Barcelona blog

Briefly

• Free things to in Barcelona
  

  Timeout.cat have put together a useful list of free things to do in Barcelona. Free theatre, festival, museums, concerts, dancing, even food. More here

• Best budget hotels in Barcelona
  

  Barcelona isn't as cheap as it used to be and accommodationcan sometimes work out quite pricey. The Guardian has compiled a list of its best budget hotels in Barcelona. All for under €100. Number 1, The Hotel España, a stunning jewel of Catalan Modernism, just around the corner from La Rambla. More here

• The decline of Les Rambles
  

  

  Excellent article from the Guardian on the fall from grace of what was once Barcelona's best loved street. "Drunken tourists, desperate prostitutes and petty crooks have rendered it charmless, tawdry and dangerous."

  The Guardian

  The article also quotes La Vanguardia in a similar tone "A dark boulevard where drunks impose their style, where wallets disappear and there are fights and muggings," it reported. "The sensation is of chaos, of a lost city. Barcelonans are turning their backs on it."

  History of Les Rambles

• Barcelona fishing industry dying
  

  

  Excellent article from the Metropolitan on the catastrophic decline of Barcelona's and Badalona's once thriving fishing industry as a result of overfishing, effluent plastic and heavy metal pollution.

  Read In Barcelona Metropolitan

  “Fifteen years ago, there were 80 fishing boats in the Badalona fleet,” said Ramón Costa. “Five years ago, there were 40. Last year there were 15. Now, the fleet is down to only eight boats. Simply put, there aren’t enough fish left.”

• Birding pals in Barcelona
  

  The Birdingpal website gives birders the opportinity to travellers to go out with local birders. Just look for a birder in Barcelona and email them and I presume share any transport costs.

  Birdingpal.org
  Description of day out
  Birds of Barcelona (IbNat)