ON TOUR: Barcelona

A major business centre and now increasingly a favourite port of call for cruise ships, BTN’s Editor-at-Large, Jeff Mills, explores Spain’s second city.

Business, art and style – Barcelona has it all.

The drive from Barcelona’s airport is more than a taxi ride; it’s more like a trip through history. You sweep in past the port and the gleaming Mediterranean. Ahead and to the right there are the futuristic shiny steel towers of the Vila Olimpica, a legacy of the 1992 Olympic Games, some would say the making of the modern Barcelona.

There’s a spectacular two-mile stretch of sandy beaches where once there were grubby warehouses and railway yards, while up to the left, lies the Old Town with the Gothic cathedral at its heart. But even though its construction started in 1298 the cathedral is young by Barcelona standards.

It’s easy to forget Barcelona is also one of the most important business centres in Europe, with sectors such as life sciences, shipping and of course tourism, including its ever-increasing popularity as a summertime home port for cruise ships. Not to mention miles of beaches.

The city is packed with history. Today’s Catalonian Parliament building on the Placa de Sant Jaume stands on the site of what was once the Roman forum. Just round the corner in one of the narrow cobbled streets you can still see columns and stones dating from that period.

This is a city of art, too, of course, made famous by so many things, not least by Antoni Gaudi and his “Modernisme” movement. There are plenty of opportunities to explore his work, not least in the Sagrada Familia, which has become a symbol of a city whose locals consider their hometown to be the hottest and most happening in Spain – and they may well be right.

You can feel the buzz and the dynamism of the place, there is evidence of it everywhere you look. The outdoor tables of the cafes in the Gothic part of town are filled with beautifully-dressed customers enjoying the sunshine; a market is in full swing with stalls selling a potent mixture of priceless antiques and worthless junk; there are wonderfully-old-fashioned shops with window displays of spectacular hams, cheeses and bowls of juicy ripe olives. Others specialise in chocolate confections or the freshest of fresh fruit and vegetables straight from the farm.
 
All around there are human statues, standing deathly still until unaware tourists approach with their cameras, when they suddenly spring into life in expectation of a few coins for their trouble.

For yet another glimpse into the future, cross the bridge which links the main part of Barcelona to Maremagnum, close to the port, the shopping and entertainment complex, which juts out in the water at the end of a wooden pier. Apart from some excellent shops and restaurants there are cinemas, including an Imax, as well as countless bars, restaurants and nightclubs, so be prepared to make a night of it.
 
This is a very late-night part of the city where the action doesn’t really start until about 23:00 and goes through the night.

When it comes to choosing somewhere to stay, whether on business or for leisure, you are spoiled for choice. For somewhere grand, if a touch conservative, you could do far worse than opt for what started life as the Hotel Ritz and is now El Palace Barcelona, on a pleasant tree-lined boulevard in the city centre, close to both the Gothic Quarter and the financial district. All the usual in-room luxuries, plus everything you need for a business or leisure trip.

If you like your hotels hip and happening choose the Grand Hotel Central on the Via Laietana, which started out as a bourgeois mini palace. It’s a prime example of the perfect marriage of ancient and modern, which epitomises Barcelona. There’s even an infinity pool up on the roof, just past the high-tech, state-of-the-art gym.

And there’s no shortage of great places to eat, Barcelona is full of superb restaurants so you really are spoiled for choice. A good starting point is the Old Town area near Las Ramblas.

This area is perfect if you’re looking for somewhere to entertain your contacts or clients. It’s worth remembering that face-to-face business relationships are very important, as is some formality. People in Barcelona tend to be very style conscious, so don’t be tempted to dress down during anything which approaches a business setting.

On the subject of entertaining, don’t forget that the Spanish tend to eat very late, so you may want to pop out for some tapas and a drink during the early evening, just to keep you going. There are tapas bars all over town, many of them very popular with locals for after-work drinks and snacks.  

If you do tire of Barcelona, unlikely though this is, there are plenty of options within easy reach of the city, one of which is to hit the beach at the resort of Sitges, a kind of city by the sea, where there’s a great buzz, particularly in the summer months.

Alternatively if you prefer some peace and quiet away from the hustle and bustle of the city head for one of the many quaint little villages to be found in the nearby countryside.

There’s a good selection of flights between the UK and Barcelona with British Airways, easyJet, Ryanair and Spanish airline Vueling all operating on the routes. BTN’s Editor-in-Chief recently flew on easyJet from Luton to Barcelona’s excellent Terminal 2 and quickly (20mins) transferred to the equally fine Terminal E at the cruise port.

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