Caught Up in the Bewitching Charms of Barcelona...

In one of Carlos Ruis Zafon's novels that takes place in Barcelona, he says, "This city is a sorceress..." and I can certainly think of no better way of putting it.

All of Catalan is a unique and intoxicating mixture of the wonder of old Spanish heritage, new Spain, with the delicate flavouring of French influence. Everything from the food to the language has these variants from both Spain and France and has developed it's own very distinct and savory style.

And Barcelona is the pinnacle of this achievement.

If I had to compare Barcelona as a city in terms of the vibe it gives off, I would have to compare it to Paris. There is a certain similarity to the two cities, but there is also a very distinctly different suffusion of light and air in Barcelona that makes it distinctly it's own. The Mediterranean climate shines on it's city walls, and you feel the age and history of it even as you walk through the modern day bustle.

It is a busy city, even visiting there midweek in the off season there was a constant hum and a buzz to it that you don't find just anywhere. It does have it's drawbacks, but those I feel can almost entirely be evaded if you are properly prepared. As with trips to anywhere in Catalan, don't go expecting them to bend to the ways of the rest of Europe and accommodate you with what you are used to. There is just enough French flavour in the city to remind you that English is not the first language, and it's citizens often take a similar stance on language, and even if they can speak English—many of them won't.

In fact, I only came across one person happy to converse in English with me, and that was at a tourist information centre.

But the sights, and the light here are amazing. It's easy to be made to feel small in a city such as this, with so many people and with such towering architecture. I highly recommend some of the local coffee shops and cafes for amazing coffee and creme filled pastries. Wander the streets enjoying the sights and buildings, and be sure to stop at La Rambla for some very eclectic market shopping experiences.

Quick Tips:

Barcelona is a big city, so don't try to do it all in one day. If you are spending your time in other parts of Catalan and want to include a day in Barcelona, get there early and plan your trip well to include as much as you can of what's important. I believe the key to an enjoyable trip to Barcelona is preparation—more so than in some other European cities where "winging it" is half the fun.

It's very easy (as I discovered to my dismay on my first day there) to end up back tracking, and doing the wrong thing, going to the wrong place. Get as Much Information about where you are going as you can before you set out...it will well pay off in the end. And also, go with an easy going an attitude as possible. Despite the magic that spices the air of a city like Barcelona for it's unique culture, it's citizens are not always the most helpful. They do things in Spain to the beat of their own drum, and didn't seem the least bit bothered by schedules or if things were in fact done the way they were planned to be done. Arrive early for trains, buses, and underground services because it's highly likely you will get there and find out that either the time it said it would leave is actually different, your not actually at the right stop, and in fact...no one knows precisely what the answers to any of these questions are. The more relaxed you are about this type of thing—the smoother the trip will go. (Hence the not trying to do it all in a day, or even two if you can help it.)

Secondly, though every bit as important...learn as much Catalan as is humanly possible. Even if you know Spanish, it's good to get a basic grasp of Catalan, as that is almost entirely what people will speak to you. If you know a bit of French it will hold you in better stead than any English will. Even if you just make an attempt at the language, you have a much better chance of getting locals who do speak your language to offer you help. Just expecting anyone (even customs officials in the airports and people at tourist information centres) to speak English is a good way of getting nowhere.

Best Way To Get Around:

I personally wouldn't want to brave the madness that are the Barcelona roads, but I know people who have and said it was great fun. If you're up for a bit of adventure, then that might be a way to go. However, the trains and buses all seem to be pretty good and generally well priced (though as I mentioned above, finding out specifics of when things leave, where, and how much it will cost you is not always going to be accurate or easy.) And I can not stress enough, do not count on this information in guide books such as Lonely Planet. Where their information is sometimes very good, in Catalan it seems they change these things at will and as they see fit. Almost none of the transportation information we got out of our guidebook was correct.

Walking around Barcelona is fine, although I would caution you on a few things. Firstly—pickpockets here are quite bad, and so it is a good idea to keep that in mind in the heavy hustle and bustle of bodies on most every street. Keep your day pack with as few valuables as possible, and keep anything really valuable (tickets, passports, credit cards, etc.) either in a hotel lock box, or in a safe place on your person, such as a hidden passport wallet or even in a shoe. (I found hanging my passport and some cash inside my boot from a sunglasses case worked extremely well) Also, have a map that you have studied before you hit the streets, and have a good idea of where you want to go if possible. Pay attention to street signs and in general take note of where you've been, as it can be easy to get turned around here.

And lastly, if you are going with more than one person, have a definitive meeting place incase you lose track of each other, and I would recommend carrying cellphones that you keep on while wandering the streets. There are only two places I've been in the world where I nearly lost track of the people I was with, and one of those was Barcelona. There are so many people moving around so quickly that it is incredibly easy to lose sight of the people you're with. Have a meeting place...it only takes a moment, and it beats spending wasted hours looking for each other or worse.

Just off the bustling La Rambla, and on your way towards the Picasso Museum, you must past through the Ferran stretch, which is so riddled with little cafes and the sights and smells of Spanish food that it is hard to know where to go. My friend and I had a little bit of time to kill, and to rest our feet and appease our stomachs (before heading back down the coast to our hotel-included meal), we decided to stop for a coffee and a few Spanish treats.

There are no small number of choices in this area of where to stop for a bit of tapas or some wonderful Mediterranean coffee, but my taste buds for the wonder of Spanish pastry had already been wet in Costa Brava, and I was in search of somewhere that sold what looked like a nice selection.

We ended up at a place called Cafe Schilling, which was crowded, but not as crowded as many of the other places along the street, which all seemed to be filling up with likewise thinking visitors.

It was a nice little place with comfortable seating and a nice atmosphere. The waitresses spoke virtually no English, but they at least made as much of an attempt as we did at Spanish, and we happy to comply with the pointing we did at what it was that we wanted.

There was a nice selection, and the coffee was excellent. The service wasn't top-notch, but not at all bad for Spain. It was a great little spot to stop and rest our very weary feat, have another look over our guidebook, and decide what we had time to do before catching our train back.

It's a nice little place, and if you get a chance, stop in for some coffee and pastry.

If there is one thing that can be said with certainty about Barcelona, is that there is no lack of things to see. Many cities it is possible to catch the highlights in an afternoon, and then begin to properly explore what secrets the city has to offer. But Barcelona's secrets are on every corner, and you will do well to see half the amazing sights it has to offer. And even so, with all the really stunning sights to see in this visually incredible city, the Spanish Arc de Triomf on the Passeig de Sant Joan is well worth a look.

Before I bought my guide for Barcelona, I wasn't even aware that they had an arc, which I find amazing now having seen it in comparison to some of its more famous cousins. It is somewhat oddly situated in an area of town that other wise feels rather like the outskirts. We came around a corner and suddenly, directly in front of us, stood the impressive and imposing red Arc de Triomf, which, in true Catalan style, wasn't raised for any particular triumph. They just thought they should have one.

Personally, I think this Arc is more visually stunning than the one in Paris. The stone work is beautiful--the bright red of it shines in the Mediterranean light and, to me, seems the very essence of what a city like Barcelona stands for. It's beautifully (and conveniently) situated on a long walk way that even in the off-season was full of people meandering along and kids riding skateboards around its base.

The long rows of palm trees lining the walkway up to Arc make for the perfect entrance to the feeling of the city, and if you are coming up from one of the smaller coastal Spanish towns, I recommend that you start Barcelona at this end of the city. It's a really nice start to the sights, and not far from the ocean.

It's free, and a really stunning piece of workman ship. Great for photos and a place to catch your breath before diving further into the depths of Barcelona and her many sights. Well worth seeing.

In my review on Paris, I mention that my not leaving enough money in my budget to allow for a trip to the Louvre was a mistake I had no intention of repeating in future travels. Particularly in Europe, there is a certain duty in visiting these famous museums. Even if you are not a particular fan of the artists work, one of Europe's greatest assets as well as its mystery is the wonder of its history. And no where (except perhaps in the architecture) is that so wonderfully laid out for you than in its museums. Some of the only places on earth you can catch real life glimpses of these mythical works that most people see only in books.

A trip to them is often a must, and I don't want to discourage any Barcelona visitors from quenching that particular travellers thirst in the form of Barcelona's renowned Museu de Picasso. Particularly if you like his work. But, I can't possibly in good conscience give this museum a good review, as it almost single handedly tainted my opinion of Barcelona. I will explain my experience of it, and more than likely a traveller who wishes to experience European museums first hand will take one of two things from it. Either ignore it entirely, and if that is the case I wish you the best of luck in your visit and hope it goes better than mine did. Or two...you will go in to it expecting my experience and it will either be a warning, or you will be surprised if it is better than I have noted. Either way, I hope it's useful to you if you indeed intend to go. If, however, you are on a tight schedule and not too bothered by another museum, I would recommend a pass on this one. There is just so very much to see and do in this city, and it would be a shame if this took up time that kept you from seeing other parts.

I was at the end of my first frustrating day travelling around Barcelona when we decided to end the day with a trip to the Picasso Museum. The walk to it almost makes it worth while. It's down a beautifully windy set of streets to a building rather artfully worked in stone and glass. It's a beautiful walk as sun sets on the city. But for me that was where the enjoyment ended. The staff of this museum went beyond certain cultural differences in courtesy to flat out rude. The security guard actually taunted my friend for not speaking Spanish, and treated us like children who had snuck into an adult meeting. He was Really, Really rude. The ticket takers were a little better, and be wary, they Do Not Take Credit Cards. The tour itself was pricey (and more than was listed in any guide book) and the art rather dull and all of the guides hostile. It was a real shame.

It seemed to me that, in Barcelona, all roads lead to La Rambla.

As I've mentioned more than once in this review, Barcelona can be a rather tricky place to navigate if you try to do it in a hurry, or rely too much on guide books for assistance, and so as I made my way around the city, trying to take in the sights, shoot as many photos as possible, and still keep track of where I was going, I often found myself doubling back towards La Rambla, which is in no way a bad thing.

I think it is the flow of people in the city that gives La Rambla the feeling of being the true heart of the city. Almost where ever you go, there is a stream of people rushing past you, and if you let yourself be turned and fall into their ranks, you will almost certainly find yourself standing in the market centre of this city.

If you come to Barcelona with kids, this is certainly a place to keep an eye on them. The amount of people moving about this little area, along with all of the performers and vendors it's very easy to get separated from people. I highly recommend that when you get there, before you start to browse, you set up a meeting place for if you get separated. It's just good sense. But once you have done that, the street is your oyster, and it's one ripe with pearls.

Most market streets I have been to in the world have the disappointing affect of actually having the same things you find everywhere else. And most of it being of little interest. So many times I have wandered up to local markets hoping to find something a bit different and walking away feeling let down. Completely not the case with La Rambla.

It's a long and busy stretch of street packed full with vendors for just about everything you can imagine. There's no point in having in a look unless you allow a couple hours for browsing, there is just so much. And some truly excellent street portrait artists as well. It all feels like a slightly tamer version of an ancient Mediterranean market place, and is well worth stopping to have a look at, an excellent place to pick up trinkets to take back home.