Visit Poble Espanyol at Montjuic

El Poble Espanyol is an open air museum located at Montjuic mountain, with 40 handicraft shops and a number of excellent restaurants and bars. It should be near the top of any list of things to do in Barcelona.

Built in 1929 it was made as the pavilion dedicated to art for the Barcelona International Exhibition and it was conceived as a real "village" from the beginning in the middle of a city, with a surface area of 49,000 m2.
The aim of the town was to act as an "ideal model" to give an idea of what a Spanish village might look like and contains the main characteristics and features of towns and villages in the peninsula. Therefore 117 buildings, streets and squares were reproduced to scale for this reason.

Poble Espanyol was built in just 13 months and actually had an expiry date which was the same time as the Universal Exhibition - just six months however its success as an open-air museum has kept it open until this day.

El Poble Espanyol combines history and art with more than forty art and craft workshops and shops working in the open-air museum. You can experience the wonder of historic handmade production techniques and qualities and appreciate how innovative elements of design and shape can enrich a traditional product.

The craft techniques that can currently be found here are: ceramics, engraving, decorative painting, glass fusing, puppet-making, jewellery, masks, sculpture, leather, embroidery, basket-weaving, musical instrument-making, espadrille-making and a long list of others.

Montjuic itself is a great day out for tourists renting apartments in Barcelona and during the summer months the central square of Poble Espanyol transforms into the open-air discoteca, La Terrazza which is very popular with tourists and locals alike.

Getting There
Take the metro (green or red line) to stop Plaza Espanya and from there take the escalators to Poble Espanyol. It is well signposted.

For a more comprehensive Barcelona guide.

Loving Sitges Beaches

Sitges is reknowned for its beautiful beach and being a quaint little town which is popular for tourists from all over. Sitges beach is quite a small beach and reflects the beautiful little town which is well known as being a gay holiday haven for people from all across Europe. Loving Sitges is what it's all about, with lot's of sunbathing going in the summer along with lot's of partying at night in some of the finest night clubs in Europe which include L'Atlantida and the original club Pacha in Sitges. Although it is known for being a popular gay holiday hotspot, it welcomes people from all walks of life who just want to enjoy the great Sitges beaches.

You can rent a nice little villa in Sitges or also there are many popular hotels such as San Sebastian hotel Sitges, Hotel Platjador Sitges, La Nina Hotel Sitges or Hotel Dolce Sitges. These are some of the most popular in the town.

Getting There
It's not hard to get to Sitges travel by train from the city of Barcelona. If you are renting a Barcelona apartment then it's best to get the train from either Sants Estacio or Passeig de Gracia. Take the train to destinations Vilanova or Sitges and the journey should take about 35 minutes. There is usually a train every 20 minutes.

Partying at Club Pacha Barcelona

One of the places to go to dance all night is in Barcelona is club Pacha, which is part of the super club brand Pacha. The brand has many Pacha club all over the world from places like Pacha New York, Pacha London and Pacha Marrakech not to mention Ibiza!
When you think of a party holiday away you could be renting a hotel pacha ibiza just along the road if you were staying in Ibiza town. Now that is very expensive, so another place to visit a Pacha club is in Barcelona which is one of the best of the whole brand. If you are looking for a great Pacha experience then you should visit Barcelona as only this summer the club has had Djs like David Guetta, Eric Morillo, Deep Dish, Wally Lopez and Paul Oakenfold to name a few.
The music is typically electronic but ranges between whichever night you go to and whichever DJ is playing. So you can catch some house, electro, or techno, whatever your taste.
During the summer months "el pacha" is open 7 nights a week but will eventually reduce to only Friday and Saturday during the winter seasons.

Accommodation
In the area of Les Corts it's easy to find a Barcelona hotel pacha is close from there but also you might prefer to stay nearer the city centre.
A Barcelona hotel in Les Corts at a great price won't be hard to find online.

Getting There
Discoteca pacha, as the locals call it, is located in the south side of the city at Les Corts. The best way to get there is on the Metro (green line) to the very last stop at Zona Universitaria. From there club Pacha is very close and you shouldn't have any trouble reaching it.

Weekend Dance September Festival

I can't wait for the Weekend Dance festival to begin, is maybe what you are thinking, but if you don't know about it, then it is a September festival held in Barcelona. It is the first year of Weekend Dance so there is a lot of speculation as to whether it will be a success however at the festival you will be able to see a whole host of acts you would normally here from the nightclubs dance scene. At the festival this year artists headlining include; Massive Attack, Faithless, Deep Dish, Sven Vath, Vitalic(live) and Hernan Cattaneo to name a few. The dance weekend takes place on Saturday 15th September. The tickets are priced at €40 until the 26th August and then will probably go up by €5. The venue for the September festival is the Forum which is located at the north side of the city. To get there you can take L4 (yellow) line metro to Maresme de Forum.

For those looking for a last minute deal on Barcelona apartments, then this could be a great incentive to book up.

For a more comprehensive Barcelona guide.

Mas I Mas Jazz Festival

The San Miguel Mas i Mas Festival started in 2003 and has established itself as a popular music and jazz festival event during the hottest summer nights in Barcelona.

The 2007 festival 2007 kicked off with a special concert on 24th July by Catalan rumba star Peret showcasing 50 years of rumba hits.

So far the festival has gone with great success with other concerts which included the Buena Vista Social Club on 26th July, Cuban singer Lucrecia performed with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra on the 27th July and the Perico Sambeat Flamenco Big Band on 7th August. Many tourists staying in Barcelona hotels all round the city have given the festival positive reviews so far.

Great ideas for Barcelona hotels at any time of the year.

The Mas I Mas festival finishes with a flourish with performances by the Orchestre Arabe de Barcelona on 4th September and Alaska & Nacho Canut presenting Fangoria on the 5th September

The concerts take place at various Barcelona clubs and concert venues all over the city including the Auditorì, the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Teatre Grec, Moog and Luz de Gaz, to name a few.

For a more comprehensive Barcelona guide.

Jazz Concerts at Ciutadella Park

In Barcelona the jazz concerts held at Ciutadella Park have become synonymous with the summer months, along with the warm weather. Organised by the city's Parques y Jardines (parks and gardens department), the jazz concerts at Ciutadella Park have become very popular. So for those looking to leave their Barcelona apartment one night to experience some light musical entertainment for free should head to the park.

Entrance is free and the concerts are held every Wednesday and Friday at 10pm and for those not looking to travel far, then there are plenty of Barcelona apartments for rent in Borne, the area next to the park.

Getting There
If your Barcelona apartment is further away then you can take the metro on the red line to Arc de Triumph and walk down Passeig de San Juan or take the yellow line to Jaume I and walk along Calle Princesa.

Ciutadella hosts the jazz series every summer, inviting a diverse array of groups to perform in the park's charming little gazebo (next to the fountain). You'll find artists like the Juan de Diego Trio, Aiguavia Quartet, Carola Ortiz Quartet, Luna Cohen Quintet, José Alberto Medina Trio or the Latin Soul Band. Check out the complete programme listing!

This concert programme has been a Barcelona fixture for close to ten years and is considered one of the most established and popular summer events offered by the city of Barcelona.

For a more comprehensive guide of Barcelona, then look online.

Carl Cox at City Hall, Barcelona

This Thursday the 2nd August Club4 presents Carl Cox at City Hall, Barcelona for a one off special performance as part of his busy summer schedule across Europe and all over the world. Usually Carl Cox is used to playing huge superclubs across the globe, like his weekly night in the world famous Space in Ibiza in front of thousands of clubbers. However this week he will perform at the smaller venue, City Hall infront of a couple of hundred spectators looking for hard techno beats. The venue City Hall only has a capacity of 650 people and the concert has only been advertised on posters across Barcelona for a week due to the predicted high demand for tickets, but those on Carl Cox's website mailing list will have known about the concert for a month now. The doors open at 11.30pm and tickets cost €25 before 1.30am without a drink and €30 after, also without a drink. If you are thinking of going then it would be advisable to arrive early to ensure entrance as this will be without doubt a very busy night.
Another option would be to try and book your ticket in advance by phoning Otto Zutz nightclub office on 932380722 as they are part of the group which owns City Hall. Here you can buy tickets cheaper, (probably for around €20) and with the guarantee of getting in. Find the address below Otto Zutz c/Lincoln 15 08006 Barcelona This is just another example of how Barcelona is a great clubbers destination, with many great DJs performing here, so look online for great deals on last minute Barcelona accommodation this summer.

From Barcelona To Benicassim

One of the biggest music festivals of the year in Spain is about to begin this week, but finding it could be the problem.The 13th Festival Internacional de Benicassim begins Thursday 19th July so it's important to know what it's all about.

Benicassim is a small, tourist, town located between the cities of Barcelona (275 km north) and Valencia (80 km south) next to Castellon de la Plana. However over the past few years it has become more famous for the huge 4 day music festival held there every July . The real hardcore fans usually set up their tent on Thursday morning, for the festival's first performance that day, and then the party doesn't stop until early Monday morning, when all the zombies awake with whatever remains of their belongings to head home.

This year there are many huge artists have performing like The Hives, Kings of Leon, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Arctic Monkeys, The Go! Team, Vitalic and DJ Yoda.

It is popular with Spaniards and foreigners alike

, with people traveling there from all over Europe and some parts of the world to enjoy this wonderful event.

The only thing is, like many festivals, it is situated in the middle of nowhere so it is important to know exactly how to get there. The majority of people heading to the festival will travel from Barcelona, Madrid or Valencia and if you don’t have a car then it can be quite tricky to get there via public transport.

If you are staying in Barcelona, you must take the ARCO or TALGO service from Sants Estacio heading for Alicante where you can get of directly at Benicassim Renfe station and from there you can easily find your way to the festival. You can book train tickets online which would be advisable to make sure you get good seating. The journey takes about 2 hours 30 mins and the average price is about 27 euros but if you book in advance, you can get much cheaper tickets.

The FIB festival in Benicassim is the one that ev eryone wants to go to at the moment, so why no t get planning for next year?

If you want to find a more comprehensive Barcelona guide, just look online.

Guide To PR staff

If your booking Barcelona accommodation for the first time for a beach holiday mixed in with great nightlife, then you're going to the right place. Other destinations like Magaluf, Ibiza and Ayia Napa have become a bit old hat, and overpriced whereas Barcelona has, along with others, become one of the new generation, summer party destination.

It's cheaper, has the beaches, the bars, the clubs and the people who are looking to do the same as you; Party!!! Renting Barcelona apartments is a great new way to book accommodation which is much cheaper and better quality than typical package holidays. The best way to do it is to look online for good deals.

However, if you have previous experience with other similar destinations, then i'm sure you have nothing but contempt for those PR people who constantly keep bothering you on all the streets about going to their bar or club for "free shots, discounts, free entry etc..".

The good thing is that, unlike the other small beach destinations, Barcelona is a huge city and there is only really two areas where you will be bothered by PR staff. Port Olympic, which is a Club 18-30 destination just like Magaluf for example, and the other, is on Las Ramblas were you can be bothered by people for all sorts of reasons.

However if your not in a hurry, then you should stop and listen to what the club PR staff have to offer, because a lot of the time they offer discount on good clubs, with a few of them actually pretty close to Las Ramblas. Therefore you can avoid being bothered if you know where to avoid.

During the day while you are sunning at the beach, you will probably see PR staff from Pacha wandering around and although you might not want to be bothered at the beach, these people also offer good deals on nightclub entries.

One example is the well known club Fellini on Las Ramblas which plays good techno music along with an eclectic mix in its smaller rooms. On the door you will pay €15 without a free drink, whereas if you take a flyer from PR staff then you save €3 plus a free drink.

This is the case with many other clubs and with drinks prices seeming extornionate when you get in, then one free drink is a great deal.

The general message is not to be so dismissive, as you will probably be relatively clueless as to what club to go at night and what music etc. The people workin on the street are basically clubbers like yourself who have a good knowledge of whats happening in the city, so i would say take 5 minutes to listen to what they have to say and if you don't like it, then thats one less place for you to try.

Make the most of your stay here and if you take some flyers or deals offered earlier in the day, then you could save money on drinks and entries along with avoiding wasting your time in a club you don't want to be in.

For a more comprehensive Barcelona guide then just look online.

From the Party City to the Party Island

All year round and especially during the summer, Barcelona is a haven for clubbers and party goers who want to stay out, dance and have fun until the early hours of the morning. With hundreds of bars all over the city, cheap Barcelona accommodation and more and more clubs popping up every few months, it's no wonder more and more people are going each year.
With the recent rise in popularity of techno and electronic music, the majority of clubs are playing it nowadays, with Barcelona being at the forefront. However many people who live there still need to get there fix of partying from the Mecca of all dance music destinations: The White Isle!
Ibiza is still without a doubt the place to go to party and experience all the best DJs and superclubs such as Pacha, Amnesia and Space. It is notoriously expensive, but for those travelling from Barcelona, the prices for transport are relatively cheap.
But how do you get there?
You can fly Lowcost, with companies, Vueling or Spanair (from 40 to 120 euros) with about 5 flights a day from EACH company.
The flight times state roughly 45 mins however from personal experience it was over in about half an hour. You barely are off the ground!
However, if you fancy something a bit different, then why not take the over night "party boat" from Barcelona to Ibiza at a cost of roughly 40 euros for the 2nd class ferry which takes 9 hours overnight. Although, now there is a highspeed boat which only takes 4 hours at a cost of 75 euros 2nd class.
Overall the plane seems more logical, but each to their own in how they want to travel.
Bottom line: you want to save as much money as possible for your arrival in Ibiza!!

For a more comprehensive Barcelona guide then just look online.

Another Month, Another Festival!

Just when you thought you had recovered from the effects of Sonar last month, Barcelona has offered up another festival to blow your mind. Summercase, which was launched only last year hits Barcelona and Madrid simultaneously over the course of this weekend. The good thing is, it doesnt matter which of the cities you're in, because you'll see the exact same lineup. On Friday 13th July, Madrid will host one half of the festival at Viñas Viejas, Boadilla del Monte, meanwhile Barcelona will host the other half ar Parc del Forum near the beach. Even better, the following night each lineup will interchange and move to the other city for the Saturday night so that all the Madrilenos and Catalans get a chance to see everything on show. Over the course of the weekend, this rock/dance festival will have performances from acts such as Arcade Fire, James, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Lily Allen, Kaiser Chiefs, Scissor Sisters and many more. Also many big electronic acts and Djs such as The Chemical Brothers, Air, 2 Many DJs, Felix the Housecat and LCD Soundsystem. This impressive lineup hopefully will ensure a great festival with thousands of people already having bought their tickets.
Prices are €115 for the weekend package but you can also purchase daily tickets for €75 at FNAC or online at the official website www.summercase.com.

Although popular with the locals, Summercase also draws alot of tourists from all over, especially to Barcelona, due to the fact that they can find cheap accommodation and plenty of beaches to suntan, before hitting the dance floor to stomp their heart out to some filthy beats!!!

Homage to Sonar

For those of you who made it to Sonar this year then, congradulations, but for those of you who didn't then heres some reasons why you should definately go next year!
It takes place round about 14th/15th June and is a showcase of art and cinema mixed with music which has become more and more electro-techno over the last few years.
The official website describes it as 'Three days and three nights in touch with the most up-to-date developments and featuring the most relevant national and international artists.' 'Sónar is the essential meeting point for an alert public, cutting-edge artists and the most influential professionals from the sectors of music and modern arts.'

Sonar by day takes place at the MACBA and CCCB just off La Rambla where most tourists find cheap Barcelona accommodation. Here is where artists showcase film and other forms of contemporary art with Djs performing ambient sets for all the visitors.
However the real party is a Gran Fira 2, just outside the city centre where 80000 clubbers go over the 3 days to party til the sun comes up.
This year, the usual big hip hop performance was carried out by the world famous Beastie Boys who played a great set. Other more famous DJs rocked the place with some unbeleivable sets.
For example Timo Maas ended the Friday night with a truly amazing mix....

Watch More Videos Uploaded by www.bebo.com/TonyBale

Dancing til sunrise

In this modern day youth culture, hedonism has become the key to life. Most young people nowadays participate in some form of clubbing during their lifetime, whether it is from the later teens or even up until your mid 30s. Everyone is doing it.
Clubs are evolving at a rapid rate and the new thing now is outdoor clubbing.
With the heavy influence coming from party goer heaven, Ibiza, which is famous for it's outdoor superclubs, more and more summer destinations are trying to compete.
And this can only mean good news for us late night revelers who enjoy staying out late, dancing to great music. Apart from the White Isle's towering influence, it's become apparent that techno, house and other forms of electro music are becoming popular again
with many previously jaded listeners all of a sudden a techno fan because its "the cool music of the moment".
When considering these factors and consumers increasing demand for something extra, clubs are being opened with an outdoor design, so that the clubber feels like they are dancing on the "Terrazza" until the sun comes up.
A perfect of example of how outdoor clubbing has become popular is if you look at the city of Barcelona.
Liquid is a club located on the outskirts of the city which boasts a summer lineup of huge DJs such as Miss Kitten, and also has a swimming pool inside the club! However i'm sure it will be easy to dry yourself off with the suns rays come morning time.
Situated in Poble Espanyol, La Terrazza is a well known club for house music and attracts DJs and clubbers alike from all over the world.
Also the world famous L'Atlantida Disco situated in Sitges is a nightclubbers heaven as it sit on top of a cliff over looking the Mediterranian sea with the waves crashing against the walls. Here you can meet people from all walks of life looking to party until sunrise.
Look how crazy it was last year...

All of these examples along with others show that Barcelona is one of the coolest placest for summer clubbers and finding cheap accommodation in Barcelona is easy to do.
So what are you waiting for, go put your stunner shades on!!!

For a more comprehensive Barcelona guide, just look online.

Is it a Mirage or Monegros?

Who would want to be stranded in the desert? Full of sand, miles and miles of horizon with noone to talk to. It would be awful! Or would it? Well it depends whereabouts you are.
Take Lleida, Catalunya for example. If you ended up there on 7th of the 7th, 2007 then you might stumble across 45000 people dancing about in 5 huge tents, to hard techno beats along with some hip hop too.
The festival attracts people from all over Spain to party in the desert from 7pm til 2.30pm the next day!!
You'll meet some wild and wonderful people who are so happy to stomp the night away to some of the worlds best electronic artists.
Nowadays, it has become the fashion to "do the festivals" and people are jetting all over Europe in search of the new coolest place to be. Some say, that Sonar or Primavera sound has become a bit too image conscious and lacks true atmosphere. In other words, its become all about the big shades and designer clothes.
You won't find that at Monegros. It's filthy, grimy and the people are happy with it. It's a unique setting (a desert!) and is relatively easy to get to by bus from Spain's major cities. I rented an apartment in Barcelona and travelled from there. The bus leaves from the city at about 3pm and arrives about 6 for the beginning of the festival. You can dance the night away until 3pm the following day were your bus will take you back to Barcelona, where im sure you will have no problem falling asleep on the journey home.
Heres a clip of the Prodigy from last years festival...

If your looking for something different this summer, then i would advise you give this a look.
I mean, when else can you walk into the pub and start a story with, "So, i was bouncing around in the desert last Saturday....."

For a more comprehensive Barcelona guide then just look online.

PRIMAVERA SOUND

Last weekend we had a great time, for 4 days listening to great music at the Primavera sound festival at the Forum centre. It was an impressive lineup which attracted visitors from all over the world. For all the electronic music lovers, heres a great video of Nathan Fake:




Enjoy!