When Brits needed their fix of black coffee and a stroll around sunny city streets in the past, they tended to head for the more obvious destinations of Paris and Rome, ignoring the atmosphere and architecture of Barcelona. The advent of low-cost airline routes to Spain's second city, however, and a vast improvement in hotel accommodation has seen us start our very own homage to Catalonia.
Easyjet started to run one flight a day to Barcelona in 1996 and demand has grown so much that this has increased to six a day, including two from Liverpool. Julie Wood of BA Holidays says Barcelona has exploded for the British market. 'Finding spare rooms has always been a problem, but lots of hotels have renovated and more high standard hotels have come on line.'
Barcelona comes in third in BA Holidays' short-breaks league table and she recommends September to November as the perfect time to sample the city, without the heat and crowds of high summer. Travelscene, another short-break operator, reports that while business to Paris has reached a plateau, it has seen travel from Britain to Barcelona increase by 40 per cent over the past five years. Go has flown more than 100,000 passengers on the route during the first half of this year.
As we approach autumn, now's the time to start thinking about leaving rainy British days behind and we've come up with the 10 best hotels in Barcelona to tempt you.
All prices are per room per night.
Pensione Dal
Carrer Boqueria 12, Metro Liceu Tel/fax: 00 34 93 318 5580
Price: £24
Just off the bustling Ramblas, and only a minute's walk from the colourful Boqueria food market, there is a fun, studenty atmosphere here; in the big communal lounges and television room, you hear just about every European language. Although it looks tiny from the outside, squeezed in a narrow alleyway, there are actually 40 rooms here, but it is still worth reserving in advance.
Hotel Jardi
Plaça Sant Josep Oriol 1, Metro Liceu Tel: 00 34 93 301 5900/301 5958.
Fax: 93 318 3664
Price: £25
Jardi overlooks the two prettiest squares in Barcelona: Plaça del Pi and Plaça Sant Josep Oriol. It is crucial to ask for a room with a view over one of these shady medieval squares, as long as you don't mind putting up with a little noise, as there are dozens of café terraces and street musicians below. Rooms are basic but clean, and with such a low price you must book well in advance. Forget breakfast in the hotel and have a café con leche and warm brioche in the trendy Bar del Pi below.
Hotel Peninsular
Calle San Pablo 34, Metro Liceu Tel/fax: 00 34 93 302 31 38
Price: £29
The Peninsular has to be the best deal for budget accommodation in all Barcelona. With its cool Latin feel - ancient wicker armchairs and tiled patios teeming with tropical plants - you could be mistaken for thinking you were in some classy colonial hotel in Cuba rather than Catalonia. It was originally a convent for Carmelite nuns, turned into a hotel in 1876. Despite being modernised - most of the 80 rooms have air-conditioning, crucial in Barcelona's hot summer - the Peninsular has retained its unique Art Nouveau feel.
Hotel Espana
Carrer Sant Pau 9, Metro Liceu Tel: 00 34 93 318 17 58
Price: £41
Discovering the Hotel España, hidden down a narrow backstreet of the Barrio Chino - the notorious former red-light district - is like unearthing a forgotten jewel of Modernista architecture. The two dining rooms are stunning, decorated with elaborate woodwork and vivid tiled walls depicting extravagant scenes of sea nymphs, created in 1902 by Ramon Casas. The rooms don't quite live up to all this splendour, but the prices are a bargain so book in advance.
Hotel Internacional
Ramblas 78, Metro Liceu Tel: 00 34 93 302 25 66
Price: £47
On the corner of the busy Carrer Ferran that leads into the heart of the atmospheric Barrio Gotico, the imposing facade of the Internacional masks a no-frills but well renovated hotel that is an ideal base for sightseeing. It has a sunny terrace bar overlooking the Ramblas, ideal for observing the crowds on Barcelona's busiest boulevard.
Hotel Oriente
Ramblas 45, Metro Drassanes Tel: 00 34 93 302 25 58
Price: £59
This grandiose building, once a Franciscan monastery, stands out on the Ramblas even more impressively than its near neighbour, the famed Liceu Opera house. Opened as Barcelona's first Grand Hotel in 1842, the Oriente has played host to Callas and Toscanini, Errol Flynn and Buffalo Bill. Like the España, the rooms don't quite match the splendour of the ballroom, the grand reception and salon de the , but for its perfect position on the Ramblas, the prices are very reasonable.
Hotel Condes de Barcelona
Passeig de Gracia 73, Metro Passeig de Gracia Tel: 00 34 93 467 47 80
Website: www.hotelcondesdebarcelona.com
Price: £115
The Condes is actually two buildings, facing each other, both turn of the century palaces. It is best to reserve the one that occupies what was once the Casa Batllo, one of the city's great Modernista buildings. Here you will see all the signature elements of this very particular architectural style - intricate wrought-iron balconies, swirling marble staircases, colourful tiles - and it is no coincidence that the Condes is just across the street from the Pedrera. In fact, the rooftop terrace and swimming pool look out over Gaudi's strange extraterrestial sculptures atop the Pedrera, and this is the perfect spot for a cocktail as the sun sets over Barcelona.
Hotel Claris
Pau Claris 150, Metro Passeig de Gracia Tel: 00 34 93 487 62 62
Website: www.derbyhotels.es
Price: £122
There can be few hotels in the world that boast their own private museum, but the Claris is owned by a passionate archeologi cal collector, Jordi Clos, who also places exquisite objects in guests' rooms, the bar, dining room and main entrance. You may find your room decorated with an Egyptian etching from Napoleon Bonaparte's private collection, or a 1,600-year-old sandstone statue of a Hindu Goddess.
Hotel Arts
Carrer de la Marina 19, Metro Ciutadella Tel: 00 34 93 221 10 00
Website: www.ritzcarlton.com
Price: £186
The tallest building in Spain, the Hotel Arts rises 44 floors above the Mediterranean, a gleaming state-of-the-art construction of steel and glass. Tourists have their breath taken away by the glistening giant copper 'Fish' sculpture by Frank Gehry - architect of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao - outside the hotel, but the Arts lives up to its name inside too, as more than 1,000 specially commissioned collages, ceramics, paintings and sculptures by contemporary Spanish artists are displayed around the hotel. If you can't afford a room, come in for a cocktail in the lush gardens of the Bar Marina, or sample the inventive Catalan cuisine of chef Anthony Bombaci.
Hotel Majestic
Passeig de Gracia 68, Metro Passeig de Gracia Tel: 00 34 93 487 3939
Website: www.hotelmajestic.es
Price: £214
The venerable Majestic has just undergone a splendid restoration and is now vying with the Arts as the most luxurious address in all Barcelona. One of Spain's greatest chefs, Fermi Puig, runs the exclusive Drolma restaurant, while the sleek rooftop pool is a perfect example of this city's trademark cool, contemporary design.
