Last 21st May we went through a magic night in Barcelona with all its museums open as a courtesy of The Art Factories, launched by Barcelona City Council’s Culture Institute. Next Saturday, 16th July the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (National Art Museum of Catalonia) and from now on MNAC, will also celebrate open doors from 8pm to 1am. The MNAC is located in Montjuïc hill, right next to Plaça Espanya and at the top of the stairway of Barcelona’s biggest ornamental fountain, the Magic Fountain. For five hours, you’ll enjoy an evening of open house with free entrance and accompanied by art, music, cuisine and circus performances. Among the…
-
-
Adele in BCN
Will you experience the exhilaration of Adele live? Within the extensive tour throughout Europe (Adele 25 Tour), which started in Belfast last February, Adele is now performing in Barcelona. The upcoming concert scheduled firstly for 24th May has featured another night (25th May) to present her new “25” album to all her fans in the city, an album which has become the fastest-selling release of 2015. You’d better had hurried up in getting the tickets because they are all gone since last year. This latest album of her “25” happens to be the thrid in studio recording. It has been an unprecedented success worldwide after selling over 2.5 million of copies…
-
The Legend of Saint George in Catalonia
Legend has it that Saint George was a valiant and martyr knight. Because of his chivalrous deeds he became the great hero of Saint George and The Dragon. It was believed by many that the story happened in Cappadocia. But here in Catalonia and for centuries it is believed that it all took place in Montblanch (Tarragona). What is certain is that today and from 1456 Saint George is the patron saint of Catalonia and every year on 23rd April the whole country becomes a dance of roses and books. Following with the legend and located in Montblanch, it is said that in this village lived a fierce and terrible…
-
It Rains Plans and More
We could actually say that in Barcelona it rains down 4 days in April. However, in one of those what seemed to be a sunny morning becomes a grey and overcast sky. Suddenly, instead of 4 drops, we are facing a tremendous downpour. Do not despair. We know you have been planning your trip for days and finally your getaway weekend and your plans have been boiled as the weatherman played a trick on you. Again, do not despair. In the following lines we are giving you some PLAN B to your scheduled visit to Park Güell, the wander down Las Ramblas to the Port… Still go have a drink!…
-
2AM to 3AM and other mismatches
Again 2AM will be 3AM. All smartphones, tablets and other Spanish gadgets jump an hour at the time and suddenly, in Micheal J. Fox style, when the clocks are about to reach 2AM of Sunday 27th March they are turned forward 1 hour to Sunday 27th March, 3:00:00 local daylight time instead. Watch out! Any device that is not “smart something ” will have to be adjusted manually. This is not news but something still to be reminded. Nevertheless, this fact arouses curiosity. We call it Daylight Saving Time to advance and retard an hour on our clocks as we do every spring and autumn respectively. This is measure is…
-
BCNegra a Great Crime Fiction Appointment
Barcelona has been highlighted this year again as the European Capital city of crime fiction. From 28th January to 6th February, BCNegra on its 11th edition will be hosting even French and Scottish writers as well as Valencians ones. The event, organized by the Institute of Culture of Barcelona, will include a main stage among others, the Capilla del Conservatorio del Liceu (88 Nou de la Rambla Str.) located just a few minutes walking distance from our Continental Barcelona and Continental Palacete Hotels in the very heart of Barcelona. The venue will be the melting pot of readers and noir fiction writers. Professionals and enthusiasts of this hardboiled genre who…
-
Christmas with you is the best of us
Welcome to the fact that Christmas changes all of us. From the very first lights, the first bite of a gingerbread biscuit to the very first George Michael´s Last Christmas of the year… all this changes us. We wish it is cold to light the coal on the stove or the wood in the fireplace. To take out the blankets and cover the whole of ourselves but the nose and the eyes. We love wearing woolen hats and globes plus kilometric scarfs. We do enjoy endless table talks after a large meal and we welcome the excess because the occasion worth it. Christmas changes us. At this special moment of…
-
The triumph of color. Van Gogh to Matisse
For all those painting lovers or even those who fancy filling up on culture their journey in Barcelona, we are pleased to inform you that from last 10th October until 10th January 2016 you can become true testimonies to the transition from Impressionism to the Avant-garde art and its colorfulness. There were very few chances of witnessing in our city up until 72 reproductions of pieces given from Orsay Museum of Paris. Great painters from late 19th century to early 20th such as Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne questioned the technics and the tones of the art movement they firstly belonged –the Impressionism- and focused on light and how to capture…
-
‘Mamma Mia’ the Hilarious Love Story
From Continental Hotels in Barcelona we are very pleased to announce the return of Mamma Mia Musical to our city. The worldwide cross-border phenomenon made up from the unforgettably catchy songs of ABBA is coming back to scene next 26th November in Teatre Tívoli. For three months you will be able to enjoy this delightful comedy while dancing, singing and laughing from the brightest side of life. ‘Mamma Mia’ is a love story which takes off in an idyllic Greek island with the upcoming wedding of Sophie, a 20-year-old girl whose father identity is yet to be revealed. All in all, the Musical is a rush of positive energy that…
-
Barcelona, or one of the most photographed cities in the world
This autumn, Google Photos ranked Barcelona in the third place among the most photographed cities on the planet, only surpassed by New York and Paris. Google Photos is currently the largest online storage space where 100 million people let their pictures rest. Have you ever wondered why? If one thinks of Barcelona as a collection of iconic monuments and spots, it would be undoubtedly easy to understand the magnetic attraction exerted on tourists by historic streets like the Ramblas, commercial venues such as Passeig de Gràcia, temples like the Sagrada Famìlia, thrilling parks like the Park Güell or the incredible modernist façades that dot the whole city. YOU HAVE TO…
-
World Autism Awareness Day
Today, 2nd April is celebrated the World Autism Awareness Day. The aim of this celebration is to educate society to move forward in improving the quality of those affected by this disorder, investing in new projects of medical and social development. In 2008 became operational the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the United Nations General Assembly declared this day as World Autism Awareness Day. From this date annually the worldwide activities have increased behaving a great improvement in prevention. As a complementary action many iconic buildings of Barcelona will light blue between 20h and 21h today. This activity aims to: Sensitize society about the needs and…
-
The Jewels of Catalan Christmas
Christmas is in all the latitudes, a unique and repeatable celebration. Every city with Christian background gets ready for Christmas very differently. It exist hugely disparate rites, songs and melodies, gifts and ornaments among all the countries. In this regard, Catalonia has its own two unique and repeatable Christmas elements: the Caganer and the Tió de Nadal (Christmas Tió). Setting up a Christmas crib, staging the Nativity scene is a deeply rooted practice in Catalan Christmas traditions. So much so, that Catalan people even count with their own character: the Caganer. The name “El Caganer” literally means “the crapper” or “the shitter”. Traditionally, the figurine is depicted as a peasant,…
