Feature: Barcelona beckons

Welcome to Catalonia

With its natural beauty, rich architectural heritage and diverse culture, the Catalunya region is a magnet for tourists heading to Spain. By Sarmad Qazi in Barcelona

“Salut and una forta abracada” (cheers and a big hug) waved the Catalan Tourist Board goodbye at us at the end of a four-day tour of the region. The charm became humanly sincere, as 35-year-old Queralt Amella in true sense of Catalonian hospitality repeated the same message to each of the six journalists and editors from Qatar and the region, individually.

This was refreshing, considering the Mediterranean-bordering Catalonia with a history of over a thousand years and its own culture and language, already receives a whopping number of tourists a year; 27mn, of which more than half come from outside Spain.

There are a number of reasons that explain the massive influx: Catalonia offers a great scenic variety throughout its 32,000sq km territory in north-eastern Spain, whether it’s the Catalan Pyrenees with their 3,000m peaks or Val d’Aran, a valley draining into the Atlantic Ocean where locals have preserved their own culture and language (Aranese), or 580km of Mediterranean coastline covering Costa Brava, Terres de l’Ebre and Barcelona.

Further, in many fine cities steeped in character around region, a rich architectural heritage has preserved with magnificent historic buildings such as Lleida, Girona, Tarragona, Tortosa, and Vic.

Barcelona alone, as the region’s capital, beckons with life. The city, which gained fame as the host of the 1992 Olympics, offers a lively cultural life and good shopping. It also helps that it is the most important port on the Mediterranean. Beyond its museums, with the National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC) and the Picaso Museum at the forefront, there is the heritage bequeathed by Antoni Gaudí and Modernist architecture with nine World Heritage buildings.

Noteworthy are also shopping and facilities, restaurants, markets like the Boqueria on the popular Rambla Street (Rambla comes from Arabic word for sand: Ramal), without forgetting the Barri Gòtic, bearing witness to the city’s medieval past, or the charm of the different quarters with their traditional festivals.

Barcelona is also fully equipped to host congresses and conventions. Professional tourism is consolidated, with major events taking place such as the Mobile World Congress — the world’s largest mobile phone trade fair, or EIBTM, the planet’s biggest show in the convention branch, which will continue to be held there until 2013.

According to city officials, cruise tourism has equally increased considerably in recent years following improvement works in the port, making it the biggest cruise port in Europe and the fifth in the world.

The opening of Barcelona’s beachfront to the sea following the 1992 Olympic Games has added on attraction for all visitors to the city as the cultural off er is now joined by a large, well-preserved beach (approximately 4.5km) in the old Barceloneta seamen’s quarter with its numerous indoor and outdoor restaurants where fish and seafood can be enjoyed.

A good way to discover this seafront is with “Barcelona Walks Marina”, a guided walking tour that includes a ride on the Golondrinas, the popular boats sailing along the Barcelona shore.

Culture buffs can discover both the gothic and modernist Barcelona, the melancholic world of Pablo Picasso, the luminosity of Joan Miró, the surrealism of Salvador Dalí, and the matter painting of Tapies in and around Barcelona, all in a day.

Traveling has been made easy through a host of options; visitors can use the Barcelona Bus Turístic that covers the most significant places in the city. This is the city’s official sightseeing bus and is a Ho-Ho (Hop on, Hop Off ), where visitors can get on and off as many times, and runs daily. For an adult, the ticket is 22 euros while children between 4-12 pay 14 euros and those below that age enter free.

For those with a more adventurous streak, Bike Tours Barcelona & Bike Rentals provides cycles for 5 euros an hour to 15 euros for a full day.

For awe-inspiring view of the entire city, the Montjuïc and Tibidabo hills on two opposite sides of the city are vantage points overlooking Barcelona and its port, including the stunning new W Barcelona hotel. Featuring 473 guest rooms, including 67 suites, two WOW suites and one Extreme WOW suite, W Barcelona was designed by world-renowned Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill.

Situated at Nova Bocana, where the glamorous Barceloneta beach boardwalk commences, the hotel has a commanding presence against city’s magnificent skyline and has already made its mark as a landmark in an ambitious urban renewal plan for Barcelona’s coastline.

During the visit, the 26-storey, sail-shaped hotel was often referred to us as Barcelona’s own Burj Dubai in reference to the similarity of design.

Away from Barcelona’s hustle and bustle, visitors can head to the Santa Maria de Montserrat on top of the Montserrat hill. The rewarding journey takes about an hour and a half.

The visit to the region cannot be complete without a trip to Dali Museum at Figueres and the magical medieval town of Girona. The trips usually include a sure insight into the sedate life of the countryside, also.

On the way there, visitors can experience tax-free (for non-EU residents) shopping at La Roca Village Outlet Shopping complex where more than 100 boutiques offer prices reduced by up to 60%, including such industry leaders as Calvin Klein, Burberry, Cacharel, Diesel, and Escada to name a few. This is about an hour away from Barcelona.

The best time to be in Barcelona is anytime of the year — or when one needs to get a little inspiration in life.

Getting there is easy. Domestically, the area can be reached via the sea port, airport, highway or through high-speed train, by state-run Renfe. As of 2010, Renfe boasts the most modern train fleet in the entire Europe.

Internationally, the best way to get to Barcelona — and onwards to scores of destination — is in style via a five-star airline, Qatar Airways.

Based in Qatar — the world’s fastest growing airline launched the route earlier in June as its 90th destination.

It also recently marked its 5th anniversary of flying to capital Madrid, and now runs 14 flights a week between Spain and Qatar and further onto a host of connecting international cities.