Car hire Barcelona Airport and transport in the city
Car hire at Barcelona Airport can be pre-booked and picked up from the airport terminal. Every major car hire company is represented at Barcelona Airport including Hertz, Avis, Helle Hollis, Europ Car, Holiday Car Hire, 121 Car Hire and Niza Cars, plus Auriga Crown and Sixt.
Funiculars and Cable Cars Barcelona
In addition to the funicular to Tibidabo there is also a funicular making th
e climb from the Para I-lei subway stop up to Montjuic, where it connects with the Montjuic teleferic that swings out over the Parc d'Atraccions de Montjuic (Montjulc Amusement Park) and makes one interim stop before depositing passengers at the castle, belvedere, and restaurant at the top. Another teleferic connects Barceloneta's Muelle de los Astilleros with Miramar, at the foot of Montjulc, making an interim stop at the Torre de Jaume I, a 512-foot tower built on the Moll de Barcelona in 1930 as part of the teleferic system and named after the 13th-century ruler responsible for having the old city walls constructed. The trip is a spectacular one across the harbour passengers swing out over the cruise ships and hang over the water as though in a slow-moving aeroplane. Rides are available afternoons daily in summer.
Barcelona Taxis
Taxis can be hailed wh
ile they cruise the streets or picked up at one of the numerous paradas de taxi (taxi ranks) throughout the city. During the day, Lliure or Libre in the window indicates that a cab is available; at night, a green light shines on the roof. The city is divided into various fare zones, and fares generally are moderate, but if you want to explore Barcelona and the outlying areas, it is more economical to hire a car from Barcelona Airport.
Barcelona Trains
Barcelona is served by trains operated by REN
FE, the Spanish national railway. There are four railway stations, all undergoing long-term refurbishment. Local, national, and international departures constantly are being changed, so it is vital to check and double-check before any journey. The stations are Estacio Barcelona Sants, at the end of Avinguda de Roma, the main station for long-distance trains within Spain; Estacio de Frana, on Avinguda Marques de l'Argentera, for international trains; Estacio Passeig de Gracia, on Passeig de Gracia at Carrer d'Arago; and Estacio Plaza de Catalunya, beneath the Plaza de Catalunya. For fare and schedule information, go to the RENFE office at Barcelona Sants or call the 24-hour-aday information service.
Festivals and ferias Barcelona
Religious holidays and saints' days are occasion
s for numerous festivities in Barcelona, many of them associated with elaborate pageantry and also (since food is very important in Catalan life) with special pastries, confections, or other foodstuffs. The Cavalcada de Reis (Cavalcade of Kings) is held on January 5 with a parade of floats from the waterfront to Montjulc commemorating the journey of the Wise Men (or Three Kings) to visit the baby Jesus.
Barcelona Carnival
Barcelona Carnival c
ommences every year on Dijous Gras (Fat Thursday), the week before Dimecres de Cendra (Ash Wednesday, in Spanish Miercoles de Ceniza), and runs for six days and nights with nonstop parades, concerts and theatrical performances, costume balls, and ceremonial gluttony (a traditional dish of the holiday is a stew of pigs' trotters, veal, pork loin, sausage, and hard-boiled eggs). On March 19, the Festa de Sant Josep (Feast of St. Joseph), Valencian residents of Barcelona recreate the falles, or ritual bonfires, for which their own city is famous, and everybody eats crema catalana, Catalan "burnt cream" (custard with a caramelized sugar topping), also known as crema de Sant Josep.
Festa de Sant Jordi Barcelona
On April 23, the Festa de Sant Jordi (Feast of St. George, the patron saint of Catalonia), Barcelonans traditionally give gifts to one anotherbooks to friends, roses to lovers (real or hoped for). The Sunday after the Festa de Sant Jordi is the Dia Universal de la Sardana (Universal Day of the Sardana), cele
brated all over Catalonia and dedicated to performances of the region's evocative traditional dance and its accompanying music. Bonfires, fireworks, dancing, and revelry mark the nights before the Festa de Sant Joan (Feast of St. John) and Festa de Sant Pere (Feast of St. Peter), on June 24 and 28, respectively, and every bakery dispenses its version of the coca de Sant Joan, a large rectangular pastry covered with candied fruit, on the former occasion. On Thursdays from June through September, the Guardia Urbana (City Police) don scarlet tunics and white plumed helmets for a riding exhibition at 9 PM at the Pista Hipica La Fuxarda (Fuxarda Racetrack) in Montjulc. The narrow streets of the Gracia neighborhood are elaborately and colourfully decorated for the Festa Major de Gracia (High Feast of Gracia); for a week beginning on August 15 there are open-air concerts and theatrical performances. September 11 is La Diada, Catalonia's national day perversely commemorating the defeat of the Catalans at the hands of the Bourbon king Felipe V and the fall of Barcelona in 1714.
Festa de la Merce and Christmas in Barcelona
La Festa de la Merce (The Feast of Our Lady of Mercy) is Barcelona's most extravagant annual festival. The feast day itself is September 24, but the week leading up to it is great fun-noisy, exhausting, and full of general gaiety. Included in the festivities are folk dancing, wine and gastronomic fairs, free
concerts (often by major international stars) in squares and other public spaces all over the city, fireworks displays, and casteller (human pyramid) competitions. Other observances include a Ball de Gegants (Giants' Ball), With parades of flamboyantly costumed papier-mache figures 15 feet high and more, and the remarkable Correfoc (Fire Run), in which crowds ceremonially confront and try to turn aside fireworks-wielding teams of men and women dressed as dragons, devils, and other fantastical characters. Nadal (Christmas; Navidad in Spanish) is heralded by the two-week Fira de Santa Llucia (St. Lucy's Fair), when stalls selling greenery, decorations, gifts, and figurines for nativity scenes are set up in front of the Gothic cathedral and the Sagrada Familia.
Funiculars and Cable Cars Barcelona
In addition to the funicular to Tibidabo there is also a funicular making th
e climb from the Para I-lei subway stop up to Montjuic, where it connects with the Montjuic teleferic that swings out over the Parc d'Atraccions de Montjuic (Montjulc Amusement Park) and makes one interim stop before depositing passengers at the castle, belvedere, and restaurant at the top. Another teleferic connects Barceloneta's Muelle de los Astilleros with Miramar, at the foot of Montjulc, making an interim stop at the Torre de Jaume I, a 512-foot tower built on the Moll de Barcelona in 1930 as part of the teleferic system and named after the 13th-century ruler responsible for having the old city walls constructed. The trip is a spectacular one across the harbour passengers swing out over the cruise ships and hang over the water as though in a slow-moving aeroplane. Rides are available afternoons daily in summer.Barcelona Taxis
Taxis can be hailed wh
ile they cruise the streets or picked up at one of the numerous paradas de taxi (taxi ranks) throughout the city. During the day, Lliure or Libre in the window indicates that a cab is available; at night, a green light shines on the roof. The city is divided into various fare zones, and fares generally are moderate, but if you want to explore Barcelona and the outlying areas, it is more economical to hire a car from Barcelona Airport.Barcelona Trains
Barcelona is served by trains operated by REN
FE, the Spanish national railway. There are four railway stations, all undergoing long-term refurbishment. Local, national, and international departures constantly are being changed, so it is vital to check and double-check before any journey. The stations are Estacio Barcelona Sants, at the end of Avinguda de Roma, the main station for long-distance trains within Spain; Estacio de Frana, on Avinguda Marques de l'Argentera, for international trains; Estacio Passeig de Gracia, on Passeig de Gracia at Carrer d'Arago; and Estacio Plaza de Catalunya, beneath the Plaza de Catalunya. For fare and schedule information, go to the RENFE office at Barcelona Sants or call the 24-hour-aday information service.Festivals and ferias Barcelona
Religious holidays and saints' days are occasion
s for numerous festivities in Barcelona, many of them associated with elaborate pageantry and also (since food is very important in Catalan life) with special pastries, confections, or other foodstuffs. The Cavalcada de Reis (Cavalcade of Kings) is held on January 5 with a parade of floats from the waterfront to Montjulc commemorating the journey of the Wise Men (or Three Kings) to visit the baby Jesus.Barcelona Carnival
Barcelona Carnival c
ommences every year on Dijous Gras (Fat Thursday), the week before Dimecres de Cendra (Ash Wednesday, in Spanish Miercoles de Ceniza), and runs for six days and nights with nonstop parades, concerts and theatrical performances, costume balls, and ceremonial gluttony (a traditional dish of the holiday is a stew of pigs' trotters, veal, pork loin, sausage, and hard-boiled eggs). On March 19, the Festa de Sant Josep (Feast of St. Joseph), Valencian residents of Barcelona recreate the falles, or ritual bonfires, for which their own city is famous, and everybody eats crema catalana, Catalan "burnt cream" (custard with a caramelized sugar topping), also known as crema de Sant Josep.Festa de Sant Jordi Barcelona
On April 23, the Festa de Sant Jordi (Feast of St. George, the patron saint of Catalonia), Barcelonans traditionally give gifts to one anotherbooks to friends, roses to lovers (real or hoped for). The Sunday after the Festa de Sant Jordi is the Dia Universal de la Sardana (Universal Day of the Sardana), cele
brated all over Catalonia and dedicated to performances of the region's evocative traditional dance and its accompanying music. Bonfires, fireworks, dancing, and revelry mark the nights before the Festa de Sant Joan (Feast of St. John) and Festa de Sant Pere (Feast of St. Peter), on June 24 and 28, respectively, and every bakery dispenses its version of the coca de Sant Joan, a large rectangular pastry covered with candied fruit, on the former occasion. On Thursdays from June through September, the Guardia Urbana (City Police) don scarlet tunics and white plumed helmets for a riding exhibition at 9 PM at the Pista Hipica La Fuxarda (Fuxarda Racetrack) in Montjulc. The narrow streets of the Gracia neighborhood are elaborately and colourfully decorated for the Festa Major de Gracia (High Feast of Gracia); for a week beginning on August 15 there are open-air concerts and theatrical performances. September 11 is La Diada, Catalonia's national day perversely commemorating the defeat of the Catalans at the hands of the Bourbon king Felipe V and the fall of Barcelona in 1714.Festa de la Merce and Christmas in Barcelona
La Festa de la Merce (The Feast of Our Lady of Mercy) is Barcelona's most extravagant annual festival. The feast day itself is September 24, but the week leading up to it is great fun-noisy, exhausting, and full of general gaiety. Included in the festivities are folk dancing, wine and gastronomic fairs, free
concerts (often by major international stars) in squares and other public spaces all over the city, fireworks displays, and casteller (human pyramid) competitions. Other observances include a Ball de Gegants (Giants' Ball), With parades of flamboyantly costumed papier-mache figures 15 feet high and more, and the remarkable Correfoc (Fire Run), in which crowds ceremonially confront and try to turn aside fireworks-wielding teams of men and women dressed as dragons, devils, and other fantastical characters. Nadal (Christmas; Navidad in Spanish) is heralded by the two-week Fira de Santa Llucia (St. Lucy's Fair), when stalls selling greenery, decorations, gifts, and figurines for nativity scenes are set up in front of the Gothic cathedral and the Sagrada Familia.
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