Mercat del Ninot

Advantages: Nice beaches, great nightful, lots to see and do, easy to get to
Disadvantages: Can be expensive

...is the creation and destruction of ninots--huge cardboard, wood and plaster statues--that are placed at over 350 key intersections and parks around the city today. The ninots are extremely lifelike and usually depict bawdy, satirical scenes and current events (This year they had Posh and Becks as one!) They are crafted by neighbourhood organisations and take about six months to construct costing up to 50,000 pounds! Many ninots are several stories tall and need to be moved into position with cranes. During the 12-19th March, these are all put into place, and during the evenings revellers hit the brightly lit streets for parties and flame throwing. On the 19th at the stroke of midnight, the ninots are set alight! How neighbouring buildings are not set alight I don't know! And each year, one of the ninots is spared from destruction by popular vote... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: What a way to spend an hour
Disadvantages: not for kids or claustrophobics

...Taking a walk into Edinburgh's dark and sometimes spooky past, was quite an experience and defiantly one not to be missed. We stayed in Edinburgh for our anniversary weekend and not being a shopaholic and more into history, I searched for something to do and found the vaults tour. We opted to go through Mercat Tours (but there are other tour companies that offer this service) they offer several walking tours of Edinburgh, both daytime and night and specialise in ghost walks. The cost of the vaults tour is £6 per person and takes approximately 1 hour and in my opinion is worth every penny. Tickets can be obtained from their shop, on line, over the phone or you can just turn up at the cross 15 minuets before the tour begins. The tour started at the mercat cross on the high street where we were meet by their guide who was a local... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: lots of goodies to buy
Disadvantages: it can get very crowded

...I went to Barcelona for a long hen weekend and I thought it was a fantastic place to go for a short break. One of the best places to visit is Las Ramblas, a long road that goes from Plaza Catalunya to the Mediterranean Sea. There are a few monuments to visit while walking along this road, being Canaletas fountain one of them, or El Liceu - Barcelona’s newly built Opera house. What I really liked was El Mercat de la Boqueria, apparently this is one of the oldest makets in Spain and I realized why. This market during the day is full of locals and many tourists that wander around looking very shocked. The market is very lively, you will often hear people from the stalls shouting the offers of the day and attracting people to their stall. They sell all sorts of groceries; fish, meat, vegetables, fruit, etc at an excellent value for money... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful