The Rough Guide to Barcelona [Paperback]

Jules Brown (Author)

Book Description

Series: Barcelona (Rough Guides) | Publication Date: May 1, 1999

Contains accounts of Barcelona's architecture and museums and up-to-date reviews of its tapas bars, restaurants, bars and clubs. Details of day trips to Sitges, Tarragona, Montserrat and Girona are given. This book includes accounts of contemporary Spanish and Catalan matters.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Particularly strong on art and architecture. -- Los Angeles Times, USA

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

WHEN TO GO The best times to go to Barcelona are late spring and early autumn, when the weather is still comfortably warm and walking the streets isn’t a chore. In summer, the city can be unbearably hot and humid. August, especially, is a month to be avoided, since the climate is at its most unwelcoming and many shops, bars and restaurants close for the month as local inhabitants head out of the city in droves. It’s worth considering a winter break in the city, as long as you don’t mind the prospect of occasional rain. It’s generally still warm enough to sit out at a café, even in December. Out of the city, the weather varies enormously from region to region. On the coast either side of Barcelona it’s best – naturally enough – in summer, though from June to September tourist resorts like Sitges are packed. Tarragona, too, can be extremely hot and busy in summer, though it’s worth knowing that Girona is considered to have a much more equable summer climate, and escaping from the coast for a few cool days is easy.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Rough Guides; 4th edition (May 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1858284120
• ISBN-13: 978-1858284125
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,078,833 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars TAKE THIS ONE WITH YOU!, April 21, 2001

By 

Julie Withey (North Yorkshire England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rough Guide to Barcelona (Paperback)

Like most other Rough Guides, I found this very reliable. It is not too heavy to carry round ,even on a night looking for good Tapa Bars! The recommendations in eating out proved invaluable and accurate. They are much easier to follow than the LP guide as the different city areas are conveniently headed up.This enables you to wander around an area and stop off at your leisure sampling tapas. A very agreeable night out. Our favourite bar was El Xampanayet (A Cava Bar). The accomodation recommendation we chose proved good and prices were also as quoted. Time spent browsing the net for accomodation was far less productive than a quick read. The colour maps are an improvementon earlier additions, but you are better with a tourist centre map, not because that in the book is inadequate, but it is easy to have a map which slips into your pocket. The tourist info in the guide is good, the style is easy to read and all the city is covered, including days out from barcelona if you feel so inclined. The section on getting around is useful and includes weekly transport tickets etc. Overall excellent value. If you like pictures your better with Eyewitness, but its much heavier to carry, and in Barcelona you'll be doing lots of walking!

4 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Get the Lonely Planet book instead, February 12, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Rough Guide to Barcelona (Paperback)

The maps in this book are completely inadequate. Barcelona is a big complicated city and needs more than Powerpoint-style graphics that pass for maps. Reading a flimsy Spanish map from the tourist office was better. Pictures... virtually non-existent. Construction of book absolutely pales in comparison to a Lonely Planet book. Poor layout. I do not work for Lonely Planet!