Advantages: Multicultural, pleasant and warm
Disadvantages: None

...Barcelona is Spain's 2nd city, after the capital MADRID, but is one of the most popular of all European cities, experiencing a mushroom of interest following the Olympic games that were hosted in the city in 1992. The city is however the CAPITAL of the Catalonia region of Spain, which is one of 17 autonomous communities in Spain. It has the 2nd largest inhabitant rate in Spain with almost 7 million residents. Barcelona is located on the North East coast of Spain and is approximately 2 hours from London and Luton by plane. It is a little over 1 hour from Paris, Geneva and Lisbon, 45 minutes from Nice, 2 hours from Rome, Amsterdam, and Brussels, and between 2-3 hours from Berlin, Munich and Prague. As a European destination, it's very easily accessible for all with a major hub airport. In fact, it is so easily accessible from... Read review

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Advantages: Hust off the Avda Diagonal
Disadvantages: pricey car parking !

...I stayed at the Hilton Hotel in Barcelona last year for a long weekend and enjoyed it so much that we have booked up for another week in July this year. The hotel has around 280 rooms and is situated in the business, commercial and shopping district of the city and is only 15-20 minutes from Barcelona International Airport. It is on the Avda Diagonal it is close to all the transportation into the city centre. Take care if you have a hire car as it is £12 per day for hotel parking and you are not told about this when booking in. The restaurants are very good and the bar in the central atrium is a good meeting place with great cocktails at moderate prices. The hotel has a typical good quality Hilton ‘american’ feel, layout and facilities. The rooms are well decorated and have all the facilities you would expect... Read review

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Advantages: A good transport system.
Disadvantages: none

...What I really wanted to write about was the 'Barcelona Card' (see below), and I proposed this product months ago, but it wasn't added by Ciao, so I will try to widen the scope of this review to include all transports (well, all the ones I can think of…). This review will not include information on driving in Barcelona, as we had no first-hand experience of it. First, let me give you some general information about Barcelona by way of an introduction. Situated in the northeast of Spain on the Mediterranean coast, Barcelona is the second city in Spain, but this fact matters little to the Catalans for whom it is the capital of Catalonia (Catalunya in Catalan). One and a half million people live there. The city's development is arrested on two sides by the hills of Collserola and by Montjuïc Mountain, and it has had to expand... Read review

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Advantages: Everything you want on a city break
Disadvantages: Too many things to do

...Barcelona ^^^^^^^^^ Barcelona is one of the most popular city break destinations in Europe, and for several very good reasons. It is only a short flight from the UK and with budget airlines can be very cheap to reach. Being a coastal city the climate is not too oppressive for our sensitive natures and there is a little bit of everything available to keep just about any kind of visitor entertained. There are bars, restaurants and night life if that’s what you’re after. There are museums, galleries and spectacular architecture if that’s your bent and there are beaches, parks and shopping to fill in the gaps. Whatever type of break you’re after; chances are you’ll find it in Barcelona. Having recently spent four days in the city what struck me most was just how much there was to do and how much I’d left undone. I’ve been on several... Read review

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Advantages: Beautiful city, loads to do
Disadvantages: None

...As a birthday present last year, Angel and the guys took me on my first ever holiday, to Barcelona. We only spent a week there, but it was the best week of my life, so I thought I’d do a review on it and share the experience with the rest of the Ciao community. I’ve got a feeling this could be quite a long one, so I’ll split it into sections to make it easier both for me to write, and for you to read. My opinion of Barcelona in general As this was my first holiday, I have nothing really to compare it to, but I cannot imagine any other destination even coming close to the standard set by this magnificent city. The atmosphere, set by an interesting mix of vibrant culture, living history, and the hustle and bustle of the city, is truly amazing. There’s definitely a lot more to Barcelona than sun, sea... Read review

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Advantages: Too may to name! Great nighlife, food, people, architecture, the list goes on!
Disadvantages: None that I can think of

...as though you know where you’re going. Try not to look like a tourist and plan your journey before you go out onto the street to avoid having to get it out in the middle of the city - nothing calls attention to you more than a huge map! Don’t let all this put you off, Barcelona is just as safe as any other major European city, it’s just wise to tak precautions. Barcelona is well-known for it’s architecture, everbody knows the “Gaudí Cathedral”. However, while it’s well worth a visit (be prepared to queue during the summer season), there is more to se in the city. The Güell Park, in the north of the city, also designed by Gaudí, is a further example of his amazing work and is perfect for an afternoon’s stroll. In the centre of the city are also cituated many of the houses he designed, take a stroll around the Eixample, you can also take... Read review

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Advantages: Informative, accurate (at time of press at least), lightweight for carrying around
Disadvantages: updated very 2 years so if you just miss the new edition it may be slightly dated

...Earlier this year I went on a week long holiday to Barcelona and, working in a bookshop had a great time going through all the travel books one morning trying to decide which one to take (for those of you that think I was slacking off work, this is what we in the trade like to term research - clearly I was doing it to better recommend products to future customers! ;) ). My final choice came down to Time Out and Lonely Planet City Guide, and this one won out. Last published in October 2004 (4th edition) it was, at the time at least, very up to date and on first glance seemed to contain everything I wanted to know. It proved to be extremely useful during my trip, so here are the facts. PUBLISING INFO - October 2004 - 4th edition - Published by - Lonely Planet - Size - 19 1/2 cm, 12 1/2 cm, 1 1/2 cm deep - Weight (very... Read review

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Advantages: great cultural diversity and cosmopolitan
Disadvantages: none

...The first thing that a visitor should do when visiting this marvelous city is forget all the preconceptions that they have about Spain - Barcelona is another world! As you might know Barcelona is situated in Catalunya (Spain is divided in many regions and Catalunya is one of them). Each region has their own cultural background, customs, traditions and some speak other languages. Catalunya is very different from the rest of the regions in Spain and Barcelona is its capital. If you went to Barcelona and were expecting to see some bullfighting or flamenco dancing, you are in the wrong place!! Barcelona is a city well known for its cultural diversity and for being very cosmopolitan. I am not going to give you an extensive description of areas to visit, just some guidelines, I believe the best way of discovering a city is by getting... Read review

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Advantages: Great shops, clean and spacious, good signs
Disadvantages: Can be slow to queue for things...

...Barcelona – capital of the Spanish province of Catalonia and one of the airports serving the popular Costa Brava as well as the bustling, historic city of Barcelona. Have flown into Barcelona roughly 5 times in the last copula of years and have had no serious problems or complaints with it. Prat de Llobregat airport has three large, spacious terminals – A (long haul and EU destinations - most of the budget airlines fly into here), B (EU destinations – most of the budget airlines fly into here) and C (mainly domestic flights) A and B are next door to one another whilst C is a short shuttle bus journey away. Most of the car hire companies can be found in terminal B, in my experience. Each terminal has all the usual facilities – check in desks, cafes, tourist information, bureau de change, car hire... Read review

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Advantages: gorgeous climate, quick and easy to get too and has something to offfer everyone
Disadvantages: language barrier could be an issue and isn't ideal for a beach holiday

...quickest, and easiest form of travel to endure, it also often works out to be the cheapest, epecially since the introduction of budget airlines. The airport is situated close to the city, and from there it was only a short bus ride to the city centre. The journey is quick and easy from start to finish, as well as being relatively stress free, leaving you to relax into the start of your holiday. One of the obvious attractions about Barcelona has to be it's climate. During our stay the weather was truly impressive the nights were balmy and comfortable and the days were perfect for either lazing on the beach or doing a bit of sightseeing. Although, it has to be said that over our 6 day stay there were a few moments, usually around midday, that the heat did start to become a bit too much. However with the useful combination of both sea and sand... Read review

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