annually meets in the gay-friendly city Sitges, assures to place emphasis amongst the tourist-hypes. A walk through the picturesque, Mediterranean old town or along the beautiful boardwalk ensures you the feeling of "pure holiday".
When strolling along the beach, the small baroque church "Sant Bartolomeu I Santa Tecla", also called "La Punta" (the tongue) is immediately catching one's eye, not least for its amazing location: It is directly bordered to the sea. Numerous (fish-) restaurants, bars and café's invite its' guests to allay their hunger or thirst...of course including sea-view!

You could also conversely visit Barcelona from your holiday accommodation in Sitges.

For instance, the Sitges apartment "Sitges Apartment Sea View" literally invites you to enjoy a really relaxing Spain holiday in the small but lovely city Sitges. The well-equipped Sitges holiday apartment offers a sleeping capacity of up to 4 persons and besides the community garden it offers a swimming-pool as well as a balcony with sea-view. What more would you want?

You are generally a Spain fan?
Then you should also visit the following blogs:
Coasts in Spain - Blog
Ibiza & Majorca - Blog

Today I would like to suggest you a typical „Sunday-afternoon-programm" for your Barcelona holiday: A small Barcelona excursion on the deck of the so-called "Las Gollondrinas" boats.
The Barcelona Las Gollondrinas offer different tours within the Barcelona harbor and along the coast of Barcelona.

Tour 1:
Departure in a typical wooden boat from Portal de la Pau. The journey goes through Barcelona's harbor from where one will see the World Trade Center, the bridge "Porta d'Europe", the international sea-station and the new harbor entrance.
This tour takes approximately 35 minutes and the costs for adults, retirees and students are 6€ whereas the costs for children between age 4-10 are only 2.60€.

Tour 2:
Departure also from Portal de la Pau in a catamaran. Riding this tour will also enable you to see the World Trade Center, the bridge "Portal d'Europa", the international sea-station. In addition, you will pass by Barcelona's beautiful beach-district Barceloneta, the different beaches of Barcelona and further to Vila Olimpica, the Port Forum and to Sant Adria de Besós.
This journey lasts about 1.5 hours and costs 12.50€ for adults, 10€ for retirees and students and 5€ for children between 4-10 years.

Watch the following video of Las Gollondrinas and get an insight of this superb boat ride:

For more information about the Las Gollondrinas, visit the official website http://www.lasgolondrinas.com/index-ang.html.

Departure location is at Portal de la Pau, just vis-à-vis of the Columbus-statue at Barcelona's Port Vell.