Holiday apartments in Sagrada Familia

Quite a few questions come up from time to time and many are often about accommodation i.e. vacation rentals and holiday apartment rentals in Barcelona. Las Ramblas is often asked about, as are Exiample and Sagrada Familia. Taking a look this time at Sagrada Familia, an area I have lived in for a few years in the past, some thoughts about this area.

Location - Sagrada Familia is a very central area and perfectly positioned. It is a short bus ride or subway ride to the marina and beach area i.e. a little further away than Las Ramblas, but it is also a bit quieter but still very lively. One of the main attractions the La Sagrada Familia church is also on yoru doorstep if you stay here.

Accommodation types - One of the most popular forms of accommodation in this area is holiday apartments. Apartments can be quite noisy in Barcelona, as apartments (flats0 tend to be. For a holiday though these accommodation types are great in that you tend to have a cafe and shops almost downstairs or on the same street.

Nightlife - If you are staying in this area, there are a few bars and a decent Irish pub also and several very good restaurants. For nightclubs and a wilder scene the younger ones head down to areas such as Las Ramblas and Barri Gotic. This is though as benefit to staying in Sagrada Familia in that it is more relaxed at night and despite being close to everything, you do not have the problems that the night clubs areas can have i.e. with the rowdiness.

Best of Barcelona on the cheap

So what if you want to visit the best restaurant, the best shop, see the best entertainment and drink in the best pub in Barcelona and all in the same day and on the cheap. Choosing the best of Barcelona is all relative and depends for sure on ones own opinion. Below my best attempt though at the best of for a day in Barcelona on the cheap.

1. Best Shop - El Corte Ingles is one of the biggest stores if not the biggest in Spain and it has everything you could expect to find. On the cheap though? You do not have to buy anything and to be honest, just walking around the store is an experience, such is the size. It is also close to Las Ramblas which takes us onto entertainment.

2. Best cheap entertainment - Las Ramblas is in fact free for entertainment, with a large number of street entertainers lining the street on a daily basis. Watch out for example for the ball juggling Ronaldinho look alike.

3. The Michael Collins Irish pub - Perhaps not the cheapest place for a drink but after the money you have saved from window shopping and the free entertainment, head to the Sagrada Familia area via the subway and grab yourself a pint of well earned Guinness.

4. Excellent food on the cheap - Maybe the most expensive part of the day, but very cheap for the value, head to the restaurant Madrid Barcelona - an excellent Catalan restaurant on Carrer d'Aragó 282.

Barcelona Metro System

Getting around Barcelona is quite easy with a very good local transportation system in place in the city. Plenty of yellow and black taxis roam the city, the buses cover most of the city and the Metro System (underground in London and called a subway system in some places) is arguably one of the best in the world.

If you are planning only to spend a few days or let us say no more than a week in Barcelona, then I really would recommend just using the subway as the main form of transport. The tourist bus is excellent in that you can hop on and hop off and it tours the main attractions so that is a definite alternative. Apart from the hop on, hop off bus though (which is expensive if you used it every day), the metros is by the easiest way to get around.

Advantages - The Barcelona metro is just so cheap! One trick is to make it even cheaper by buying a 10 trip pass. When you by a ticket from the ticket machine in the station, choose the 10 ticket pass. The menu is always also in English if you choose that option and the ticket easy to buy for 10 trips. The metro system here is also very clean, spacious and trains very regular. So regular that it will be a pleasant surprise for those of you used to the London Underground!

Barcelona Dance classes for women

Barcelona is a vibrant city that offers classes and entertainment of every kind. There is a variety of courses and classes which involve dance for locals and for tourists and some new additions include Belly dancing and pole dancing.

Belly Dance in Barcelona - In Barcelona you can find many belly dance courses. Every gym and every cultural centre in this Mediterranean city, nowadays has its own belly dance course. Some belly dance teachers in Barcelona include Aida, Cecile and Munique Neith, who runs a bellydance academy in the centre of the city and organises a yearly international belly dance festival. The 3rd edition of the belly dance festival in Barcelona took place this year in February and featured famous Egyptian dance teachers, such as Raqia Hassan and Dr. Mo Goddawi.

In addition to Egyptian belly dance being so famous in Barcelona, you can also find courses on zambra mora, or flamenco belly dance fusion. This style was born in Spain but is now taught all over the world and it sums up together the passion of Spain with the freedom of belly dance.

Pole Dancing classes - This is aimed at hen party groups and thus tends to take place over the course of a few hours and as a one off event. This is an event which has been popular here in Barcelona of late and seems to get people laughing. Several companies seem to offer this event now such as Barcelona Events.

Sagrada Familia in Barcelona

Those of you who already know a lot about Gaudi will most liekly already have heard about the area of Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. As one of the nicest areas in Barcelona, the name Sagrada Familia is interchangeably used with the church of this name.

Over 100 years in development already, it is expected to need at least another 100 years to complete. Everyone working on it right now in other words, will never ever get to see it finished.

The building itself is one which you will very see when shown images of Barcelona in newspaper, magazine and TV articles. The shape and design is distinctive in true Gaudi style. You can learn more direct from the official La Sagrada Familia site online.

The area of Sagrada Familia though is not just the church. There is a lot more including:

• An area with several bars and restaurants.
• Some good places for live music including the Michael Collins Irish pub.
• A great place for holiday and vacation accommodation (as this is a relatively safe, quiet but pleasant area).

Great Catalan food in Barcelona on the cheap

There are so many places to eat in Barcelona but finding a good place which serves Catalan and which serves food at a price which most people can also afford, is not always easy.

My wife and I though got lucky on the weekend and we can highly recommend the interestingly named 'Madrid, Barcelona' restaurant, located on Arago 282 Barcelona. The location is east to get to. You can walk there within 15 minutes from the top of Las Ramblas and the Paseo de Gracia subway station is within 5 minutes walk.

The thing we liked about Madrid Barcelona was:

• Very high quality yet simple food
• Menus in different languages
• Great service
• Not a pretentious restaurant but still great quality
• Affordable. We paid approx 30 Euros each including drinks, 3 courses and wine.

I do not work for the restaurant and have no friends working there in case you are wondering. Both my wife and I loved the place so much I felt I had to share news about it. I just hope that it does not get too busy as I do not want to be queuing to get in next time!

Super Cup 2009 tickets: Barcelona v Shakhtar Donetsk

Just a quick blog to let you know that further news is now available regards the Super Cup 2009 game between Barcelona and Shakhtar Donetsk.

The game this year takes place in the principality of Monaco at the Stade Louis II stadium.

To get tickets: You must visit http://www.uefa.com/ and fill out a request and then in 2 or 3 weeks time tickets will be allocated.

Local Transportation - GoCars

I am not sure if you have been walking around Barcelona and noticed a strange bright yellow organge contracption with 4 wheels and with guided tour audio playing? What it is a GoCar.

GoCars are an American franchise and the tourist cars are presently in a few U.S. cities such as San Fransisco and Miami now Damien Harris who lives in Spain has got the Spanish franchise and the cars now roam around Barcelona.

My thoughts:
They are an interesting idea and certainly an alternative to the tourist bus and walking.

Pros:
- Make it fast to get around the city.

- The audio tour is very good.

- Affordable.

Cons:

- Not good for the shy as everyone looks at you.

- Slight concerns over driving one of these in the Barcelona traffic. You need to be brave!

You can book online via their site at gocartours.es

Barcelona Internet Marketing training

A number of enquiries have been coming to us via our SEO and Internet Marketing arm and requests come in for:

• Barcelona Internet marketing training.
• Barcelona Online marketing and SEO training.
• Adwords training and management.

The good news is that ProMarketingOnline.com and barcelona-seo.com are teaming up and holding a number of workshops in Barcelona, Spain and Bristol, England for the start of 2010. You can email paul@promarketingonline.com if you wish to state your interest.

If you are a company with more than 6 people you wish to be trained we can also help you. Additionally we do offer 1-to-1 training in Barcelona and in parts of the UK.

Barcelona v Chelsea tickets - Champions League semi-final

Wow - several of you have already contacted me about how to get tickets for the Barcelona v Chelsea champions league semi-final game to take place in a few weeks time. Tickets information has not yet been released but will be very soon.

The people I always buy from and who offer standard prices and are affiliated as official sellers for FC Barcelona are www.barcelonafootballtickets.com - they also deliver tickets to your hotel as needed, I believe.

So it looks like another all English final with Man. Utd v Arsenal in the other semi final. Can Barcelona stop Chelsea? Should be a good game.

Las Ramblas and should you stay there?

I get asked often if Las Ramblas is a good place for staying at i.e. if it is a good place to book a hotel or holiday apartment. There is often confusion if an area such as Eixample, Las Ramblas or Montjuic for example are the best places or not, to stay.

So looking this time at Las Ramblas. There are pros and cons to staying in this area and hanging out there and staying there are different.

Las Ramblas is very close to the beach (10 minutes walk) and right beside the marina and it is overall a very good location. You will experience tourist prices in the bars and restaurants and tourist style service (in good and bad ways) and this area is always very crowded and lively.

There are always lots of street entertainers at different points down through Las Ramblas and this makes it an interesting area.

In terms of staying on Las Ramblas:
The benefits:

• Central to everything. Great location.
• Lots of bars and restaurants in the area
• Close to the Metro
• Lively area

Disadvantages:

• Very crowded and noisy area
• Tourist prices and service in the bars and restaurants
• Can be more expensive than some other Barcelona areas

A number of companies offer Las Ramblas hotel accommodation and this overall is a great location to stay.

Barcelona Hen and Stag Weekends

Spring is already in the air here in Barcelona and the stag and hen weekends tim eof year is almost upon us. It's actually quite good for local business and the parties who do come over seem to leave having had a great time.


There are a number of companies who deal with Barcelona Hen nights and weekends and Stag weekends although Barcelona Adventure are one I know and can recommend.

It is a great city for Stag and Hen weekends because of the combination of whether, facilities, trasnportation, accommodation and activities. Some of my favourite activities I have been involved with when attending Stag weekends include:

• Barcelona Paintballing
• Indoor Karting in Barcelona
• Barcelona FC Tickets and game
• Barcelona Bar Tour