Barcelona - useful information
August is probably the busiest time in Barcelona; at the same time about 10% of shops and restaurants can be found closed from mid-August to early September, when the owners go on vacations.
You'll find cheap accommodation and a much quieter city as a vast majority of Spaniards go on vacation in August.
Business is low, people from Barcelona tend to be on vacation, hotels that remain open but don't have their business customers tend to lower prices and make offers.
However there will still be plenty of tourists.
Barcelona has decent enough beaches but the locals will really appreciate it if visitors do not consider it a beach resort and don't wear beachwear when visiting churches, restaurants, etc.
Barcelona is great off-season and is a lovely city even in winter months of January and February as long as the possibility of rain is low. Given the high humidity, 19-23°C is considered comfortable weather, which is normally the temperature between April and June and between late September-November. This is the best time to visit the city. Anything warmer than this can feel too hot.
Transport
- Airports
Barcelona International Airport, also known as El Prat, is a major transport hub and fields flights from all over Europe and beyond. There are now two terminals, T1 and T2, the latter with A, B, and C subdivisions. T1 and T2 are linked by a bus shuttle (every 6 to 8 minutes, travel time 10 minutes). The airport is only about 10 km away from the city center. Airport transfers can be arranged for groups** add viator link **.
Some low-cost carriers use the airports in Girona, nearly 100km to the north, or Reus, around the same distance to the south.
- Train
Several trains per day (including overnight hotel trains) from other parts of Europe (via France) are regular & reliable.
Main train stations:
- Barcelona-Sants (to the south west of the center).
- Barcelona-Passeig de Gracia (near Carrer d'Arago on Passeig de Grącia, in the center of the city).
- Barcelona-Estacio de Franca, Avinguda Marques de l“Argentera (on the edge of the old town next to the seafront district of Barceloneta).
From Estacio de Sants and Passeig de Gracia there are several connections per day to Cerbere (France), connecting there on trains towards Marseille and Nice. There are also 1-2 direct "Talgo" trains a day from Sants to Perpignan, Beziers, Narbonne and Montpellier in France.
From Estacio de Franca, there are two "Trenhotel" overnight trains to Paris-Austerlitz and Milan-Stazione Centrale. Each arrives in their respective cities at 9:00 in the morning, and both have sleeping compartments.
There is also a less-well-known rail line over the Pyrenees to Toulouse. There are four trains per day to La Tor de Querol (Latour-de-Carol), where it is possible to transfer to a French Train bound for Toulouse. The journey takes 7-8 hours (including transfer) and costs roughly 30 Euros one way.
- High Speed rail
The high-speed line to Figueres from Perpignan is running and brand-new (Opened 21 December, 2010), with two TGV trains per day from Paris to Figueres-Vilafant. While the last 100km from Figueres to Barcelona are being built, Renfe is running two super-express "Enclace Internacional" (International Link) trains to Figueres-Vilafant per day, which link up to TGVs running to Paris via Perpignan, Montpellier, and Nimes. The trains to Figueres take 1h40m and arrive 20 minutes before the TGV departs. The total trip to Paris takes a bit less than 8 hours from Barcelona-Sants to Paris.
The long-delayed AVE high-speed train line to Madrid finally opened in February 2008. Travel time is 3 hours 23 minutes with intermediate stops (11 trains a day) or 2 hours 38 minutes non-stop (6 trains a day during morning and evening peak hours).
- Sea
The city's port is one of the busiest on the Mediterranean. It supports both ferries and cruise ships. Large cruise ships dock 1-2 kilometers to the southwest. Many offer bus-shuttles to points near the south end of La Rambla.
You can arrive to Barcelona by boat from the Balearic Islands, from Genoa and from Rome. From Rome (Civitavecchia) it is actually cheaper than the bus. The ferry docks almost directly on the Ramblas.
- Car
There are several main roads leading to Barcelona from France and Spain and traffic is usually relatively light outside of peak hours. It is possible to find free parking spaces a few metro stops from the center of the city.
Blue parking spaces are paid between 9am and 2pm and between 4pm and 8pm Monday to Saturday. At some crossroads the pay time starts at 8am. Anyone can use a blue space but they aren't that easy to find. You pay at the meter and put the ticket on the dashboard. Green parking spaces are for residents only. White parking spaces are free at all times but there aren't any in the city centre.
The city car parks have some special offers for tourists.
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