1. Listen to music at Festival del Mil·lenni

Returning to Barcelona for its 15th edition, the Festival Mil·lenni brings you some of the best music of the year. Look for Nana Mouskouri in February, Goran Bregovic in April at the Palau de la Música, and many others. Tickets go for between €13 and €79. Their ‘Pack Flamenc’ is a bargain, offering three flamenco concerts for €50. We don’t always recommend flamenco in Barcelona, but this is one to see.

2. Eat piles of grilled green onions, a Catalan delicacy

Food festivals and traditions are always good excuses for visiting a city. Come to Barcelona (and Catalonia) this winter to eat barbecued calçots, a sort of fat green onion available until late March. Valls is the top spot to eat calçots, but you will also find them all over the city at restaurants and in vegetable markets.

3. Sip a craft brew at the Barcelona Beer Festival

Barcelona has quite the burgeoning craft beer scene, so much so that the Barcelona Beer Festival is holding its third annual event this year from April 11th-13th 2014.

4. Save big during post-holiday winter sales

Sales or ‘rebajas/rebaixes’ in Spanish/Catalan are on from January 7th until mid-March. The best deals are to be had now, while your shoe size is still in stock. If you miss these post-holiday winter sales you’ll have another chance to save big in July and August.

5. Get down with hipsters at Primavera Sound

One of the best music festivals in Barcelona, Primavera Sound never disappoints. On in the spring (hence, ‘primavera’) from May 29th-31st 2014, this one brings out the hipsters in full force. The music is always plentiful, as multiple stages are set up around the Forum, the Mediterranean Sea the festival’s stunning backdrop. Festival passes are being sold at a discounted rate until February 7th. Hurry.

6. Feast with friends at the best eatery…in the world!

You may have heard that Celler Can Roca was nominated the best eatery in the world by Restaurant Magazine. Granted, you’ll have a heck of a time getting a reservation these days, but if you manage it, Celler Can Roca is just an hour north of Barcelona in Girona.

7.  Hear unique  guitar sounds

25º Guitar Festival BCN is yet another music festival on in the city from February to May 2014. Femi Kuti and Andrés Calamaro are a couple shows worth buying tickets for in advance.

8. See incredible Barcelona street photography

Joan Colom is one of the most important Spanish photographers of the second half of the 20th century. Now in his 90s, he is known for his black and white photographs of street life in Barcelona. See more than 500 photographs spanning the whole of his career at the MNAC Museum until the 25th of May 2014.

9. Participate in annual city traditions

Apart from these events, there is a seemingly endless list of holidays and traditional festivals held in Barcelona and all over Catalonia every year. Some of the most entertaining are: Sant Jordi’s Day on April 23rd, Sant Joan on June 23rd and 24th, and La Mercè at the end of September.

Plan your jaunt to Barcelona at the same time as one of these functions for an even richer experience. For more tips on exploring the city for less, check out EuroCheapo’s Barcelona city guide.

The post 9 reasons you need to check out Barcelona in 2014 appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Celebrating love with books and roses

Celebrated on April 23, St. Jordi’s Day is one of my favorite Catalan traditions. All day the streets around the city’s central plaza, Pl. Catalunya, teem with men selecting roses and women examining books.

I do find the tradition a bit sexist. (Men get the books and women roses? Really?) These days, however, it is not uncommon for women to snag a few roses (from various admirers) and a book, so maybe things are finally balancing out.

Instead of reserving a romantic dinner for two, couples walk La Rambla (or “Las Ramblas”) or Passeig de Gracia and maybe have lunch or grab a cup of coco along the way. The streets are filled (and I mean packed, if you’re uncomfortable in crowds, avoid!) with lovers strolling arm in arm and stands selling books.

Sometimes couples go together to pick out books along La Rambla. Others, single or taken, head over to Passeig de Gracia where authors sign their latest novels and speak about the art of writing prose. Many of the city’s book shops have special events on St. Jordi’s Day (although many of their speakers will present in Catalan).

St. Jordi’s Day is not celebrated in the rest of Spain, and is very much a local, Catalan holiday. Regardless of when you’re in town, keep an eye out for St. Jordi (or “St. George”), who is depicted throughout the city in various sculptures and stained-glass art. He is famous for slaying a dragon and saving the damsel in distress.

Favorite bookstores

Some of my favorite places in Barcelona to pick up books for my sweetie are:

Laie
C/ Pau Claris, 85, Barcelona
Web site

I dig the Pau Clais and CCCB store, but any Laie shop will do.

La Central
C/ Elisabets, 6. 08001 Barcelona
Web site

You’ll find an awesome book selection and fab cafe in front!

The post St. Jordi’s Day in Barcelona: Love, roses and books appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.