Another question for Anna (or anyone else who knows the answer)

[sophiek]

Anna,
My husband, 7 year old son and I will be arriving in Barcelona on June 23 for the June 26th Millenium sailing. We will be staying at the AC Diplomatic. I understand that June 24th is a public holiday (Festival of St Joan I think). Will everything be closed or will the tourist type things be open (such as the hop on/ hop off buses)on the 24th? We would like to see as much of Barcelona as we can in the 2 days (only 2 full days) we have.

Second question is : What would you recommend we do for the celebrations on the evening of the 23rd with a 7 year old? I have read that it is a huge celebration but we don't want to be too overwhelmed by crowds of people. We will be somewhat jet lagged and don't speak Spanish, but would like to experience some of the local culture.

Last question: We have not arranged transportation from the airport to the hotel. Should we do this in advance or are there lots of taxis at the airport? I assume there are lots of taxis but there will be 3 of us with lots of luggage, so we will probably need a minivsn or at least a full size car.

Any suggestions for things to do with a child would be appreciated. He is a great tourist- loves anything historical- particularly forts, castles and ruins. We are looking for things European as opposed to zoos and aquariums that he can see at home.

Thanks for your help!

[anna f]

Sophiek
24th June is Sant Joan and all shops are closed except in Las Ramblas and the other tourist places where the souvenir shops are open.
Hop on/hop off bus works normaly and you can get information about the museums timetible in the web [url="http://www.bcn.es"]www.bcn.es[/url]
The night before Sant Joan we celebrate a very old festivity called "Revetlla de Sant Joan" in fact is a cellebration of the summer starting all the cellebrations are focussed in the fire and now this is performed with a lot of very beautiful fireworks, the same in the private than in the public parties.
There is a public party organized by the Barcelona city council in the Font Magica in Montjuic, a lot of people go there, don't miss it, even you couldn't arrive to the Font Magica you could go to the Plaça España and from there you will see the fireworks, believe me, they are spectacular. The only thing is all these things starts later, I am not sure but I think it starts at 11 p.m. the spanish timetible is completely different to all the other countries, but don't worry and enjoy it, it's worth seeing.
I think there is no problem to get a taxi in the airport at least I never have had problems, normally there is a long line of taxis waiting for.
If your child like the ruins you could visit the museum MUSEU DE LA CIUTAT close to the old cathedral there you could see the ruins of the old Barcino it is not a large museum but for me it is very interesting, and of course you can go to the FORUM DE LES CULTURES, there they are a lot of things to do and to see and I think it will like you.
I hope this information would be interesting for you and if you need any further advice, just tell me.
Best regards / Anna

MSC LIRICA August 1, 2004

[bankr]

Hola Anna...is Sant Joan a holiday in all of Spain or only Barcelona? We will be in Madrid, do you know if the trains will be on a regular schedule or a holiday schedule? Muchas gracias Anna

[anna f]

Bankr
Sant Joan is only holiday in Catalonia not in the rest of Spain.
If you will be in Madrid during the summer be sure your hotel has a good air conditioned because weather is very hot and dry there.
The inhabitants of Madrid says:
MADRID TIENE 9 MESES DE INVIERNO Y TRES DE INFIERNO this means MADRID HAS 9 WINTER MONTHS AND 3 MONTHS LIKE HELL
Anna

MSC LIRICA August 1, 2004