If you’re planning a sixth form, college or university trip to Barcelona and want to blend in with the locals, here are a few things you need to know.
When to visit - June to August is peak tourist season, when the high temperatures draw travellers and holidaymakers to the city. For a slightly quieter trip, try visiting Barcelona in April or September instead, when the days are still warm but the crowds aren’t as heavy.
Getting around - Barcelona has an excellent public transport system, with local buses and a metro system that runs until midnight throughout the week, 2am on Fridays and 24 hours on Saturdays. Taxis can be found at taxi stands, or waved down from the street. Alternatively, Barcelona is an incredibly bike friendly city, so why not hire a bicycle from one of the numerous rental services and explore the city at your own pace.
You don’t need to tip your waiter - You can choose to tip or not in Barcelona in restaurants at your own discretion, it is not expected of you. Generally, locals won’t leave a tip after a meal unless they are feeling very generous.
Beat the ticket queue for La Sagrada Familia – If you want to visit Barcelona’s famous La Sagrada Familia but don’t want to waste time in the ticket lines, look out for a ‘La Caixa’ bank. In these banks you can purchase tickets for La Sagrada Familia directly from the ATM.
Enjoy the free Wi-Fi – Barcelona has been rolling out free city-wide Wi-Fi for some time now, and while it may not be the quickest, it can come in handy when you’re out and about and save you running up huge data roaming charges on your mobile.
Save money on the metro with a T-10 pass – The normal price of a metro ticket in Barcelona is €2, but if you’re planning on travelling by metro a lot, it could be worth buying a T-10 pass. It will cost you €9 but gives you up to 10 trips, saving you over €210.
Five phrases to remember
If you really want to make the most of your trip to Barcelona, you want to be able to speak to some of the locals. Here are five useful phrases that should help you out on your trip.
- Hola, me llamo… – Hello, my name is…
- ¿Cuánto cuesta? – How much does this cost?
- ¿Dónde está el metro? – Where is the metro?
- ¿Habla inglés? – Do you speak English?
- Una cerveza por favor. – One beer, please
Find out more about Barcelona Study Trips
If you’d like to find out more about study tours to Barcelona, get in touch with our team today.