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

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

Christmas Shopping in Barcelona

With the festive season fast approaching, and everyone eager to have a great Christmas to forget about the credit crunch, it's time to go shopping! Shopping in Barcelona is one of the best things to do to apart from visiting many of the cultural and heritage sites the Catalan Capital has to offer. The old town (Casc Antiguo) has a myriad of shopping malls and small winding alleyways filled with shops and there are certainly some bargains to be had if you know the right places.

Leather is very cheap in Spain as a whole, and Barcelona is no exception, so let’s start with one for the ladies. Carrer Pelai, just off the top off Las Ramblas and stretching to the Plaça Universitat is a great place for shoe shopping! This street, along with the nearby Portal del Angel is the best place to pick up your footwear, and don't be just expecting Winter Boots - Barcelona's mild climate means that there is always a selection of great footwear at attractive prices.

The Spanish giant Zara also has two downtown outlet stores, where many a bargain can be grabbed - the store's name is Lefties, head down to Maremagnum over the bridge at the bottom of Las Ramblas for the main store, where you'll also find stylish designer shops such as Desigual, Massimo Dutti, Pull & Bear alongside the classics such as H & M, and there's even a Haagen Daas ice cream cafe to top up those energy levels!

Barcelona's markets also have a lot to offer, and the Christmas market in front of the Cathedral is a must-see, with traditional Nativity ornaments, Catalan festive ornaments and wonderful sweets and delicacies on offer. On the opposite side of town, just a 10 minute stroll the Rambla del Raval hosts a market complied exclusively of local Barcelona fashion designers - the next Custo or Agatha Ruiz de la Prada is right here guys. Finally no trip to Barcelona is complete without a stroll down Paseig de Gracia with its exclusive boutiques, big name fashion brands and fantastic jewellery stores. Take a cafe in front of one of Gaudi's masterpieces (Casa Battlo or La Pedrera are both UNESCO World Heritage Sites), and dream of the big bucks you would spend when you win the Spanish Christmas lottery!

Many Christmas shoppers take advantage of the cheap flights flying into Barcelona, Reus and Girona airport daily and also find some great deals on Apartments for Rent in Barcelona, too. Why not check it out this time of year - you might be surprised.

Staying in Barcelona

There are a number of options for staying in Barcelona and I've bought this subject up before but many of you re still emailing so a few thoughts below.

I personally often prefer to Barcelona apartments rentals because this means I can take advantage of self-catering facilities and also relax like I am at home, with a fride, TV and lots of space. Holiday Velvet I have found to be very good and they also accommodatio in other cities such as for London apartments.

For hotels I have normally found Expedia to almost always offer the most competitive rates. They sometimes have expedia specials and if you want a flight also, their flight+hotel combos work out pretty good normally. You can use http://www.expedia.co.uk/ or http://www.expedia.com/ according to where you are based.

New season about to start - barcelona sports

The new La Liga Season is about to get underway and Barcelona have got rid of a lot of the so called big stars that were a core part of the team in previous seasons. Ronaldinho, Messi and Eto'o are look like they'll be playing for other team other than Barcelona for the 2008-2009 season.

In case you are planning to visit Barcelona for the coming season, a few sites which might be very useful for you are:

• Buy Barcelona Football Tickets - with tickets now on sale for all Barcelona games.
• Barcelona sports information - details on a variety of sports throughout Barcelona.
• Barcelona apartments - Accommodation for your sporting trips to Barcelona.

With the Olympics, football season and World Cup qualifiers are coming up soon, bring on the sport!

Barcelona Imports and Exports

Many of you in Barcelona who are ex-pats and have started a business often ask me about information concerning how to import and export items to and from Barcelona, Spain.

I have added a Barcelona imports and exports page onto Barcelona-Culture to try and start answering some of the questions. There is probably a lot more information I could do with adding so please feel free to email me with what you know so I can improve the info and maybe also add in an FAQ section. Looking for a freight company to Barcelona, Spain?

Barcelona News: The water problem continues with the well only 1/8th full, despite lots of rain this week. This week they started shipping in water on huge cargo ships and this should help to avoid the possibility of water rationing. I'll keep you posted.

Getting set up with a mobile phone in Barcelona

When I moved to Barcelona one of the first things I, and probably you, will need to do is get set up with a mobile phone. There are a few options and some more complex than others. To get an apartment and get set-up you need a mobile phone so that you can talk to property agents etc and to get the phone you often need to have a residence etc. Getting a Pay-as-you go is easier enough but getting an account for better rates is harder.

Brightco.com is probably the best I found in Barcelona because they were English speaking and allow mobiles without the need for any paperwork etc. As long as you leave a deposit, you can start a mobile phone contract account. You can find their site at www.thebrightco.com.

Do you have any better option for getting set up with a mobile phone account in Barcelona. Let us know with your comments!

SONAR Music Festival 2008 (Barcelona)

Tickets are now on sale for the 2008 SONAR International Music Festival so do not leave it too late. This music festival which is relatively close to Barcelona, is one of Europe's biggest annual music festivals.

This year the festival takes place in June 2008 and tickets prices for SONAR wil lbe from twenty Euros through to just over one hundred Euros. You can find out the full SONAR line up from the official website http://www.sonar.es and tickets can be bought via http://www.ticktackticket.com

For more information on Barcelona Events click here.