How to Time Your Trip to Barcelona

Barcelona is the cultural and commercial center of Spain, with a fascinating history immediately evident in its architecture, which spans the ages from Gothic to modernist. The Mediterranean Sea meets mountainous Catalonia, and Romanesque art collides with art deco in this port town surfeit with European trend-setting.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Travel Clothes
• Foreign Language Phrase Books
• Local Guidebooks
• Maps
• Travel Guides
• Airline Tickets
• Travel Services
• Cameras
• Film
• Maps
• Cameras

General Considerations

1. Visit between April and October for the best weather. Barcelona enjoys a moderate, Mediterranean climate: cool winters, sunny and often hot summers, and a lovely spring and fall.

2. Check the local calendar of events for festivals, attractions and live performances.

3. Contact the Ministry of Tourism to request a booklet listing the 3,000 festivals (fiestas) and feasts held in Spain each year. Call (91) 343-3500, fax [phone] or write Direccion General de Turespaña, Jose Lázaro Galdiano 6, 28036 Madrid, Spain.

4. Take care of your flight, transportation and accommodations.

5. Check the weather forecast for Barcelona shortly before leaving.

Attractions and Seasonal Events

6. Dance and carouse the city streets during Carnival, the biggest country-wide celebration of the year. This night of revelry falls in the second half of February or early March.

7. Spend a week enjoying celebrations of Semana Santa (Holy Week) leading up to Easter Sunday. There are plenty of non-religious festivities during this extraordinary week.

8. Experience Barcelona in its most festive mood during the Festival of San Medir, Barcelona's patron saint, in late March.

9. See performances of the sardana, a Catalan dance, as well as parades and sports during the Fiesta de la Mercè, in late September. The sardana is also performed outside Barcelona's Gothic Cathedral every Sunday at noon.

10. Tour Barcelona's fabulous museums. Fundació Joan Miró is Spain's top modern art museum, plus there's the Picasso Museum, the City History Museum, the Museum of Catalan Art and the Maritime Museum.

11. Look gaudy! Catalonia's famous Art Nouveau architect, Antonio Gaudí (born in 1852), has left Barcelona with several buildings worthy of his name. Be sure to see the bizarre church he designed, called the Sagrada Familia, as well as Casa Battlló, the Casa Mila and the Parc Güell.

12. Behold Barcelona's architectural masterpieces. Start in the Barri Gótic (old town), and be sure to see at least the Gothic Cathedral, the Episcopal Palace, the Palau de la Generalitat and the Plaça del Rei.

Tips & Warnings

• Barcelona natives are gracious hosts, but the constant flow of wealthy tourists has encouraged a few pickpockets and clever tourist scams. Keep your wits and wallet about you, particularly in busy or touristy places.