Barcelona has always been a well-supported club. The majority of the population of Catalunya has considered FC Barcelona to be their team. The team also has had plenty of supporters in the rest of Spain, particularly those opposed to the central government. In addition, Barcelona was often the second team of many people who primarily supported their local team.
However, until quite recently, Barcelona was not widely supported in many other countries. Advances in technology since the start of the new century have changed all that. These days, people all round the world support Barcelona and watch their games either on television or the Internet. More and more of these fans are now making the trip to Barcelona to see their team play live at Camp Nou.
Camp Nou is a huge stadium and has a capacity of over 99,000. Although the ground is theoretically sold out to season ticket holders, with a long waiting list, tickets are freely available for most games.
While may be able to purchase match day tickets elsewhere, I strongly recommend that you buy your tickets via our Barcablog partner, Viagogo, right here. We are proud to say that a percentage of the price you pay for the tickets will be donated to the Fundacion Leo Messi charity on your behalf. A win-win situation, right?
It is hard to say how long before the match is played you should attempt to buy the tickets. As they are released, they are made available.
Another difficulty is that the exact dates and times of La Liga matches are not decided until as early as three weeks prior to the game. There are timeslots when a FC Barcelona home game is more likely to be played but the weekend La Liga round has ten timeslots from Friday night to Monday night. So be aware of this.
If you don’t pre-purchase your ticket on the Internet, you may probably still be able to buy your ticket when you get to Barcelona, although the match may very well be sold out by then. To do this, you can go the Barcelona Ticket Office in the Camp Nou complex opposite the entrance to the Club’s Museum (which you should definitely visit whilst you are in Barcelona).
Another place that sells FC Barcelona match day tickets, as well as tickets to most events in Barcelona, is a ticket booth on Las Ramblas just down from Liceu Metro station. If you buy here, however, the cost will probably be a little higher.
If you are an overseas visitor like me, you will probably arrive in Barcelona by aeroplane.
This means you will land at Barcelona-El Prat Airport which is located 12 kilometres southwest of the centre of Barcelona. Depending on which airline you flew, it will be at either Terminal 1 or 2.
Signs are in English, Spanish and Catalan so it is an easy airport to navigate. Once you have cleared Immigration and Customs, you need to actually get to the city. There are two ways of doing this. The first one is to take one of the distinctive yellow and black Taxis. The cost is about 30 euros for the trip so if you are part of a small group the cost per person is not that much. The other is to take the Barcelona Aerobus which goes to El Corte Ingles Department Store at Placa De Catalunya. The cost is 6 euros one way or 10 euros return. Get the return ticket, if you will be returning within the expiry limit. When returning to the airport, make sure you get on the bus going to your particular terminal.
If you are travelling to Barcelona for a Camp Nou match, you will need somewhere to stay. There is an abundance of hotels and apartments available as Barcelona is totally geared to tourism. Once you have decided which match or matches you wish to see, I suggest you book your accommodation as soon as possible. The later you leave it, the greater is the risk in regards to price and even availability.
See your travel agent or you can do it yourself on the Internet. Booking.com is a great website to use. For what it is worth, I recommend the Hotel Rialto on Calle Ferran off Las Rambas. I have stayed there on all my visits to Barcelona after it was initially recommended by my travel agent. Whilst not luxurious, it is extremely comfortable representing great value at 100 to 150 euros per night. It is superbly located near La Catedral and its included breakfasts are absolutely delicious. If you need anything, all of the reception staff are very friendly and helpful. The hotel is within short walking of both Liceu (Line 3, on Las Ramblas) and Jaume 1 (Line 4) Metro stations. Metro Line 3 is used to get to Camp Nou.
Once you familiarise yourself with the Metro system, it is easy to get to any location in Barcelona.
When it is time to go to Camp Nou, I suggest you use the Metro. There are four Metro stations that virtually surround Camp Nou: Les Corts, Maria Cristina and Palau Reial (both on Avenida Diagonal) on Metro Line 3 and Collblanc on Line 5. Each Metro station is closer to a particular side of the stadium but all four are within close walking distance of Camp Nou. If it is your first time there, just follow the crowd.
Your ticket has all the information you need: Access, Gate, Boca, Row and Seat (or Acces, Porta, Boca, Fila and Seient if your ticket is printed in Catalan). You first go through an outer Entrance (Access) and then through the inner entrance (Gate). Once inside the stadium, it is relatively easy to find your seat. If in any doubt, ask one of the many staff all of whom can speak English. You can be absolutely certain that you won’t be the only overseas visitor in the stadium.
Once the game is finished, you have to get back to a metro station. If you are using Line 3 try to get to Palau Reial Metro Station as this is the first stop heading away from Camp Nou going back towards Las Ramblas. If it your first time there and you are a little confused as to exactly where you are, head towards the giant Princess Sofia Hotel on Avenida Diagonal. This is a towering landmark and is near Maria Cristina Metro Station which is the next stop after Palau Reial. You might to wait a little longer but you will still get a train.
If you do go to Barcelona for a match, I recommend you stay at least three days to have a look at the city. Given that the exact date and time of a match is not known until quite late you may not have a choice in this matter. Barcelona is a city with something for everybody. It has a very pleasant climate, plenty of bars and restaurants serving delicious food especially the paella, a vibrant night life and a multitude of sights to see including a lot of grand, historical architecture.
For the first time visitor, I recommend either the Barcelona City Tour (Red Bus) or Barcelona Bus Turistic (Blue Bus) as a good way to familiarise yourself with the city. The main stop for both Buses is at Placa De Catalunya. A two day ticket represents excellent value and you get on and off at the stops for whatever sights you wish to see. Naturally, Camp Nou, at Access 9, is one of the stops. This is near the entrance to the Club’s Museum which, as I said before, is a must see for any Cule. Suffice to say, there is heaps and you should have an enjoyable stay.
If you are an English speaker, you will not have any language difficulties in Barcelona as English is widely spoken. However, the locals will appreciate it if you learn a few basic Spanish or Catalan words and phrases. After five years of learning, I am now reasonably fluent in Spanish and also know a small amount of Catalan. I have found this to be useful and try to speak Spanish as much as possible.
I must offer a world of caution. Whilst I have found Barcelona to be quite a safe city, one needs to be aware of the danger of pickpockets and scammers. Mind you, one has to be careful in every city in the world.
If you are considering going to Barcelona to see our team play, I hope you have found this article to be useful. However, it is not meant to be a definitive guide to your activities whilst there. It is only a starting point. I have been to Barcelona four times and have learnt new things on every trip.
