RCD Espanyol Official Espanyol website - http://www.rcdespanyol.com/ Tickets - The 56,000 capacity Olympic Stadium rarely gets close to half full, so getting hold of tickets isn't usually a problem. As with Barca, tickets are available from the yellow Servi Caixa ticket vending machines around the city. Alternatively, tickets go on sale at the ground and at their stand on the third floor of the Portal de Angel annex of El Corte Inglés department store 2 days before the match. Prices 20-45Euros. Stadium - For now Espanyol play at the unloved Olympic Stadium, high up on the Montjuic hills, with plans for a new stadium at an advanced stage. Free buses leave Placa Espanya for the stadium from 90 minutes before kick off. Otherwise take the funicular from the Paral.lel metro station and it's a ten minute walk, or best of all take the cable car from Barceloneta to Miramar, from where it's a fifteen walk. Ultra Culture - Right wing and nationalist, the Brigada Blanquiazules, with their hardcore sub-section Los Irreductibiles, are to be found opposite the covered main stand in the lower tier. Friendly with Real Madrid, they despise everything Barca stand for.
BARCELONA
Overview - Barcelona ticks just about all the boxes when it comes to short city breaks. A great climate, fantastic architecture, history and culture galore, buzzing nightlife, excellent shopping, good beaches, fine food and , of course, two top class football clubs. Airports & Transfers Barcelona Airport - 7 miles south-west of the city centre, linked by trains every 30 minutes (costing 2.50Euros), Aerobus every 10mins (3.75 Euros), and an hourly N17 night bus (1.25Euros). Taxis approx. 25 Euros. Girona Airport - 64 miles north-east of Barcelona, linked by an irregular bus service costing 12 Euros single or 21 Euros return. See....http://www.sagales.com/index.asp?docId=87&MenuID=87&seccio=2 Reus Airport - 66 miles south-west of Barcelona, linked by buses costing 11 Euros single, 18 Euros return. See....http://www.lesmahandling.com/autobuses/reus/pdf/REUS%20AIRPORT.pdf Nightlife - The Barri Gotic is home to numerous atmospheric bars and clubs. Cross La Rambla into the Raval for a grittier, grungier night out or head north to Gracia for a bohemian selection of tourist-free bar-lined plazas. In summer the numerous beach bars from Barceloneta to Port Olimpic are well worth checking out too. Shopping - Big name designers line Passeig de Gracia uphill from the huge Placa Cataluyna, whilst smaller independent boutiques can be found in the Born district. Vinyl junkies and vintage heads should check out the Raval or Els Encants, Barcelona's biggest flea market, which takes place at Placa de la Glories on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Further reading -
"Time Out" Barcelona (Time Out Barcelona)
Chapter 4 of Morbo: The Story of Spanish Football
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