ANDORRA - VALLNORD: ARINSAL AND ARCALIS

In Andorra there are mainly two large ski domains, which are actually the sum of several ski resorts that have finished growing up linking facilities to form two large areas: Grandvalira and Vallnord.

Recently I spent a weekend in Andorra la Vella and I enjoyed two sunny days. We were truly lucky because these days were lovely while in the previous weekends the weather was cloudy and snowy. The first day we went to Arinsal and the second one we skied in Arcalís.

Vallnord Arinsal

Reaching Arinsal Ski Resort in Andorra is easy because you can drive to the village of Arinsal and park next to cablecar. With the cablecar in 5 minutes you are in the Arinsal Ski Resort.

For me, a beginner in ski, the drawback of Arinsal is that there are few green slopes and these are a bit narrow to go staggering and turn easily.

Ready to start our ski weekend in Andorra Vallnord

On saturday we skied in Arinsal ski resort, belonging to Andorra Vallnord

As you can see the day in Andorra Vallnord Arinsal was lovely

Panoramix restaurant in Arinsal ski resort in Andorra

 Fantastic view from Panoramix restaurant in Arinsal ski resort in Andorra

Inside the restaurant of Arinsal ski resort in Andorra Vallnord

Vallnord Arcalís

In the ski resort of Arcalís I found a fantastic green slope for me wide a moderate slope. Here there is Megaverda slope too, a really long green slope.

However, to reach the area of beginners in Arcalís we have to take a free shuttle bus (every fifteen minutes) from the parking.

Another drawback is that Arcalís is not accessible by cable car, so you have to drive 15 km from La Massana.

On sunday we went to Arcalís ski resort and it was a lovely day too

Arcalís ski resort in Andorra Vallnord

A break in the restaurant of Arcalís in Andorra Vallnord

A last picture before going to the restaurant of Arcalís ski resort in Andorra

Other ski resorts in Andorra where you can ski or enjoy a snowshoes activity are:

• Grandvalira (Pas de la Casa - Grau Roig) (www.grandvalira.com)
• Vallnord (Pal - Arinsal - Arcalis) (www.vallnord.com)
• Naturlandia (www.naturlandia.ad)

You can find more pictures of Andorra clicking on the following links:

• Andorra and La Seu d'Urgell
• Andorra Grandvalira Grau Roi Ski Resort
• Andorra Vallnord Arinsal and Pal Ski Resorts

Finally, if you liked these landscapes, clicking on the next links you will find links to other fantastic places in the Pyrenees of Catalonia and France, like:

- Catalonia:

• Aigüestortes National Park and La Vall de Boí
• Aigüestortes and Llac de Sant Maurici National Park
• Vall de Núria and  Santuari de Núria
• Castellar de N'Hug and Fonts del Llobregat
• Vall de Camprodon
• Camprodon, Ripoll and Setcases
• Medieval village of Beget
• Olot and Vall de'n Bas
• Port del Comte
• Puigcerdà

- France:

• Medieval village of Collioure
• Carcassonne
• Canal du Midi and Pays Cathare
• Gorges de la Fou and Coustouges
• Villefranche de Conflent

BARCELONA: LA RAMBLA

La Rambla is one of the most lively and nice places to walk along in Barcelona. Walking along this boulevard is the best way to go from Plaça Catalunya to the Port Vell and the beach.

Artists, interesting buildings, florist's and kiosks give a colourful and bright look to this boulevard, which is also a perfect starting poing to discover two beautiful medieval districts in Barcelona: the Gothic Quarter and El Raval.

Star sights along La Rambla:

• Plaça Catalunya
• Canaletes Fountain
• Liceu Grand Theatre
• Mercat de la Boqueria
• Pla de L'Os
• La Plaça Reial (Royal Square)
• Palau Güell designed by Antoni Gaudí
• Monument to Columbus

Plaça Catalunya

Red flowers in Plaça Catalunya in Barcelona

Plaça Catalunya in Barcelona is usually crowded

Canaletes Fountain

Next to Canaletes fountain supporters of FC Barcelona celebrate the victories of their team

La Rambla

La Rambla is a really lively boulevard in Barcelona. There is always a lot of people walking along

There are some florist's along La Rambla in Barcelona

Tourists near a florist's in La Rambla

Many artists amuse the tourists along La Rambla in Barcelona

As well as florist's and artists, there are also many newspaper kiosks and drinks and ice-cream stands

Liceu Grand Theatre

Next to La Rambla is El Liceu, the most important theatre in Barcelona

Main staircase of Liceu theatre in Barcelona

Mercat de la Boqueria (Boqueria Market)

Main entrance to La Boqueria in Barcelona

Modernist detail of La Boqueria in Barcelona

Fresh fruit in La Boqueria

These peaches have a delicious look

Pla de L'Os

Work of Art of Joan Mirò on La Rambla in Barcelona

La Plaça Reial

Next to La Rambla is the Plaça Reial (Royal Square), a really lively place daylight and at night

A detail of the fountain in the middle of Royal Square

Palau Güell

Dome of the central hall of El Palau Güell in Barcelona

Coming back to La Rambla

La Rambla near the marina of Barcelona

Monument to Columbus at the end of La Rambla. The marina begins there

Below you have some fashion stores you can find in La Rambla:

• Casas Internacional (La Rambla, 125) 
• Desigual (La Rambla, 136 and 140) 
• Felgar (La Rambla, 132)
• Casa Gimeno (La Rambla, 100)

Beside La Rambla, in the old city of Barcelona you can also visit other beautiful places:

• Cathedral of Barcelona 
• Church of Santa Maria del Mar
• Plaça del Pi and Santa Maria del Pi
• Plaça del Rei
• Sant Felip Neri Square and Church
• Plaça de Sant Just and Sant Just i Pastor church
• Barcino Roman City
• Santa Anna Church

• El Portal de L'Angel (Shopping street)
• Call Jueu (Jewish Quarter)
• Born-La Ribera district
• Sant Pere de les Puelles church
• Carrer Petritxol

Finally, clicking on the next link you will find links to more beautiful and interesting places of Barcelona.

BARCELONA - GAUDI: PABELLONS GÜELL

Fantasy and technical innovation come together in the former gatehouses of the Güell Estate, on Barcelona’s Avinguda Pedralbes. The beauty and colour of the buildings don’t eclipse the main protagonist of the ensemble: the giant mythological dragon from the Garden of the Hesperides, a synthesis of Gaudí’s symbolism and craftsmanship.

Eusebi Güell’s desire to extend his family’s holiday home in Barcelona resulted in Antoni Gaudí’s first commission from the man who would become his main patron. Gaudí worked on the project from 1884 to 1887, relandscaping the garden and building the two gatehouses, which were intended to be the caretaker’s house and the stables.

Pabellons Güell designed by Antoni Gaudí in Barcelona

Beautiful wrought-iron gate in the shape of a dragon of Pabellons Güell in Barcelona

Mithological dragon in Pabellons Güell designed by Antoni Gaudí

Pabellons Güell designed by Antoni Gaudí in Barcelona

Güell Estate’s gatehouses have a stone base and brick parabolic arches with bright ceramic decorations in geometric shapes. 

I would like to give you some useful informatión in case you want to visit this building designed by Gaudí:

- Address: Avinguda Pedralbes, 7, Barcelona

- Phone: 933 177 652 / 934 020 243

- Guided Visits: 932 562 504

- Web site: www.rutadelmodernisme.com

- E-mail: cultura-impuqv@bcn.cat

- How to get there:

• Metro L3, stop Palau Reial
• Bus 7, 33, 63, 67, 74, 75 and 78
• Tram T1, T2 and T3, stop Palau Reial
• Barcelona Bus Turístic, stop Palau Reial.

Accessible to people with reduced mobility

Clicking on the next links you will find more pictures of the most important buildings designed by Antoni Gaudí:

• Sagrada Familia
• Park Güell
• Casa Vicens
• Casa Milà (also known as La Pedrera)
• Casa Batlló
• Palau Güell
• Col·legi de les Teresianes
• Casa Calvet
• Torre Bellesguard and Viaduct
• Crypt of the church of Colonia Güell
• El Capricho (built in Comillas, a lovely village in Cantabria)

Besides, other modernist buildings you can visit in Barcelona are:

• Hospital de Sant Pau
• Palau de la Música Catalana
• La Boqueria
• Casa Fuster
• Casa Terrades or "Casa de les Punxes"
• Casa Thomas
• Casa Amatller
• Casa Lleó i Morera
• Casa Martí (Restaurant els Quatre Gats)

Finally, clicking on the next link you will find more links to other beautiful places in Barcelona, among them, more fantastic modernist masterpieces you can see along the Modernist Route.

BARCELONA GAUDI: CASA CALVET

The Casa Calvet de Barcelona (1899) is one of Antoni Gaudí’s earliest buildings and was built by Antoni Gaudí for the textile manufacturer Pere Màrtir Calvet, who set up his business premises on the ground floor and in the basement, and used the upper floors as his private residence. 

The Casa Calvet pays tribute to the baroque Catalan style and was built from stone quarried on Montjuïc, and features splendid wrought ironwork on the balconies. The hall and ground floor are particularly interesting and the latter now houses a restaurant, where you can see the typical Catalan ceiling, granite Solomonic columns and arches with their vine-shaped reliefs.

Casa Calvet designed by Antoni Gaudí in Barcelona

Casa Calvet contains modernist elements, such as the façade which terminates in a curve and the attic balconies, which look like something from a fairy tale

The ground floor of Casa Calvet in Barcelona now houses a restaurant. Columns in the shape of cotton bobbins flank the entrance

Another view of the façade of Casa Calvet, designed by Antoni Gaudí in Barcelona

Balconies of Casa Calvet in Barcelona

Casa Calvet in Barcelona features splendid wrought ironwork on the balconies

Another balcony of Casa Calvet in Barcelona

I would like to give you some useful informatión in case you want to visit this building designed by Gaudí:


- Address: Casp, 48, Barcelona

- How to get there:

• Metro L1 and L4, stop Urquinaona
• Bus 39, 45, 47 and 62

Clicking on the next links you will find more pictures of the most important buildings designed by Antoni Gaudí:

• Sagrada Familia
• Park Güell
• Casa Vicens
• Casa Milà (also known as La Pedrera)
• Casa Batlló
• Palau Güell
• Col·legi de les Teresianes
• Torre Bellesguard and Viaduct
• Pabellons Güell
• Crypt of the church of Colonia Güell
• El Capricho (built in Comillas, a lovely village in Cantabria)

Other fantastic modernist buildings in Barcelona are:

• Hospital de Sant Pau
• Palau de la Música Catalana

Finally, clicking on the next link you will find more links to other beautiful places in Barcelona, among them, more fantastic modernist masterpieces you can see along the Modernist Route.

BARCELONA GAUDI: COL·LEGI DE LES TERESIANES

The elegant building of Col·legi de les Teresianes, which looks like an unassailable fortress, is the amazing convent school designed by the brilliant architect Antoni Gaudí for a community of nuns from the Order of Saint Teresa of Jesus. This imposing building stands behind railings and among gardens, and has been used as a school ever since it opened.

Unlike his other projects, Gaudí had to work with a limited budget and this explains the use of austere materials, such as brick and reconstituted stone, or the plaster walls inside. However, Gaudí’s genius is evident in the structural system comprising two large skylights and tall, slender parabolic arches which allow natural light to flood the interior hallways.

The religious symbology of Col·legi de les Teresianes is completed by the turrets at either end of the building, which are surmounted by a four-armed cross.

This four-armed cross can be also seen in Casa Batlló and Casa Bellesguard. Both buildings were designed by Antoni Gaudí too

The façade of Col·legi de les Teresianes, which also features parabolic arches around the windows, is surmounted by an unusual series of merlons crowned by Saint Teresa’s doctoral biretta

Col·legi de les Teresianes in Barcelona was designed by Antoni Gaudí

Slender parabolic arches of Col·legi de les Teresianes allow natural light to flood the interior hallways

I would like to give you some useful informatión in case you want to visit this building designed by Gaudí:

- Address: Ganduxer, 85-105, Barcelona

- Phone and Guided Visits: 932 123 354
- How to get there:

• Bus 14, 16, 70, 72 and 74
• FGC, stop Tres Torres.

Clicking on the next links you will find more pictures of the most important buildings designed by Antoni Gaudí:

• Sagrada Familia
• Park Güell
• Casa Vicens
• Casa Milà (also known as La Pedrera)
• Casa Batlló
• Palau Güell
• Casa Calvet
• Torre Bellesguard and Viaduct
• Pabellons Güell
• Crypt of the church of Colonia Güell
• El Capricho (built in Comillas, a lovely village in Cantabria)

Other fantastic modernist buildings in Barcelona are:

• Hospital de Sant Pau
• Palau de la Música Catalana

Finally, clicking on the next link you will find more links to other beautiful places in Barcelona, among them, more fantastic modernist masterpieces you can see along the Modernist Route.

SHOPPING IN BARCELONA: LAS ARENAS MALL

After having talked about El Portal de l'Angel, one of the main shopping streets in Barcelona together with El Passeig de Gràcia and La Diagonal, today I would like to speak about a new shopping center in Barcelona: Las Arenas.

Located next to La Plaça de Espanya and near the Montjuïc Magic Fountain, it opened its doors on 25th march 2011. From that day, many people go to Las Arenas, which was a bullring, for shopping or to enjoy the views of Montjuïc from the dome.

However, as well as shopping, inside the six floors of Las Arenas you can go to the twelve-screen cinema, you can exercise in the fitness center, visit the Museum of Rock or have dinner in one of the many restaurants. If you prefer to eat near the city center, in a previous post I recommended some great restaurants.

I went to Las Arenas on 30th april and the next pictures show what I liked the most of this bullring converted into a shopping center.

Las Arenas Shopping Mall

Las Arenas shopping center, located near Montjuïc, one of the most beautiful areas in Barcelona

Overview of Las Arenas Shopping Mall where you can see the dome, the terrace and the Neomudejar facade

Views from the dome of Las Arenas

Behind La Plaça d'Espanya, you can see Maria Cristina Avenue with the Venetian Towers and the Magical Fountain of Montjuïc at the end

View of Joan Miro Park located next to Las Arenas

Neomudejar windows give an arab look to the facade of Las Arenas

Inside Las Arenas Shopping Mall

From the platform in the middle of Las Arenas shopping center this is what I saw

Some of the 115 shops inside Las Arenas shopping center

Las Arenas Shopping Mall lit at night

The Neomudejar facade of Las Arenas shopping mall lit in the evening



Las Arenas shopping mall lit at night

Las Arenas shopping center has become one of the most spectacular ones of Barcelona



Detail of Las Arenas shopping mall decorated with Christmas details

I also would like to give you some useful information about Las Arenas:

- Address: Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes núm,373-385.
- How to arrive:

• Metro: L1 and L3, stop Plaça Espanya.
• Bus: 9, 13, 27, 30, 50, 56, 57, 65, 79, 91, 109 and 157.

- Opening time:

• Shops: from 10:00 to 22:00 (Monday to Saturday).
• Restaurants: From 10:00 to 00:30 (Monday to Thursday), from 10:00 to 02:30 (Friday, Saturday and eve of public holidays), from 10:00 to 01:30 (Sundays).

- Website: http://www.arenasdebarcelona.com/

 Other shopping areas in Barcelona are:

• Shopping in Passeig de Gràcia
• El Portal de l'Angel in the Gothic Quarter
• Shopping malls and Outlets
• Shopping in La Diagonal
• Shopping in Carrer Pelai
• Shopping in Fira de Santa Llúcia
• Viladecans The Style Outlet

Finally, clicking on the next link you will find links to other beautiful places in Barcelona, among them, more nice places in Montjuïc.