The best apps for getting to know Barcelona

Smartphones are in our lives to stay, they are no longer mere phones and have actually become the tourist’s best ally. Long gone are the heavy guides, impossible maps and addresses jotted down in sticky notes. Now, all necessary information to make any trip a one-in-a-lifetime experience is found in the palm of your hand.

Visitors who want to get around Barcelona using their smart-phone as a guide are in luck. The city, chosen as world capital of mobile technologies and host to the Mobile World Congress, counts with dozens of mobile apps to ease up the search for hotels and restaurants, route plans, and even allow users to get info on the history behind each city monument.

If you are one of the many who don’t go anywhere without their smart-phone, and you want to squeeze the most out of your visit to Barcelona, have a look at the most useful free apps to enjoy everything the city has to offer:

– BCN City: Thanks to this app, visitors will be able to keep track of the most notorious places, the best rated hotels and restaurants, or where to find the best nightlife offerings. A very complete and interesting guide.

timeout– TimeOut: Another excellent app to guide you through Barcelona. This one was nominated in 2011 as best travel app and offers information on the city’s attractions, buildings, museums and maps.

– BCN Design Tour: This app is for getting acquainted with the most modern and cultural facet of Barcelona, its art, music, and all the latest trends. Essential for those who love design and the avant-garde.

– Bus Turístic Virtual: Augmented reality app, allowing you to pinpoint the most emblematic spots in the city and the next tourist bus stop. An essential app if you want to tour the city in one of the roofless tourist buses.

– TMB Virtual: This app was developed by TMB, the Metropolitan Transports of Barcelona service company, showing info on the different lines, timetables, routes, and stations for all public transport in the city. In addition, it will allow you to set up personalized routes.

metro-barcelona-app– Metro Map: All the necessary info for moving around in subway can be found in this app. You will be able to find info on all lines, routes, stops, and stations. Furthermore, it will let you know of the nearest station to your current location and inform you of any changes in the timetable or routes.

– BCN Arquitectura: Barcelona’s City Council and the Catalonian School of Architects have created this mobile app including over a hundred emblematic building’s descriptions, blueprints, and photographs. Ideal for those who want to get to know each building in Barcelona a little better.

– iBeach Información Playas: This app will give you information on the tide, temperature, flag color, or jellyfish presence, and will also let you consult what services are to be found in each beach. A very useful application to enjoy the sun and the Mediterranean without a hitch.

– You can also find apps to make virtual visits to several museums and monuments, including Museo Picasso app, the Joan Miró app, and the Sagrada Familia app.