This Christmas the streets of Barcelona and the shopfronts are brilliantly lit up with all styles of lights, from elegant to
Giant Pasta Shell Light
colorful and bright, to the 26, two-metre high giant pasta shell lights in various parts of the city. The city is already in full swing for a happy and entertaining time for locals and visitors alike, offering Christmas markets, free and paid concerts, theatre performances, live Nativity Scenes, street cavalcades and workshops for children. Some of the many interesting local traditions and activities on offer in Barcelona this Christmas 2009 are the following:
As in the rest of Spain, some Catholic religious celebrations also take place in Barcelona. One that all visitors can enjoy is the public display of a life size pessebre, or nativity scene, that fills the famous Plaça Sant Jaume. It is a Catholic tradition for families to have a pessebre displayed at home which can be any size, from a tiny corner or a whole room dedicated to it. Many of the city’s public libraries have Christmas activities organised for children. Why not join them and see how the locals celebrate it?
A curious, uniquely Catalan addition to the nativity scene is the caganer (pooper). It is a peasant-like little figurine with a red hat, a barretina and white blouse, squatting with his pants down, doing his business unconcernd by any onlooker. The origen of this funny figure is unknown, but it is said that he is a symbol of fertility and prosperity.
The caganer comes with the cagatió, which is a wooden log with the same red hat. Children especially love the Tió de Nadal, as on Christmas Eve when he is placed next to the fire not to get cold. He is then beaten by a stick whilst the children dance around him, singing and ordering him to poo out presents for them! Lately, well-known public figures are chosen each year to represent this funny little character.Traditionally, Christmas presents are really only exchanged on the 6th January, after the three kings have arrived.
The Caga Tió Log
A traditional local dessert eaten on Christmas Day is the torró, a nougat-like sweet made basically from almonds and honey but nowadays many versions with or without chocolate can be found.
If you like live chariot races you will get a once in a lifetime opportunity to see a world-class performance in the Palau Sant Jordi event venue in Barcelona on the 26th and 27th of December 2009. The breathtaking show takes place in a recreated Roman arena with 400 performers and 100 animals, together with spectacular light and sound effects. The show includes the famous chariot race around the centre of the arena as well.
If you’d like to spend an entertaining, fun time in reasonable winter temperatures this Christmas visit Barcelona. Bon Nadal!
Parents who want to visit Barcelona can rest assured that there is lots of fun to be had for parents and kids alike. The locals are very tolerant of kids on the streets and at the city’s many attractions. Following is just a brief mention of some of the main sightseeing attractions in Barcelona for both kids and parents:
Gaudí Architecture
Barcelona for the family can turn out to be an exciting and fairytale adventure, considering the fantastic modernistic architecture of Antoni Gaudí. His masterpiece is undoubtedly the cathedral of the Sagrada Família, his lifetime’s work and still unfinished, which is a tall, unique structure with colorful spires dotted with fruit and bubbles – which children would like. The building also has many fascinating statues on the outside and modern stained glass windows.
Another equally fascinating and fun Gaudí building in Barcelona is situated at La Pedrera at No 92 Passeig de Gràcia, which is a combined office and apartment block. It has a rippled grey stone façade, like stone from a quarry (pedrera), which is emphasized by beautiful and elaborate wrought-iron balconies. The lower floors host temporary exhibitions of all kinds. One can take a tour throught the building and see an apartment with curved and unexpected corners and playful touches in furniture and decor everywhere. However, the most fascinating part is the roof with its giant chimney pots looking like multi-colored medieval knights, and from where you can enjoy a unique view of the centre of the city. During the month of August three short chamber music concerts per day are held on La Pedrera rooftop.
Although there are other equally remarkable Gaudí structures it would be more fun for kids to visit Parc Güell, which is north of Gràcia about 4 km from Plaça Catalunya, the centre of the city. Pack a picnic and head out for this enchanting park landscaped by Gaudí. Upon arrival you’ll pass through the two quaint gate-houses on Carrer d’Olot. The steps up from there are guarded by the much photographed mosaic lizard. From there it’s just a matter of leisurely exploring all the interesting nooks and crannies of this park where Gaudí’s passion for natural architectural forms took fanciful flights.
La Rambla
Back in the centre, and after a good night’s rest and breakfast, parents and kids can take a stroll down the La Rambla, a busy pedestrian walkway which ends at the statue of Columbus near the port. It is flanked by busy streets, shops and street merchants. I find it a bit noisy, but it is a very famous and popular part of the city where many visitors find the birds (real ones!) on sale fascinating, and apart from sitting there on rented chairs people watching, visitors also find the painted mime artists performing there amusing.
Barcelona Beaches, Old Port and Pleasure Cruises
Continuing down to the bottom of La Rambla you’ll get to the old port and beaches of the city. The possibilities of having fun with the kids here at the city beachfront are positively endless. Simply spending time relaxing, tanning and playing on one of the well-kept beaches in summer time, or taking a short or long day cruise on a pleasure boat from the harbour, or strolling along the beach promenade, or listening to some street musicians, or having a drink or meal at one of the many good restaurants along the way, the choices are too many.
Barcelona Aquarium and 3-D Cinema
For the kids L’Aquàrium de Barcelona would definitely be a hit, which is in the same area. The aquarium has a lengthy underwater tunnel where all kinds of spectacular fish,and plantlife can be seen. The aquarium shop offers a unique variety of gifts for sale. Also, not far from there is the Imax Port Vell 3-D cinema, which is housed in the Maremagnum building complex, where adventure and wildlife films are screened daily from 12 midday until 10 at night.
Barcelona Tourist Bus
Finally, when everybody just wants to sit and enjoy the sights of the city, the whole family could take the Barcelona Bus Turístic and get on and off as many of the routes as you like, within the time period of your ticket. These tourist buses are equipped with a guide and earphones to alert you to all the interesting attractions on the way.
Taking a vacation in Spain is probably one of the best gifts that you can give to yourself or to your loved ones. This is a nice place where you can relax and have fun together with your family. Here, you can forget your work and enjoy the enchanting beauty of the place for a couple of days.
Nevertheless, there are lots of different beautiful places that you will definitely enjoy when you visit this stunning country.
by Harvey Ong
Often people think about a holiday to a Mediterranean country such as Spain as a very expensive and difficult trip to plan. This is simply not true. There is a good selection of cheap holidays to Spain that include airfare, hotels and even car rentals or tours once you arrive.
Looking for one of the many cheap holidays to Spain is simple if you have access to a computer and the internet. Many of the online booking companies offer discount packages if you travel slightly off season, which may mean planning your vacation either just in front or just behind the peak tourist season. In Spain the peak vacation times are the summer months of June to September, but the warm weather often extends well past September and even in April and May. Planning your vacation just off the main tourist times will usually give you cheaper flights, cheaper hotels and a lot less people around. Another option is to take last minute flights that have not sold, often these flights are a fraction of the price but do require a lot of flexibility.
Staying in hostels is a great way to have cheap holidays to Spain but many hostels have requirements on age and time that you can stay. Sticking to individual hotels rather than the larger chain hotels can also provide slightly decreased costs, plus it allows you to really experience the culture of the area. Another option is to stay in one place that has a good low daily rate and simply travel using rental cars, buses or even the train on day trips to see the surrounding areas. One of the best ways to decrease the costs of a trip to Spain is to stay just slightly off the beaten path. Many of the smaller towns around the larger cities have wonderful accommodations at a fraction of the price. Meals, food and drink are often much more reasonable in smaller areas than in the big cities.
A rail pass is a relatively inexpensive way to get around the country and saves the traveler from having to navigate the roads and deal with a rental car. Rail or train travel is popular and inexpensive throughout Europe and the rail passes can be used outside of Spain, making them a good cost saving idea for cheap holidays in Spain.
Terry Roberts is a professional linguist and translator who has lived in Spain for over 30 years. To read more travel advice and tips for your next trip to Spain, visit his website at Travel to Spain.
All facilities at Barcelona hotels Barcelona is the place of tourist lovers with all kinds pleasurable thing. It is the hottest tourist destination with large numbers of Hotels.
Because of the endless flights of stairs in most buildings in Barcelona, visitors with disabilities may have difficulty getting around the city, but conditions are slowly improving.
The Barcelona Metropolitan, the local magazine in English (www.barcelona-metropolitan.com), is mainly aimed at expats, but will appeal to the visitor who wants more of an insider’s view.
The centuries have seen flamenco progress from sombre, home based songs expressing feelings of hardship, to popular stage shows throughout the world. First performed by gypsies, it is an expressive form of dance, which has its roots in Andalucia, Spain.
Flamenco dancing is an expressive form of dance, which has its roots in Andalucia, Spain and more specifically, according to some experts, in Jerez de la Frontera. It originated among Indian gypsies who had arrived and settled in Spain after travelling around Europe in the early part of the 15th century, to later be joined by others who came from North Africa.
The gypsies brought with them their own language, Romano, and an oriental style of music never before heard on the Spanish mainland. As the centuries passed, the cultures of the local population of Jews and later the Moors all had an influence on the gypsy music with elements from their musical styles being incorporated.
From their arrival in Spain, the gypsies were classified as outcasts of society and special laws were made specifically for them. Forced to live in camps as they were not allowed to own any property, many took up work in local mines or in the fields of the region leaving those with any sort of skill to make a slightly better living in work such as blacksmiths and jewelers.
The people were treated badly and the flamenco song (the cante) was initially performed at family gatherings as a way to express feelings of depression and misery. During the early years, flamenco is thought to have been entirely a vocal art form, which was accompanied by the rhythmic clapping of hands.
King Carlos III changed the fortunes of the gypsies in the 18th century when he removed their specific laws and gave them the same rights as other Spanish citizens; however, this did not remove the stigma of mistrust that the Spanish people had of them. Due to their newfound freedom, the gypsies were able to improve their financial status and some of the previously out of reach items such as musical instruments became within their means, hence the arrival of the guitar (el toque) and its addition to the cante.
As the flamenco style of music became more popular near the end of the last century, performers began to appear at parties of the richer members of society with professionals staging the music and dance, the most popular of which were the fandangos, at ‘cafes cantantes’.
The ‘opera flamenca’ period followed as the flamenco gained in popularity and began to appear in theatre stage shows. These, however, tended to focus more on the melodic style of music – cante bonito – which did not express the passion as much as the early gypsy styles.
As the Second World War progressed through Europe there was little prospect of performances on stage, but during the 1950s festivals in Andalucian towns such as Malaga, Jerez and Cordoba rekindled public interest producing a new generation of performers.
The motions and facial expressions of the female flamenco dancers can be compared to those of Oriental dancers with the only exception being that they are more forceful. Each style of dance uses a handheld musical instrument – the flamenco dancer, castanets and the oriental dancer, finger cymbals – however; the cymbals used in flamenco are not traditional and have only been in use for the last 100 years or so.
The centuries have seen flamenco progress from sombre, home songs expressing feelings of hardship to popular stage shows throughout the world that continues to be developed.
Only on a short trip to Barcelona? Never mind… there’s much you can see in a brief trip to this fascinating city. The article outlines some of the major attractions.
Visiting Barcelona, with limited time? There is so much to see in this fascinating city, which would normally take at least a week, but it is possible to see the major highlights in a couple of days too.
I would highly recommend the following:
The Gaudi masterpieces:
1. Temple de la Sagrada Familia – or Temple of the Sacred Family – Gaud’s unfinished masterpiece and a must-see in Barcelona. A fascinating combination of the original architects’ vision (Martorell and De Villar), combined with the magic of Gaud. Unfortunately Gaud passed away before the work was complete. Construction still continues on this amazing building and your entry fee helps towards this.
2. Casa Mil (La Pedrera) – in the L’Eixample neighbourhood – Antoni Gaud was commissioned by the industrialist, Pere Mil, to construct a building on the boundary of Barcelona and Grcia, as both a family residence and also to be leased as separate dwellings. Owing to the way its facade appears to be carved out of rock, the Casa Mil was nicknamed “La Pedrera”, which means stone quarry. Amazing interior architecture, as well as the famous and fascinating chimneys on the rooftop.
3. Casa Battlo also in the L’Eixample neighbourhood – a fairytale building. Originally Gaud was commissioned to demolish the building, and build from scratch, but he convinced the owner to let him completely redesign the existing building. This was in the days when the Paseo de Gracia was undergoing a “keep up with the Jones’” battle – everyone trying to outdo each other with their architecture. Gaud did an incredible job using tiles and scales on the exterior of the building, wonderful interior design, plus again the famous chimneys on the roof top.
4. Parque Guell (Guell Park) – ideal for a restful stroll after your busy days in Barcelona. Originally planned to be a residential area, it is now a beautiful park with many wonderful Gaud creations in tilework and stone. The views over Barcelona to the sea are simply beautiful.
Other areas worth visiting are the following:
- The very famous Las Ramblas – a busy street between the Plaza de Catalunya and the port with many restaurants, cafes, bars, kiosks and the famous Human Statues of Barcelona
- Poble Espaol de Montjuic (the Spanish Village) – situated at the foot of Mount Montjuic. Created in 1929 on the occasion of the Barcelona International Exhibition, the Spanish Village is the only initiative of its kind which has survived the test of time. A collection of streets and squares, monuments and buildings, representing the different peoples and cultures of Spain. Some might call it kitsch, but it is an attractive and interesting place to visit, full of shops selling the handicrafts of the various regions. There are restaurants and cafes to enjoy a break and also an art gallery, Fundacio Fran Daurel. Above the entrance is a terrace cafe with incredible views (but alas, bad service and incredibly high prices!) However, the views were worth it!
- The Cathedral – a Gothic creation of great beauty
- The Palau de la Musica – a beautiful concert hall
- The Port, Barceloneta and the beaches
Barcelona has many more attractions, too numerous to list here – so if you are only spending a couple of days in this city, plan ahead for a longer trip to Barcelona in the future – you will not regret it.
Anne Sewell is employed in internet travel and accommodation. More details of the above tourist attractions, plus photo galleries, can be viewed at All Barcelona Accommodation.
The locals are very tolerant of kids on the streets and at the city’s many attractions. Following is just a brief mention of some of the main sightseeing attractions in Barcelona for both kids and parents:
