Barcelona: Cheap Hotels and a City of Dreams

If you are one of the increasing number of travellers who is considering taking a weekend city break to Barcelona, then besides your transport, you are going to be spending a great deal of time looking for some of the best deals available for quality hotels in Barcelona.

Fortunately, for the traveller seeking a great deal at an attractive price, this fantastic city offers a wide choice of accommodation, all of such good quality that even the cheap hotels still offer excellent value for your money.

Perhaps the best way to consider the city is to take a look at the major attractions and the local area surrounding it. From here, you can opt for one of the many Barcelona hotels in that vicinity that will offer you the services and standard you demand, at a price you can afford.

To begin with, why not consider the beautiful heart of the city, the Barri G̣tic (Gothic Quarter). Many of the buildings date from medieval times and of course, the great pioneer of Catalan modernisme architecture, Antoni Gaudi, leaves his indelible mark throughout this area. In particular the unfinished Sagrada Familia, Gaudi’s masterpiece, is still recognised the world over as the international symbol of Barcelona and one of the most stunning buildings ever conceived.

Close to the Sagrada Familia is La Rambla, arguably the most famous street in Barcelona and one of the most popular with tourists. Literally translating as ‘the ramble’, La Rambla is a series of streets all feeding off a central thoroughfare through the historical centre of Barcelona. It is packed full of restaurants, bars, museums and theatres. Fortunately, there are several excellent hotels close to both of these huge attractions, including the appropriately-named Eurostars Gaudi hotel, Hotel Europark, Ayre Hotel Caspe and the Confortel Auditori.

However, there is so much more to Barcelona than merely immaculate architecture and historic streets. Being ideally situated on the Mediterranean coast and with a warm temperate southern European climate, Barcelona is also well worth considering for those who would enjoy a break in some warm autumnal or winter sun.

If you are a fan of beaches then Barcelona boasts one of the very best. In 2005 the city was voted the best beach city in the world by National Geographic magazine, and when you first view the beautiful Barceloneta and Sant Sebastia beaches, you will quickly understand why. Both these beaches are over a kilometre in length, with beautiful sand tumbling down to the crystal azure waters of the Mediterranean. It is hard to imagine that just metres behind the beach lies one of the biggest and most important cities in the world, but given the luxurious surroundings, it is entirely easy to do just that.

Some of the best hotels in Barcelona lie close by to these fantastic beach resorts, including the H10 Marina, the massive ME by Melia, the fourth-tallest building in the city and the Confortel Barcelona, situated on the edges of the Olympic Port.

Lovers of culture are also particularly well served in the city. Barcelona boasts a large number of museums that cover a range of topics. Lovers of fine arts are particularly well catered for as the city contains a fantastic selection of galleries and museums dedicated solely to the great artists, including the famous Picasso Museum, The National Museum of Art of Catalonia and the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art.

However, other museums are equally enjoyable for entirely different reasons. Budding Indiana Jones acolytes will delight in the Archaeology Museum of Catalonia, while those interested in Barcelona’s maritime heritage will discover a great deal at the Maritime Museum. The long and occasionally turbulent history of the city is told in the City History Museum and the Museum of the History of Catalonia, while science buffs will love Cosmocaixa, a science museum that won the prestigious European Museum of the Year Award in 2006.

If you enjoy wide-open spaces then Barcelona is also the perfect city to relax in, with its 68 municipal parks that cover a staggering ten per cent of the city. Of all its green spaces, Montjuic is the largest and is easily found as it is situated on a mountain visible from around the city. Others worth a visit include the Parc de la Ciutadella (home of the Barcelona Parliament, several museums and the city zoo) and the Park Guell, designed by Antoni Gaudi and containing some of his most imaginative works.

Barcelona is a city synonymous with sport and increasing numbers of tourists now feel a visit to the city would not be complete without a trip to the home of Barcelona Football Club, the Camp Nou. The stadium runs its own tour, the Camp Nou experience, which outlines the history of this massive club and its key role in maintaining the sovereignty and identity of Catalans across the region.

Whether you are interested in hotels, football, museums, fine art, beaches or the beautiful wide-open spaces that proliferate the city, there are plenty of hotels in Barcelona that are ideally situated to allow you easy access to the majority of attractions.

Furthermore, getting around the city is particularly easy for the traveller. Barcelona has a comprehensive public transport system, including a well-run and reliable bus network, two modern tram networks (and a separate historic tram line for those seeking a journey into the past) as well as the excellent Barcelona Metro network that makes getting around this city simple. Indeed, when fully completed, the Barcelona Metro will be second only to London in being the longest underground transport in Europe.

With plenty of attractions to suit any taste, some of the best value, cheap hotels, fantastic weather, friendly locals and some of the most stunning vistas in the world, Barcelona is the perfect venue for a weekend break, or much, much longer!

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