"Barcelona - Europe's MUST-SEE City! " a Barcelona Travel Page by Jetgirly

Between November 2004 and January 2005 I spent seven weeks in Barcelona while completing a Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults. The city is beautiful, it was a warm and sunny winter, and I saw lots of great sights while meeting lots of great people! In August 2005 I returned to the city for a one-week visit with my mother, to see all the big highlights, bask in the heat and eat delicious food!

In my opinion, no trip around Europe is complete without a stop in Barcelona. This cosmopolitan city has it all: arts, culture, haute cuisine, beaches, shopping, nature... what more could you want? Barcelona feels more safe and secure than many other cities of its size, it is exceptionally clean, and locals welcome tourists with open arms. With beautiful weather year round and enough interesting things to keep me occupied for three months, Barcelona is a MUST-SEE city!

For people planning a trip to Barcelona, I suggest an orientation-day spent riding the official Barcelona Tourist Bus. These double-decker busses take you to all the most important sights, with tour guides speaking English and Spanish and/or Catalan. With your ticket you'll get a fantastic book of coupons that easily pays for the cost of the tour- use it for discounts on entrance at most of the sights and local fast-food restaurants.

If you're wondering about hotels, I suggest staying in the Barri Gotic because you'll be right in the middle of all the action! From this neighbourhood you'll be able to walk almost everywhere and you can really take in the medieval city center. Narrow streets lead to characteristic churches, great local restaurants and lots of entertainment. Hotels in the Eixample area are a little bit quieter, but they're also farther from the beaten path. Barcelona is a fantastic city to explore by foot, so staying in the center really makes the difference.

When I arrived in Barcelona I didn't know a soul! Taking a TEFL course through International House was a great way to meet people, and they also arranged accomodation for the duration of the course. I found the city to be really safe, and my apartment (near the Sagrada Familia) was close to the school and the center. If you take a TEFL course, don't accept accomodation outside the city center!

There are lots of people from around the world in Barcelona. Getting a part-time job at a language school is a great way to meet people, but also hanging around some of the more "international" bars (preferably not on the Ramblas, where they're full of tourists) can help you meet other locals who speak English. There is an English-language newspaper called Barcelona Connect with information about upcoming events and classified ads. Loquo is a great place for people looking for accomodation (shared or private).