Barcelona Carnival

Akaza — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:19:02 +0100

The Barcelona carnival occurs every year in February and is organized by Barcelona´s Carnival commission. El Carnaval is a public celebration typical of Spain which takes place before the start of lent and usually consists of parades, dressing up and events throughout the city. The origin of Spanish carnival is thought to have come from pagan festivals where they paid homage to Baco, the god of wine, or alternatively from Egypt over 5000 years ago and roman times, from which the customs...

Los Reyes Magos

Akaza — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 20:09:33 +0100

Los Reyes Magos

This weekend the Reyes Magos, or 3 kings came to Barcelona for the annual parade through the city. According to the bible, these 3 kings travelled across many lands following a star to visit and pay homage to Jesus on the night of his birth. They brought Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh for the baby Jesus. According to tradition, the kings are called Melchor, Gaspar and Baltasar and bring the presents on the night before the epiphany, 5th January. This year ...

Barcelona christmas markets

Akaza — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 01:02:00 +0100

Christmas markets are a Catalan tradition and Vic is among the most famous, attracting locals and tourists alike for over 15 years. The market is an annual event occurring the same week as the public holidays of 6th and 8th December. The normally quiet streets are filled with stalls and medieval decoration and costumes.

The market sells everything from donkey rides to But...

The hidden monastery of Catalunia

Akaza — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 17:28:59 +0100

The abbey of Sant Miquel del Fai is an antique beautiful Benedict monastery close to the town Riells in the Catalan region of Valles Oriental, 50km away from Barcelona. The exact date of its foundation is unknown, but a community of monks was already settled down in 1006. It was funded by Gombau de Besura, the owner of – among other properties - the Montbui Castle in Caldes, in Catalonia.

Despite being a small monastery, during the centuries it left a mark in the history of Catal...

Christmas in Barcelona

Akaza — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 23:33:43 +0100

In Spain we generally consider 8th December – the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, to be when Christmas begins. This is the day when the people in Spain start to put up the Christmas decorations. In most of the Spanish homes the nativity is one of the most important features of the decorations. The family enjoys building together the Bethlehem where the Baby Jesus is born.

The neighborhood of Barcelona

Akaza — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 17:52:20 +0100

1. Montserrat

Montserrat is a multi-peaked mountain. It is part of theCatalan Pre-Costal Range. The main peaks are Sant Jeroni (1,236 m), Montgrós (1 ,120 m) and Miranda de les Agulles (903 m). The mountain is the namesake for the Carribean island of Montserrat.

This amazing museum, which opened in 2005, has been heralded as the finest science museum in Europe. CosmoCaixa Barcelona has an enormous variety of content and an innovative layout, turning it into one of the most modern museums of its kind. The new 50.000 m2 building increases the scientific offer of its predecessor.<...

Museo de Chocolate Barcelona

Akaza — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 18:39:24 +0100

Chocolate museum Barcelona

The Barcelona chocolate museum is the first of its kind in Catalonia and is situated in the Born district of the city. Akaza has many apartments in this and all other areas of the city for your stay. It is a really exciting ...

Fun and Fireworks at La merce!

Akaza — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 17:32:14 +0100

Correfoc (The firerun)

The Correfoc is one of the most popular events of La Merce festival, Barcelona´s biggest street party which happens every year in September. The legend of Correfoc is that the&...

Spain Triumphs once again at the European Championships

Akaza — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 23:19:04 +0100

Spain storm to victory in the European Championships

Mont Tibidabo

Akaza — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 15:10:27 +0100

Tibidabo is Barcelona's highest point. The mountain's name comes from the Bible. The Catalan legend says that Christ was tempted by the devil here. The Latin text that the devil said to Christ was the following- "... si haec omnia tibi DABO cadens adoraveris me" means "I give you all this, if you worship me down on your knees."

Museo Picasso

Let's salute the best-known artist of the 20th century in the museum filled with treasures. The museum that focuses on the formation of Pablo Picasso boasts the world's largest collection of his early works. Picasso had remarkable artistic inclinations when he was only 10 years old. In 1895, at age 14, his family moved to Barcelona from the city of La Coruna, where his art...

FC Barcelona 2011-2012

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 23:47:40 +0100

Finally the summer is over and the Supercopa is safely in the back pocket so we can start concentrating on La Liga. For those of you who don’t get too excited about the fashion week of Barcelona, there will be numerous reasons to be in awe during the 2011-2012 season of the Spanish. Due to the strike, La Liga started a bit later than scheduled but do not worry; there will be plenty of the beautiful game to see in Barcelona. Don’t forget to get your tickets!

Dear Akaza Blog readers,

This week, as the summer starts showing signs of slowly making way for autumn, it is a good time to share some information about the upcoming concerts in Barcelona. Naturally the music scene of Barcelona is extremely diverse, and therefore you can see pretty much every kind of an artist at any time of the year. Nevertheless, let’s take a look at some gigs that have been selected through a sophisticated scr...

La Diada

Akaza — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 22:54:54 +0100

The 11th September is the national day of Catalonia. The Catalan National Day - La Diada Nacional de Catalunya commemorates the fall of Barcelona during the War of Spanish Succession in 1714 resulting in Catalonia losing much autonomy. This day was officially proclaimed as Catalonia's national day in 1980 by the restored Generalitat de Catalunya.

When autumn arrives to Barcelona, it brings a unique event with it; the fiesta de la Merce. The festival used to be a religious happening, but nowadays it is a popular fiesta with not much to do with religion. However, the name Merce comes from the patron saint of Barcelona.

If you happen t...

Blog entries

Barcelona Carnival

Los Reyes Magos

Barcelona christmas markets

The hidden monastery of Catalunia

Christmas in Barcelona

The neighborhood of Barcelona

Museo de Chocolate Barcelona

Fun and Fireworks at La merce!

Spain Triumphs once again at the European Championships

Mont Tibidabo

FC Barcelona 2011-2012

La Diada