Sunday 28 September 2008

Top 10 Coolest Ways To Get Around Barcelona. Part 2

Funicular de Montjüic. As mentioned above, the cable car of Montjüic starts about half way up the mountain, so what better way to get the first half out of the way than taking the funicular train? For those of you unfamiliar with Funicular trains, it’s like a bus on a cable, but is pulled not hanging. This leaves you on the opposite side of the street to the cable car, and is taken from inside Paral•lel metro station, so also fairly central.

The next 2 are not my stint at a bit of free publicity, but I have to include them as they are so cool!! First is GoCar Barcelona. This is an idea embracing the modern day world of GPS systems and whilst not strictly a car – it’s more like a motorbike sidecar, but for 2 people – the little yellow open-top bombers can be seen driving around Barcelona in many locations. The GPS gives you a guided tour in various languages and instructions of where to go as well, so you see the sights “on your own” as you’re driving but with your own Knight-Rider style KITT Car giving you the navigation – cool!! Barcelona shares the privilege of GoCar with only a handful of world cities including Lisbon, Miami, San Diego and San Francisco.

The second brand new arrival and well worth the mention is BarcelonaGlides. This really is a futuristic way to see the city, and involves an almost pogo-stick type invention but for the new millennium! You are considerable higher than the other pedestrians on a platform with two wheels, an axle and two handlebars kind of like a scooter. But the handlebars control the movement of your wheels, kind of like a motorbike. It’s so difficult to explain without actually seeing one, or using one. It’s almost like the wheels are an extension of your legs, and a slight flick of the wrist makes you move. This really is a sight to see, and guided tours give you an amazing insight to the city centre and surroundings – and you don’t even need to take a step!

Many cities across the globe have open top tourist buses, perhaps copying from the infamous red London buses. I usually avoid these buses, as it’s much more fun to work your own way around a city. However, the Barcelona Bus Turistic (the one run by the council, there are a few) is a great way to see the city over ground and get a real idea of the size and expanse on Barcelona. Visitors flying into Barcelona can see for themselves the great heights from Tibidabo down to the sea, and the tourist bus also shows all the major stops along the way in a hop on hop off fashion with discounts available for each and every tourist attraction. This is especially good for families who prefer not to lug pushchairs and strollers or small children in and out of the metro system. The Bus Turistic has enjoyed phenomenal success over recent years and it’s easy to see why.


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