Barcelona

Barcelona is a wonderful city at any time of the year. One of the attractions that the capital of Catalonia offers the visitors is its mild climate, far from the cold winters that you can find in cities like Madrid or the high summer temperatures in the interior of Andalusia. Moreover spring and autumn can be especially attractive for visitors and specifically May, June, September and October, when Barcelona looks very attractive and lively. These months usually offer another comparative advantage: they are not as expensive as the months of midsummer -July and August-, when the coast attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists eager for the beach, mostly from other European countries, and hotel prices skyrocket.

Barcelona is also a city of congresses and events, some of them of global scope (such as the Mobile World Congress, which is held in February). Unless you are going to attend some of these events and take the opportunity to explore and enjoy the city, avoid them: prices dramatically increase and it is no easy to find accommodation, tickets for visiting monuments, etc.

Barcelona is one of the best connected cities in Europe. The good network of roads and highways will allow you to easily connect with other Catalan and Spanish destinations (along the Mediterranean coast or through the interior of the Iberian Peninsula) and France.

Its airport, called Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat, is located 16 kilometers from the city. It has direct flights to the main European destinations, to 8 countries in America and to UAE, Qatar, Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, Pakistan, Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal, Gambia, China and Singapore.

As for access via train, high-speed connections with Paris, Madrid, Valencia and more than 30 destinations throughout Spain (including the main Andalusian capitals) are especially convenient. In addition, the wide network of regional railways allows you to move easily within Catalonia.

Barcelona has become the main cruise port in the Mediterranean. It boats seven terminals for cruise ships and four for ferries. These offer connections with the Balearic Islands and with the main Mediterranean ports.

Barcelona is a wonderful city that you won't want to leave. However, it is also a great platform from which you can explore other interesting spots, such as the beautiful towns of the Costa Daurada and the Costa Brava, the medieval city of Girona, enjoy the forests, lakes and snow (in the winter months!) of the Pyrenees... Even there, in these beautiful mountains, explore a small and attractive independent country: Andorra.

If you have enough time and you miss some Islamic heritage, you can visit Aragon, a contiguous region, whose capital is Zaragoza. You can get there by high-speed train in 1h.40m.

In Barcelona there are several mosques and small oratories. One of the most extensive and interesting -it is also a center that promotes cultural activities- is the Centre Cultural Islamic Català. Address: Rafael de Capdevilla, 1-3. Phone: (+34) 932 478 727.