what to do in barcelona

The annual January sales have commenced in Catalonia with discounts of up to half price. Traders hope to sell between 5 and 10% to make up for December's dramatic decline in consumption.

Barça will start 2011 without Messi, Puyol or Piqué against Levante, three of the most regular members of the first team.

FC Barcelona have had an incredible year as they have won no less than 44 of their 58 official matches in 2010 while losing just five and drawing nine. That run has led to win the Spanish league title and the Spanish Super Cup.

FC Barcelona and Athletic Club have drawn 0-0 at the Camp Nou in a game marked by the clearly different styles of the two sides. The quarter finalists will be decided at San Mamés in two weeks’ time.

Barça struck five again tonight as they brushed aside Espanyol 1-5 at the Cornella-El Prat Stadium with Pedro (2), Xavi and Villa (2) getting the goals for the La Liga leaders.

A year ago, the Barcelona City Council made the decision to convert pet kiosks on Les Rambles into souvenir kiosks. Now, they have changed their minds, claiming that their decision led to overcrowding and lack of public space.

The main Catalan airport received 15,1% more passengers in November, in comparison with last year. However, Girona and Reus airports are losing passengers.

FC Barcelona will meet Arsenal in the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League with the first leg taking place at the Emirates on February 16 and the return game in Camp Nou on March 8.

The Barcelona Centre of Contemporary Culture will see its budget decrease by 4.5% this year. Despite this, the centre has planned several exhibitions for 2011, including several photography exhibitions and conferences on themes such as immigration and the crisis.

Fira de Barcelona has just approved a new strategic plan for the next four years. The plan foresees increasing the turnover rate by around 50% and includes taking the Fira de Barcelona brand name to countries around the world.

After the first 15 matches of the new campaign FC Barcelona have made the best ever start in the history of the league with a record of 40 points.

The Catalan Government approved the continued operation of short distance trains in the Barcelona metropolitan area and regional trains within Catalonia by the public Spanish train operator Renfe. Short-distance trains have been a responsibility of the Catalan Government since the 1st of January of 2010. Regional trains will be transferred on the first day of 2011. The train service ownership will thus change, but the service provider will continue being Renfe.

The MACBA, located in a Richard Meier building in Barcelona’s city centre, has a wide collection of works, particularly focusing on art from the last 25 years. The museum will double its exhibition space for its ‘permanent’ collection in 2011. The MACBA also announced some of its upcoming temporary exhibitions for next year.

FC Barcelona recorded their ninth consecutive victory as they eased past Real Sociedad on Sunday evening to go back to the top of the table thanks to two goals from Lionel Messi and one each from David Villa, Andrés Iniesta and Bojan Krkic.

Javier Faus believes that FC Barcelona's deal with the Qatar Foundation is a success story for the club and is proud of the agreement that he believes will help improve all sporting areas at Camp Nou.