Archive for July, 2011

Stunning views of Barcelona

The Barcelona’s gazebos (I)

Barcelona apartments | Montjuic views

Barcelona apartments | Montjuic views

When you visit Barcelona, you may find difficult to imagine the real size and shape of this big city. Although you can suppose it is a crowded place, sometimes tourists don’t appreciate the whole “body” if they don’t move to one of the several gazebos that let you see Barcelona from above.

The most impressive one is set in the Montjuïc hill. In fact, once you get there, you can choose between different sites from where you can’t help staring to the unique views of the city. The whole Barcelona will appear under you with its little unappreciated hills in the middle of the urban density, also covered by buildings. On the back: the sea. Some people say in sunny days, when the sky is clear enough, you can even see the Balears islands. To ensure a good view you can rent a car and drive through a curved road surrounded by forests. You can stop wherever you prefer and keep the delighting views by taking pictures. You will realize that these are as beautiful as the best postcards in the souvenirs shops.

Barcelona apartments | Park Guell

Barcelona apartments | Park Guell

Another gazebo is set in the Güell Park, the Gaudí’s great park where it is located the famous modernist dragon sculpture. Besides visiting this architecture and artistic treasure, reaching the Three crosses hill (“El mirador de les tres creus), one can become a privileged witness of the city. This hill reproduces the Jesus crucifixion place, presenting the three crosses of Christ and the two thieves.

Near Plaza España, there is a shopping centre called “Las Arenas”. After entering this department store you have to go to the top floor, where there is a restaurant which offers a 360º perspective of Barcelona. Don’t let this opportunity pass, even so if you don’t pretend to take anything from the restaurant itself.

Barcelona Vacations | Barcelona views

Barcelona Vacations | Barcelona views

Although all this balconies will allow you to discover a very exciting Barcelona, you can also meet the city from a lower height. Our holiday apartments in Barcelona will give you a welcoming site to live while you explore the city in all its faces. Comfort and glamour mix with a warm atmosphere in our Barcelona flats to rent during your holidays.

 

Photos: Otto NormalverbraucherW BarcelonaBaikonur JoJan

Gamefest Madrid 2011

Madrid Gamefest

Madrid Gamefest

This is its second year, but it has already become one of the most important videogame fairs in Europe. The Gamefest will take place in Madrid from the 29th of September to the 2nd of October. The 3rd pavilion of the IFEMA space will dress up with the most magic customs to bring the visitors to the virtual world, miles away from the real one.

Besides a complete programme of parallel activities, the visitors to this second edition will have the pleasure to get in touch with brand new games, trial consoles and the newest gadgets for all kind of game machines. During four amazing days, there will be a long waterfall of trends, news, curiosities and much more.

The main companies of this industry have already booked their site in the fair. For the moment, Sega, Koch Media, Microsoft, Namco Bandai, Konami, THQ, Nintendo, Take 2, EA, Ubisoft, Warner and Sony will be in Madrid presenting their last products to their most demanding customers.

Accommodation Madrid

Accommodation Madrid

To go deeper with the secrets of the videogame field, you will have at your disposal several speeches to know more about the commercial process, the making offs, and other interesting topics. All this conferences will take place in the Gamelab site.

In the RetroMadrid option, you will have the great change to play old fashion games, some of them, up to 25 years old.

Following the last year experience, the participants are invited to come to the event wearing as their favourite videogame characters. You will get surrounded by this fantasy atmosphere, and will have the chance to celebrate your passion for this universe with thousands of other fans coming from all over Europe and even other parts of the world. Don’t let this opportunity pass, and give yourself a funny experience in Madrid.

This edition will have a new pet, recently named “Bub”. You can already see it (and even other pictures from the first edition) entering the official website of the event.

Madrid vacation

Madrid vacation

These four days are meant to be a gift for your fantasy wishes. Let your inside child enjoy an exciting universe where you can play, discover, surprise, meet other fans and share experiences, tricks and useful advices. If you want to be that one who knows everything about videogames, or just have some days playing without worrying about your job, far away of your responsibilities and relaxing of the real world, don’t hesitate. The tickets will be available from August both in Internet (www.games.es / www.gamefest.es) and in the Game shops.

This programme seems to be perfect to combine with a sightseeing days in Madrid. There is nothing better than a getaway in the Spanish capital, full of good food, open people, and an intense leisure and night live. Get in touch with this passionate culture by living some days in one of our flats to rent in the very centre of Madrid. Our luxury apartments will make you feel as a celebrity while you rest and recharge energies before coming back to the real world. Have a dreamed journey in Madrid, visiting the Gamefest 2011.

 

This August, the dreams cost 50% less

What would you do if a total luxury experience in Barcelona appears in front of you for half the cost it is worth?

Barcelona Apartments Discounts

Barcelona Apartments Discounts

Stop imagining it, as this fantasy is now real with our special August offers.

Don’t let this unique promotion runs away while you think about your days in Barcelona, your tapas in Las Ramblas, your beach afternoons drinking cold cocktails in a terrace, the fine art tours you will discover and the musical or drama shows you will attend when the night falls.

The summer is the time when you have to make your dreams come true. You deserve having a rest vacation in a beautiful, glamorous and top category home, with relaxing sea views or a big and spacious terrace where having dinner under the stars. You deserve feeling great, breathing deep and getting involved with new experiences in an exclusive sightseeing, leisure and enriching plan reserved only for a few ones.

This August, satisfy your inside wishes and gift you and your beloved companions, a gourmet taste of Barcelona and stay in a flat to rent designed by the comfort and modernity artists.

Barcelona City Center Apartments

Barcelona City Center Apartments

Las Ramblas, Paseo de Gracia, Plaza España, Plaza Cataluña or El Born are only some of the chosen locations of our range of top apartments.

Now, all these great experiences, capable of enchanting the most demanding travellers and visitors, are waiting for you with a 50% of discount.

The Barcelona Mediterranean style of life will surely welcome you!

 

Furthering their attempts in 100% customer satisfaction, Rent Top Apartments are offering a substantial 10% discount on booking holiday homes in the cities of Madrid and Barcelona. This is an early bird offer, where one vacation apartment in City Centre in Madrid can be yours for just 28€ pp/night! That too after a 10% off on the original price. The apartment is top notch in facilities with 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and single beds for 6 people!

Holidays in Barcelona, ​​tips to help you save money

Ticket’s rules in Barcelona

Barcelona Culture

Barcelona Culture

When we plan a holidays week abroad, we always think about the accommodation, the attractions we can’t miss, the weather it is supposed to be (in order to bring the appropriate clothes), the restaurants where we can go to have a special meal, and the shows being displayed at the moment (some musical to have fun with? Maybe a contemporary drama play?).

But we never think about the most important and indispensable requirement: the tickets. If you are seriously thinking in visiting Barcelona, you should know a few tricks that will help you both save some money and save time and worries:

The first ticket we want to present you is the one called “ArticketBCN”. This is an art and culture focused entrance prepared to make you easier the

access to the seven main museums of the city. With a 25€ cost, this ticket lets you visit the permanent and the temporary exhibitions of the following centres: “CCCB”, “MNAC”, “MACBA”, “La Pedrera”, “Fundació Antoni Tàpies”, “Fundació Joan Miró” and “Museu Picasso”. It is good to know that the “ArticketBCN” expires in 6 months time, so you can keep enjoying it any time you come back to the city, during half a year after getting it. You can buy it in any tourist information point, or travel agency of Barcelona.

Barcelona Camp Nou

Barcelona Camp Nou

Other tickets you may be interested in are the FCBarcelona ones. You can enter to the official website to check the following events and buy online the tickets for the match. We want to talk about the next great Barcelona’s match, which will join the two best teams of Spain: Barcelona and Madrid. This exciting encounter will take place the 17th of August in “El Camp Nou”, at 8pm. If you want to get some tickets, you have to be willing to pay from 600 to 1500€, although some magic websites are already offering unbelievable discounts.

Barcelona Bus Turistic

Barcelona Bus Turistic

If you fancy discovering Barcelona from the open second floor of a bus, you better buy the Touristic Bus ticket. For adults, it costs 20.70€ one day and 27.00€ two days, while for youngster from 4 to 12 years old, the prices go from 12.60 to 16.20€. All the children up to 4 years have a free access to the bus. You will enjoy a 44 stops itinerary with a guide option through the essential sightseeing attractions. You can go off the bus and take it again very easily, as it comes every 5-25 minutes.

 

For your urban transport (and if you don’t want to rent a car or take a taxi), you have to be aware of the special tourist tickets the Barcelona transport has available for you. You can get a T-10 ticket, which allows you to travel 10 times either by bus, train, or other transport, and do a transport change within around 15 minutes from you go off of the first vehicle. The problem of this kind of tickets is that you have to decide if you want it for 1, 2, 3…and up to 6 zones, as the price changes. But most of the times, you won’t know which zones are you going to need, so the best option is the “T- uno, dos, tres, cuatro y cinco días” (one, two, three, four and five days), which provides you a complete cover of your transport needs for those days.

Romantic evenings in Barcelona

Barcelona Accommodation Casa Batlló

Barcelona Accommodation Casa Batlló

Although Barcelona is a romantic destination itself, if you want to surprise your partner with a lovely surprise, you may need some help.

Barcelona has an unless list of this style’s activities, so you have to choose which one is better for you and that special person you have traveled with.

After a fine and unique dinner, you can bring your partner to an enchanting space where you can take cocktails below the stars, while listening to live music. This beautiful corner is the floor flat of La casa Batlló. As you probably already know, this is one of the Gaudí’s major works in Barcelona. It is located in the Paseo de Gracia and usually has long cues outside for those who want to enter in. You can ask to visit one of the rich floors of the house to complement your surprise. Accompanying this magic evening, you can drink champagne and wait for your wishes to come true, amid a candle light fantasy set.

 

For a vanguard’s style corner, better go to the Café Vienés Jazz Club, located inside the Hotel Casa Fuster , at the Pase de Gracia as well. This place is one of the most luxurious ones in Barcelona, and offers a complete entertainment with dinner and drinks during a Jazz concert. You may like to know that this Café was chosen by the cinema director Woody Allen to become one of the sets for his film “Vicky, Cristina, Barcelona”. You can enjoy this romantic and special plan every Thursday from 09.00pm.

After your evening, you can have the pleasure to come back to your own private Barcelona home. Our luxury apartments will give you all the freedom you deserve, without schedule restrictions, and without sharing the space with other people. If you really want to have a fabulous only-the-two-of-you getaway, gift you and your accompanier with one of our glamorous Paseo de Gracia or Las Ramblas apartments, that will make you feel as real

Barcelona Holidays Café Vienés Jazz Club

Barcelona Holidays Café Vienés Jazz Club

celebrities in the very main centre.

Luxury apartments Barcelona

Luxury apartments Barcelona

Another romantic and young option for those who prefer a little more rhythmic plan, is reaching the club Up&Down. It is placed

in Diagonal, close to the FCBarcelona stadium

. This club offers a complete program for your evening and night, so you don’t need to worry

about either the dinner or the later dancing. You can eat in the terrace, while you assist a monologue show. After it, you can enjoy

an intimate moment with cocktails and champagne. To finish a perfect romantic night, let your desires fly by dancing in the amazing disco of this

top famous club of Barcelona.

If you want a very unique and original gift for your special one, you may avoid crowded places, or popular restaurants and clubs. For a different moment, ask your partner to close

his or her eyes, and take him/her to the Maremagnum site, or to a quite beach corner. The port and the sea are beautiful when the night falls and the sky fills everything with little bright stars. Let yourself dream while you observe the lights of the boats swinging and reflecting on the sea.

Welcome to Barcelona, the city where the dreams come true.

Photos: tato grassoYear of the dragon

 

 

The Gran Vía of Madrid

Vacation in Madrid

Vacation in Madrid

The Gran Vía street was meant to be the beating heart of Madrid. This great crowded avenue is nowadays, the Spanish version of the London Oxford Street, full of international shops, and leisure options. Last year, the Madrid inhabitants celebrated the 100 anniversary of this legendary place, a direct testimony of the history. It starts at Plaza España, and ends at the cross with the Alcalá street.

Gran Vía Madrid

Gran Vía Madrid

We really recommend you to walk all along the Gran Via. Relax and let yourself enjoy a shopping afternoon. Once the night falls, why not going to a bar or restaurant to feel the live and dynamism of the Madrid’s centre?

After a nice dinner, you may fancy going to the theatre. In that case, you should go to the Compac Theatre, located at the 66 house.  This theatre is currently displaying a Russian ballet performing the “Sawn lake”. If you rather want to attend a typical Madrid play, you must go to see “La corte del faraón” or “La verbena de la paloma”, both of them “Zarzuela” genre shows, at the same Compac Theatre.

Another theatre option is the Fontalba Theatre, very near the Telefonica building. This last house is a very important point of the street,  appearing at the 30′s and giving a strong personality to the Gran Via appearance.

Holidays in Madrid

Holidays in Madrid

If you prefer going to the cinema, you can go closer to Plaza España. This part of the Gran Via hosts two cinemas: Cine Rialto and the Cine Gran Vía. At half way, you will also find the Cine Avenida.

In case you would like to attend a concert, you can reach the Music Palace (Palacio de la música), and check the available concerts of the programme.

Most of the buildings you will see in Gran Via were built during the second decade of the XX century. Although lots of them have been restored, they maintain the spirit of those years, so you can have an idea of what was the life like by then. Despite of the time, this street keeps being a majestic and glamorous attraction and a must-see place for the tourists.

We have several holiday accommodation options close to the Gran Via. Renting one of them will make your holidays really special, as you will be living at the same site where worldwide celebrities have stayed during their visit to Madrid. If you want to have a direct contact with this marvellous city, you can’t find a better way than trusting our luxury flats to rent in the Gran Via surroundings.

 

Photos: Tomás FanoJan S0L0LevMatthew Verso

 

 

Art in Barcelona (II)

As we told you a few days ago, a good idea to discover another face of Barcelona is by participating in a cultural tour that includes the main museums of the city. After talking about the CaixaForum or the Arts Santa Mònica, today we want to introduce you some other centers you need to visit.

Miró Foundation Barcelona

Miró Foundation Barcelona

Near the CaixaForum you will find the Miró Foundation, devoted to the Catalan painter and artist Joan Miró. Until the 18th of September, this modern building is hosting an exhibition called “You are not alone”, about the isolation the aids patients have suffered during the thirty years this illness has been living in our society. The display has two signatures in its credits: the Miró Foundation, and the ArtAids’, a foundation focused on sending the message of the aid difficult reality through the power of art. One of the most interesting things of the event is the fact most of the artists taking part of it are not affected by the illness, but they talk about the situation of this collective amid the incomprehension and fear of the people around them.

 

 

MACBA Barcelona

MACBA Barcelona

Located in the heart of the ancient part of the city, between El Raval and the always crowded Plaza Cataluña, there is a big and trendy building in front of which young skaters from all over the world, meet to delight the viewers with dancing jumps and pirouettes. This is the contemporary art museum of Barcelona, the MACBA. Once inside, you can visit a permanent exhibition, and until the 30th of October, there is also a special temporary exposition: “Angels Ribé: En el laberint” has around 70 pieces acting like windows that create little by little, the figure of the artist, one of the most important ones in Spain during the 70s and 80s.

Maybe the greatest art museum in Barcelona is the MNAC, the Catalonia National Art Museum. You have to walk up from the Montjuic fountain until reaching this majestic building on the top of the hill, from where the city views are really worth seeing. Currently and until the 24th of July, it is being showed a lovely exhibition about the role of the foreign realism in Ramon Martí Alsina, a Catalan artist who mostly introduced the realism in the Spanish painting scene. You will discover not only his work, but also a large collection of Gustave Courbet’s paintings, being this artist an important influence in the Martí Alsina career.

Picasso Barcelona

Picasso Barcelona

Finally, we want to refer to the Picasso Museum (Museu Picasso), which has the major collection of this Catalan artist’s work worldwide. He is very famous an admired painter for its cubism pictures, its colour and shapes game that goes further in the abstraction adventure and proposes new rules. To get closer to the intimate universe of this international artist, you can visit the exhibition “Devorar París. Picasso 1900-1907” until the 16th of October. This collection is composed by Picasso’s works and other Parisian art of the first XX century decade, which filled the city becoming a clear inspiration for the Catalan genius. The proposal of the event is letting the visitors understand the stimuli he felt in front of Gauguin, Cézanne or Van Gogh, for example.

At the end of this second chapter of the art agenda for this summer 2011 in Barcelona, we would like to invite you to join our luxury accommodation offer. Smart and spacious flats to rent are located in the most dynamic areas of Barcelona to ensure your absolute comfort during all your holidays. Come and take advance of the fabulous art exhibitions Barcelona has prepared for you.

 

 

Photos: Oscar – Sergi Larripa – Twyxx

Adventure in Madrid

Are you that kind of person who is always looking for strong experiences? If you can’t help dreaming about jumping from the air, walking on thin ropes suspended above a forest, then, you have to keep reading this post. You are going to discover that Madrid can offer you many more adventure sports than you have ever expected.

Most of the activities take place some kilometers away of Madrid. You can rent a car to get to the different countryside directions, or take a taxi. In some cases you can even check the train or buses options in the main stations.

Holidays in Madrid

Holidays in Madrid

In the Ocaña aerodrome, 64 km far from Madrid, and close to Toledo, you can book a parachute session with a professional instructor. You don’t need experience, and with a short previous explanation, you will be ready to jump and fly from 4000 meters high. Your instructor, attached to your body, will supervise every single detail and will open the parachute once you get the 1500 meters from the ground. Then, a 5 minutes quitter flight will let you enjoy a beautiful bird-sight experience. During all the session, you will be able to record your jump with a camera, and if you wish it, a professional parachutist will create a video following you during all the steps: from the airplane, to the landing area. The sessions long around 15 minutes.

 

Madrid vacations

Madrid vacations

The Aerotours organizes excellent hot air balloon journeys. For one hour, you will be flying on the air in one of the Phileas Fogg’s favourite transportations, remaining you the “Around the world in 80 days” adventures. Bring the camera with you as you won’t stop taking pictures of the incredible postcards you will see from this privileged balcony set on the clouds. After your flight, you and the rest of the group will celebrate the experience with champagne, and you will be given a certificate of participation. If you are not sure about fancying an adrenaline rollercoaster activity, you can choose this more relaxed way to conquer the sky.

Divernatur – EcoParque Aventura Amazonia is a huge forest with special equipment to become an adventure paradise for adults and children. Located in Cercedilla, 35 minutes away from Madrid, this site offers 100 different games and 22 zip lines on the trees, organized all together in seven circuits. The security is controlled in all moments to achieve 3 hours full of fun. An introductory course is provided to all the participants.

 

 

Madrid adventures

Madrid adventures

Finally, for those who love the motor and car world, we recommend you the Buggy excursions. You have to reach El Molar , in the north of Madrid and near Guadalajara, where you will get in touch with its beautiful landscape by driving a modern and sporty vehicle designed to travel through any surface (water, mountain, etc). Its powerful wheels and its open structure let you move with safety and freedom, having a close contact with the nature. The Buggies are the perfect way to enjoy a mix of sport, adventure, fresh air, culture and gastronomy, by an eco-friendly itinerary.

We hope these ideas can match with your desire of having unique and exciting vacations in Madrid. Remember our Madrid luxury apartments will give you the happiness of your own dream home in the city, and the calm of a 100% comfort, while bringing you the more pure Madrid’s soul.

 

 

 

Art in Barcelona (I)

Barcelona has a huge cultural agenda distributed through the main theatres and the small alternative showrooms, the famous museums, and the still unknown galleries, the auditory and the bars with only a tiny stage for amateur artists. All together create a very alive and interesting scenario where the restless minds can explore both the international trends and the local artists’ all-life master pieces.

We want to give you some art spaces’ names and some exhibitions appointments to help you imagine a different sightseeing tour:

Arts Santa Mónica

Arts Santa Mónica

Until the 25th of September, the cultural centre Arts Santa Monica, located at the end of Las Ramblas (two minutes far from the Maramagnum shopping centre and the port), hosts a free-entrance exhibition about the relation between art and smell. “Olor color. Química, art i pedagogia”, offers a very original approach to visual pieces through the perspective of the natural elements composing them and the fragrances these chemist connections create. Every smell is associated with a colour, something that lets you introduce to a painting by breathing its aroma translation. The display was organized by the perfumer Ernesto Ventós and uses the work of more than twenty national and international visual artists.

 

Caixa Fórum Barcelona

Caixa Fórum Barcelona

The second stop of our itinerary is the CaixaForum centre, located near the Montjuic fountain and some metres below the MNAC museum (the Catalonia National Art Museum). During all the summer and until the 4th of September, you can enjoy the exhibition “L’efecte del cinema. Il·lusió, realitat I imatge en movement. Somni”: it is conformed around the power of the pictures, starting with the cinema ones, and ending with the Internet (Facebook, YouTube) newest samples. The reality experience of the images is a reflection issue that asks the visitors to figure out the tools the media, the fiction industry and the documentary can use to send their messages.

 

Disseny Hub Barcelona

Disseny Hub Barcelona

“What can I wear today?”. To answer this question, the Disseny Hub Barcelona – Montcada, has prepared an exhibition focused on the cultural process of dressing ourselves, and the personality we build with our choice. Culture, society and fashion walk together in this proposal you could explore until the 28th of August. By a low price of 3 €, you can enjoy not only this display, but the design centre itself, located in the Montcada street, 12.

La Pedrera Barcelona

La Pedrera Barcelona

The last recommendation of today’s article is the permanent exhibition of La Pedrera. As you may know, this is one of the most notorious buildings of the genius artist and architect Antoni Gaudí. Besides its incredible and modernist frontage, you can also visit one inside flat, which reproduces a typical XX century home of an upper class family. Moreover, don’t miss the attic terrace, with the unique Gaudi’s chimneys and the incredible views of Barcelona.

La Pedrera building is located in the Passeig de Gracia. We want to recommend you our very modern flats to rent in Las Ramblas, Plaza Cataluña or Passeig de Gracia locations, and other not so centric points. The best accommodation option lives in the most enchanting places of Barcelona, sharing all the beauty and elegance with its attractions and museums. This summer, feel the art in Barcelona.


Photos: KippelboyAnnaKippelboyDiliff

Trip to Barcelona Some Catalan traditions (II)

In case you were planning your trip to Barcelona during the autumn or winter seasons, you should know which are the main traditions Catalonia lives in

Barcelona Castanyada

Barcelona Castanyada

those months, in order to understand what you may see around you, and even participate in some of them.

The “Tots Sants” (All saints) day, the 31st of October, is also the day of what is called “La castanyada”. “Castanya” is the Catalan word for “chestnut”, so this celebration is devoted to the autumn season in general, and especially the tradition of burning and eating the chestnuts people have previously recollected from the forest’s ground. It is very common to see chestnuts stalls all over Barcelona and other cities during all October.

 

Christmas in Barcelona

Christmas in Barcelona

A bit later, during the Christmas, Catalonia also has its own and unique traditions. Sharing the illusion for the gifts and the happiness of the family meetings, they don’t wait for Santa Claus, but they have two different gift givers: On 24 December, it is time for “El Tió”, a piece of wood with a smiling face drawn on one of its circle sides, and wearing a typical red “barretina”, the Catalan hat. The entire family sings and hits the “Tió” with sticks, asking for luck and presents. After singing, the “Tió”, covered with some blanket on it, magically has made appear several enveloped packets.

 

Three Kings Day in Barcelona

Three Kings Day in Barcelona

Some days later, on the 5th of January, there is a second chance for getting presents, by waiting and receiving the Three Kings. They are three old men wearing majestic attire that arrive at the same time to all the towns and cities of Spain. For those children who hadn’t behaved well during the year, they won’t have anything else but coal. For those who deserve their wished presents, they will enter the house and leave the packets in the living room, while everybody is sleeping.

During the February and also the March months, people dress up with funny costumes to celebrate the Carnival. Some of them are especially famous, such as the Sitges or the Torelló carnivals. Their large number of thematic floats and the great amount of participants make these events a massive meeting point for the fantasy and magic. Dance, music and party live together in the night where everybody can become a different person.

You can participate in all of these traditions during your Barcelona holidays. Barcelona usually shows the most impressive sample of the Catalan traditions, so you will, surely, get involved with the festivity atmosphere just walking in the street.

Book now your accommodation in the centre of Barcelona, and enjoy amazing Las Ramblas flats to rent, Plaza Cataluña luxury apartments and much more. Don’t let your vacations miss our top class accommodation, the perfect complement for your interesting day to day plan.

 

Photos: AbrahamiRogernotbernatff