Sunday, 13 September 2009

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Gary Lineker: Barcelona has everything

A Catalan experience to suit every taste

TV pundit Gary Lineker loves this Spanish city and used to be based there when he was playing football professionally. 'I had three great years living in Barcelona,' he says.

'It's one of those places that has everything - brilliant climate, close to the coast and mountains nearby. It's got great architecture, excellent restaurants and superb nightlife. The football club's pretty good too. It's one of those cities that's simply got the lot.'

Definitely a top city to visit

The exciting thing about bold, brilliant Barcelona is that it's continuously renewing itself. In the 80s the city was renowned for sophisticated urban living and Mediterranean flair. In 1992 the Olympics brought it to the forefront of world attention in a burst of high-energy regeneration and today its year-round warm climate and the budget airline boom have seen Barcelona emerge as a top city destination.

The effect on the local hotel industry has been astonishing. The number of rooms on offer to tourists has doubled in just three years – and the flurry of new hotels opening shows no sign of abating. Now you really can put together the perfect Barcelona experience for yourself.

Facts at your fingertips

FLIGHT TIME 2hrs 10 mins. Currency: Euro. Language: Spanish.
When to go: year-round temperatures rarely drop much below around 15°C (58°F) and are highest from May to Nov. Expect 21°C-30°C (70°F-86°F).Beer costs £1.70 a glass, wine £1.40; a two-course meal around £10 and tapas (bar snacks) £2.50-£5.50.

HOW TO GET THERE
Easyjet (www.easyjet.com or 0905 8210905); British Airways (www.ba.com or 0870 8509850); Thomsonfly (www.thomsonfly.com or 0870 1900737); Monarch (www.flymonarch.com or 08700 405040); Iberia (www.iberia.com or 0870 6090500).

MUST SEE, MUST DO

Take the cable car
Swing high over the city in the cross-harbour cable car. The cabin slides across the inner harbour, which sweeps up from the Torre de Sant Sebastián to the hilltop of Montjuïc, offering the most stunning views.Check out the Museu de l'Eròtica, a private collection of erotica from around the world, at La Rambla 96.Then indulge your senses at the Museu de la Xocolata, housed in a former convent at Comerç 36 – and don't miss the temptations of the gift shop.

Try the hip bars and restaurants

Head to the Eixample district for some of the most spectacular examples of Modernista-style buildings (some designed by Antoni Gaudí). Then make for the Raval neighbourhood
– specifically the streets around the Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA), which is also home to some seriously hip new bars and restaurants that pull in the fashionistas. Chill in the Parc Güell – laid out on a hill – with its huge ceramic benches, swirls of mosaics and decorative monuments.This was one of Gaudí's most startlingly original projects.

Walk around the streets

Escape the midday heat in the Parc de la Ciutadella with its boating lake, parrots flitting through the palm trees and ornamental cascades. The best walk in the city is down to Las Ramblas and the historic avenue with its street entertainers is busy around the clock. Pick up a bargain in La Boqueria – a feast of smells and colours in the city's most famous market – where you can buy a cheap but fabulously fresh meal of bread, cheese, olives and fruit.

Go clubbing

Barceloneta – a grid of historic streets with fish restaurants – leads to a beach with boardwalks, showers and snack bars. Port Vell, a flashy redevelopment, has a glass chrome shopping mall, IMAX cinema and four floors of bars, restaurants and shops.The Barri Gòtic district offers the widest choice of clubs and bars, while the warehouse-style clubs in the Poble Nou area are currently pulling in the international DJs.

Visit the old town

Plaça Reial in the Barri Gotíc is Barcelona's grandest and most lively square and an unrivalled backdrop from which to enjoy a drink or a cup of coffee. Then wander down Las Ramblas to Plaça del Portal de la Pau and take a ride along the seafront on a golondrina (small double-decker boat). Ask for the alternative 1½-hour trip – the normal trip takes half an hour – and you may well have the entire boat to yourself.
Check out the old town area known as La Ribera and explore Passeig del Born for funky shops and up-and-coming young jewellery designers (the shop of Barcelona's most famous designer Antonio Miró is to be found here).

Attention party girls!

When you're on a party weekend, so not intending to get much sleep, there's no point in spending a lot on a hotel room. So check into the Chic And Basic Gothic Apartments in the happening Born district, 15 minutes' walk from the buzzing Las Ramblas district and the beach. The apartments include a refrigerator, hairdryers, satellite TV and a kitchen. A one-bedroom apartment sleeps two from around £72 per night and a two-bedroom apartment sleeping up to four costs from £93. Visit www.hotelclub.net.

Philip Blackmore