Loving Barcelona Apartments Merce Festival 23-26 September

As if anyone needs an excuse to go to Barcelona, but if you do, the Merce Festival could be the reason.

Le Merce festival, dating from 1902 is Barcelona's street festival in honour of its patron Our Lady of Mercy. This is the biggest festival of the year, and is a culmination of street party, music, fireworks, and traditions.

There are many highlights, some of which are mentioned below.

The 'Castellers ' are groups of men and women that build human towers, layer by layer to great applause from the crowd. By carefully climbing and balancing they can reach more than 5 levels high of people, with a child as the crowning glory at the top of the castle.

The 'Gigantes' are giant papier mache models of various kings, queens and other noblmen and women that parade the streets accompanied by music. They dance around the streets in a surreal fashion.

The 'Piromusica' is a fantastic show of music, fireworks and The Magic Fountain at Placa d'Espanya. As the music soars, so do the fireworks and the fountains of water.

Apartment accommodation in Barcelona for the Le Merce should be easy to find. There are festivities all over the city, but mostly it is around La Rambla and in the old town, so bear this in mind when thinking about the noise and the people!

For festival apartments in Barcelona take a look at Loving Barcelona Apartments.

Plaça de Catalunya - food, shopping, art and culture in Barcelona's bustling centre

When you arrive in Barcelona for the first time, it’s likely you will find you way to the Placa de Catalunya. This huge square is best known as the centre of Barcelona, and as the point at which the old parts of the city (including the Barri Gotic and Raval) and the new parts of the city (mainly the Eixample) come together.

Placa de Catalunya was part of the urban development of the city of Barcelona which took place from the 1800s. After several false starts, the square was finally laid out in 1929 for the 1929 Universal Exposition. A square of some 50,000 square metres, the Placa de Catalunya of today is lined with seats and filled with ornamental gardens with magnificent water features.

Culturally, Placa de Catalunya is known for its statues and fountains, and its mosaics in the underground tunnels that lead to the Metro. Its sculptures include examples of neo-classicism, the reactionary noucentisme movement and various avante garde movements. Among them are Deesa by Josep Clara and Pastor de Pau by Pablo Gargallo. The remarkable modern sculpture which resembles an upturned staircase is the Francesc Macia monument, in honour of the 122^nd president of Catalonia.

The floor of the square is decorated with coloured tiles, the impact of which can best be seen from above. Take tea in the ninth floor café of the huge Corte Ingles department store to best see it – you will also enjoy some of the best views of the city. The square’s other stores, including Sephora, occupy many of the splendid buildings.

Barcelona’s most famous café, Café Zurich, whose history a haunt of artists and political activists for 100 years, can be found in the square. The square is perennially busy, especially at the weekend, and is a favourite meeting place for locals. It is also known for its flocks of pigeons.

The Placa de Catalunya a meeting place in more ways than one. It joins nine of Barcelona’s most important streets and avenues, including La Rambla and the Passeig de Gracia. Most buses, including the airport, City and open-top tourist buses stop here. Below street level, the Plaça de Catalunya is a main transport hub, connecting three metro lines and a railway line. Taxis are plentiful, and there is also a main tourist information centre.

The Splendour of the Arc de Triomf in Barcelona, Spain

There are many impressive shapes on the Barcelona skyline, and one of the best-loved sits between Passeig Luis Companys and Passeig de Sant Joan. Barcelona's Arc de Triomf was designed by architect Josep Vilaseca i Casanovas. It was built as the entrance gate for the 1888 Universal Exhibition held in Barcelona.

The Arc stands some 30 meters high, and its extraordinary pink colouring comes from its exposed red brickwork. It was built in the Moorish style known as mudéjar. In contrast, white sculptures cover much of the arch. A frieze on the front side by the sculptor Josep Reynes shows the city welcoming visitors, and another on the rear, by Josep Llimona shows the Exhibition’s award ceremony. Other sculptures mark the participation of different countries in the expo, perhaps as a thank-you from Barcelona.

Twelve statues of women represent various aspects of the city, and are said to symbolise fame. At the zenith of the Arc is the coat of arms of Barcelona, and to each side symbols of all the other provinces in Spain.

Passeig de de Sant Joan and Passeig Lluís Companys frame a wide mall which connects the Arc with the Parc de la Ciutadella. As you walk down the Passeig Luis Companys, look out for the impressively ornate Palau de Justicia, which was built in 1908 and designed by Josep Doménech Estapá and Enric Sagnier.

The Parc itself has formal gardens, a zoo, a lake and a museum, and is one of the most favoured recreational spaces among the citizens of Barcelona. The Barcelona legislature is also located in the Parc de Ciutadella.

The zoo is a tourist favourite, especially among families, with a picnic area, ponies, electric cars and a mini train, in addition to the usual restaurant facilities and tourist shop.

Paths wind throughout the park, meandering to the south end where the park leads on to Barceloneta, the beach and the Port.

Enjoying Gaudi Architecture from your Barcelona Apartment

Barcelona is full of astounding architecture, and is a unique European city in this respect. What gives architecture in Barcelona it's unique organic style is Gaudi.

Born near Reus in Catalonia, Spain, as a young boy his frail health isolated him from his peers. During his time alone he developed a fascination for, and appreciation of, nature, which would highly influence his architectural style.

He studied in Barcelona, where upon being awarded the title of Architect, his professor commented "Who knows if we have given this diploma to a nut or to a genius. Time will tell."

Many of Gaudi's major works were sponsored by his patron, a Barcelona industrialist who respected the work of Guell and shared his devout Catholicism.

In Gaudi's later years Gaudi became reclusive, living in the crypt of his still unfinished but often considered his greatest work, La Sagarad Familia church. In 1926, on the 7th of June a tram knocked him over, but wearing only rags, with no money in his pockets, he was taken to a poor people's hospital where he died a few days later.

The Gaudi architecture that you must see when visiting Barcelona is listed below:

• Sagrada Familia. The Roman Catholic church, The Church of the Holy Family was Gaudi's obsession. Construction started in 1882 and still under cntruction today, expected completion is 2026, although contruction has accelerated in the last decade.
  

The Stunning Magic Fountain at Placa de Espanya in Barcelona, Spain

The Magic Fountain at Placa de Espanya in Barcelona is a fantastic spectacle to behold. The combination of lights, water fountains and music produces a magical performance, created over 80 years ago for the Great Universal Exhibition in 1929.

Designed by Carles Buigas and built by nearly 3000 workers in a year, this was a wonderful sight when it gave its first performance, and still is today.

The fountains perform throughout the year, with more shows in the summer months, and is free to watch anywhere in Placa de Espanya or along Avinguda Maria Cristina leading up to the Palau Nacional.

Barcelona Apartments close to The Magic Fountain

Loving Barcelona Apartments has several apartments close by, also conveniently located to the Fira for conference exhibitions such as the mobile phone industries 3G fair.


The Fuentes Barcelona apartment is decorated beautifully and has 3 bedrooms, which can sleep up to 6 people comfortably. There is air-conditioning and fast internet for free. Only a few blocks from the The Magic Fountain and the buzzing area around Placa de Espanya, it's a fabulous location to spend your stay in a Barcelona apartment.



The Parallel Barcelona apartment is ideal for a couple or small family, being a beautifully refurbished 1 bedroom apartment justa short walk away from The Magic Fountain and the Fira. Offering air-conditioning and fast free internet this is a comfortable apartment. Also, it is not far from La Rambla which is Barcelona's main pedestrian boulevard.

Staying near to La Sagrada Familia in a Barcelona Apartment.

When visitors to a Barcelona apartment are choosing an area to stay in, they often will decide to stay in a Barcelona apartment anywhere close to La Rambla, however just a 20 minute walk from there you will find La Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's iconic church and a residential area with hidden authentic Barcelona gems.

The area Sagrada Familia lies in the Barcelona district of Eixample. Constructed in the late 1800's and early 1900's to expand the city outside of the old medieval area, it is laid out in a grid of octagonal block with beautiful mansion blocks, many in the Gaudi-esque style.

The are referred to as Sagrada Familia is about a 20 minute walk to the Placa de Catalunya, considered to be the centre of Barcelona, or just a few stops on the Metro.

At first glance the area looks purely residential but it does have some great areas of restaurants and bars that are pretty much tourist free. Avinguda de Gaudi is a pedastrianised street, leading diagionally away from the small park in front of the cathedral. It has a very popular pizza restaurant, trendy cocktail bars and the more traditionanal catalan food restaurants. It's a lively and buzzy area popular with all age ranges.

When staying in a self-catering Barcelona apartment in this area you can buy fresh food from the Mercat Sagrada Familia which is brimming with healthy local produce, including an array of locally caught fresh fish.

Barcelona Apartments in the Area Sagrada Familia
Loving Barcelona Apartments offers some beautiful apartments of a luxury standard in the area around SagradaFamilia, which is a great base for any trip to Barcelona. The Sagrada building has 12 luxury apartments, one with an outside terrace. The apartments are spaciaous and modern in design and ideal for larger family groups that need to sptread over several apartments. The Rossellon building has 11 Barcelona apartments all spacious and bright, a recent addition to Loving Barcelona Apartments portfolio, these are offered at a great value price. Also in this area is the Gaudi Barcelona apartment, a spacious 3 bedroom apartment, with a great balcony terrace for watching the world go by in the streets below.

Planning Accommodation for a Stag or Hen in Barcelona

So are you are best man or chief bridesmaid lumbered with organising a Stag or Hen trip to Barcelona? Trying to find Barcelona accommodation suitable and flexible for Stag or Hen big groups?
Before you even think of where to go and what to do you need to find the best Barcelona accommodation for your Stag or Hen.
Things to consider are:

• You need somewhere that is central to the bars, restaurants and places you will want to go, typically around the La Rambla or El Borne area.


• You need to accommodate all the people in your Stag or Hen group.


• You need all the apartments in one building so you are not spread out around the city.


• You need to think about whether you want to make it as cheap as possible by sharing double beds and using sofa-beds in lounges, or indulging a little by not sharing and not using sofa beds.


• You need to think about your budget, such as a simple open plan studio that will sleep 5, or a luxuriously furnished 4 bedroom with a terrace.


• You need a degree of flexibility as inevitably people will drop out of or be added to your Stag or Hen big group.

Well we can help solve your problems with our Barcelona Accommodation Big Group Booking Tool. It's a unique tool designed to solve all of your Barcelona Stag Accommodation and Barcelona Hen Accommodation problems.

Simply enter your dates, the number of nights you wish to stay, and the total number fo people in your big group and we will show you over 25 buildings in central Barcelona where we have many apartments in the same building, and how much it will cost to accommodate you all, and the price per person per night. You can even configure your trip according to whether you want to share double beds (the Hens normally do, the Stags normally a little reluctant!) and whether you want to sleep on sofa beds or not (the Stags normally do, the Hens normally a little reluctant!)

You can then further allocate or deallocate people into or out of your Stag or Hen accommodation apartments according to who may want to be with whom, or who is best kept apart.

For each building you can click on the apartment names to see photos, honest descriptions, fearures and even guest ratings and comments about each apartment, as well as a Google map to locate it.

So once you have a great selection you then may need everyone to help choose the ones that you want, and agree to the price of your Stag or Hen Barcelona accommodation. Well that is easy too. Simply add the apartments you are interested in into your 'My List' then when they are all in your 'My List' simpy enter your email and your fellow Stags or Hens email addresses and the list will automatically be sent to them for them to check out the details.

Narrowed it down but still not ready to commit? No problem, we can reserve the Stag or Hen Barcelona Accommodation for you without obligation until midnight the next day, during that time you can sort out getting payments for deposits from everyone, but don't worry you only need to pay the balance on arrival.

When everyone is happy with your selection simply book online, or call us and we will take your booking by phone. If you need any further information or advice in Stag or Hen Accommodation in Barcelona you can simply call us and our experts will answer all your questions, as we have all been there and done it ourselves!