WAY AWAY - The essential planner for your trips




Today BarcelonaForRent wants to recommend you a really helpful gadget for travelers. It is the trip planner Way Away. With Way Away you will get the best of your stay, you will not forget any single detail and you will also save lots of money on your trips.

Way Away came from the experiences of a couple of travelers from Barcelona, Belén Cañete and Pedro Armangué, who had been travelling during all their lives to stunning destinations like Brazil, Argentina or the Nordic countries. In 2008 they went around the world. To organize this trip they lost a lot of time in every country looking at never-ending lists and contrasting alternatives to visit in Internet or traditional guides. They get the idea of Way Away, a useful gadget to make the trips as easy as possible and to avoid that loss of time. The idea took shape and Way Away was born in 2010, adding all the destinations where Belén and Pedro have been travelling at first-hand.

With Way Away you will discover a new mode of travelling. The routes of Way Away have been especially designed to get the greatest benefits of your time and your money. Even so, you can change everything you want, making your personalized route, because you will travel on your own without limitations or duties.

The customers of BarcelonaForRent can purchase the guide of Barcelona prepared by Way Away for free. From BarcelonaForRent we strongly recommend this guide and we offer it in English and Spanish to the tourists who book an apartment with us. The guide is really useful and contains updated information about the touristic Barcelona, with lots of ideas of restaurants, activities and visits. Moreover, booking your apartment with BarcelonaForRent and using the free guide of Way Away you will get a discount of 50% for the guide of your next trip.

One of the key features of Way Away is the personalization of the guides. You can adapt it to your preferences and you can also download it online from your home. Way Away offers their personalized routes for 4.95€ in the cities and 19.95€ in the entire countries.

Go for it and try Way Away! Either organizing an out weekend or planning the trip of your life, go in www.way-away.com and start enjoying your experience.

WAY AWAY - El planificador indispensable para tus viajes




Hoy BarcelonaForRent te quiere recomendar una herramienta muy útil para viajeros. Se trata del planificador de viajes Way Away, que te permitirá exprimir al máximo tus estancias, no perderte ni un detalle del lugar que visites y ahorrar muchísimo en tus escapadas.

Way Away surgió a partir de las experiencias de una pareja de viajeros de Barcelona, Belén Cañete y Pedro Armangué, que a lo largo de su vida habían visitado destinaciones tan llamativas como Brasil, Argentina o los países nórdicos. En el año 2008 hicieron la vuelta al mundo. Para organizar el viaje perdieron mucho tiempo en cada país viendo listas interminables de sitios que visitar y contrastando alternativas en Internet o en guías tradicionales. Fue de esa vuelta al mundo que surgió la idea de Way Away, una herramienta que sirviera para facilitar al máximo los viajes y evitar estas pérdidas de tiempo. La idea se fue perfilando y Way Away vio la luz en 2010, incorporando las destinaciones que Belén y Pedro habían vivido en primera persona.

Con Way Away descubrirás un nuevo modo de viajar. Las rutas de Way Away están diseñadas para aprovechar al máximo tu tiempo y tu dinero, pero al ser personalizadas están abiertas a cambios: viajas a tu aire, sin limitaciones ni obligaciones. Ellos te ofrecen la mejor opción, el mejor precio y las actividades más interesantes, pero tú tienes total libertad para hacer lo que te apetezca en cada momento.


Los clientes de BarcelonaForRent pueden acceder de forma gratuita a la guía de Barcelona preparada por Way Away.  Desde BarcelonaForRent recomendamos su uso y la ofrecemos en inglés y español a los turistas que reservan su apartamento. La guía es muy útil y te ofrece información actualizada de la Barcelona turística, con ideas de restaurantes, actividades y visitas. Además, reservando el apartamento en BarcelonaForRent y utilizando la guía gratuita de Way Away conseguirás un descuento del 50% en la guía de tu próximo viaje.

Una de las principales características de Way Away es que sus guías personalizadas se adaptan a tus preferencias de viaje y además puedes descargarlas online cómodamente desde tu propia casa. Los precios oscilan entre 4.95€ y 19.95€, dependiendo de si las guías son de ciudades o de países enteros.
¡Anímate a probar Way Away! Ya sea para organizar un fin de semana o para planear el viaje de tu vida, entra en www.way-away.es y empieza a disfrutar de tu experiencia sin perder ni un segundo.


Visit Barcelona in 3 days - 3rd Day: Barcelona from heights




On the last day of your visit, we propose you a route to know Barcelona from the heights. We will travel through the mountain of Montjuïc. And we also recommend you to enjoy the exceptional views of all Barcelona from the cableway.

Montjuïc is one of the hills that surround the city and there are lots of works from the Olympic Games of 92, some museums and more interesting touristic attractions. There, you will also find slops plenty of flowers, exotic trees and giant buttercups.

The meaning of Montjuïc is the Mountain of the Jews. On XI century there was a Jewish cemetery on this mountain.

There are different ways to get to Montjuïc:
-    By walk or by bus, from Plaza España.
-    By the cableway, from the Port until the Montjuïc Castle.
-    Using the funicular from the Metro Paral•lel (L3).

Below we will show you the most interesting places to visit. So you can organize your route depending on the way you try to access to the mountain.

National Museum of Art of Catalonia – MNAC

The National Museum of Art of Catalonia is placed in the magnificent National Palace, that was built for a reason: the Universal Exposition of 1929.
Nowadays the National Museum of Art of Catalonia, best-known as MNAC, has one of the most complete collections of Romanic art in the world. There are wall paintings, wood carvings, sculptures in stone and metalwork. Most of them come from the Catalan Romanic art from the XI century until the XVIII.
In MNAC there is also a collection of gothic art, and another one of the Reenactment and the Baroque, that include works of great painters like Zurbarán, Velázquez, Cranach, Rubens…

Poble Espanyol
The Poble Espanyol is a large building open air of 42.000 m2, and was built in 1929, also for the Universal Exposition. First of all, his function was to keep during six months scale reproductions of buildings, streets and squares of different regions of Spain. There are represented all the architectonic styles from Galicia to País Vasco, from Aragon to Andalucía. It was really acclaimed during the Universal Exposition, so the building has been maintained until our days.
It is a very good place to visit, especially because of his artisan market and his little shops, where you can buy gifts for your friends and family.
There are also good bars, restaurants and discos. It is an original space to celebrate shows and concerts.

Joan Miró Foundation
This space was founded in 1975 by Joan Miró, to show his influential works: paintings, sculptures and ceramic. Moreover, Miró created this space to show the tendencies of contemporary art.
You will enjoy a walk inside of the luminous and spacious building, with large terraces and patios. And, of course, you can discover the playful personality of this versatile artist.

Mies Van der Rohe Hall
The Hall Barcelona or the Mies Van der Rohe Hall is one of the most emblematic works of the Modernism.
In 1983, the Council of Barcelona created the Mies Van Der Rohe Fundation, with the aim of reconstruct the German Hall, designed by Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe (1886-1969) for the Universal Exposition of Barcelona in 1929.
The Mies Van der Rohe Hall offers debate and knowledge about topics like modern architecture and urbanity planning.

Palau Sant Jordi
The Palau Sant Jordi is a magnificent metallic building, made by the Japanese Arata Isozaki. This Hall was built at the beginning to do the Gymnastic tests in the Olympic Games in 1992. Nowadays, it is used basically as a concert hall and it is really luminous at night.

Olympic Stadium
The Olympic Stadium of Barcelona was built in 1929 with the collaboration of some architects with different nationalities: Correa, Mila, Margarit, Buixade, Gregoretti. But it was not used until the Olympic Games of Barcelona in 1992. There is space for 65.000 people.

Torre Calatrava
This telecommunication tower was built between 1989 and 1992 in the Olympic ring of Montjuïc by Santiago Calatrava, and it can be seen from everywhere in the city.
This steel tower of 136 meters is important because of his innovative structural form. It seems an athlete raising the Olympic flame. The top (Transmission zone) looks like a bow and an arrow. On base there is a fountain representing the movement of the waves.
The tower is also a sundial and her shadow is projected to the Europa Square.

Montjuïc Castle
This fortification was built in 1640. It became a Castle in 1694. During centuries, it was used to bomb the city and also to imprison torture and murder the politic and military prisoners.
In 1940 Lluís Companys, who was President of the Generalitat of Catalonia, was murdered there.
Nowadays it is a military museum and it is the only place in the entire city with a statue of Franco.

We recommend you to go on top of the walls to enjoy the exceptional views of the city and the port. Definitely you will see all the places you have visited during this three days.

Magical Fountain
To finish your day, leave the city enjoying the magnificent show that takes place around the Magical Fountain of Montjuïc.
The Magical Fountain of Montjuïc was built for the Universal Exposition of 1929 by the engineer Carles Buigas. It was absolutely restored because of the Olympic Games of 1992. This enormous circular fountain (12 meters of diameter) is able to throw water until 4 meters of height.
There are waterfalls and lakes all the Av. Reina Maria Cristina long. The Magical Fountain offers a show of lights, water and music that makes it one of the most popular attractions of Barcelona.
As a closing of Festes de la Mercè, there is a Piromusical, a set of fireworks, music, lights and the movement of the water of the Magical Fountain.

We wish you a very happy stay in Barcelona!!!

Visit Barcelona in 3 days - 2nd Day: the Modernist Barcelona




Today we will explain the modernist route of Barcelona, to discover the amusing imagination of the best-known Catalan artist: Antoni Gaudí, and another works of the Modernism.

By seeing this marvelous architectonic works, we will walk through the emblematic district of Eixample. Over there you can admire various modernist buildings that are fabulous.

Hospital de Sant Pau
We start our day on top of Eixample, discovering the Hospital de la Santa Creu and Sant Pau, designed by Lluís Domènech I Muntaner, the same ideologue of Palau de la Música that we visited yesterday. In 2009 this hospital became a museum and a cultural centre. It has been declared World Heritage by UNESCO.

Sagrada Família
From there, we will walk until the best-known building of Gaudí: the Sagrada Família. It is very interesting to look at everything around the basilica: there are lots of details in its structure. It is also important to focus the attention on the bronze door of the Passion crane or on the dramatic scenes of the Birth crane.

You can choose the visit inside the basilica for 13 € without guide. If you prefer a guide or an audioguide the price will be 17 €.

La Pedrera or Casa Milà
At mid morning we recommend you to have a walk in Passeig de Gràcia. There is another of the marvels of Gaudí: La Pedrera or Casa Milà. This surprising building was ordered by a Catalan and rich family. It is impacting because of its curve crane, its arcade windows, its strange chimneys and its balconies, made of wrought iron. We recommend you to visit its roof, where you could take pictures of all the exceptional views. You can also go inside of an apartment that will make you feel like if you were living in the past. And, finally, in the Espai Gaudí, you can understand a little bit more the fabulous world of the architecture of Gaudí.

Casa Batlló
On the other side and further down, there is the Casa Batlló, very important in the modernist architecture. It was built by Gaudí between the 1904 and the 1906, and it has an original, charm and fantastic crane, full of imagination. The house is a dialogue with light and colors.

This marvelous ornamental design is one of the most important architectonic works of the Manzana de la Discordia.

Tapas
Before continuing the route, we recommend you to stop and enjoy some tapas and a cold beer in a terrace of Rambla Catalunya or Passeig de Gràcia. You need to choose the place carefully, because you are in one of the upper town of the city. Anyway,  if you choose carefully you can eat for 15-20 € per person.

Parc Güell 

With the Parc Güell, we are sure that you will be absolutely astonished by Gaudí. To get in Parc Güell you can use the metro (L3) until Lesseps and have a walk of 10 minutes until the entrance of the Park. The alternative is going by bus from Passeig de Gràcia.

The project of this extravagant park was paid by the eccentric businessman Eusebi Güell, who wanted to create a little city for the richest citizens of Barcelona. But it was never finished.
Cheer and enjoy its marvelous gardens and its terraces with mosaics and sculptures. Do not forget to queue to take a picture of the iconic lizart in the main entrance. From the park you can also admire excellent views of the entire city.

Quarter of Gracia
After your relaxing afternoon in the park, now is the best moment to know the most bohemian part of the city. It is the preferred place of lots of citizens and it is plenty of original shops and little bars and restaurants.
Before the unstoppable growth of Eixample, that connected both zones, Gracia was a little village independent from Barcelona. Because of that, it maintains the essence of a little busy city with an active social life in all its squares.

We recommend you to choose one of these lively squares to finish your route eating something and remembering all the architectonic marvels you discovered during all day.

Do you want to continue with the Day 3? Let’s know Barcelona from the heights!


Visit Barcelona in 3 days – 1st Day: Barcelona seaside





Certainly, three days is not enough to know every secret of Barcelona. This city is full of picturesque corners, and there are new touristic attractions appearing every single day.

Anyway we will try to compress in 72 hours the essential of this seaside city that is crowned by mountains.
We recommend you to start your visit in the morning, because the day will be more profitable and you will be able to discover the awakening of a city that, actually, never sleeps.

Las Ramblas

We recommend you to start your route in Plaça Catalunya. There is the start of a well known Catalan avenue, called Las Ramblas.  From there, you can have a walk enjoying the kiosks with flowers and local products, and also the human sculptures. In spite of the difficulty (because there is a large amount of tourists), we encourage you to look at the fabulous mosaics on the floor, made by the surrealist artist Joan Miró.

Further down, at right, there is the Market La Boqueria, a required stop where you can taste a fresh fruit juice or buy some locl products.

Walking a little bit more, you will get the Gran Teatre del Liceu, one of the most important European theatres, built at the XIX century and totally restored some years ago: there was a devastating fire in 1994.

Gothic Quarter
In front of the theatre, on the other side of Las Ramblas, you will see the Royal Square, a neoclassic jewel with the first work in Barcelona of Antoni Gaudí inside. It is the lamppost next to the central fountain. Over there you can enjoy this unforgettable square, full of life, having a drink in one of its terraces.

Going out of the Royal Square you have two options. You could stroll around the Gothic Quarter and discover its most curious details. Or you could also have a walk in Ferran Street, enjoying its numerous storefronts until the historic Sant Jaume Square, where are both of the most important civic buildings: the Generalitat Palace, headquarter of the Catalan government, and, in front of it, the Council of Barcelona.

The next stop is the Cathedral and also the Cloister, an obligatory visit. The Cathedral was built in the XIII century, and its complete name is Catedral de la Santa Creu I Santa Eulàlia. It is considered the most important gothic building in the entire city. There are 13 ducks living into the Cloister, one for every year of life of Santa Eulàlia, the martyr that gave his name to the church.

 Born
The lunchtime is approaching. The best option is to cross the Via Laietana and go into the Born, with less tourist and a large amount of economic restaurants.

After your satisfaction tasting some menus with the local citizens, we suggest you the first stop in the Church of Santa Maria del Mar in the Passeig del Born.  This church is more austere than the first one, but it is a majestic work of gothic architecture. Moreover, its history was an inspiration for a novel that is known worldwide.

After having a walk through the pedestrian streets of the Born, with its little bars and shops, you will arrive to the Palau de la Música. The modernist crane of this sanctuary of the Catalan culture is magnificent and it is amazing to admire it for a long time. We suggest you to book some tickets in advance to enjoy one of its unforgettable concerts.

La Barceloneta
To finish a perfect day, we recommend you to go until the maritime quarter of La Barceloneta. You can get in by walk or by Metro (L4). Over there, you could have a quite walk on the seaside, admire the little houses of fishermen of yesteryear and have dinner with a fabulous paella or shellfish.

Do you want to continue with the Day 2? Let’s know the Modernist Barcelona!