————– The happy guide to ————
BARCELONA
by LUGARIS
All the information you need to not leave anything to see in the city. Get to know the city of Barcelona by the hand of Lugaris.com and enjoy the wonders of Barcelona.
Barcelona offers leisure throughout the year. Whether you come for leisure or work, in Lugaris.com we want to make your stay more enjoyable and make it easy for you to enjoy your trip.
If it is your first time in Barcelona, discover all the corners and access to the main sites of interest. Do not leave anything in the inkwell and discover our complete Barcelona Guide.
“Archives of courtesy, shelter of the foreigners, hospital of the poor, fatherland of the brave, vengeance of the offended and pleasant correspondence of firm friendship, and in sight, and in beauty, unique”. In these terms referred to Barcelona Miguel de Cervantes himself, one of the many illustrious figures who have fallen surrendered by the magnetism of the city.
A power of seduction that today, four centuries after those words, remains intact. This is demonstrated by the more than 8.3 million overnight stays recorded annually by the Catalan capital, and which have served to consolidate it as one of the most visited destinations in Europe. In addition, in 2013, it became the first Spanish town to enter the top-10 world.
There are many reasons that explain the demand for Barcelona: from its unique combination of sea and mountain – the city combines the photogeny of the Sierra de Collserola Natural Park
and 4.2 km of coast along the Mediterranean, with 10 urban beaches – to its generous catalog of modernist buildings through its huge offer of museums, gastronomy and leisure.
And all this without forgetting that, in 2015, it was ranked as the third largest city in the world in business events, being surpassed only by Berlin and Paris.
To this must be added exceptional climate, with mild winters and summers whose average temperature does not usually exceed 26ºC during the months of July and August. Also, the rains are scarce, with records around 600 mm annually.
With these credentials: who can resist renting apartments in Barcelona for their next vacation?
Barcelona has three intercity bus stations: Sants, located next to the train station and the homonymous metro stop; Nord station, next to the Arc de Triomf metro station and the closest to our beach apartments in Barcelona, and the Fabra i Puig station, next to the metro station of the same name and the train station of Sant Andreu Arenal.
This is the point of departure and arrival of coaches connecting Barcelona with many other towns in the province, Spain and other European countries, such as France, Italy or Romania.
Nowadays, the bus is one of the cheapest ways to get to the Catalan capital.
Sants station is the second busiest railway station in Spain, being only surpassed in number of passengers by Atocha station of Madrid.
From here you can take the AVE, a high-speed train that allows you to travel from Madrid to Barcelona in just 2.5 hours, and from Zaragoza in 1.5 hours. However, there are also more affordable options, such as Avant, mid-range, regional or commuter trains, but they are not as fast.
Some of the trains that leave from Sants reach important European cities, like Paris, Marseilles, Nice, Geneva, Brussels, Turin or Milan.
Barcelona-El Prat Airport (BCN), located 15 km from the city and with about 40 million anual passengers, is the second busiest in Spain, only surpassed by the Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas airport.
Equipped with two terminals – T1 and T2, communicated by a free shuttle bus – it operates more than 90 national and international airlines, including low cost companies such as Vueling, Ryanair, EasyJet, Aer Lingus or Wizz Air. In total, these operators offer direct flights to more than 150 destinations from Barcelona.
The airport is connected to the city center by a city bus (46) , a direct bus (Aerobus A1 and A2, with stop at Plaza de Catalunya), train (stop Aeroport de Renfe), metro (L-9) and night buses (N16 and N17). Facilities also include a taxi rank.
Other airports relatively close to Barcelona are those of Girona-Costa Brava, Reus and Lleida-Alguaire.
Since its foundation as a Roman colony around 15 BC, Barcelona has been treasuring an architectural legacy difficult to overcome. This monumental heritage encompasses over 6,000 years of history, from the Neolithic to the present day, and is distributed in various parts of the city.
The following are the 10 essential places in Barcelona.
The Poblenou neighborhood, one of the centers that formed the old independent municipality of Sant Martí de Provençals, concentrated the largest industrial concentration in Catalonia and one of the most important in Spain at the end of the 19th century, which earned it the nickname of Catalan Manchester. From this period there are still a number of chimneys and factories that have been carefully restored and today are the headquarters of companies, institutions and universities. In the area you can also visit the Can Framis Museum of contemporary art.
In this privileged setting and on the lively rambla del Poblenou our Lugaris Rambla apartments are located, just 300 m from the beach of Barcelona and with many restaurants around, as well as the L’Aliança casino, a cultural and recreational center that became the focal point of the daily life of Poblenou.
And also in this same neighbourhood, just 200 m away from the beaches of Bogatell and Mar Bella, you will find Lugaris Beach, our comfortable beach apartments in Barcelona.
Finally, the Barceloneta is one of the most typical and unique spots in Barcelona. Born in the mid-eighteenth century, it is an old fishing district that still retains some of its traditional houses and many seafood restaurants. It also has a 1.1 km long beach and the Museum of Catalan History, that boasts a terrace where you can enjoy an incomparable view over the port. Not far from there, there is the leisure and sports complex of Olympic Port, which includes the Casino of Barcelona. Not far from there is the Maremàgnum, a shopping center with fashionable shops that open on Sundays, restaurants and movie theatres.
In the upper part of Diagonal Avenue, further away from the Mediterranean Sea, you can enjoy some places of notable interest, such as the Royal Palace, the Gothic monastery of Santa Maria de Pedrables, or the pavilions of the Güell estate, a series of buildings created by Antoni Gaudí in the exclusive neighbourhood of Pedralbes between 1883 and 1887.
The area also houses department stores and two shopping centers: Pedralbes Center and L’Illa Diagonal, with shops, bars and restaurants.
In the neighborhood of les Corts, there is FC Barcelona’s stadium: the Camp Nou, whose 99,354 seats make it the largest in Europe. Also, its museum is one of the most visited in all Catalonia.
Not far from there is the quiet and exclusive neighbourhood of Sarrià, an old municipality that was independent until 1921 and which has now become an ideal place to go shopping, stroll, have dinner in a restaurant or go out and have a drink in one of the premises on the streets of Marià Cubí or Santaló.
The original heart of the city preserves surprising Roman remains – such as the ancient Barcino, which can still be seen underneath Plaça del Rei, or the imposing columns of the temple of Augustus, located in Paradís Street – and spectacular medieval constructions. Among them are the cathedral and the Gothic style church of Pi, without forgetting the Jewish quarter or Call, with evocative corners such as the square of Sant Felip Neri or the oldest synagogue in Europe, located in the Marlet Street, 5.
It is one of the most bohemian and charming districts in Barcelona. In addition to housing the basilica of Santa Maria del Mar, one of the great exponents of Catalan Gothic, its market gives access to the ruins of various buildings and streets that were destroyed in 1714, after the War of Succession. It is a unique archeological complex in Europe, which brings visitors closer to one of the most crucial episodes of the city’s history.
Next to this cultural center, there is the Ciutadella park, an urban park built on the occasion of the Universal Exhibition of 1888 and which stands on an old military citadel. There you will find the Parliament of Catalonia, the headquarters of the old Museum of Zoology and the zoo.
Also in el Born are the Picasso Museum, one of the most visited in Barcelona, the European Museum of Modern Art and the Museum of World Cultures. All this without forgetting about the wide range of restaurants and pubs that dot the Paseo del Born.
If there is a picturesque street in Barcelona, that is without a doubt Las Ramblas. Located on what used to be a stream, it brings together a large number of museums – such as the Maritime Museum of Barcelona, the Wax Museum, the Santa Monica Art Center or the Erotic Museum -, theaters – such as the Gran Teatro del Liceo, the Teatro Principal or Poliorama, the superb market of La Boqueria, restaurants, florists and outdoor craft markets, in which human statues, painters, caricaturists, street musicians, and tourists of all nationalities live together.
In its final section, the monument to Christopher Columbus arises, one of the great icons of the city. Make a small detour towards the singular Plaça Reial, with its many restaurants, pubs and nightclubs.
Next to Las Ramblas, the unique district of Raval, the old Chinatown unfolds, which can be presumed to be the first inhabited area in the history of Barcelona. In addition to some interesting monuments, such as the monastery of Sant Pau del Camp, constructed in Romanesque style, the old hospital of Santa Creu or the aforementioned Palau Güell, its restaurant and nightlife offer another attractive reason to visit, as well as its Cosmopolitan environment: not in vain, more than half of its inhabitants are foreigners.
Its natural limit is the Paral·lel avenue, which until the first third of the 20th century housed the largest concentration of theaters and party venues in Europe. Some of them are still in operation.
In addition to being the place where the oldest signs of human presence in Barcelona have been found – there was a jasper quarry that exploded in 10000 BC. Since the Roman period, Montjuïc hill has one of the largest range of offers for culture and leisure in Barcelona.
Urbanized for the International Exhibition of 1929, in this area you will be able to visit the National Museum of Art of Catalonia, which exhibits the most important collection of Romanesque painting in the world; The Archaeological Museum, the Ethnological Museum, the CaixaFòrum, the Olympic Museum, the Teatre Lliure, the Teatre Grec, the Botanical Garden and the Spanish Village, an area that recreates examples of popular architecture from all over Spain, , Shops, craft workshops, exhibition halls, discos and a tablao flamenco.
Nor should you miss the Olympic Ring, which houses the Lluís Companys Stadium, the Calatrava Tower and the Palau Sant Jordi, along with the captivating Magic Fountain.
From the castle of Montjuïc, you can enjoy one of the best panoramic views over Barcelona.
The urbanization of this mountain – the highest point of Barcelona, located at 512 m altitude – and its vicinity was carried out at the end of the 19th century under the impulse of Dr. Salvador Andreu. Without doubt, its main attraction is the Tibidabo amusement park, which boasts 70,000 m2 and the oldest in operation in Spain and the third in Europe. Some of its attractions, such as La Talaia or L’Avió, are almost one hundred years old, while the curious Automata Museum is framed in an old theater of 1908.
Other emblematic corners of the Tibidabo Mounain are the Temple of the Sacred Heart (1902-1961) and Collserola tower of 288 m, work of British architect Norman Foster. You may even be able to see our apartments with terrace in Barcelona, the views are fantastic!
Before climbing to the top, and very close to the avenue of Tibidabo, is the CosmoCaixa, known until a few years ago as the Museum of Science.
Nobody should be surprised that Barcelona is known as the world capital of modernism. Few places can shade the legacy of Antoni Gaudí, whose most famous works – the Sagrada Familia, Casa Milà (known as La Pedrera), Casa Batlló, Park Güell, Palau Güell and Casa Vicens have all been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. This same distinction that has been achieved by two other modernist locations in the city: the Hospital of Sant Pau and the Palau de la Música Catalana, designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner.
Other modernist buildings of interest are Casa de les Punxes or Casa Terradas, at the confluence of Diagonal Avenue and Paseo de Gràcia; Casa Ametller and Casa Lleó Morera, both located in this latter street. Do not miss Torre Bellesguard or the Colegio de las Teresianas, which also fall under Gaudí’s art.
In addition to the countless claims of Barcelona, the province also offers many other attractions. As an example, it is enough to mention Santa Coloma de Cervelló, a town that houses the crypt of the Colonia Güell, work of Gaudí and included in the list of World Heritage of UNESCO in 2005.
No less interesting are towns like Sitges, located just 40 km from Barcelona and one of the laboratories of Catalan modernism. Its extraordinary views to the sea, its beaches and its cultural agenda, with the Fantastic Film Festival or the carnival as spearhead, explain why you should not miss this magnificent town.
Barcelona is also very close to the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit in Montmeló and the unmistakable Montserrat mountain, a unique geological formation with a strong spiritual, cultural and even magical connotation; the Montseny, a Natural Park declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1978, and the industrial area of Berga, city whose best-known festival, La Patum, is Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
For shopping, it is advisable to visit La Roca Village, an outlet shopping area which can be reached by bus from several points of Barcelona.
With a culinary tradition that is part of the Mediterranean diet – declared Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2010 and 2013 – Barcelona is one of the favourite destinations for foodies around the world.
With a catalog of more than 7,400 bars and restaurants in 2016, concentrated mainly in the Eixample district, Barcelona is an ideal place to get closer to the best version of Catalan and market cuisine, as well as any specialty of international cuisine.
Similarly, it should not be overlooked that Barcelona brings together restaurants run by Michelin-starred chefs such as Carme Ruscalleda (in charge for Moments at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel), Martín Berasategui (Lasarte, at Condes of Barcelona Hotel), Jordi Cruz (Àbac) and Sergi Arola (Arts Hotel). Also, Ferran Adrià is also palnning to stay in the Catalan capital.
On the other hand, the old town houses Can Culleretes, an establishment founded in 1786 and, according to the Guinness Book of Records, the second oldest restaurant in Spain.
Although the city of Barcelona is not a producer of raw materials – in fact, it hardly has agricultural area or farms – it is not possible to say the same of its metropolitan area, famous for the chicken and artichoke from the Prat, or from the province, with items as prized as the strawberry of the Maresme or the sausages of the region of Osona, with the fuet of Vic as flagship.
Among the most traditional dishes of the cuisine of Barcelona, it is possible to refer to Rossini cannelloni, that entered the Catalan recipe book at the end of the 19th century; galets soup, escudella and carn d’olla, dishes that are not lacking at any Christmas table.
Also have a long history the esqueixada and the bacallà a la llauna (two cod based specialties), the escalibada and the Catalan spinach. And how could it be otherwise, all accompanied by the unfailing pa amb tomàquet.
At dessert time it is worth tasting the Sant Josep cream or Catalan cream, the mató de Pedralbes (a type of fresh cheese), the braç cremat (or gypsy arm), the pets de monja, the cocas de Montserrat, the irresistible panther milk (a drink with condensed milk and very widespread in the Gothic quarter) and the panellets, some marzipan that are usually consumed on All Saints’ Day.
Other sweets and pastry products linked to the calendar are the Sant Jordi bread, the tortell de Reyes (Three King’s cake), the Easter cakes or the San Juan coca.
Can you imagine what it will feel like to savor these and other delights on the balcony or terrace of our apartments in Barcelona?
Apart from its generous tourist offer, Barcelona is also notable for its varied events and festivals. This includes from the Mobile World Congress, the biggest event of the mobile phone industry, to the International Motor Show (biennial and also held in the Fira de Barcelona, Montjuïc).
Not less important are its performing arts program with festivals such as Primavera Sound, which takes place between the end of May and the beginning of June, or the International Festival of Advanced Music (Sònar), which takes place in mid-June and is enshrined to electronic music.
Other major festivals are the Grec. dedicated to performing arts and held in summer, or the festivals of the Mercè (September 24 and the previous days), dedicated to the patroness of Barcelona, where there are usually free concerts performed by the best groups in the national and international scene.
In August the Gràcia and Sants festivals, in which the decorated streets are the main protagonists, are also a must.
Also, one should also refer to Alimentaria Barcelona, a massive exhibition that starts in late April; the Cómic Hall, which is organized in early May, and the Manga Hall, at the end of October.
Finally, do not miss the Corpus Christi festivities, when various courtyards in the center of the city are adorned, and on whose fountains an egg is placed that maintains the balance on the water. In Catalan, this custom of the 17th century is known as l’Ou com Balla (‘how the egg dances’).
Undoubtedly, renting luxury apartments in Barcelona – some of which are up to the standards of large hotels – may be the best way to fully enjoy all that this indescribable Mediterranean city offers.
We encourage you to check it out!
HOW TO GET TO BARCELONA