About Barcelona

Barcelona is a Spanish city, capital of the autonomous community of Catalonia, the region of ‘Barcelonés’ and the province of Barcelona. With a population of 1,620,343 in 2018, it is the second most populous city in Spain after Madrid, and the eleventh of the European Union.

History

The history of Barcelona extends over 4000 years, from the end of the Neolithic, with the first remains found in the territory of the city, to the present day. The substrate of its inhabitants brings the Iberian, Roman, Jewish, Visigoth, Muslim and Christian peoples. As the capital of Catalonia and the second largest city of Spain, the City of Condal has forged its relevance over time, from being a small Roman colony to becoming a city valued internationally for aspects such as its economy, its heritage culture, sport and social life.

Barcelona has been the scene of several international events that have helped to consolidate it, develop it and give it global projection. The most relevant have been the Universal Exhibition of 1888, the International Exhibition of 1929, the 1992 Olympic Games and the Universal Forum of Cultures 2004. It is also the headquarters of the Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean.

Today

Currently, Barcelona is recognized as a global city for its cultural, financial, commercial and tourist importance. It has one of the most important ports in the Mediterranean and is also an important point of communication between Spain and France, due to motorway connections and high rail speed. Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport, located 15 km from the city centre, was used by more than 50.1 million passengers in 2018.

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District & Neighborhoods

Barcelona is administratively divided into ten districts. Each district functions as a political body with its own competences, which help decentralize city policy and make citizens feel the nearest administration. The territorial division of the districts responds to historical questions of the City. Most of the districts correspond to former independent municipalities that were annexed to the city during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and which still retain their own personality.

Weather

The temperatures are mild during the winter and very warm in summer, with a low daily thermal oscillation, which is around 8oC on average. The annual thermal amplitude is around 15oC, being smaller than in other areas of the peninsular interior due to the maritime status of the city. The average temperature in Barcelona is around 18oC because of heat island in urban areas, being warmer than in other areas not so densely urbanized and being lower in the mountainous areas of the municipality due to the altitude , which exceeds 500 m. in the Tibidabo. Winters are mild, with an average of around 12oC in January, the coldest month. Frosts are exceptionally rare within the city and snowfall is very rare in urban areas, with an average of about one day of snow every 2-3 years on the outskirts of the city, although they are more common in the mountainous areas of the municipality due to the altitude.

Trade

The most important subsector of the services sector in Barcelona is trade. The most commercial area of the city is in its historic center: Portaferrisa streets, Pelayo, Rambla, Portal del Angel and Plaza Catalunya, where small shops coexist with department stores and franchises of large clothing chains.

A little further north of Plaza Catalunya, on the Paseo de Gracia, the rambla de Catalunya and Avenida Diagonal, are the shops of the most international brands of fashion, leather goods and jewelry. The designer items take place in the alleys of the Borne district, which has been gaining popularity since the late 1990s. From the rest of the city, the shopping areas of Gran de Gracia street, Sants street or Fabra i Puig promenade stand out, and shopping centers such as La Maquinista, Illa Diagonal, Gl'ries or Diagonal Mar.

More about shopping centers: https://barcelonashoppingcity.com/tiendas/centros-comerciales/

Tourism

For Barcelona, leisure tourism is as important, or even more important as business tourism. For the development of business tourism, the city has the Fira, Barcelona trade fair, which organizes numerous exhibitions, halls, congresses and fairs for professionals, some of which are among the first in the world, such as the Mobile World Congress is the most important in the world in its sector, the urban fashion fair The Brandery, or the construction fair Construmat of biannual character. These and other fairs make it one of the most important fairs in Europe and the first in Spain with more than 3.5 million annual visitors, that also generate a great activity for the hotel and restaurateur sector with the incentive to evenly distribute year-round. There are guided tours of the most emblematic places.

Catalonia Gastronomy

If we talk about gastronomy in Barcelona, ​​we have to talk about Catalan cuisine. Catalonia is a gastronomic paradise, where Catalan cuisine is a tasty mix of heritage, product, territory, tradition, creativity, innovation ... All this, together with an infinite love for the culture of good food make discovering it through the palate is a very attractive option.

The gastronomic heritage of Catalonia dates back to medieval times and is still based today on the value of the product and the territory; ingredients of proximity and season that reflect the immense richness of the Catalan landscape: the sea, the mountain, the orchard, the forests ... From that tradition were born recipes that today are as popular as ‘Escudella i Carn d'Olla’ or scalded, by cite only two of a list of typical dishes that transfer the richness of products to the plate. Products that arrive daily to all markets and are a key element in the Mediterranean Diet.

Language

Currently in the metropolitan area of Barcelona, due to the great immigration during the last 20 years of all parts of the world, a lot of languages are spoken. Catalonia has its own language: Catalan. Most people living in Barcelona speak Catalan and Spanish, which is also the official language. You will find the name of the streets and most of transport indications in Catalan.

Currency

As in all of Spain and most of Europe, the official currency of Barcelona is the Euro (€).

Tax-free

If you reside outside the European Union, you can request a VAT refund. Request your tax-free check when you make a purchase. Now it is possible to carry out this procedure in the heart of the city:

Tourist Information Office of Plaça de Catalunya

Address: Plaça de Catalunya, 17-S

Hours: Daily, from 8.30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Innova Tax Free, Global Blue, Planet and Travel Tax Free checks are accepted.

Headquarters of Barcelona Tourism

Passatge de la Concepció, 7-9

Hours: From Monday to Saturday, from 9.30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Innova Tax Free, Global Blue, Planet and Travel Tax Free checks are accepted.

Interesting Telephones   

  • Emergency telephone number: 112                              
  • Sanitary urgencies: 061
  • Firefighters: 080                                                                        
  • City Guard: 092
  • Mossos d'Esquadra (Police): 088                         
  • Pharmacies: 934 810 060
  • Handicapped taxis: 934 208 088