The Arts and Festivals
Quite apart from the city's countless bars, restaurants and clubs, there's a full cultural life worth sampling. We've covered live music venues, and film and theatre are also well represented, as you'd expect in a city this size. Even if you don't speak Catalan or Spanish there's no need to miss out, since several cinemas show films in their original language, while Barcelona also boasts a series of old-time music hall/ cabaret venues putting on largely visual shows, which are appealing in any language. Catalan performers have always steered away from the classics and gone for the innovative, and so the city also boasts a long tradition of street and performance art . Finally, if you're lucky (or you've planned ahead) you'll coincide with one of the city's excellent festivals and open-air events in which case you'll be able to immerse yourself in what Barcelona does best: enjoying itself. There are several ticket offices and booths ( taquilles ) throughout the city. For theatre and dance, the most important is the Centre d'Informacio in the Palau de la Virreina, which dispenses programmes, advance information and tickets for all the Ajuntament -sponsored productions, performances and exhibitions, including the Grec season events. The ticket booth at the corner of c/d'Aribau and the Gran Via, close to Placa Universitat (Mon-Sat 10.30am-1.30pm & 4-7.30pm), sells tickets for many theatre productions, and increasingly useful are the automated Servicaixa ticket dispensers. Finally, with a credit card you can buy theatre tickets over the phone or on the Net through Tel-Entrada on 902 101 212 or . For listings of almost anything in the way of culture and entertainment, buy a copy of the weekly Guia del Ocio from any newsstand. This has full details of film, theatre and musical events (free and otherwise), as well as extensive sections on bars, restaurants and nightlife. It's in Spanish but easy enough to decipher. El Pais newspaper also carries a comprehensive listings guide, while the free monthly magazine Barcelona Metropolitan (available in English-language bookshops, bars and cinemas) has listings information and news about the city in English. For advance information , the office at the Palau de la Virreina has plenty of free publicity material about forthcoming cultural and music events - write to I.M. Barcelona Espectacles, Palau de la Virreina, Rambla 99, 08002 Barcelona, telling them what you're interested in. An organization called Amics de la Musica de Barcelona (c/d'Ortigosa 14-16 tel 932 680 122) publishes a free monthly listings sheet detailing current classical, opera, jazz and rock concerts along with ticket prices and addresses; pick it up at the Palau de la Virreina or the tourist information office.
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