Nou Camp - Barcelona F.C., Barcelona

Being the huge football fan that I am, I couldn't let a recent trip to Barcelona pass by without visiting one of the most spectacular stadiums in the world….no, it's not Vicarage Road (that is THE greatest!)…..The Nou Cap. Technically called "El Nou Estadi del Futbol Club Barcelona", it is the home of European Champions FC Barcelona. I was lucky enough to have a tour of the stadium, and see their first game as defending champions against Levski Sofia…the score was 5-0….

*** The stadium ***
FC Barcelona was founded in the late 19th century, and occupied several stadia around the city before moving to the Nou Camp in September 1957. This was inevitable as the club's popularity had soared during the 50s, driven by the team's amazing success. The first match that took place in the Camp Nou was FC Barcelona against a team from Warsaw and the Barcelona line-up in the new Stadium was formed by: Ramallets, Olivella, Brugu, Segarra, Vergs, Gensana, Basora, Villaverde, Martnez, Kubala and Tejada. Bara won 4-2. With a capacity of 98,787, the stadium is easily one of the largest (if not the largest) in Europe, and certainly in the top 5 in the world. It sits 48 metres high and has a surface of 55,000 square metres (250 m long and 220 m wide). It's one of those sights that simply takes your breath away! We were seated on the 2nd tier, by the corner flag - an excellent view. I could actually make out who Ronaldinho was without squinting! Any higher and the players look like ants! The away fans are given a very small section on the top tier, maybe no more than 3,000-6,000 seats. There are 2 screens at the top tiers behind both goals, so if you are in the heavens, you can keep up with who's who, and if you miss one of the goals, they will replay the action. When the players walk out to the pitch, the Barca song plays. I couldn't understand a word, but there is lots of clapping!) The only other chant that ran through the game was 'Gooooooal!' when a player scored. A great atmosphere, although I'm used to Watford games being on the noisy side! One word of advice…if you can, make sure you sit in the section with the roof…otherwise if it rains as heavily as it did when we were there, you won't be able to see the game! (you can guess what happened to us!)

*** Food and Drink ***
There were hot dogs on offer costing a few Euros (£2), and the line stemmed all the way around to the next block. I noticed that many of the Spaniards like to bring their own food, usually sandwiches wrapped in tin foil! Unlike grounds in the UK, you can actually take pints of beer to your seats. Again, queues were huge at half time.

*** Toilets ***
Be prepared to queue and take your own tissue! In my block, there were no signs of which toilets were which…need I say more!

*** Tickets for games ***
As you can imagine, tickets for games (in particular, Champions League games or a local derby) can be hard to come by. If living in the UK you can do one of 2 things…1. pre-purchase with a tour company such as Last Minute.com. These are usually three times the cost of what you would expect to pay on the door, but it will guarantee you a seat before you go to Barcelona. Alternatively, you can purchase on the day from the ticket box outside the grounds. We went straight from the airport to the grounds just to make sure. Our ticket cost 35Euros (£25) which considering it was a Champions League game, and the view we had, is cheaper that what Crystal Palace charge to watch them play South End in the Championship! They have a scanner system in operation, ensuring dodgy tickets are stamped out. When ours failed to scan, I started to panic thinking they were fake tickets, however, we were led to a room by one of the helpful stewards (luckily Simon speaks Spanish) and they gave us a replacement barcode to be scanned.

*** The tour ***
Considering the history of the club, and the shear size of this magnificent stadium, a tour is a necessity! The cost is 11 Euros (£7) for a guided tour around the ground and the museum. The museum is packed full of artefacts from over the years. Video screens are dotted everywhere, replaying Barcelona's magical European Cup triumph of 1992, with lots of memorabilia from their most recent win, with more to add I am sure! There are also hundreds of shields given throughout their various cup and European games, along with sculptures and antique balls cementing the rich history of the club. Most impressive are the shining trophies on display…including La Liga and the Champions League! I could not help but to take a few pictures, as I will not see it at Vicarage Road for a few years!

Although the pitch was out of bounds, we were allowed to explore the rest of the stadium, from pitch-side, to the heavens! From up there, the groundsmen looked like ants! We were also allowed in the changing rooms, and to walk through the tunnel! Just give me a pair of footie boots and call me Ronaldihno! Well, not quite, but it was very exciting! What really fascinated me was the sheer size of the pressrooms, and the stadium has its very own TV studio!

*** The club shop ***
A walk around the store is another must (at Vicarage Road it is more like a shed!) what a store…. 2 storeys of every piece of merchandise you can imagine! They obviously sell the replica kits (around £40) and scarves, but there are also signed balls, boots, pencil cases, you name it they have it! Even miniature cartoon figures are available! Stalls sell unofficial merchandise outside, so we picked up some cheap souvenirs such as a plastic wallet for Simon's oyster card for 1 Euro.

***Conclusion***
The Nou Camp was everything I imagined it would be - gigantic, atmospheric, and historic. The stadium itself is enough to take your breath away, but the enormity of the collection of artefacts is mesmerising. It is understandable why Barcelona love their club and stadium so much. Barca, Barca!

***Information and reservations for museum ***
Tel. (+34) 93 496 36 00
Fax. (+34) 93 496 37 79
E-mail: museu@fcbarcelona.cat

***Opening hours ***
From Monday to Saturday: 10:00-18:30 - Tour Camp Nou until 17:30

Sundays and Bank holidays: 10:00-14:00 - Tour Camp Nou until 13:30

Days with a Champions League at the stadium: 10:00-13:00 - Tour Camp Nou doesn't work
1/1, 6/1 and 25/12, closed

***How to get there ***
Address: Avinguda Aristides Maillol, s/n, 08028, Barcelona.

Located in the northwest of the city, the stadium is a few minutes' walk from Collblanc Metro station (L5 Light-Blue).

Bus lines: 7, 15, 43, 67, 68, 74, 75, L12, L50, L60 and L62. Metro: Line 3 (Get off at Maria Cristina or Les Corts) and Line 5 (Get off at Collblanc and walk 10 mins or Badal).

From the port area it took us 20 minutes by metro.