After London and Paris, Barcelona is the most visited city in Europe. The dynamic capital of Catalonia is located directly on the Mediterranean and bears witness to a millennia-old culture. In addition to a large number of hotels and guesthouses, Barcelona is also home to numerous language schools. The city is also very suitable for a language study trip to Spain due to its short distance from Switzerland (around 1000 km).
If you have decided to study Spanish in Barcelona, you are now spoiled for choice. A large number of renowned international and local language schools offer a wide and varied range of Spanish courses.
The first decisive point when choosing a language school is the question of which courses are suitable. Not every language school offers Spanish courses for beginners and advanced learners. Not every course provider offers individual lessons either. If you want to prepare for a Spanish diploma such as the Diploma de Español como Lengua Extranjera (DELE for short) or if you are looking for a Spanish course with a focus on business or tourism, the results of your search for a suitable Spanish school will vary. Some schools offer intensive courses for short stays, others specialize in half-day courses and offer interesting excursions and leisure activities in addition to language lessons.
Another important criterion is the location of the Spanish school. If you are only planning a short language study trip to Barcelona, you will prefer a central location so that you can see more of the city during your short stay. This means you won't have to travel long distances, you can immerse yourself directly in the lively city life and some of the important sights can be explored on foot. For a longer language study trip to Barcelona, language schools in outlying districts are also very interesting, but also rather rare options. The language schools in Barcelona are mostly centrally located. However, if you do find a renowned language school on the outskirts of the city, this is certainly an exciting option. The somewhat quieter surroundings often offer a welcome counterbalance to the vibrant city. Here, time passes a little more slowly and leisurely, and the southern conviviality creates space for exciting encounters and conversations with locals, which has a particularly positive effect on your progress in oral Spanish.
Other important criteria when choosing a Spanish school are the weekly schedule of lessons, the number and duration of individual lessons, class size, school size, course costs, the mix of nationalities and the quality of the infrastructure and Spanish teachers.
We at Ausbildung-Weiterbildung.ch offer you an insight into informative testimonials from former Swiss language students who have already undertaken a language study trip to Spain. This feedback can help you make a decision regarding your choice of school. You can also read the online reviews of language schools in Barcelona that appear on Google if you search for them using Google Maps. Facebook also lists helpful reviews of individual language schools from former language students. These testimonials are very valuable when looking for a suitable language school due to their honesty and first-hand information. However, don't let one or two bad reviews influence you negatively, but if in doubt, ask the language travel provider about existing customer reviews. You can also find more insightful information, tips and ideas for a language study trip to Barcelona in ourLanguage travel guide.
In addition to language courses, most language schools in Barcelona also offer accommodation in various forms.
The most popular and highly recommended option is to stay with a local host family. The family connection has a very positive effect on learning progress in Spanish and enables quick access to Spanish culture. Gaining an insight into the life of a local family greatly enhances a language stay in Barcelona and makes it easier to make contacts. It is not unusual for host families to organize excursions for their visitors and enable them to take part in cultural or festive events to which they would otherwise not have had access. Host families offer both single and double rooms and guests can choose whether they only want to have breakfast with the family or prefer to book half or full board.
Another accommodation option during a language study trip to Barcelona is accommodation in a student residence or shared flat. Here, the bathroom and kitchen are usually shared. If a private retreat is very important to you, you can also rent a studio with a private kitchenette and bathroom. In most cases, this type of accommodation requires a minimum booking of a few weeks and is therefore particularly suitable for longer language stays. The standard of the various types of accommodation varies greatly, which is also reflected in the rental price.
When choosing the right accommodation in Barcelona, the location naturally also plays an important role. Every district in Barcelona has a different character. When arranging your accommodation, ask about the exact location and the respective transport connections to the language school and the city center. Sometimes it is worth paying a slightly higher rent for a more central location in order to minimize commuting time and costs. Who wants to spend valuable time on the train, bus or metro during a language study trip in Barcelona? If you decide to stay with a host family, you cannot find out the distance between the school and your home address in advance. However, the language schools promise a maximum distance of between 20 and 45 minutes, depending on the school. Discuss your expectations regarding accommodation with the language school or language travel provider in advance to find the ideal solution.
Night owls will love Barcelona, because there is a huge and varied offer awaiting them. Whether it's a cozy evening in a cozy bar, seeing a live act or dancing the night away, in Barcelona you will hardly be able to decide where you want to party. Whether it's a live act or DJ, hot Latin rhythms, cozy jazz sounds, ripping rock music or pulsating disco beats, the city has something for everyone. The clubs in Barcelona are well frequented by tourists and locals alike, even on weekdays.
If you don't know the city well yet and don't want to just plunge into the nightlife at random, you can purchase a Barcelona VIP club card online. The VIP pass is valid for one to seven nights and allows you direct and free entry past the queue to the city's hippest clubs and bars, where a VIP table is already waiting for you. VIP Club Card holders also benefit from individual club advice. This means you can go straight to the venues that meet your tastes and expectations.
If you would like to find out more about the nightlife before your language study trip to Barcelona, you can find more information on the website of the officialBarcelona Tourist Boarda helpful overview of the most important addresses for a successful nightlife in Barcelona.
Although Barcelona is known for its vibrant nightlife, numerous other attractions and sights attract up to 30 million visitors to the metropolis every year.
For some visitors to Barcelona, the first address is the Rambla, a 1.2 km long promenade that runs through the old town from Plaça de Catalunya to the old port of Barcelona and is lively around the clock. It is considered a landmark of Barcelona. Countless cafés, tapas bars and stalls are lined up here and street artists entertain the passing crowds.
Poble Espanyol - the "Spanish village" is also affectionately known as "the Spanish soul". It is a village in the middle of Barcelona with different neighborhoods, each embodying different architectural styles from all over Spain. A stroll through the romantic alleyways of this village reveals the heart of Spain in the form of Spanish culinary delights and local handicrafts, music and dance. The architectural masterpieces of Antonio Gaudi, such as the Sagrada Familia temple, which has been under construction for over 130 years, or the La Pedrera building with its undulating lines, attract two million visitors every year.
Camp Nou, FC Barcelona's football museum, offers a behind-the-scenes look at the huge stadium and the numerous trophies won by the successful club. The magical fountain of Montjuïc presents its spectacle in a mix of water, music and light every evening at dusk. Numerous art museums and galleries, including those of Picasso and Miró, two extraordinarily famous and talented painters, attract art lovers from all over the world to Barcelona.
Barcelona is located on the Mediterranean, so a trip to the beach is just a stone's throw away. Barceloneta beach is the closest to the city and is therefore very lively. Here you can swim, sunbathe on the sand or enjoy a tasty refreshment at a beach bar. Due to its proximity to the city, you can also quickly soak up some sun here in the afternoon after your Spanish course and switch off. If you prefer something more sporty, you can go windsurfing or kitesurfing here. Icària beach is a little less busy and therefore offers more peace and relaxation. The Mar Bella beach is unofficially a nudist beach, but you can still show yourself here in swimming trunks and a bikini. The beaches of Sitges are a 30-minute train ride away and are highly recommended for a day trip with beach vacation charm.
A language study trip to Barcelona is therefore very diverse and offers endless leisure opportunities. Depending on the activities, you may have to dig deep into your pockets. Depending on your plans, it may therefore be worth considering buying a Barcelona Card. It is issued by the Barcelona Tourist Office for one to four days and offers discounts on numerous sights, souvenirs, restaurants, music and theater performances, as well as free public transport in the city center.
As many of the sights within the city are not far from each other, it is easy to get around on foot if the temperatures allow. However, accommodation and language schools are often not located directly in the city center during a language study trip, in which case it is worth taking a closer look at the public transport network.
Barcelona has a top metro system. The metro runs on time and gets you from A to B quickly. You never have to wait long for the next connection. The bus network in Barcelona is also very sophisticated and offers a very convenient way of getting around the city. The RENFE train service is suitable for longer distances in and around Barcelona. Buses and streetcars are very popular alternatives for getting around the city easily.
One-way tickets for trains, streetcars, metro and buses are only suitable if you need to buy less than three journeys. Otherwise, the best option is a Barcelona Card for the city center transport network or a T10 ticket, which can be purchased for one or more zones within any time period and offers a discount of over 50%. A T10 card costs just under 10 euros per zone and can be redeemed ten times for 1 ¼ hours each. One journey can be used for different means of transport, provided they are used within the above-mentioned time period.
Ask your language course provider, language school or host family in advance about the appropriate discount card for transportation in Barcelona. The T10 cards can be purchased at any metro station or at a counter at the RENFE train stations.
Even with a Barcelona Card or a T10 ticket, your stay in Barcelona will cost quite a bit. Barcelona is a large city with high standards and by no means a cheap destination.
As the Barcelona Card is limited to one to five days, you should consciously visit as many sights and enjoy the nightlife as possible during this period, as the card offers numerous discounts and free admissions. However, if you are planning a language study trip lasting several weeks or even months, you certainly don't want to limit such activities and nights out to just these few days. Ask your host family, friends and fellow students locally about inexpensive supermarkets, restaurants, bars and excursions. Prices vary greatly here.
Anyone planning a language study trip to Barcelona should therefore bring a good financial cushion with them. You will certainly be spending more money than at home. After all, you're not going on a language study trip to sit alone in your room at the weekend and in the evening. Quite the opposite: you want to make memories, treat yourself, experience a lot, meet new people and immerse yourself in a different culture and language - and where better to do that than by mingling with people and going out?
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