Semana Santa 2011 (Easter Week) in Barcelona

This year, Barcelona celebrates the Semana Santa from the 17th until the 25th of April. For Catholics, coming to Barcelona for Easter Week is a good option but also for Non Catholics, since everybody could enjoy processions organized in the city. These processions are a great opportunity for tourists to discover the charm and the historical part of the city.

Palm Sunday procession route

In Barcelona, Easter holidays will start on the 17th, with Palm Sunday. A first procession will take place on this date in the Raval area, starting at 10.00 from Plaça Sant Agusti and ending around 12.00. Here is the procession route :

View Palm Sunday procession route - 17/04/2011 on a larger map

Holy Friday procession route

On the 22nd of April, during the Holy Friday (Viernes Santos), two main processions will take place.

The first one is called "Nuestra Señora de las Angustias" (Our Lady of Sorrows) and will start at 19.00 from Sant Jaume church. It will end around 22.30 in the same place. The procession will go through the Gothic area, from a point to another that you can see on the following map:

View Holy Friday procession route - 22/04/2011 on a larger map

The second one is called "Nuestro Padre Jesús del Gran Poder y María Santísima de la Esperanza Macarena" (Our Father Jesus of the Great Power and Holy Virgin of Macarena). It will start from Sant Augusti church to finish in this same place. This will follow almost the same itinerary than the procession for Palm Sunday, going from the Raval area to the Gothic area:

View Holy Friday procession route - 22/04/2011 on a larger map

Finally on the 25th of April, the Semana Santa will end with Easter Monday, where the family eat together a traditional easter cake (Mona de Pascua) offered by the godfather to his godchildren on Palm Sunday.

Funny tip:

But for the Semana Santa, there is also a funny tradition for children, which is called "The dancing egg" ("L'ou com balla" in catalonian). This tradition, still unknown from the public, consists in taking the shell of an empty egg and trying to make it turn on itself the longest as possible. For the occasion, fountains are decorated with fruits and flowers.

You could try this childish game in the Cathedral of Barcelona, el Poblet, The Frederic Marés Museum, The Santa Ana Church, el Ateneu barcelonés, The Bones Letres Academy and the Purisima Concepcio Church.

If you still need an accommodation in Barcelona for Easter holidays, check our website : Top Barcelona Apartments.

22nd Guitar Festival of Barcelona

Every year in spring, Barcelona promotes one of the most famous instruments in the world of music: the guitar.

This year, the Guitar Festival is coming back for its 22nd edition, with a series of special concerts: until the 21st of May, you could enjoy more than 30 bands and artists from Spain and abroad, come with their guitars for live performances.

With completely different styles of music, you could applause (by order of appearance):

Iván Ferreiro, Very Grapefruit, Lax'n'busto, Rulo y la Contrabanda Antonia Font, Christina Rosenvinge, Ariel Rot, Rafa Pons, Josemi Carmona, Owen Pallett, Manos de Topo, Tarantula, Jorge Drexler, Depedro, Rosendo, Espaldameceta, Popa Chubby, Toti Soler Sílvia Pérez Cruz, Punta Anna Roig IL'ombre your dog, Aaron Thomas, Julian Lage Group, Eric Vinaixa, Cass McCombs, Anímic The New Raemon, Russian Red, Sandra Rehder, Michel Camilo, Tomatito , Mazoni ...

For more information about the dates, locations and prices, click here.

If you want to come and see one of these concerts, do not waste time and book your apartment now!

Focus on: Lax'n'busto

Created in 1986, Lax'n'busto has become one of the most emblematic band of Catalonia. In constant evolution, the band has managed to mix different styles, between Rock and Pop. After 25 years of existence, they are coming back with a new album called Simfonic, and a new concept: integrating a classical orchestra in their compositions.

It's on the 15th of April, during the 22th Guitar Festival of Barcelona, that you could see them play songs of the album on the Gran Teatro del Liceu (Gran Teatre del Liceu).

Address :

Gran Teatre del Liceu

Carrer La Rambla 51-59 - 08002 Barcelone

Metro : Liceu (L3)

View Larger Map

Biutiful with Javier Bardem, takes place in Barcelona

Biutiful, Alejandro González Iñárritu's latest film, shot in Barcelona and starring Javier Bardem, was presented over here this Tuesday and coming out tomorrow in the cinema. The film tells the story of Uxbal, a man in free fall who has to put his house in order before his time runs out.

Biutiful is a love story between a father and his children. This is the journey of Uxbal, a conflicted man who struggles to reconcile fatherhood, love, spirituality, crime, guilt and mortality amidst the dangerous underworld of modern Barcelona. His livelihood is earned out of bounds, his sacrifices for his children know no bounds. Like life itself, this is a circular tale that ends where it begins. As fate encircles him and thresholds are crossed, a dim, redemptive road brightens, illuminating the inheritances bestowed from father to child, and the paternal guiding hand that navigates life’s corridors, whether bright, bad – or biutiful.





Why won't you come to Barcelona and feel the real Barcelona! We have lots of offers of apartments for rent for all december!

International photojournalism exhibition in Barcelona

World Press Photo 2010
International professional photojournalism exhibition



Photographic Social Vision presents for the sixth consecutive year the exhibit World Press Photo to the Barcelona public. The traveling exhibit, which reached 35,000 visitors in Barcelona in 2009, is considered worldwide to be the most important in photojournalism because of the quality of photography and the debate and criticism that the presented work generates. It provides an occasiontosee the social, political, cultural and sport-related events from the last year through the eyes of the current best photojournalists, at the same time that it gives these photojournalists the opportunity to present work frequently censured by governments and the media.

The winning photograph from the current edition, from the Italian Pietro Masturzo, immortalizes the women on the roofs of apartment buildings in Tehran protesting the presidential election results in June, 2009. It is a suggestive image that invites the viewer to discover the story behind it slowly, even though as the author confesses, it was not easy to get published given the reticence of Italian and international editors. It is a story often repeated by other photographers in the exhibit.


The 170 winning photos in the contest enable the public to be informed about the state of the world. The show stands out for its esthetic excellence, informative quality, sensitivity and honesty.

In the words of Silvia Omedes, Director of Photographic Social Vision, “Our foundation celebrates the consolidation of the exhibit in the cultural calendar of Barcelona because it demonstrates the growing public interest in alternative sources of information.”

For yet another year, the international independent jury formed of 19 members has chosen the winning images from a vast array of participants including photojournalists, press agencies and newspapers from around the world. In the 2010 edition of World Press Photo, 5,847 photographers participated (among which 195 were Spanish) from 128 countries, with 101,960 images submitted in 10 categories: People in the News, Spot News, General News, Contemporary Issues, Daily Life, Arts and Entertainment, Sports Action, Sports Feature, Nature and Portraits.

Photographic Social Vision, the organizing entity for the exhibit in Barcelona, is a private non-profit foundation that this year is able to bring World Press Photo 2010 to Barcelona through ticket sales, just as it did with the 2009 edition. During the last nine years, the foundation has managed the creation, production and exposition of photojournalist reports and audiovisuals with the objective to inform and create consciousness in society about social realities and problems that receive little attention, and as such encourage public interest in photojournalism. Photographic Social Vision is well known for its coverage of social issues via documentary photography. DOMESTIC, the latest exhibit created and realized by Photographic Social Vision in April of 2010 in the Espai Cultural de Caja Madrid is a clear demonstration of this.

The Dutch foundation World Press Photo has been supporting international photojournalism for more than 50 years, and is the organizer of the most prestigious annual contest for photojournalism. The World Press Photo exhibit is shown annually in more than 80 cities in 40 countries, and is visited by more than 2 million people worldwide. These images educate us, impact us, and above all else they invite us to reflect upon our society. As a result, World Press Photo is an exhibit that communicates values, that generates public opinion year after year through the multiple points of view on surprising and remarkable situations that are selected.


More information: www.photographicsocialvision.org

From 4 November 2010 to 8 December 2010
Opening hours
From Tuesday to Sunday from 11a.m. to 8p.m.
Thusday 11 a.m. at 10 p.m.
Closed on non-holiday Mondays

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Exhibition prices
Price to one exhibition: 4,50€

Combined ticket for two or more exhibitions: 6€ / 4,50€
Concession: 3,40€ non-holiday Wednesdays, senior citizens, students and group visits (minimum 20 persons)
Free admission for under –16s, Friends of the CCCB, holders of the Tarjeta Rosa senior citizens card, the unwaged, members of the ICOM and on the first Wednesday of every month, Thursday from 8 to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Come to Barcelona to see and admire this exhibition and rent an apartment close to the museum!

Sant Antoni Market

Here’s another food market, similar to La Boqueria except larger and without all the tourists. Also don´t do what I did and go in August as you will find most of the stalls closed. However all the stalls that were still open were doing very good trade, and even the small tapas bar in the middle of the market was full of locals having a bite. The stall owners are very friendly and helpful, and there is a lovely deli counter just on the left as you go in the main entrance if you want to buy something nice to take home with you.

On Sunday from 08:00-15:00 just outside the market there is a book and coin market for all the collectors out there. You will find a tremendous assortment of old books, magazines, comics and postcards.

Walking tour - The Ramblas

On foot. Approximate duration: 3 hours.



The Rambla, which runs from the Plaça Catalunya to the Port; has been the heart of the city down through the centuries and today continues to be the most typical, popular and cosmopolitan of the city's streets. Our itinerary begins at the top of the Rambla where it opens into the Plaça Catalunya.



We list below all the points of interest that you find while wlaking down the Ramblas from Plaça Catalunya:


1- "Font de Canaletes"
Iron fountain dating from the 19th Century. One of the city´s landmarks.

2- Iglesia de Belén

At the junction with Carme street. Ancien Jesuit church. Catalan Gothic style interior.

3- Palau Moja

Located Opposite the Betlem church. Important house at the beginning of the 18th Century.

4- Palau de la Virreina
In Rambla nº 99, One of the most sumptuous buildings of the Rambla. There is an information office on the ground floor.

5- The Sant Josep or "Boquería" Market
Wrought iron building which houses one of the most popular and traditional of the city's food market

6- "Pla de la Boquería"
This is that part which lies between Hospital street and Boquería street. There is a mosaic by Joan Miró on the pavement.

7- Palau Güell
Carrer Nou de la Rambla, 3. The work of Antoni Gaudí. Built as the Barcelona residence of the Count Güell. The building houses the Museu de les Arts del Espectacle.

8- Plaça Reial
Square formed by unifrom buildings. Iron fountain in center. lamps-posts are the work of Gaudí.

9- Wax Museum
The building built in 1867 is part of the National Architectural in the exhibition of its figures, protagonists of the history and fantasy of mankind, justifies wordlwide acknowledgment.

10- "Reials Drassanes"
The most important and most complete medieval dockyards in existence are to be found at the end of the Rambla. The Maritim Museum is housed inside.



You can rent an apartment on the Ramblas from walking distance of all these points of interest.

Business accommodation

Barcelona is a city where you can find a lot of conferences and business meetings all over the year.

The most famous conferences such as Bread & Butter (fashion show), GSM (mobile phone convention)... are located in "la Fira de Barcelona" near the "Plaza España".

If you are looking for a business accommodation, this apartment can accomodate up to 6 or 8 people, indeed it has 3 doble bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and also a sofa bed. The kitchen is fully equiped and gives to the ample living room. The apartment is very well located, in the city center, from there you can easily go to "la Fira de Barcelona" and all Barcelona's conferences.

Do you plan to go to Barcelona for a business trip? Rent a business accommodation

Budget accommodation

If you are looking for an apartment in Barcelona for holiday but don't want to spend all your money in the rental there is a solution: a budget accommodation.

This apartment situated in the city center, near the famous "Ramblas" and is perfect for small budget and fully equiped. Indeed it is a cosy apartment, with a double bedroom and convertible sofa-bed in the living room, wardrobe, washing machine and kitchen totally equiped.

Booking this type of accommodation not only will make you feel more as a local, also will allow you to walk around the city center without the need of taking public transportation. Most places of interest are within walking distance.

If you are looking for a budget accommodation for your holidays in Barcelona, click here.

Raval

Barcelona's Raval was historically the red-light zone and a slum of Old Barcelona. However, it’s quickly becoming the city’s new “in” area. Numerous bars and clubs frequented by young artists and bohemian types now fill formerly sketchy alleyways. If you’re into an alternative scene, the Barcelona Raval is where it’s at… but it’s still a good idea to keep a close watch on your wallet and pocketbook at night.

A good gateway to Raval tourism from Las Ramblas is the Mercat de la Boqueria. This vibrant modernista market holds all kinds of food stands and tapas bars, and is a great place to simply wander around or stock up.

Just behind the market you'll find the Antic Hospital de la Santa Creu, medieval Barcelona's central hospital, now home to the National Library of Catalunya.

One of the streets that meets the hospital is Carrer dels Angels. It's a straight shoot northwest up to the Plaça dels Angels, home of the neighboring CCCB and MACBA, Barcelona's two main contemporary art and culture centers.

All the way at the southern end of el Raval, about a block west of Las Ramblas, is Palau Güell. Commissioned in the 1880s by Eusebi Guell, this is one of Antoni Gaudí's more subdued works. It's also among the few examples of Catalonia's Art Nouveau style, "modernisme" in the Old City, or "Ciutat Vella."

Young, artsy types and a significant immigrant population have moved in over the past two decades, inaugurating El Raval as the new hip center of Barcelona culture. The plaza in front of the MACBA serves as a makeshift skate park, while vegetarian restaurants, small bars housing art exhibits and intimate concerts and a handful of second-hand stores define El Raval's fomerly seedy landscape.

El Raval is alive all through the day and night so you will never be without an eaterie to entice you in the early hours of the morning!

El Raval offers a central location within walking distance of many of the other popular areas such as the Gothic Quarter and Eixample. The nearest metro stops are on Las Ramblas, Barcelona’s most famous street which runs up one side of El Raval.

Would you like to stay in this area during your holidays in Barcelona? Stay in an apartment overlooking the "Rambla del Raval ". Click here: stay in the Raval

** The International Music Festival, SONAR takes place in the Raval area. Many concerts are held in the "MACBA" and outdoors at the "Rambla del Raval".

Looking for accommodation for the next SONAR Festival in Barcelona?

Carnival 2008

Carnival in Barcelona epitomises some of the more gluttonous aspects of traditional celebration. The time before the Lenten fast is spent indulging in the very best of soon-to-be-forbidden pleasures, and for Barcelonans this means a gargantuan feast dedicated to anything particularly fatty.

Carnival weekend sees revellers converge on the market places and streets to watch as the local carnival guilds and commercial establishments compete for the best costume or representation. On Saturday afternoon the celebrations come to a climax with the Gran Rua de Carnaval, a colossal parade of adorned carriages and carnival groups and a snowfall of streaming confetti.

All good things must come to an end and the celebrants mark the occasion appropriately with a funeral. The king of carnival has, after all, died and taken the carnival with him. A funeral cortege of his widows and entourage, all suitably dressed in black, mourn his passing.

Carnaval in Raval, also called “Ravalstoltada” this year.

On Saturday 2th February at 16.30, the “ Rambla del Raval” will be the meeting point for all the diferent parades organised by neighbourhood associations.

Meeting point: Rambla del Raval and Carrer de Sant Oleguer
District : Ciutat Vella

You still have time to book an apartment near this area to enjoy the Carnaval at the Raval.

Family accommodation

This apartment is located in the heart of the city, in a pedestrian street called "Calle Tallers". It is just within 2 minutes walking distance from the "Plaza Catalunya" and the Ramblas.


This type of accommodation is perfect for families or groups of friends, you have more space than in a hotel room, and you can feel more like "at home".
This apartment will allow you to cook and enjoy meals with all your family and make feel more like a local barcelonian.

This is a 3 bedroom's apartment and accommodates up to 8 people.

The living area provides the guests with a pullout sofa . You will find TV, DVD and air conditioning/heating in the apartment.

Internet ADSL WI-Fi.

The kitchen is fully equipped with all of the comforts of home. The apartment has got also a bathroom with a large shower unit, toilet, modern sink unit and vanity mirror, and also hairdryer.

Would you like to know more about this apartment? Click here.