A fascinating barrio in Barcelona

The Barrio has a labyrinthine street plan with many narrow streets mostly closed to regular traffic opening out into squares. It’s amazing how great it feels when you walk around and get lost, surrounded by the numerous shops, bar, monuments and museums that are scattered around!

We recommend a visit to the Santa Eulalia Cathedral (Plaza de la Seu 3, Metro 1 Red or 3 Green, Plaça Catalunya station), a marvellous gothic cathedral built from the 13th to 15th century, though the gothic façade is much more recent and dates 19th century.

Just a stone’s throw is the renovated Mercat de Santa Caterina (Av. Francesc Cambò 16, mercatsantacaterina.net, Metro 4 Yellow, Jaume I station), Enric Miralles’ multicolored wave-roofed creation opened in 2005. Lit by shafts of light that flood through the pine rafters, it seems uncommonly spacious for a market, with tapas bars arranged around the outside.

If you’re keen on museums, near the cathedral there’s also the Museu d’Historia de la Ciutat (Plaça del Rei, museuhistoria.bcn.es , ticket 8€, Metro 4 Yellow, Jaume I station): the charming underground tour unfolds along paved Roman roads, through the remains of Roman houses, bathrooms, sewers and up to the old city walls.

The Palau de la Musica Catalana (C/Palau de la Musica 4-6, home.palaumusica.org , guided visits Monday to Sunday, 10am to 3.30pm every half hour, ticket 8€, Metro 1 Red or 4 Yellow, Urquinaona station), built by architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner between 1905 and 1908, is a masterpiece of Modernism and one of the world’s leading concert halls. In 1997 the Palau was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco. If art is your thing, than you cannot miss the nearby Picasso Museum (C/ Montcada 15-23, museupicasso.bcn.es/index , open Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 8pm, ticket 6€, Metro 4 Yellow, Jaume I station), that holds the truth on the formative years of Pablo Ruiz Picasso. The more than 3,500 works that make up the permanent collection reveal

A few minutes walk from the museum you come across a beautiful example of Catalonian gothic church, Santa Maria del Mar (Plaça Santa Maria 1, Metro 4 Yellow, Jaume I station). The interior of the church is of an extraordinary beauty and has exceptional acoustic conditions that make of it an ideal space for concerts usually of classical and Oriental music, but occasionally also jazz.

One of the best places to drink a coffee or a pint and relax is Plaça Reial (Metro 3 Green, Liceu station), a Neoclassical square with palms and porticoes. Here you can admire some unusual street lamps known for being the first works of Gaudì, who, while still a student of architecture, had won a urban design competition and subsequently designed the Plaça.

In last few years many areas of Barcelona have been developing a new accommodation formula, which has been qidely accepted by young travellers.

In particular we refer to apartments which in recent years have been flourishing everywhere allowing tourists to have a private comfort and a relevant money saving. Ideal choice for many group of friends wishing to visit Barcelona some apartments provide also swimming pools and bars in a common area of the residence where to meet other guests can’t be easier. In general we can say Spanish taste and design is quite nice and colourful providing warm atmosphere to the guests.An apartment can usually guest up to 6/8 people and usually costs from 80-120 euros per day. Making the right calculations, people can really save a lot of money especially if comparing with the prices of some Youth hostels. If we have to mention some apartments in Barcelona maybe these ones are the favourite: Gran Via Apartments, BCN Dreams apartment, Barcelona Residence and apartments, Corsega Apartment and many more available on line.

By: Michele De Capitani

This article was written by Michele De Capitani with support from www.flashbooking.com for any information, please visit accommodation in Barcelona or for travel insurance visit Barcelona cheap hotels.

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