Useful Information about Barcelona

GEOGRAPHICAL SITUATION
Barcelona, capital of the autonomous region of Catalunya, is located in the northeast of Spain, only 168km from southern France, on the Mediterranean seaboard. The city occupies 24,481 acres with 13,2 kilometres (8,2 miles) of coastline, of which 4,875 kilometres (3,029 miles) are beaches. Of the total area there are 4,077 acres of forest, 2,086 acres of green areas, and 1,246 acres of city parks. Barcelona is bounded by the Mediterranean sea (southeast), the mountains of Montjuïc (south) and Tibidabo (northwest) and is framed by the river Llobregat to the south and the river Besós to the north.

CLIMATE
Barcelona has a relatively mild Mediterranean climate. Summer can get hot and humid, 30C is not uncommon, while winters are very mild and sunny. The rain falls mostly in the autumn and spring months (October, November, March, April). The year average temperature is 15.8°C with an average maximum of 19.4°C and average low of 12.1°C. The humidity is always a factor because of the sea, and in summer it can get very sticky and uncomfortable, while in winter, although the temperature never drops too far, the humidity can chill you to the bone.

HOW TO FIND AN ADRESS

Addresses in Barcelona can sometimes cause confusion. For a start they're all written in Catalan, though a few maps haven't yet caught up and still use Castilian spellings. In this guide, the text and maps use Catalan names and addresses.
Addresses are written as: c/Picasso 2, 4° - which means Picasso street (carrer) number two, fourth floor. You may also see esquerra, meaning left-hand (apartment or office); dreta is right; centro centre. C/Picasso s/n means the building has no number (sense numero). In the gridded streets of the Eixample, building numbers run from south to north (ie lower numbers at the Plaça de Catalunya end) and from west to east (lower numbers at Plaça d'Espanya).
The main address abbreviations used in Barcelona (and this guide) are: Avda (for Avinguda, avenue); c/ (for carrer, street); Pg (for Passeig, more a boulevard than a street); Bxda (for Baixada, alley); Ptge (for Passatge, passage); and Pl (for Plaça, square).

ELECTRICAL POWER
As in most of western Europe, in Barcelona 220V 50hz is the standard power supply. For those of you coming from North America with 110v 60hz appliances be sure to use an appropriate transformer. You can find these easily in hotel shops and electrical supply stores, where you will also find plug adaptors to change from two flat pin to 2 round pin.

SMOKING
In Barcelona smoking is widespread, and although the Catalan government has implemented some measures to reduce smoking, this is still a smoker’s city. Most restaurants don’t offer a no smoking section and many shops allow smoking as well; the only smoke free places are the public transportation systems and some large supermarkets.

TIPS & TAXES
Tips are readily accepted in Barcelona. As a general guideline in restaurants and bars the usual tip is around 10% of the bill, depending on the size of the bill and the quality of service. Hotel and airport porters will take, depending on the luggage you have, 100 to 500 pesetas; in a taxi a 10% tip is sufficient. There is a variable (7-16%) value added tax (I.V.A.) applied to most items and services, but most prices you will see include it. When it is not included it should be clearly marked.

CURRENCY & EXCHANGE
Banks will exchange the major currencies. There are also "cambio" or "change" establishments mostly on or around the Ramblas that have very flexible opening hours and also offer a variety of additional services such as Western Union money transfers, travel arrangements and international phone calls. BCN World, on the Ramblas at the Plaça Reial, offers all these services right up to 2am. Bank hours are from 8:30am to 2pm, Monday to Friday. The best known bank in Barcelona is La Caixa, recognizable by their Miró inspired logo. The peseta is the unit of currency and there is a confusing variety of coinage, which we reproduce for your convenience. At the end of 1996 the Spanish government will withdraw all but one of each coin denomination, a decision greeted with enthusiasm by foreign visitors and vending machine manufacturers alike. Remember, as of January 1, 1997 the coins shown in the right hand side column will no longer be accepted as currency, so make sure you avoid them too. The Bank of Spain has announced a one month extension for commerce only. It might be a good time to hold on to some of the old coins if you are a collector or know someone who is.

NEWSPAPERS & MEDIA
The main newspapers in Barcelona are El País, La Vanguardia and El Periodico in Spanish and Avui in Catalan. The cost of a newspaper is 1 euro, but on Sunday’s and when there is a special supplement the price can double. There is a huge selection of magazines. If you want to browse you can go to any newstand on the Ramblas to see what they have, but be warned, you can look, but don’t touch and open the magazines or you will be asked not to. You can find daily newspapers from around the world at most centrally located newspaper kiosks as well as a selection of American and British magazines.

el pais

la vanguardia

el periódico de Catalunya

BUSINESS HOURS
General business hours in Barcelona are from 9 am to 1:30 or 2:00 pm and from 4 pm to 8:00 pm. Some establishments have different hours, such as banks, official government offices and services (post office) both of which usually close for the day at 1:30 or 2:00pm. Large department stores and shopping malls stay open at lunch time. Some shops in areas considered to be tourist attractions stay open longer as well, such as Maremagnum, where many shops are open until 11pm.

PUBLIC TOILETS
The main tourist areas all have public toilets, clearly indicated, as do major railway stations and bus terminals. The Plaça Catalunya also has coin operated toilets at street level. All the major shopping centres have public toilets as well. If you can’t find any public toilets, it is usually considered acceptable to use those of the closest bar.

LEFT LUGGAGE
The Spanish word for the left luggage depot is "consigna" and you will find these at the Sants and França train stations as well as the airport.

MEDICAL EMERGENCIES & FIRST AID – MEDICAL ASSISTANCE
You will receive immediate medical help if you need it. Travellers from EC countries can receive medical treatment in Spain because of the reciprocal EC agreements. For other travellers, emergency treatment will be given, but it is a good idea to have some kind of medical insurance that covers further treatment here. Following is a table with important phone numbers:
• Emergencies 061 • Ambulance 329-9701 & 300-2020
• Hospitals 454-6000 & 418-3400
• Dental emergency 415-9922
• On duty pharmacies/drugstores 010
• AIDS line 339-8756
• Poison info (91) 562-0420

PHARMACIES/DRUGSTORES
Pharmacies are identified by the large green cross displayed outside the premises. You will find an ample selection of over-the-counter medication for the usual variety of colds, headaches, digestive discomfort, etc. If in doubt ask the pharmacist, who is very knowledgable. If you need a doctor and he prescribes medication be sure to keep the receipts to claim when you get back home.

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
Most bars and restaurants close on public holidays, as do most shops the only exemptions from the law being in tourist areas. Often there is a "puente", literally meaning bridge, which means that if a holiday falls on a Tuesday or a Thursday, the Monday or the Friday is also taken as a holiday which combines into a four day weekend. The public holidays observed in Barcelona are:
January 1: New Year’s Day
January 6: Reis Mags: Epiphany
Easter Friday
Easter Monday
May 1: Festa del treball: Labour Day
Whitsun (local Barcelona holiday)
June 24: Sant Joan: Summer solstice
August 15: Assumpció: Assumption
September 11: Diada: Catalonia’s national holiday
September 24: La Mercè: Barcelona’s patron saint
October 12: Hispanitat: Columbus Day
November 1: Tots Sants: All Saints
December 6: Dia de la Constitució: Constitution Day
December 8: Inmaculada Concepció: Immaculate Conception
December 25: Christmas
December 26: Sant Esteve: Boxing Day

CONSULATES
AUSTRALIA
Gran Via Carlos III, 98, 9º 330-9496
CANADA
Trav. de les Corts, 265, entr. 1º 410-6699
DENMARK
Comte d’Urgell, 240, 8º B 419-0428
FINLAND
Puig i Xoriger, 17 443-1598
FRANCE
Passeig de Gràcia, 11 317-8150
GERMANY
Pg. de Gracia, 111, 11º 292-1000
GREAT BRITAIN
Av. Diagonal, 447 419-9044
HOLLAND
Av. Diagonal, 601 410-6210
HUNGARY
Av. Diagonal, 477 405-1950
IRELAND
Gran Via Carlos III, 94, 10º 2ª 491-5021
ISRAEL
Av. Diagonal, 474 415-2083
JAPAN
Av. Diagonal, 662-664, 3º 280-3433
RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Av. Pearson, 34 280-5432
SWEDEN
C. Mallorca, 279 488-2501
SWITZERLAND
Gran Via Carles III, 94, 7º 330-9211
UNITED STATES
Pg. Reina Elisenda, 23 280-2227

SAFETY
As in any large city, some basic precautions should be taken to ensure an incident free time. Don’t flash large amounts of money in public, don’t walk deserted streets in some areas very late at night, keep your valuables in the hotel safe, and lock your door. Watch out when you see crowds looking at a street performance, the favourite venue for pickpockets and never try to win playing with the "trileros" or 3 card sharp game, it’s always a setup with several accomplices pretending to be passers by losing or winning money to draw you in to the trick. If you should need the police because of a robbery, assault, traffic accident or any other reason, there is a multi-lingual police service at the Guardia Urbana (local police) station on the Ramblas, just across from the Plaça Reial. They can help you make a report, give you legal advice, obtain temporary papers, contact relatives and they can do all this in several languages, including English, German, French, Italian, Russian, Greek and Portuguese. This service is available from 7am to midnight (Fridays and Saturdays till 2am) at: Ramblas, 43, Tel. 93 301-9060

LANGUAGES
Catalan and Spanish (castilian) are the two main languages spoken in Barcelona. Although nearly half of the population of Barcelona is not of Catalan origin most can understand and speak Catalan. English is not as widespread as you would expect given the dozens of language schools operating in Barcelona and all the self learning courses on sale at newstands and bookstores, but if you make a little effort at speaking Catalan or Spanish you will find that goodwill and gestures will add to the local English language skills.

TOURIST INFORMATION
Turisme de Barcelona is a consortium of public and private entities created to promote Barcelona as a tourist destination. They offer a variety of publications including city and transport maps, and brief guides to museums. They also manage tourist information centres located at Plaça Catalunya and Sants Station.
The Plaça Catalunya office is a large complex with a variety of services including currency exchange, accomodation information, public transportation and local entertainment ticket sales. Hours are from 9am to 9pm every day of the year. The address and phone numbers follow:
Pl. Catalunya, 17 - Subterraneo
08002 Barcelona
General Tourist Information: (34 3) 304 31 35
Accomodation information: (34 3) 304 32 32
The Generalitat de Catalunya (the Catalan government) also manages Tourist Information offices. The main office in the Palau Robert at the crossing of the Diagonal and Passeig de Gracia is an excellent resource centre for information on Barcelona, Catalonia, and also the rest of Spain. Hours are: Monday to Friday from 9am to 7pm and Saturdays 9am to 2pm. Closed Sundays and holidays. The other offices are at Barcelona Airport, the main one in Terminal B Arrivals and a smaller one in Terminal A.