Tourist information & facts about Barcelona

Catalan and Spanish

230 volt 50 Hz. Plugs have round pins and come in a variety of sizes and configurations - click here for more details

Hot and humid in summer with thunderstorms in the second half of August. The cold in winter can be offset by warm sunshine.

The metric system is used; base units are grams, metres and litres, also used are kilos (kilograms), millimetres, centimetres, kilometres, millilitres, centilitres.

Although it is quite usual to leave a tip of €1 or €2 in a restaurant, tipping is not expected and it is normal to leave no tip in bars and cafes, although you can leave some small change. Other services are not tipped in Spain, including taxis.

The country code for Spain is 34; numbers in Barcelona start 93; to dial a number in Barcelona from abroad you should dial +34-93-number; the emergency number in Spain is 112; mobile phone numbers start with the digit 6.

Pickpockets are rife in some areas of the city, although violent crime is less common. Particular hotspots to watch out for are; the Ramblas; Plaça Reial; Sants station; the airport. Always watch your bags and valuable and don't flaunt expensive watches/jeweller/cameras etc. Be particularly careful if someone is overly keen to help you in any way.

Smoking marijuana is common, to the extent that you can often smell it on the street and at events like football matches and concerts. Private consumption of the drug is legal, although dealing it is not; also, Spain has the highest use of cocaine in Europe.

You can purchase alcohol in a bar or shop aged 18, although you can consume alcohol from the age of 16; the authorities are clamping down on drinking in public to curb drunkardness, particularly aimed at tourists - you can be fined for drinking in a public place that isn't a bar and that includes Barcelona's beaches; the drink driving limit in Catalunya is lower than the rest of Spain, just 20mg of alcohol per ml of blood. Although drink driving laws were previously lax, you will sometimes find police roadblocks.

Spain's anti-smoking laws were introduced at the beginning of 2006. They include banning smoking in offices, shops, schools, hospitals, cultural centres and on public transport. Bars and restaurants less than 100 sq. metres have the choice of being either smoking or non-smoking and all will have a sign indicating which they are, while larger establishments can have a separate smoking area, also marked.