SPAIN - Best of Europe 2014 - page 1393

thieves posing as lost tourists who ask for your help. A typical street gambling scam
is the pea-and-carrot game, a variation on the shell game. The people winning are all
ringers, and you can be sure that you'll lose if you play. Also beware of groups of wo-
men aggressively selling carnations, people offering to clean off a stain from your shirt,
and people picking things up in front of you on escalators. If you stop for any commo-
tion or show on the Ramblas, put your hands in your pockets before someone else does.
Assumeanyscuffleissimplyadistraction byateamofthieves.Crooksareinventive,so
keep your guard up. Don't be intimidated...just be smart.
Some areas feel seedy and can be unsafe after dark; I'd avoid the southern part of
the Barri Gòtic (basically the two or three blocks directly south and east of Plaça Rei-
al—thoughthestripneartheCarrerdelaMercètapasbarsisbetter),andIwouldn'tven-
ture too deep into the Raval (just west of the Ramblas). One block can separate a comfy
tourist zone from the junkies and prostitutes.
Emergency Phone Numbers: General emergencies—112, police—092, ambulance—061
or 112.
Sight Reservations: Several of Barcelona's top sights can have long lines of up to an hour
ormore.Toavoidneedlesswaiting,youcanbuyticketsinadvancebygoingonline(orin
somecases,calling).ThisisespeciallysmartforthePicassoMuseum(see here ) ,Sagrada
Família (see here ) , Casa Batlló (see here ) , and Casa Milà (see here ) . An Articket BCN
(described on here ) allows you to skip the lines at the Picasso Museum and Casa Milà,
but it doesn't cover the Sagrada Família or Casa Batlló. If you want to tour the Palace of
Catalan Music, with its oh-wow Modernista interior, you'll need to reserve it in advance
(see here ) .
Festivals: Major festivals include Festival Grèc, a summer arts festival (June-July,
grec.bcn.cat); Montjuïc de Nit, featuring one day of music, cinema, art, theater, and
dance (mid-July, www.bcn.cat/cultura/montjuicnit ) ; and the Festes de Gràcia, an eight-
day street party (mid-Aug, www.festamajordegracia.cat ).
Language Barrier: In posted information throughout the city (such as museum descrip-
tions), English plays third fiddle. You'll see Catalan first, Spanish (castellano) second,
and English a distant third...or often not at all. Fortunately, many locals speak English.
Web Addresses: If a website doesn't work, try replacing the “.com” or “.es” with
“.cat”—the web suffix for Catalunya. Many businesses are switching to this.
Internet Access: Navega Web has hundreds of computers for accessing the Internet and
burning pictures onto a disc. It's cheap (€2/hour) and conveniently located across
from La Boqueria market, downstairs in the bright Centre Comercial New Park (daily
10:00-23:00, Ramblas 88-94, tel. [phone]).