I've got just over 150000 points till Gold, that still seems a hell of a long way to go lol
I've got just over 150000 points till Gold, that still seems a hell of a long way to go lol
Member since:29.08.2002
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During our first day in Barcelona we were lost for where we should be going that night, so whilst touring the city on one of the open top buses we came across Plaça De Catalunya. A few people had mentioned to me that La Rambla was the place where everything seemed to happen in Barcelona and as the Plaça De Catalunya was at the top of La Rambla this seemed like it would be the place to come back to and from that moment on, every time we got a taxi into the centre we headed straight here.
This huge square is probably the pivotal area of the city, with a lot of the through city routes meeting here, along with that you also have the main shopping area in the city but I’ll come to that shortly. The square itself is very reminiscent of Trafalgar Square in London, overrun with Pigeons and a few Statues dotted around the square itself. A selection of Fountains provide the centre piece of the square with plenty of seating around, whether it be on the steps or the benches, which always seemed to be packed out with people just sitting enjoying the world passing by.
The main thing that makes Plaça de Catalunya the perfect place to start your day is just how much actually happens here. One of the Cities main Tourist Information offices can be found on one place and it’s also the meeting place of Barcelona’s, Bus Turistic (Op coming soon), which has one North and one South route meeting here. You also have a metro station and plenty of taxi’s around making it one of the easiest places in the city to get to and leave from. And of course being at the top of La Rambla means you can be at the seafront after a 15 minute walk.
As I mentioned this is one of the main shopping areas in Barcelona with a lot of British high street stores being found around here. Shops like Zara, Habitat and C&A can all be found within about a hundred metres of each other and one of Barcelona‘s biggest department stores is located to the East of the square. Along with that you also have the choice of a lot of fast food restaurants like Mcdonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut and Spain’s own version Pans People. And of course not forgetting the Cafe’s that are spread nicely around here as well, all with seating outside on the street.
One of the main attractions of the square is the mount of Street artists that seem to gather around about this area. From people pretending to be statues to others sitting around playing instruments busking for a little bit of cash. As no one is in any real hurry they gather large crowds as people stop to watch and take a little break from the days sightseeing. Every time we came into the Plaça there literally seemed to be hundreds of people just standing watching some of the strangest things you could ever consider stopping to watch. Like this one guy playing a guitar and a harmonica, whilst he and his dog, sat on a chair next to him were dressed as clowns.
The most amazing thing I found about the Plaça de Catalunya, was how they dealt with the inner City parking issues. The Car Park for this area of town was actually located underground and the majority of it was actually under the Plaça. This really is a simple way of solving parking issues, instead of having large unsightly Multi-storey car parks like we have in this country. Instead the area has some very large skyscrapers, which are the homes to some of the biggest Financial companies in Spain.
The Plaça is very neat and tidy and really a welcoming place as far as the city is concerned. It’s a great place to start your day from with lots of options of what you are able to do from here, whether it be by Bus, Taxi or foot. The only downside is that you have to be constantly vigil of your wallets, as the area is rife for pickpockets making it a bit of an edgy experience when it’s as busy as it is during the day. Apart from that it’s a beautiful part of town that’s really the nerve centre of Barcelona.
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Advantages: It's not Liverpool. It has shops and restaurants and what not. Disadvantages: It's not Manchester. It only has some shops and restaurants and what not.
Oct 12th, 2003
very helpful by (100%):
