Spanish courses Barcelona: The Alhambra-Instituto-Barcelona offers a wide range of different courses, our language school in Barcelona is situated in the center of the town (Eixample).

In a typical Spanish atmosphere you will be greeted by our team of qualified and experienced spanish teachers who all share one great passion: their love for Spain and the Spanish language. Born out of the enthusiasm for teaching Spanish to people from different countries we provide lessons in a familiar and friendly atmosphere, which we consider as very important for efficient learning. We have as students people with many different activities. As well as corporate clients we have many individual students forming cosmopolitan groups.

Barcelona has a highly efficient and affordable urban transport system. There are 4 main ways to get around the city: by metro, bus, FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya) and taxi.

The TMB (Transports Metrolpolitans de Barcelona, www.tmb.net) runs all of these forms of Barcelona transport, and in addition offers Tourism Transportation options.

Buses

During the day
The Public Bus System in Barcelona is very good; there are a lot of buses covering all parts of Barcelona. The day-buses circulate from 5 am to 10 pm.

During the night
The night buses start from 10 pmand run until 5 am , they leave at Plaça Catalunya. You can easily recognise them by the "N" (for Nit-bus) on the bus.

Taxis

Taxis in Barcelona are readily available, travel in the bus lanes, and are not too expensive. A trip within the city center usually costs less than €7. If you don't mind spending the money, taxis are the easiest form of Barcelona transport, especially if you're there for a short period of time.

You can easily indentify Barcelona cabs: black or yellow. A green light on top means that the cab is free.

All cabs are metered with additional charges from the airport and for baggage, which you can find detailed on the right rear passenger window. If you have troubling hailing a taxi, here are some numbers you can call:
93 225 00 00
93 300 11 00
93 303 30 33
93 322 22 22

Ahhh... el mar Mediterráneo. In the constant polemic - which is better, Madrid or Barcelona? - this is a category that gives Barcelona a huge boost. Land-locked Madrid can be pretty stifling, but Barcelona? Never. You've got the cool seaside breeze, 5 km of beaches in the city center, plus all the elements of Mediterranean culture that make life a pleasure on a daily basis. Good food, good company, good weather... in short, the good life.

About Barcelona's Beaches

Barcelona's inner city coastline contains a surprisingly clean series of urban beaches. Thanks to the Olympic Games in 1992 and local incentives to clean the coastal area, visitors as well as locals can now relax, swim and enjoy the sun at any one of 6 beaches in Barcelona. All of them were cleaned up during the 1990s and the whole area is still undergoing continuous changes to become even more attractive and enjoyable. This is part of an urban development program to improve the Barcelona seaside for tourists and residents.

All government-run Barcelona beaches dispose of free showers and toilets. Additionally, there is a life guard stand every few meters to ensure your safety.

Relax on One of Barcelona Spain Beaches

This page contains pictures & information on the golden sandy Barcelona Spain beaches. Barcelona offers you 4.2 km of golden sandy beaches only 10 mins from the city centre.

There are 4 main beach areas. Below is a summary of these in order of closeness to the city centre:

1)Barceloneta Beach

Metro stop "Barceloneta"
(Yellow Line, L4) Turn right on leaving the metro and cross the main roads, continue walking straight for about 10 mins. Barceloneta is the first of the Barcelona Spain beaches and can therefore get quite busy during the summer months.

The picture of Barceloneta beach above was taken on 3rd of October.. and the sun is still shining! But it's not always like this. Some days can be overcast or even rainy -it's the luck of the draw.

There are plenty of things to do on the beach besides swim. Windsurfing and kite surfing are popular. You can also enjoy a refreshing drink from one of the many beach huts.

Or, if you're in need of a rest, just lie down and soak up the warmth of the Spanish sun with a good book.

In Barcelona you are never far away from some interesting architecture.. not even on the beach! But the designer of this building may have had a few too many drinks when he was drawing up his designs!

The quickest way to get to Barceloneta beach is to catch the yellow line metro and get off at the Barceloneta stop.

Alternatively you can walk to Barceloneta from the city centre. It will take you about 20 mins from the end of La Rambla.

If you choose to walk there are some great views en-route. You'll see the "Monument a Colom" a memorial to the great explorer Christopher Columbus. A little further along is the Port de Barcelona, a picturesque port with a beautiful view of the sea and marina.

During peak season if you would like a little more space to relax it's worth considering going to one of the other beaches listed below.

Click here to see a photo guide of Barceloneta - the busiest and most popular of the Barcelona Spain beaches

2) Icaria Beach

Metro stop "Ciutadella Vila Olimpica" (Yellow Line, L4). Turn right on exiting the metro and walk towards the twin towers. 10 mins walk from metro. Click here to see a photo guide of Icaria Beach

Barcelona Beach Accommodation

Beach front hotel accommodation is expensive as this is premium rate territory and there are a lot of other businesses all competing for the space. However you have a few options to consider:

1) Try booking an apartment rental instead of hotel accommodation. You will find that the rates are lower than those for a hotel in the same location and you will have all the modern conveniences of home Click here to read our holiday apartment rental guide.

2) One moderately priced hotel that is close to the beach but about 20 mins by metro ride to the centre of Barcelona is the AC front Maritim. See the hotel review by a site visitor by clicking the link below:

Click here for a site visitor review of Ac Front Maritim Barcelona Beach Hotel

3) You can stay in top first 5 star hotel - Hotel Arts Barcelona

Click here for our review of Barcelona Arts hotel Barcelona sea front hotel

4) Take a look at our Barcelona Beach hotel Reviews page with links to Hotels by the beach in Barcelona

3) Mar Bella Beach (Marbella Beach) : (Nudist beach)

Metro stop "Poblenou" (Yellow Line, L4). You'll have a 20 min walk from Poblenou metro station to Bella Beach. Although this is unofficially a nudist beach there are many people that go here that are not nude. In fact Spanish law says that it is permissible to be nude anywhere as long as it does not cause a disturbance. But this is not recommended. So there is no such thing as an official nudist beach in Spain only one's where people unofficially elect as nudist.

Take a map with you as there are no signs to Mar Bella beach from the metro.

4) Sitges Beaches

This beach is outside Barcelona and you'll need to catch a train from Sants station - journey time approximate 30 mins.