Things to do in Barcelona is a blog dedicated to providing tourist information about Barcelona, places for visit,the most important monuments,the gastronomy, places to go shopping, festivals and much more,
Hen & stag Barcelona boat party-Barcelona packages parties | Barcelona Exclusive Private Tours Imagine enjoying the luxury of a private catamaran cruising along the beautiful coast of Barcelona solely for the use of your guests. That’s not all aboard the yacht there are also pole dancers, DJ, a free bar of beer and sangria plus a buffet of Spanish tapas and dishes. As we say in Spanish “Un dia es un dia”, live for today! Don’t think too much about it just enjoy your day. Our Hen & Stag Parties include
Transfer in/out to the airport
Transfer in/out to the Catamaran
4 hours party in the Catmaran cruising Barcelona’s beautiful coastline
pole dancers & DJ
free bar of beer and sangria plus buffet of Spanish tapas
free entry to one of the most chic clubs of the city
In our Barcelona private tours there is no stress and are completely flexible to customer needs, we picked up at your hotel, airport or cruise port of Barcelona, and from there begin the tour.
if we start the tour from the airport or the cruise port, you will save the shuttle service as it is included in the tour price, is a good way to save a taxi or private transfer, the driving-guide will be waiting inside the airport or port with a sign with your name,you will not have any problems to locate your drivin-guide, one time make the presentations, our driving-guide will explain the places that we will visit and he will ask you if you whant to visit a particular places in barcelona, you see that our Barcelona private tour is fully customized and customer choice.
We started your Barcelona private tour day
If chose the4 hours Barcelona private tour and you prefer that your driving-guide show you the sights of Barcelona,we start your tour visiting the Plaza de España where will be our first stop, in this place you will see the buildings of the second Barcelona universal Exposition in 1929,as the National Palace, the two copies of the San Marcos square towers in Venice, and the pavilions where all countries exhibited at the expo of barcelona, the arenas bullring that now is a deparmet store.
After the explanation of the place and after taking some pictures,we will go to the mountain of Montjuic, one of the lungs of the city, in Montjuic we will visit the Olympic installation of the Games of 1992, we will stop at the Olympic Stadium for explanation and take some pictures, then head to the castle of Montjuic, a place steeped in history and the perfect place to watch Barcelona from the heights and the best place to take pictures, because from the castle you can see both areas of Barcelona as the mountain area ,and the sea site.
After the visit to the castle we go to the Ramblas, where we stop at the oldest market in Barcelona La Boqueria, (if is festive is not open,in that case, we would modify the route),after visiting the market we head to Barcelona Cathedral in the Gothic Quarter, your driving-guide will explain the history of medieval and Roman Barcelona, as Barcelona was a city called Barcino blunt and if you wish you can visit the cathedral or take a short walk through the Gothic Quarter (the Gothic quarter view is advisable that you wear easy as it is very big and it takes a long time, but in this tour you can get an idea of the place and visit later by your self)
After completing the Gothic quarter view we head to one of the most famous streets in Barcelona Paseo de Gracia avenue famous for its Modernist buildings and where you can see two of the most famous buildings of Gaudi's Casa Batllo and Casa Mila or also called La Pedrera, of course we willa stop at each building for your drinving-guide can explain the building and all its history and for you can take some photographs.
follow the tour, heading to Park Guell, another Gaudi important monument, the Park Guell is not in the center are of Barcelona so hiring a Barcelona private tour with us you will not have trouble accessing this place, once we get to the famous Gaudi park, place where he lived for part of his live visit, the park was built with the idea of being a garden city for the wealthy of Barcelona but the project was never finished because of communication and transport to the city center was big problem in that moment, once in the park and after that your driving-guide explaining the story, you will have some free time for you can visit on your own,We usually take about 20 minutes but as I explained before you decide whether to spend more time in the place.
After finish thel visit of the the park, we will go to the most famous monument of Barcelona and Gaudi's great unfinished work, the Sagrada Familia, you can admire one of the 7 wonders of the world and if you wish you can go inside, keep in mind that visiting of the Sagrada familia requires at least 30 minutes early entry and, if you plan to visit the Sagrada familia on the tour please let us know and we can get early entry and avoid the long lines and wasting much time the tour
After the visit to the Sagrada familia we hit to the Olympic Port where you can contemplate the beach of Barcelona and the Olympic village where they all athletesstayed in Olympic games of the 92, this will be the last place of yourBarcelona private tour and from hear we can take you to where you prefer, either to your hotel, airport or cruise port.
As you can see in our Barcelona private tour is possible to visit Barcelona in a different way and totally private and avoid the typical grouped tour where you do not decide that you want to visit and how long you want to spend in places and paying a similar price for an inferior service.
Our Barcelona private tour of 4 hours have a cost only € 60 per person, with a drivin-guide in your language just for you,,a luxury vehicle fully equipped with plenty of space for your luggage and of course a personal V.I.P service.
For more information on our Barcelona private tour or another of our tours please visit our website for more information,I hope this information has been helpful if you are thinking of hiring a Barcelona private tours.
The Gothic Quarter is the oldest part of Barcelona, was built on the old Barcino, which is was the name of Barcelona in the Roman times, and is one of the most beautiful areas of Barcelona.
The Gothic Quarter is bounded from Plaza Catalunya, Las Ramblas, via layetana and Colon avenue, The Ramblas is the most famous avenue of theGothic Quarter and Barcelona, the boulevard was once a riverbed. not was until the first World's Fair of 1888 when the boulevards were built as we now know, in the Ramblas you can find performers in the street, souvenir shops and many restaurants, the most famous of the Ramblas are the market of Sant Josep (La Boqueria) which is the oldest market in Barcelona and the opera house El Liceo Theatre, in the left side of the Ramblas as we descend to the sea is the famous old Gothic Quarter.
The Gothic Quarter is a maze of narrow streets set to get lost by the Barcelona From the Middle Ages, some of the most famous are the Plaza Real always crowded and with many restaurants and a busy place at night where you can find many places to have a drink or go dancing.
Another very famous place is the square of the Cathedral, where the Barcelona Cathedral is, built in the XIII to the XV century ,built over the old Roman cathedral, the Cathedral is dedicated to Saint Eulalia patron of the city, now known as the merce virgin, Santa Eulalia was a young girl, that in the Roman time suffered various tortures, for refusing to adorate the emperor, and was crucified on an X-shaped cross, that is the emblem of the cathedral, as a tribute to the Saint.
The cathedral has a cloister where live 13 white geese in Santa Eulalia tribute because it says he was crucified at the age of 13 years.
Another place that you don´t have to miss is the royal square, where is the Barcelona History Museum, where you can visit some of the Roman ruins and the royal palace,was the residence of the kings of the Crown of Aragon and where Catholic Monarchs received Christopher Columbus after his return from the discovery of america.
Another landmark is the Gothic Quarter is the Portal del Angel Avenue, is the perfect avenue for shopping, here you can find all kinds of fashion stores for all styles and budgets.
If you plan to visit Barcelona please visit the Gothic quarter and lost in its narrow streets and squares and enjoy the whole story behind medieval Barcelona, and if you prefer not hesitate to contact with us to discover Barcelona in our Barcelona tours .
The gastronomy in Barcelona is Mediterranean food, as Barcelona is a Mediterranean coastal city, this section will give a list of the best restaurants in Barcelona in my humble opinion where you can taste the best cuisine in the city and for all the pockets.
Seafood restaurants in Barcelona
The Good restaurants to enjoy seafood in Barcelona tend to have relatively high prices because their products tend to be fresh and of high quality, there are cheaper restaurants to enjoy seafood in Barcelona but its quality is low to the two restaurants that I offer below .
Barceloneta Restaurant
For me one of the best restaurants to taste some great seafood and excellent paellas, is located in the district of Barceloneta, Barceloneta was once a fishing village, is now a popular tourist area right next to the beach and harbor the restaurant is at the end of the main avenue overlooking the old port of Barcelona, their prices are at around 50-60 € per person up.
Another good restaurants in Barcelona to enjoy good seafood is the botafumeiro restaurant , located in the quarter of Gracia, the Gracia quarter was once an independent town of Barcelona until the end of the eighteenth century, when they built the famous Paseo de Gracia was formerly a road that went from Barcelona to the people of Gracia, Botafumeiro was founded in 1975 and is currently considered one of the best restaurants to enjoy seafood in town, their prices are similar to the Barceloneta restaurant around 50-60 € per person up.
As I said before quality pays and of course the two restaurants mentioned are of the highest quality in Barcelona to enjoy seafood, but there are restaurants where you can enjoy fresh seafood at lower prices, in the quarter of Barceloneta in the main avenue find cheaper and many restaurants even when the food usually make special menus at a fixed price menus ranging between 14 and 16 € per person where they can choose between different menus, usually having 4 or 5 courses of first, 4 or 5 main course, dessert and drink, these menus are only available economic to lunch, to dinner is not usually offer such menus but there are some restaurants that if the offer but with higher prices .
Other seafood restaurants in Barcelona that was in vogue a few years ago is the restaurant La paradeta, is a relatively inexpensive restaurant because it works like a self-service, the restaurant operates in such a way as if you were to buy the market, you choose what to eat, give it a number and when your order is ready will be notified over the PA for pick-up at the the Paradeta restaurant is a restaurant chain divided by Barcelona, his client is usually young people and their prices range from 20 to 30 € per person.
Barcelona offers a variety of restaurants offering typical Catalan cuisine and prices to suit all pockets.
La fonda restaurant
For me one of my two favorite restaurants in Barcelona, this restaurant is located in the Gothic Quarter close to the Ramblas, offering a varied menu at affordable prices, the restaurant is charming and the service is very good I recommend much to my clients and have always left happy, their prices range from 20 to 30 € per person, it usually have a lot of queue, but do not panic usually very quick to give a table.
This may be my favorite restaurant in what refers Catalan food, is located in the quarter of born, one of the trendiest quarter of Barcelona in the historic area near the Ramblas, also a very good area for tapas, the characterized by Orígens restaurant serving all-natural and organic products and everything that represents the culinary culture of Catalonia, is a very simple restaurant but the quality of their food is spectacular, with prices ranging between 20-30 € per person
Originally tapas culture comes from the region of Andalusia in southern Spain, is also called pinchos but this kind of tapas is more common in northern Spain, tapas culture in Barcelona is a mixture between the tapas of Andalusia and pinchos of northern Spain, one of the places for tapas in Barcelona is the born quarter in the Gothic Quarter, where you will find different restaurants where you can enjoy tapas, I leave a link to a map of where you can discover some of the best places for tapas in the Born district. Tapas Map
Other restaurants in Barcelona for high quality tapas are the following which I quote below.
Cervecería catalana restaurant
It is one of the most famous tapas restaurants in Barcelona and is in the same Eixample, in the center of Barcelona, with prices ranging between 30-40 € per person.
Probably one of the best tapas restaurants in Barcelona, have a variety of tapas and large selection of imported beers, you should make reservations as usually always many people , their prices range from 20-25 € per person.
In Barcelona there are restaurants can taste succulent meats miss fire and wood stoves, then I offer two restaurants in my opinion are the best places to taste this kind of meat.
Asador de Aranda restaurant
For me the best restaurant to taste difference Barcelona with grilled meat in town, have different restaurants around the city, for me the best by far is the one on the Tibidabo street, you need to take a taxi to go to this Restaurat as there is one in the center of Barcelona, with prices ranging between 50-60 € per person
This restaurant belongs to Botafumeiro, and is right next to the restaurant that cite above in seafood restaurants, the quality is excellent, it has a very rustic decor and the atmosphere is very nice, their prices are cheaper to rotisserie Aranda, between 30-40 € per person
I hope this little information of the Barcelona's cuisine has been helpful to them in their visit to Barcelona, also I leave two links where you can find different restaurants in Barcelona.
Differences
between a private tour in Barcelona at grouped tour
This section will give an overview of what is a private tour and a link to a page where they offer a Barcelona private tours, and what are the advantages between a private tour and a grouped tour.
A private tour or a grouped tour ?
A private tour in Barcelona is a tour just for you and your friends or family, fully customized and the language that you want and grouped tour is a tour where the tour is standard and is usually very large group.
Private tours
Private tours are usually more expensive than grouped tours, but if you are a group of 4-8 people are very economical because the price is per person, say a private tour of Barcelona would have a price of 60 € per person per 4 hours of service, and you can decide what you want to visit and how long you want to be in that place, the explanation is more personalized venues as it is only for you and your guests, you can request a visit in the language want and end their tour in the desired location, the difference between a grouped tour is normally the tour party and ends at a specific time and place, while on a private tour you decide when to start and where to finish the tour.
Advantages to book a private tour
Imagine you arrive in Barcelona in the morning and have to start the evening cruise, hiring a private tour would save the transfer to the port because the service already includes a person will be waiting at the airport with a sign with your name , help him with his luggage and have fully equipped luxury vehicle and plenty of space for your luggage, you can start your tour from the airport and end your tour at the port, does not believe that is a good way to leverage your time?
Grouped tours
The tours are usually cheaper pooled from 12 € per person up depending on the tour you choose, but in this case there is no flexibility in the way, anyway is a more economical way to visit Barcelona. More information on grouped tours.
I hope you are all well, well today I want to introduce a little more in Barcelona and I will talk most visited monument in Barcelona, the most famous l that everyone should visit once in your life, today I will speak of the Sagrada Familia , the unfinished work of Antonio Gaudi's most impressive.
Well let's start the Sagrada familia began to build in 1882 but not until 1883 when Gaudí assumed the project, since the work was going to be a neo-Gothic style, but to take on the project Gaudí change all levels of design, I have to Gaudí said that the project began with just 31 years and in the last years of his life were devoted exclusively to the temple, is the last years of his life he was living in the temple. Gaudí I call the temple the temple of the poor as it was made with private donations and is still so, but imagine that donations are of very poor people because if it had been impossible to do this project, now you can visit the temple to pay an input, different rates will leave a link where they can check the rates, I'm going to give you some advice before visiting the temple and who purchase early entry, as the queues are usually very long, can buy them online or if you are in Barcelona can do it directly from an ATM with your card, that way you do not have long lines, there is a special entry in the facade of passion where they can access early entry is my humble advice if you want to be me case, or if they remembered me when fence to visit the temple ..... jejejjej, well on with the story.
One of their most innovative ideas was the design of the high towers protruding circular conical pointed about portals, and become narrower with height designed with a twist The dish, which gives an upward trend throughout the façade, favored by many windows that pierce the tower following spiral shapes.
When the temple this term, will have 18 towers, four in each of the three facades, facades are dedicated to the passion of Christ, (Nativity, Passion and Glory) and as central dome mode have a system of six towers with a central tower dedicated to Jesus about 170 feet high, four dedicated to the evangelists and one on the Virgin ..
In 1926, the death of Gaudí, only had built a tower. Building project plans and retained only a model in plaster that was badly damaged during the Civil War. However, since then have continued without interruption works: currently finished the portals of nativity and Passion, and has started the Gloria, it has covered the entire interior space, and laid the foundations of the six central towers.
The work he did Gaudí, ie the Nativity façade and crypt, was included in 2005 by UNESCO in the World Heritage Site of humanity. The temple was consecrated and declared a minor basilica on November 7, 2010 by the late Pope Benedict XVI.
Facade of Nativity:
The portico of nativity is based on the birth of Jesus and its decor is inspired by nature, the important points of the portico are in the middle where a sample of the nativity of Jesus with angels with a trumpet announcing the coming of the Messiah and the birth top is a tree of life that is a cypress and symbolizes eternal life, the nativity portico divided into three major parts, the first is the Portico of charity, the second Portico of hope and faith third porch.
Portico of Charity:
It
is the largest of the three, and is dedicated to Jesus. Pretending to be the
Portal de Belén, develops a series of scenes about the birth of Jesus: the
Annunciation and the Coronation of Mary, with the Adoration of the Magi and the
Adoration of the Shepherds, the latter work of Ros i Bofarull (1981 - 1982). We
also found the star of Bethlehem and the signs of the Zodiac, willing as they
were the night Jesus was born, angels and musicians-classical instruments
(harp, bassoon and violin) and popular (guitar, tambourine and bagpipe) - the
lamb as symbol of innocence, the dog as a symbol of fidelity and rosary beads
59 surrounding the window. On the lintel of the door is the inscription Gloria
in excelsis Deo et in terra pax bonae hominibus voluntatis.
In
Jesus Gate pillar highlights the great tree of Joseph, the genealogy of Christ,
at its base is the snake biting the apple, symbol of original sin, and the
capital is situated Birth group by Jaume Busquets (1958). Children's Choir of
angels was destroyed in the Civil War, has been made again by Etsuro Sotoo. The
angels hold an inscription that says: Jesus est natus. Venite, adoremus, before
whose message the birds are the footboard, as traditional Catalan Carol
Birdsong (The Song of the Birds).
The
porch culminates in the Tree of Life, representing the triumph of the life and
legacy of Jesus. Here we find the symbol of Jesus with the letters JHS (of
Jesuchristus, or Jesus Hominum Salvator, Jesus Savior of Mankind), in a Greek
cross, with the Greek letters alpha and omega, as a symbol of the beginning and
the end. It is surrounded by angels and angels bearing censers of bread and
wine, symbol of the Eucharist. About the anagram found a pelican, primitive
Christian symbol representing equally the Eucharist, with an egg symbol of
origin and the fullness of life and nature. Upstream are two staircases
ascending to God, and a cypress tree symbolizes eternal life, with a group of
pigeons that represent the faithful who come to God. Finally, we find a
representation of the Holy Trinity, with the Greek letter tau, of the name of
the Greek God (Theos), the X of Jesus (by the Greek letter chi, initial of
Christ in Greek) and the dove of the Holy Ghost.
Portico of Hope
Dedicated to San Jose, we found the scenes of the Betrothal of the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph, the Family of Jesus (with San Joaquin and Santa Ana), The sage and baby Jesus (Jesus has in hand a dead pigeon, symbol humility), Death of the Innocents, the Flight into Egypt and St. Joseph's boat, in which Joseph is the helmsman who leads the Catholic Church the face of Joseph corresponds to that of the Gaudí, in honor of workers temple after his death. We can also observe the placement of various tools (a saw, a hammer, a chisel, a square, a screwdriver, a hammer, an ax), domestic animals like geese, geese and ducks as an allusion to the Nile wildlife and plants Egypt The portico is topped by a large pinnacle similar to the rocks of Montserrat (specifically the Cavall Bernat) latinaSalva registration with us.
Portico of the Faith
Dedicated to the Virgin Mary, we see the following scenes: the Immaculate Conception, in which the Virgin on a three-arm lamp, in reference to the Holy Trinity, the Visitation, Our Lady visits her cousin Elizabeth, The Presentation of Jesus in the temple, where the Child Jesus appears in the arms of the priest Simeon and his side, appears the prophetess Anna, who recognizes Jesus as the Messiah, Jesus worked as a carpenter, and Jesus preaching in the temple, between the figures of San Juan Bautista and San Zaccaria. We also found the Heart of Jesus, covered with thorns and mystical bees foraging on their blood Divine providence, in the form of hand with all seeing eye, grapes and ears as a symbol of the Eucharist, and Flora of Palestine, preferably palm leaves, a symbol of martyrdom.
Passion Facade
The Passion façade was begun in 1954 according to the drawings and explanations that Gaudí had left. The towers were finished in 1976, and has since worked on the sculptural decoration. Gaudí designed this façade during convalescence from fevers Puigcerdà Malta in 1911. Dedicated to the Passion of Jesus is intended to reflect the suffering of Christ in his crucifixion, as redemption of the sins of man. Therefore devised a more austere facade and simplified without ornamentation, which stand out the nakedness of the stone, which semejase a skeleton reduced to the simple lines of his bones. Only include the sculptures of Jesus' passion cycle, by Jose Maria Subirachs, he devised a simple and schematic set with angular shapes that cause a dramatic effect. Subirachs produced his work between 1987 and 2009.
Gaudí himself described his conception of the Passion facade as follows:
Someone find this door too extravagant, but I want to do fear, and to get spare no chiaroscuro, incoming and outgoing motives, everything becomes more gloomy effect. Moreover, I am willing to sacrifice the same construction, arches and cut break columns to give the bloody idea of Sacrifice.
Facade of Glory
The Glory façade will be the largest and monumental. It is the main facade, which gives access to the nave. Work began in 2002. Dedicated to the Celestial Glory of Jesus, represents the upward path to God: Death, Final Judgment and Glory and Hell, for anyone who deviates from the dictates of God. Gaudí only sketched the outlines of this facade, as it was aware that he would not make it in life, but those who continued his work:
The model fragment of the towers of the facade will complete or not develop it. I decided to leave it just another generation scheduled to collaborate in the temple, as repeatedly seen in the history of the cathedral, whose facades are not only of other authors, but also of other styles.
Well I hope you enjoyed this article and beyond mean that we do not know exactly when it will finish the temple, I heard that for 2018 is believed to be over, but I sincerely doubt it ......I leave one video of day of his inaguaración. .
Well regards and if you like the article comments, sorry if there are spelling mistakes but my English writing is not very good, . Thanks
The 'Feria de Abril' originally organized in Seville, the Andalusian capital. However in 1971, Barcelona Andalusian immigrants began organizing their own Feria de Abril in Seville that has grown over the years to become the second spring festival largest in Spain. It is a week full of color and entertainment and enjoy Andalusian city living traditions. Here they meet Southern Spanish, Catalan and tourists to enjoy singing, dancing and drinking sherry accompanying the paella. So if you like the idea of immersing yourself in the scent of roses, the sound of the castanets and the wonders of the colorful dresses, start planning your trip to Barcelona during the April Fair! The fair and flamenco In the April Fair is organized in the Forum area enDiagonal Sea, where they are assembled small tents, booths calls. Each one belongs to a different organization, be it a political party and a cultural association. Each year about 70 booths are assembled, they are filled with happy people enjoying the food, dancing and celebration to the Andalusian.
The big difference between the fer of Barcelona and Seville in Barcelona is that the booths are open to the public. Anyone can enter, try traditional food and sherry and enjoy the spectacular flamenco, some have dance floor for everyone to move!
Another important part of the April Fair is the large amusement park with a Ferris wheel overlooking the Mediterranean. You can also ask for cotton candy and popcorn while lounging on the emotions of the car crash and shooting.
The entire atmosphere at this event is so special. It really is a feast for the whole family as many of the celebrations of the country and see how the different generations enjoy on the dance floor at the same time. Many costumes worn by giving a touch of color even more festive: the men wear short suit (short jacket, tight trousers and boots) and women's ruffled or flamenco dresses. The flamboyant atmosphere is unforgettable. Prepare your castanets!
Hello my name is Isaac and I am part of the team of Barcelona exclusive private tours, e decided to open this blog to give information about our wonderful city, all people who want to visit Barcelona and surroundings areas, I will provide information on things to do, places to visit, places where to taste the best food in Barcelona, its history, and all that can be useful for your trip to Barcelona, also as dean please contact with me if you are interested in a private customized tour in the city or if you need transportation to your hotel, airport or port, our conpañía offers quality services at unbeatable prices, we specialize in luxury cruises and are used to working with tourists from around the world, if you want you can vist on our website http://barcelonaexclusiveprivatetours.com/ and happy to help in whatever they need, I hope the fence updating information daily or weekly, depending on my time available, will be helpful for your trip to Barcelona, I say goodbye to my next publication and have a good trip.
