Here we have another article to help you while you are staying visiting the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. What do you need to orientate yourself around the city. Here is an article covering just that and we will be adding something new every day, so keep coming back.
Let's Get Orientated
First of all, let's deal with directions. All maps of Barcelona are rotated, so what appears to be east on a map is really compass north. (That's why the convention center's North Entrance is where it is.) I'll use "map directions" in this guide.
The city of L'Hospitalet lies between the airport (which is in another suburb, El Prat de Llobregat) and the main city of Barcelona. The border between the two is invisible; the north entrance of the Fira is actually in Barcelona, while the south entrance is in L'Hospitalet.
The Fira Gran Via convention center is on Granvia de L'Hospitalet, a long road that runs right through Barcelona. South and west of the Fira are industrial areas, tailing off to the working port; north and east are neighborhoods in L'Hospitalet and Barcelona.
The bulge of Montjuïc, a small mountain covered in parks and museums, separates the Fira area from most of the rest of Barcelona. The distance is too far to walk, and it's dull, but it's a quick bus or train ride. Both the area around the Fira and Barcelona itself are very walkable, though.
The Fira Gran Via
The new Fira center will make your convention experience a lot more comfortable. Unlike the old Fira, in Fira Gran Via you never have to go outside; if you remember MWC 2010 when it rained the entire time, you'll understand how nice a change that is.
Designed by prominent Japanese architect Toyo Ito, the Fira is supposed to resemble an undulating undersea world, with coral-reef walls and a "jellyfish" atrium. The eight halls are connected by an enclosed spine with moving walkways. At the middle of the structure, two outdoor avenues open up for eating, drinking, and networking; there are also several patios (GSMA calls them "networking gardens") lined with artificial grass scattered around.
The Fira is about a mile long and has two entrances, one on either end. Because the Fira Gran Via is so long, it's best to think of it in two halves: focus either on the South Entrance (closest to Hall 1 and Hall 2) or the North Entrance (by Hall 8.1, App Planet, and Hall 8.0, Theatre District). Restaurants and attractions in this guide will be listed by proximity to either the south or north entrances.
Mobile World Congress offers a full guide to the Fira, including a video you can watch called New Venue Orientation.
Neighborhoods of Barcelona
The Old Town
Bisected by the famous La Rambla, Barcelona's Old Town is a golden Gothic gem. This is an area of small, winding streets with hundreds of years of history. The more tourist-friendly neighborhoods of the Barri Gotic, Ribera, and Born are northeast of the Rambla, between that street and the Parc de la Ciutadella.
The Barri Gotic, between the Rambla and Via Laietana, includes the city hall, cathedral, and the remnants of the Jewish neighborhood, El Call; if you want to stay somewhere that feels ancient, this is where you should stay. Across Via Laietana are the hip Born (below Carrer de la Princesa) and somewhat sleepier Ribera. The Born has come up in the past 10 years as a neighborhood of cafes, boutiques, and bars in historic buildings, ideal for shopping.
The Rambla itself is one of Barcelona's most famous tourist attractions, but I consider it overrated: it's a tourist trap, in more ways than one. Leading from the sea to the Plaça Catalunya, it's overrun by visitors, people who sell things to visitors, and people who take advantage of visitors. It's a constant jostling crowd, and not always actually fun. While it's an unmissable Barcelona experience to walk along once, I greatly prefer the Passeig de Gràcia (below) for a promenade.
On the other side of the Rambla is the Raval neighborhood, a multicultural, working-class barrio that the city has been trying to redevelop for years. Most of that redevelopment can be seen north of the Carrer de L'Hospital, where you'll find the Museum of Contemporary Art, the CCCB arts center, hip hotels near the Gran Via and multicultural restaurants along the Rambla de Raval. The area south of L'Hospital,—confusingly called the "Barri Xines" (Chinatown) even though it isn't actually a Chinatown—is still a bit seedy. Be cautious there.
Down by the waterfront is the entrancing neighborhood of Barceloneta, a former fishing village with streets so narrow that people living across the street from each other can shake hands out their windows. Barceloneta is pockmarked with great little restaurants and ends at the beachfront promenade, which is still busy in February. My favorite tapas place in Barcelona is at La Bombeta (3, carrer Maquinista).
The Eixample
The most beautiful street in Europe, the Passeig de Gràcia divides the two halves of the gracious Eixample. Along here you'll find sidewalk cafes with room to breathe, as well as La Pedrera and Casa Milà, two of the city's iconic Gaudí buildings. Make sure to look down at the beautiful fresco sidewalks.
The Passeig de Gràcia divides the Eixample into the Esquerra (left) and Dreta (right). Both neighborhoods have long, straight streets with blocks cut off at the corners. Deep in the Dreta you'll find the iconic Sagrada Família, the unfinished cathedral that's the single greatest work of Modernist architecture. Just south of Passeig de Gràcia in the Esquerra are the Rambla Catalunya as well as Balmes and Enric Granados streets, prime streets for shopping and dining.
Uptown
Barcelona gets wealthier as you get closer to the mountains. As a visitor for Mobile World Congress, you're most likely to visit two neighborhoods uptown. Gràcia was an independent village until 1897, and it reminds me of New York's Greenwich Village. The Plaça del Sol is one of the city's best places for bar-hopping, and streets like Torrent d'Olla and Verdi are clogged with restaurants and boutiques. North of Gràcia is Parc Guell, famous for a huge cache of Gaudí's architectural confectionery, and above that, on the mountain, is Tibidabo, home to a charmingly run-down amusement park, a gigantic church, and a luxurious hotel. Sarrià-Sant Gervasi is a quieter, upscale residential neighborhood.
Poblenou
You'll likely attend events in the Vila Olimpica, 22@ or Diagonal Mar areas on the other side of the Parc de la Ciutadella from downtown. These are recently redeveloped, relatively synthetic new parts of town. The Vila Olimpica is packed with nightclubs and beachfront restaurants. The 22@ area is a formerly run-down industrial neighborhood that's been turned into a high-tech incubator, and Diagonal Mar is an alternative convention district by the water, with hotels and a medium-sized convention center.
Sants-Montjuïc
Anchored by the grand Plaça Espanya, Sants-Montjuïc is a popular neighborhood for visitors, as everyone traveling by Metro has to change trains at Plaça Espanya to get to the new convention center. This is also where the older Fira de Barcelona is, along with the Hotel Fira Palace, Hotel Catalonia Plaza, and several other venues sure to be used by MWC exhibitors. That said, the neighborhood immediately north of the Plaça Espanya isn't the most charming, and I've ended up spending evenings in the brand-new Arenas shopping mall just because it was convenient.
The old Fira backs onto the hill of Montjuïc, home to a beautiful, rambling park with great views of the city. You'll find several museums up here including the unmissable Fundació Miró. As Montjuïc separates the old city from L'Hospitalet, this is also a great place to take a long, thoughtful walk while staying close to business.
L'Hospitalet de Llobregat
Just on the other side of Montjuïc, Barcelona bleeds into the city of L'Hospitalet de Llobregat. While the densely populated L'H has a quarter-million residents and seven official districts, the one you'll be spending most of your time in is Granvia L'H, one of the area's new business districts.
Since 2000, the Catalonian government has been encouraging skyscrapers to crop up along the Gran Via between Montjuïc and the edge of the urban area. There are two major business clusters: the Plaça Europa, home to the Hotel Porta Fira, Renaissance Hotel, the convention center and several large office buildings; and the City of Justice, an array of imposing legal buildings near the Plaça d'Ildefons Cerdà closer to the main city. The two areas are basically bridged by Granvia 2, a large shopping mall. Several commuter train lines and a frequent bus run along the Gran Via, connecting the neighborhood to Barcelona. If you've ever been to La Defense in Paris, it's similar.
The H12 bus runs the length of the Gran Via every seven to eight minutes and is the best way to connect parts of the district with the city center.
Source: http://www.pcmag.com by Sascha Segan
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