Barcelona a city of marvels ,mysteries and fantasy Barcelona is like a glamorous girl, that everyone wants her and that's because although Barcelona is a true architectural marvel, with Gaudi's imprint everywhere, with historical and contemporary buildings in Catalan art nouveau style, a city jewel, with very expensive life for the common people precisely because of the influx of tourists. As the second largest city in Spain and the capital of Catalonia, Barcelona receives over 8 million tourists annually. This statistic places it as the third most visited tourist destination in Europe, after London and Paris. With over two thousand years of history, it’s no wonder that Barcelona has more than its fair share of myths, legends and superstitions. In 237 BC the Cathars founded the city of Barcino. It was conquered over time by the Romans, Visigoths, Moors, French. The city of Barcelona was devastated by the Spanish War of Succession and the Spanish Civil War. Starting with the 1970s, the city revived and with the organization of the 1992 Olympic Games, it became one of the most beautiful and visited cities in Europe. Barcelona also awaits more mystery and fantasy among its streets, that attracts many tourists from around the world. Gothic quarter and all the aura that surrounds those streets, Barcelona has among its streets great mysteries and stories that play between reality and fantasy. Among the legends of the mythological demigod, is Hercules with his superhuman strength and divine anger, the ideal protagonist of the founding myths of the history of Spain, including the creation of the Pyrenees, one of the best examples of the rich Spanish culture. It says Hercules was on a journey when nine ships were separated and eight managed to regroup. When they set off to find the ninth ship, they found it moored at the bottom of the hill. They liked the Iberian Peninsula and they named it Barca, which in spanish means boat and Nona also translated from spanish means ninth, so this way the place tooked the name as Barcanona. Hercules met a girl in the city and fell in love with her. Her name was Pyrene, but after 2 months they had to separate and this is how the mountain took the name-The Pyrenees mountain. A second legend is that the city’s origins are attributed to Hannibal Barca, Hannibal’s father. It says when Hannibal arrived in the city, he fell in love with it and gave it his surname Barca. These legends lack foundation and there is no archaeological grounds or historical evidence to back them up. Self-catering Planning and visiting Barcelona on a budget is totally possible for your trip according to your budget. If the visit involves a small budget, Barcelona offers many options of activities that don’t involve expenses. You will also find tons of food or markets from which to insure your food for just over 20 euros a day. You can find restaurants on Avenida del Parallel, where the menu of the day for one person costs about 9-10 euros. You will easily find Moroccans, or Turks selling chebap, or Greek gyros at good prices. Tapas bars can have tapas at reasonable prices, where each type of snack costs between 4 and 7 euros. Accommodation at the hostel starts at 25 euros per night. If you do not save your money, you can pamper yourself with the Barcelona Card. It ensures free transport, as well as discounts or gratuities at tourist attractions, such as museums or houses made by Gaudi. For 5 days, the card costs 60 euros for an adult. Travel within the week is better because, flights over the weekend are more expensive than if you travel within the week, from Monday to Friday, so try to plan your vacation during the week. This way you are saving money by flying during the week, and you can stay for one or two days longer. Accommodation Compared to Paris or London or even Madrid, Barcelona’s a very reasonable city to sleep in self-catering apartments and has lots of options. Basic budget hotels offer private rooms from about €35 per night, and hostels have beds in shared dorms from €10. Apartment vacation rentals start at €50 per night. We help you with a selection of hostels we have made for you. Make yourself at home in one of the 96 air-conditioned rooms featuring refrigerators , microwaves and prepare your meals in the shared or communal kitchen. Complimentary wireless Internet access keeps you connected for free,bed linen and blankets are provided, and 2 communal gardens with outdoor furniture, Factory Gardens is located just a 2-minute walk from La Pedrera. The Loft Hostel Barcelona is within a 5-minute walk of Casa Mila and Passeig de Gracia. This hostel is 0.7 km from Casa Batllo and 0.6 km from Rambla de Catalunya. You can choose from the variety of rooms they offer: single rooms with private bathrooms, shared bedrooms for mixed use or for women only, full bedrooms are for a group of friends or family and if you want to enjoy a bedroom exclusively for you, a single room with a shared bathroom. There are many bars, supermarkets and restaurants around the property. An excellent-value budget option with its convenient location in the city center, with a total number of 52 rooms, the hostel offers easy access to the city's must-see destinations. With its most advanced technology in security, with fingertip keys, guests are well welcome to enjoy the town's attractions and activities. Toc hostel Barcelona provides the best in services and amenities. Many rooms provide free wi-fi, bar, kitchen, communal lounge, games zone, television LCD, plasma screen, linens, locker, mirror, towels to please the most discerning guest. If you are travelling with your love and you are looking for a romantic trip, the hostel can offer you a double room with views to the city and special features. The hostel has an onsite restaurant & bar, an outdoor pool with terrace, a shared common area with TV and pool table. Tourist information and ticketing service are offered. Rapper 50 Cent recently filmed his own version of MTV Cribs there, and if it’s good enough for Fiddy you know you’re going to love it. LENIN HOSTEL located in Sarrià-St. Gervasi district, right next to Casa Batlló, the ideal spot from which to discover Barcelona. You can choose Single Room, Triple Room, Double Room and Quadruple Room equipped with a ceiling fan. This property has private bathrooms. Bathroom facilities feature hair dryers, free toiletries and bath sheets. All the rooms offer a good level of comfort, modern amenities, including heating, flat-screen television, free wireless internet access, facilities for disabled guests, towels supplied, toiletries supplied. Guests can prepare meals in a shared kitchen. Don Moustache Hostel is very close to the city center, four blocks away from the central Plaza Catalunya and the mythical Ramblas, and two metro stations away from the beach of la Barceloneta, making it a great destination to important landmarks and attractions in the city. The hostel rooms come with a complimentary Wi-Fi, a fridge and a dining area. The property's friendly and knowledgeable staff will help arrange tickets and even discounts for events, museums, sightseeing, and other tourist interests. If you want to cook,they have a common room where you can cook and share good moments with the rest of the guests. Located 15 min walk by the sea and the main nightlife spots, 1 min walk from La Rambla, Plaza Real, museums and Gaudi Houses, Sun & Moon hostel recently inaugurated, has become an excellent option for those travelers who cannot spend big amounts of money on the accommodation. All 25 air-conditioned rooms offer climate control, television and a microwave. Some of these rooms have views of the garden. Showers, a Jacuzzi bath and toiletries are provided. All children under the age of 4 stay free of charge when using existing beds. The kitchen is equipped with an electric kettle, microwave,oven and cooker. Sun & Moon offers sheets and towels for 2.00€ each in case you do not bring a sleeping bag. Food and restaurant In Barcelona, as in any other part of Spain, you have to try Paella. There is no doubt that the best paella is always homemade paella. It takes a long time to cook, so it is difficult for restaurants to prepare it fresh. If you want to eat the best paella , just a 5-minute walk from Park Guell, chefs Bego and Ivan offer one of the best paellas in Barcelona. Seafood and fish dishes are also very popular in Barcelona because they are always fresh and well cooked. Avoid places with their menu translated into more than three languages, because you’re likely in a tourist trap. Be very careful when consulting the prices, because there are restaurants where for sitting on the terrace, a 10-12% bonus is added. We tried to have a list of where you can taste the spanish cuisine. Located in the heart of the barrio del Born neighborhood, where ABaC restaurant was born, with capacity for 60 diners, Ten's Tapas Restaurant Barcelona with its food well-priced, and the waiters very lovely and prompt, this restaurant is decorated with exquisite taste, without ornamentation, with natural finishes to achieve a fresh, informal and neutral image, with spectacular oyster selection ,octopus cooked with paprika from La Vera, potato with arbequina oil and beech smoke will delight your taste buds. The best contemporary catalan cuisine combines the traditional with the modern. The restaurant Windsor is located in a beautiful Catalan Modernist building for two decades. The space is elegant, intimate and tranquil, contemporary and flooded with natural light and has a great terrace and different private dining rooms, where diners can enjoy the fresh air and the brightness of a unique and exquisite interior garden. You can choose from over 400 varieties and one of the expert sommeliers can of course help to guide your choice. Spacious, warm and friendly vibe, CocoVail Beer Hall it’s a vibrant social hotspot and is a great place to feel at home, hang out with friends, or meet new ones, in a different atmosphere to your typical Barcelona bar. They have about 10 different wing flavors and 24 tap beers. The wings are big, crispy and flavorful, with very helpful staff and a lively atmosphere. Restaurant Mi Rincon, it’s a cozy place offering you the most exquisite variety of Colombian taste that you can find in Barcelona. They have vegetarian dishes, as well they have takeaway and home delivery. Waiters are very friendly , the food is tasty and affordable. If you don’t know what to order ,ask them for recommendations. Very large portions of flank steak are served at a reasonable price. Their different aromas and flavors will undoubtedly seduce you and make you return. Fabrica Moritz is the perfect place to enjoy the fresh unpasteurized beer brewed daily available at the bar and restaurant, to the factory that used to produce the oldest beer brand in the Iberian Peninsula and taste the spicy potatoes (with or without aioli, however you prefer), croquettes which will leave you speechless, the various flammkuchen (Alsatian pizza), coca de recapte with roasted vegetables, sardines and herring oil, are just few of the delights which will accompany you at Fabrica Moritz when you visit the architectural complex built in 1864. Biocenter-restaurant with a unique style awaits to offer you not only high quality food but also an original and fun moment thanks to its art, photography and painting exhibitions. Is one of the oldest vegetarian and vegan restaurants in Barcelona, promoting local cuisine and direct contact with farmers. The space is tastefully decorated and is visited by young people looking for a nice, cosmopolitan atmosphere to have a healthy, cheap meal. L'Antica Pizzeria Da Michele Barcelona is owned by the Condurro family, who for over a century has been able to preserve flavors and respect the quality of a typical and irreplaceable product of the Neapolitan culinary tradition, brought their authentic Napolitan pizza to Barcelona. Their pizzeria is tradition, innovation, experience, passion and appeared in the movie Eat Pray Love, starring the famous actress Julia Roberts. They serve a very big size so you can order one to share with your family or your friends and the prices are affordable. As a tip for you -don’t try to ask for anything else, including extra cheese, pepperoni or mozzarella di bufala. The employees who work there are from Naples and they keep their menu traditional so you can choose from the variety of pizza. The flour, tomato and mozzarella are imported every week from Naples The pizzeria is located in Via Cesare Sersale, which many experts and journalists consider it “the Sacred Temple of Pizza”. They also have several appetizers and salads, so you should try it. If you’re looking for the best tapas in Barcelona and try the traditional Catalan cuisine,who offer tasty food and professional service at an affordable price,we recommend Teòric Taverna Gastronòmica the best spot, with moderately priced and their tapas will be the most memorable of your trip! The menu is not very long but you can enjoy a variety of inventive dishes according to the season, in an elegant and contemporary atmosphere.This place will amaze you with its fresh and fancy food, a beautiful selection of local wines, marvellous gastro-tapas, a friendly and professional service. Named after a romantic Argentinian movie, Elsa y Fred, the place gives you the feeling of entering a charming place that welcomes you in a homey atmosphere with a vintage style decor, is ideal for those who want to escape tourist sites and experience the local cuisine. It is very cosy with a romantic atmosphere. They serve delicious tapas and as they call themselves a ‘gastro bar’. During the week they also offer breakfast and they have a ‘menu del dia’ that varies daily for a great and affordable lunch. Staff is adorable and the food is amazing. You can enjoy a simple coffee, a delicious dinner or tapas with friends. We recommend patatas bravas -huge slices of potatoes that are fried crisp on the outside and soft, almost fluffy, on the inside and spicy sauce, a great touch, no need for American ketchup here, next reccomandation is grilled octopus, burger bull and go with a mojito or sangria. Casa Lolea is one of the must-eats in Barcelona where you can order and enjoy homemade sangria as a glass or bottle, from the basic sangria with red wine as a base, to white sangria and rose sangria and various tapas at the same time at reasonable prices. You can taste their delicious homemade specialities such as the salty-sweet, vermouth-marinated mackerel, tender homemade mojama (dry-cured tuna) with orange and almonds, succulent sardines in escabeche, marinated salmon blinis with yogurt and truffle honey, semolina truffle risotto, creamy foie gras mi-cuit with black volcanic salt, or confit bacalao with olivada and capers. The two girls Rosa Negra and Rosa del Raval have launched the Restaurante Rosa Negra and break typical stereotypes associated with Mexico. It is ideal for a quick lunch at lunchtime which offers you great dishes made with the freshest ingredients and the finest traditional Mexican recipes. The traditional recipes like guacamole, nachos, salsa, quesadillas, steak, tacos and burritos are all homemade and are the specialities of this restaurant. Their dishes and drinks are delicious and their prices will also pleasantly surprise you. The wifi is available in the restaurant also. Before, it was a monastery, now, a part of these walls that still have original stones are the home of this classic restaurant located in one of the historic buildings in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona, with rustic,elegant and warm atmosphere framed by stone walls, the restaurant Melic del Gotic offers grilled meat, desserts, salads, pasta, a selection of premium wines and more varied dishes, with really unbeatable prices. From Iberian steak to chuleton steak which you can grill as you want on the personal grill your own meat. Offering a mix of Mexican and Mediterranean food, tasty cocktails, live music and entertainment, magic shows, exhibitions, with bright, attractive and cheerful decor, you shouldn’t miss Margarita Blue restaurant with more than fifteen years experience. At a Mexican slant bar, it is worth trying the cocktail of the week, so of course tequila cocktails are very popular. As a recommendation try Mexican delights - guacamole, fried green tomatoes, vegetarian enchiladas, tacos with chicken, tuna or other fillings, and meat. The Green Spot is plenty of space, beautiful chairs and tables, greenery and windows so clean you think they're not there.The restaurant serves vegetarian cuisine aimed at satisfying both vegetarians and non-vegetarians. The modern vegetarian restaurant with spacious interior and minimalist decor, offers a variety of dishes drawing influence inspired by the cuisines of Japan, India, Mexico, the Middle East, South East Asia and Latin America. Their menu indicates which dishes are vegan, gluten free or raw. So if you are looking for a place where to eat healthy, then The Green Spot restaurant definitely is your place. Supermarkets Well supermarkets are designed to make you spend as much money as possible so before you get in your car to drive or walk somewhere you've never been, and if you are on a budget, you must always go with a list. If you go without a list, you may as well just throw your money away and leave you less susceptible to marketing tactics and impulse purchases. Don’t let grocery shopping get you down. Plan menus and make your list ahead of time to stay focused as you shop and avoid purchasing less-healthy items you don’t need. This will help you eat smart and stick to your budget! As i said in another article, don’t shop on an empty stomach, because this can lead to impulsive purchases out of hunger. Never Shop on Sunday afternoons because it is one of the most crowded times at grocery stores but instead off hours are typically the first thing you should shop in the morning, late in the evening and during the week. When you plan a longer shopping trip, you need to consider always buying meat and dairy items at the end and don’t buy an item just because it is on sale, doesn’t mean it’s the cheapest option. Many grocery stores offer price matching with competitors, which can save you dollars without forcing you to take multiple trips to different stores. We have prepared a list for you from where you can your shopping. Today known in Barcelona as the “Flowers Market”, Mercat de la Concepcio is located in the city centre near the Ciutadella Park, Casa Milà and other tourist attractions and is a market that sells almost everything when it comes to food and beverages. For gardeners travelers and curious: many varieties of garden flowers and seeds. The tapas (small snacks) are delicious and well-priced. Try the cheese here. The quality and taste is a level above. Each first weekend of June, during the celebrations of the Eixample district, market traders dress in historical period costumes, so visiting the market is even more special. Dia currently has 4,713 supermarkets in Spain, being the food distribution chain with the most stores in our country. In Spain and Portugal, 613 establishments were transformed last year offering customers new features such as a roast chicken point of sale and a natural orange juice machine. The essence of DIA has always been its low prices and proximity. They have a wide variety of categories: salty and sweet food, beverages, refrigerated and frozen, hygiene, cleaning and perfumery, and more with the best quality and at the best price. we reccomend Mercat de Sant Antoni, a reflection of the history of the city. If you travel in summer and want to shop in a local market, larger and without tourists, meaning that your shopping is less likely to be interrupted by a posse of camera-wielding tourists. The historic building, maintaining its original appearance and uses but adapting them to the needs and demands of current users with innovative air conditioning. The ground level you will find the fresh food market, 52 stalls selling food, four eateries and 105 stalls selling clothes in a section called Encants. Sunday is the flea market, where local vendors sell old and second-hand books, records, stamps and more. The fresh market is open from Monday to Saturday from eight in the morning to eight in the afternoon. Here a Lidl supermarket opens , with direct access from the outside and a capacity of 1,300 square meters. Condis is a supermarket that has a selection of the best products from different brands such as fresh fish, meat, fruit, vegetables, and cooked meat. The supermarket is known for its excellent price as well as quality, always offering customers the best price. In the fresh section they have a butcher, where they will serve you the freshest product and with the cut you want, delicatessen and frozen food exhibitors, as well as greengrocers and free-service bakeries. You will also find a great variety of vegetables and fruits of the season, juicy all year round. They are open from Monday to Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mercat del Ninot (which literally means Doll's Market), is a very appreciated market by the Catalans who make their daily shopping there. The story of this market says, it was a tavern whose owners rescued a wooden doll (ninot) that was the figurehead for a ship to be dismantled. They returned to their tavern with it and proudly displayed it on the front of the building, and you can still see it today! The newly renovated market has undergone a huge renovation featuring fresh, local food in a bright, spacious neighborhood setting as vegetables, fruits, fish, meat, pork-butcheries of which very good stands of Jabugo Ham and there is available Wi-Fi. If you're a seafood lover, the seafood offerings at Mercat del Ninot will not disappoint you. Opening hours from 8 am through till 21.15 from Monday to Saturday. One of the most brilliant architectural ideas for this multicoloured ceramics roof having the shape of a wave posed on an air structure of wood, the Santa Caterina food market revealed a gleaming, undulating and brightly coloured roof designed to be seen from the air. The market is a must-visit for serious foodies and shops from the diversity of products: fruits, vegetables, flowers but also fish, meat, pork-butchery including one or two stalls dedicated to Jabugo ham and finally a small supermarket Caprado. The market also houses a mix of traditional food stalls and sleek modern restaurants, both with a huge variety of delicious food. Santa Caterina Market is open from 7:30 a.m. onwards from Monday to Saturday. Closing times vary by day. On Mondays, it closes at 2 p.m. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, it’s open until 3:30 p.m. On Thursdays and Fridays, it stays open until 8:30 p.m. Veritas is the leading organic supermarket chain in Spain. With a wide range of products, you can find everything you are looking for: from The variety of healthy and organic products from fresh bread, fruits and vegetables to packaged and dried foods to home cooking and pantry supplies. Good selection of cereals and pasta from durum wheat and other grains, a variety of types of yogurt and granola for breakfast. The store also has its own bakery, delicious cakes, croissants and bread, all made gluten free with organic and quality ingredients. The store has made organic products available to everyone at affordable prices. They are open 7 days a week, 9am to 10pm. The Sant Josep market, better known as La Boquería, is the central market of Barcelona, is considered one of the best in Europe and the second largest market in the city. La Boqueria market offers fresh products of great quality and you can find products from all over the world. So if you have rented an apartment self-catering, this market is a guarantee for you that you can cook delicious fresh food everyday. You will find all kinds of stalls: poultry and eggs, pork and charcuterie, butchers, specialties, fruit and vegetables, nuts, legumes, offal, olives and preserves, fish and shellfish, saltwater fishing and grocery stores. So just enjoy the colors and aromas it offers this market. The Charter supermarkets are distributing food franchises belonging to the group Consum , Valencian important business of the sector. They offer a good assortment in the Supermarkets category in Barcelona and constantly publish the catalog, always keeping the member-customers updated on the promotions with the most profitable prices. Quality and savings go hand in hand in the entire range of products at Charter supermarkets. On Barcelona's most famous street - Las Ramblas, one of the busiest streets in Barcelona with roughly 100 million visitors per year, you will find one of the largest supermarkets in Barcelona's city centre set-up as Carrefour Express. Carrefour is the leading supermarket chain in Spain which has a wide range of quality products, a wide assortment of packaged foods, fresh vegetables and fruits, clothing and accessories, gardening equipment and also products for pets. Given that Carrefour is a major supermarket chain Europe-wide, buying their home brands is perfectly fine, they have a good reputation. Tourist attraction Barcelona has to offer to tourists who step on its doorstep, a lot of tourist attractions and places to visit. But what attracts travel to Gaudi's city every month? Barcelona's attractions and sights are very diverse and can certainly guarantee an unforgettable vacation, even for the most demanding tourists. In addition to the most famous tourist attractions, such as the Sagrada Familia, as the top attractions in Barcelona, you will find in the first place the Sagrada Familia, designed by Antoni Gaudi, but unfinished. Plan your time carefully to catch as many of Barcelona's sights as possible. Prepare to stand in line for about an hour and a half, because if you go that day you risk not entering because everything is already reserved, so better buy tickets online in advance to jump the queue at the box office. Visiting the Cathedral costs € 13.00 and with a guide or audio guide costs € 17.00. Tickets for visiting the Cathedral for those under 18, students and pensioners: 11.00 €; guided tour costs € 15.00 and audio guide costs € 14.00. Combined ticket to visit the Cathedral + Gaudi Museum: € 16.50 Combined ticket for visiting the Cathedral + Gaudi Museum with guide or audio guide (only for the Sagrada Familia): 20.50 € The prices are valid only for the entrance to the Sagrada Familia Cathedral, not for the access to the elevators. A separate fee of € 3.00 is charged for the lift. The Picasso Museum is the most famous museum in Barcelona. Pablo Picasso was born in Malaga, southern Spain, but his family moved to Barcelona in 1895. Picasso lived here until 1904. His father was an art teacher. Although Pablo had already studied art in Malaga, he spent his formative years in Barcelona. He is considered to be from Barcelona, and here he exhibited for the first time. Picasso's most famous paintings are not in Barcelona, but you can see a unique collection of 4,251 other artworks from an unique artist. The museum is located in several wonderful Gothic mansions in the old part of the city. Parc Guell is an UNESCO World Heritage Site and is considered one of Gaudi's most artistic works. No visit to Barcelona would be complete without a stop at Park Guell. The park is located on Carmel Hill, so this attraction involves a climb of 900 m. But the hill is lined with escalators, so you do not have to worry. Josep Guell's initial idea was to develop a private and exclusive village with 60 houses. It did not work, and after Guell's death in 1923, the space was donated to Barcelona by the Guell family as a public park. Here you will find the famous mosaic lizard, but also other abstract sculptures specific to Gaudi. The park is one of the cheapest attractions to visit in Barcelona. Children up to age 6 enter for free, while adults and older kids pay a relatively low price. Because it is the most visited tourist destination in Barcelona, and if you want to get in time, you should definitely book your tickets in advance. You can also find Gaudi at Casa Mila. The house was built between 1906 and 1910 for the Mila family and it is Gaudi's most famous house for its architectural style and is located on Passeig de Gracia. Casa Mila also has the nickname "La Pedrera" (stone quarry) due to its design. In the summer months you can attend concerts on its roof. Gaudi's source of inspiration when he designed La Pedrera, inspired from the waves of the ocean to certain mountains. The inside is also fabulous, creative, bold and inventive. Gaudi used creative design to let the light into this building which he then topped with chimneys that look like ancient warriors. The main floor of the building is where the Mila family used to live and it is now used for temporary exhibits. If you want to avoid queues and skip the line keep in mind that the ticket is timed which means you need to pick a time to enter when you purchase the ticket online. Basilica of Santa Maria del Pi was inaugurated in 1453 and took approximately 150 years to build. The church of Santa Maria del Pi houses the remains of many members of Barcelona's nobility and the remains of the most Barcelonian of saints, Sant Josep Oriol, who was a priest at this famous church. It was declared a Site of Cultural Interest in 1931. If you want to visit the museum of the basilica you have to pay to see the Bell tower,treasury,museum, crypt and garden and the price varies according to your choice: general visit or guided visit. Legend says that construction took so long because the church was cursed. Each time the bell tower neared completion it collapsed and had to be rebuilt. Finally, the master mason in charge of building the church made a pact with the devil and promised to let him have his soul on completion of the tower’s hundredth step. When the tower reached the height of the ninety ninth step, the crafty builder started working on other parts of the church. His plan was to build the church so slowly that he would die of old age without ever completing the tower. The devil was so enraged that, when the builder’s successor completed the tower, he stamped his hoof on the hundredth step leaving a footmark as a warning to anyone who dared to climb the tower. Apparently, the devil’s plan backfired and so many people climbed the tower to see the hoof print that in the end, the vicar had the mark removed. Casa Batlló is a famous masterpiece, with an unmistakable style, known as "Casa dels ossos" ("House of Bones") is located in the heart of Barcelona. In 1904, the Batllo family hired Antonio Gaudi as the designer of their house. The shades of orange and gold intertwine in perfect harmony with the green and blue tiles, and the roof is arched, often resembling the back of a dragon or a dinosaur. An urban myth circulating in Barcelona says that it would even depict the dragon killed with the spear of St. George in Christian iconographic representations. The originality of the architecture of Casa Batllo is a unique building, whose reputation is growing more and more every year. For visiting Casa Batllo, audio guides are available to tourists in ten languages (English, Spanish, Catalan, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese and Japanese) that can provide much more information about this remarkable building and about the master who completed it, Antoni Gaudi. At present, Casa Batlló is a UNESCO World Heritage site and an icon in Barcelona, a must see for those who want to discover Gaudí’s work and modernism at its finest. It is also one of the most highly rated cultural and tourist attractions, welcoming 1 million visitors every year. Casa Llorens was built in 1906 by the architect Josep Pérez Terraza, in charge by the businessman Enrique Llorens de Grau. During this time, many of the buildings that were built in the Eixample served to highlight the economic power of the thriving bourgeois class. From this "rivalry" between the bourgeoisie, real architectural gems were born that can still be seen walking through this neighborhood. In 1907, Casa Llorens obtained a special diploma in the Annual Artistic Building Contest, which the City Council awarded to the most emblematic buildings in the city but Pérez Terraza could not receive such an award since he had died only a few months before. Prize was also awarded to works such as the Casa Calvet (Gaudí) or the Palau de la Música Catalana (Doménech i Montaner). The newly built Casa Enric Llorens with the crowning of the facade unfortunately disappeared, being a savage elimination of architectural artistic elements is this case, but keeping the great profusion of details ornamental, from floral decoration to the design of the shutters of booklet, which was one of the reasons for which he won the honorary diploma in the annual competition of artistic buildings of the Barcelona City Council from 1907. Inside, the staircase and the original decoration, which still remains on some of the floors, the marble components, the ironed coatings, the highly ornamented plaster elements, as well as the paintings on the ceilings and some of the original pavements that are still preserved are noteworthy. Plaza Catalunya a lively square is the heart of Barcelona it's a favourite meeting point of Barcelona city centre and, for many travellers, will also be the main transport hub for their journey. The fountain at the northern side and the benches, invites you for a brief rest. You can buy seeds at one of the stalls and feed the thousands of pigeons. The Big Fun Museum or Museum of Illusions, is the place where fun and creativity come together and is great fun for families, adults and seniors, so bring your camera or mobile phone, because this museum provides fantastic photo opportunities and you are not passively looking at exhibits, you are the exhibit. Thematic rooms, incredible 3D facilities, mazes, illusions and wonders at each step, is pure fun. Booking your ticket in advance means that you’ll skip the line and straight to the front of the line for having a selection of very entertaining photos and selfies in various funny locations. The visit to this museum is cheap fun for all ages. It is attracting more than two million visitors annually making it the 4th most popular tourist spot in the city after Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, and Camp Nou. Aquarium Barcelona de Greg is enchanting, spectacular and one of the largest Oceanographic Museum in Europe, but also the richest in the world for Mediterranean fish species. You will find over 11,000 marine animals from 450 species and an 80-metres-long underwater tunnel through the shark basin. The highlight is an 80 metres-long glass tunnel through the sea basin in which you can see sharks, rays and moraines. Courageous people can dive in the shark basin. Your children will certainly be watching the fascinating underwater world in front of the aquariums. In a play area for children, the underwater world and the inhabitants of the oceans and their ecosystems are introduced to children, featuring 50+ interactivities in which children can touch, see, listen to, and discover nature, this section’s objective is to raise a child’s awareness of the marine World. The average duration of the visit to the Barcelona Aquarium is 2 hours, but you can of course stay longer and enjoy all the facilities. The Barcelona Aquarium is fully accessible by wheelchair and adapted to visitors with reduced mobility. Barcelona Aquarium adult ticket costs 20 Euros while a youth ticket (5 to 10 years) costs only 15 Euros, kids between 3 to 4 years pay only 7 Euros for their entry. If you want to skip the line, you can purchase it online. If you are visiting on either Tuesday or Friday, you can witness how the sharks at Barcelona Aquarium are fed between 12 noon and 1 pm. Being the greediest of them all Penguins get fed twice daily between 11.30 pm and 4.30 pm. Aquariums are the best things to do with kids in Barcelona. Temple d'August is a 2,000-year-old Roman Temple of Augustus and the temple was built to honor Emperor Augustus. The temple dates back to the first century BC and was part of the Forum, at the centre of the Roman city of Barcino. Three of the columns remained intact, and the fourth column was rebuilt from the remains of the other columns and in 1956 it was moved to the spot where it stands now, next to the original three columns, inside the medieval building at Carrer del Paradís number 10 at the Barcelona City History Museum and entry is free. If you want to know more about the Temple, you can read the panels situated nearby. Camp Nou means New Field in the local language, Catalán and it was opened in 1957 ,with a capacity of almost 100,000. Camp Nou is the largest stadium in Europe and home to Barcelona's soccer powerhouse, FC Barcelona. The stadium’s maximum height is 48 metres, and it covers a surface area of 55,000 square metres (250 metres long and 220 metres wide). Within the Camp Nou tour, you can experience a panoramic view of the entire stadium from the press box. In the museum the exciting history of the club is shown and important trophies can be seen in the original. Camp Nou has received the 5-star award from UEFA. If you want to visit the camp, make a reservation in advance. CONCLUSION Barcelona is a fascinating city, whether you visit it for the first, second or tenth time, it vibrates in a special way, and you can't remain indifferent to all kinds of attractions, and the experiences that come your way at every step. With its fascinating and splendid Gaudi’s architecture, the tasty Mediterranean food and atmosphere which makes you not give it up,comfortable budget accommodations, discounted and free entry to shows, museums, and attractions, Barcelona has something for every visitor and every pocketbook. Connect with us: BackpackGo is a product of Privacy policy Remove stored cookies www.backpackgo.net Our story: aka about us Your story: who this app is for