The most important word you need to know in Barcelona is siesta, because a solid afternoon nap is the only way to survive this non-stop party city that decided dusk till dawn just wasn’t enough. The architecturally gorgeous coastal destination is a traveler’s paradise; you can tan on hot beaches filled with beautiful people, navigate through two-and-a-half lifetimes worth of bars (yes, that’s statistically accurate), and head to the notoriously hedonistic nightclubs that are packed till sunrise.  

But if it feels like the endless array of party options are missing something, you’re right – it’s missing sports! Which is why a less obvious but just as awesome thing you have to do while in town is go to an FC Barcelona match. The quaking stadium couples one of most fanatic fan-bases with one of the best football teams in the world for a sporting experience unlike any other. With this in mind, make sure to buy tickets in advance for the big game, because below is the ultimate itinerary for a day in Barcelona.

A friend of mine insists that people fall into two categories when travelling: those who go on tours and those who don’t. She vehemently refuses to participate in any kind of organised excursion, claiming that tours only sell you whatever glossy narrative the tourism bureau has approved. This results in spectacular arguments with another friend who loves tours. She feels it’s the best way to get an introduction to a place, a quick feel for what the city is like. She’s even willing to ride the tourist bus, pretty much the worst thing you can tell friend number one.

I take a less radical approach. Not all tours are alike. There are interesting tours and boring tours. Tours that sound like a tourism brochure and tours led by people who really know and love their city. Tours that give you little more than tired feet and tours that leave you feeling like you’ve really gotten an insider peek at a city.

A guest post by the nightlife experts at Party Earth

You took the kids to the National Museum of Art, you made sand castles on the beach, and taste-tested the tapas, but whoever said that just because you’re on vacation with the family, you can’t have a little one-on-one time with the spouse. And with so much of Barcelona’s culture encompassed in its vibrant and diverse nightlife, there’s never been a better excuse to hit the town for a romantic date. So get ready, because we found some cool things to do in Barcelona for a spectacular night unique to this beautiful city.

Call up the babysitter; it’s time to go out.

Getting married is a beautiful thing, but until you can savour its pleasures, you have to get through an organisational odyssey. Planning a wedding is difficult no matter the circumstances, but in my case there’s an additional factor that complicates everything: Diego, my husband-to-be, and I live in Barcelona. Our families live scattered along both sides of the Atlantic. Within a matter of weeks, they’ll all be arriving in town. The first challenge: finding them all a place to stay.

Barcelona has a ton of great hotels, but they don’t provide a lot of flexibility when trying to figure out how five cousins who haven’t seen each other in years and want to spend every second together can be squeezed into the same room. Nor do hotels provide the amount of space that my mother and father need to guarantee that both of them show up alive and physically intact on my wedding day. The solution?

Apartments. They come in different sizes. They provide lots of space. They have kitchens so my aunt who’s always on some kind of elaborately complicated diet can prepare her own food. And I’m sure my future sister and brother-in-law and their three kids will appreciate a home away from home too.

Check out our recommendations for apartment buildings in the area around Las Ramblas and in the Born: Happy Apartments and Borne Deluxe!

The summer lull is over and city life is picking up again. That includes music and lots of it! September gets us off to a good start with four great concerts by renowned as well as lesser known but equally interesting artists. Here's a list of who's playing in September to whet your musical appetite: Jack White, Norah Jones, Lucrecia Dalt and Chrysta Bell.

Plus, visit our calendar for more choice concerts coming up in the next few months: The Jayhawks, Leonard Cohen, Wilco, The Tallest Man on Earth, The Wedding Present, The Wave Pictures & Allo Darlin', Veronica Falls, Will Johnson/Craig Finn/Patterson Hood, Micah P. Hinson, Megafaun, Richard Hawley, The Hives, Scissor Sisters, Bat for Lashes, and Lady Gaga. Summer days may be nearing their end, but musically things are just starting to heat up!

One of the best things about public art is that you often come across it at the most unexpected moments. Getting out of the metro, you suddenly come face to face with a giant, brightly coloured matchbox. Going for a run in the park, you encounter a gigantic elephant standing on its trunk. Driving through town, you spot an enormous shark about to swallow the traffic up ahead. Walking along an otherwise nondescript thoroughfare, you stop to consider a towering ceramic...something. Stepping out of a bar in the city centre, you cross paths with what might be the fattest cat in the world or a smiling crustacean waving its claws in the air. And that's just a little taste of the public art fun to be had in our fair city. Welcome to BCNinternet's little visual tour of these six landmark artworks, created by six very different artists....

Summer isn't just a great season to go to the beach, hang out on café terraces or dance under the stars – it's also a great season to go to the museum and the cool promise of air conditioned rooms isn't the only reason. This summer the city's museums are showing excellent exhibitions, from contemporary video artists at Palau de la Virreina and unusual Ferran Adria-inpired food photography at the Fundació Suñol to art nouveau wineries and fantastical skyscrapers at Caixaforum. Two of the most interesting exhibitions, however, are dedicated to artist Mona Hatoum and the weird dreamworlds of Coney Island, NY.

For many years, La Mostra FIRE!! was more of a quiet, steady stream, reliably putting out an edition of quality cinema dealing with gay and lesbian themes every year. The films were always good, but the festival itself was a low-key affair. With the arrival of its 17th edition just days away, things look very different and Barcelona's gay and lesbian film festival seems more than ready to live up to its name.

A great selection of international films, a short film competition, an inventive promotional campaign and collaborations with other local events in the days leading up to the inauguration have transformed La Mostra FIRE!! into much more than just a showcase of great contemporary cinema.