My favorite hotels in Barcelona, Spain

HOTEL IN BARCELONA NEAR PLAZA DE ESPANA

Hotel Fira Palace

A free Internet point is located in the lobby, who is traveling with a laptop can benefit of 30 minutes everyday of free Internet access in Wifi. Room Service is on 24 hours and is kind and responsive. This stunning hotel has gym, indoor swimming pool and spa. Check in is at 3pm, while check out is fixed at 12pm.
Avinguda Rius i Taulet, 1-3
08004 Barcelona

Ayre Hotel Gran Via

This hotel is recently-built, and is located in a privileged location, close to Montjuic Castle and right in Plaza de Espana, near the most popular tourist spots in the city. Barcelona Airport is conveniently located 15 minutes away. Ambience is minimalist (I love it!), design is modern and functional, service is welcoming. All this, in a perfect location. Great!
Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, 322 - 324
08013 Barcelona

Catalonia Barcelona Plaza Hotel

Another great hotel, well placed in the right location: Plaza de España, next to the Fira de Barcelona and Montjuic. This area is extremely well connected with the beach, the city center and the airport with direct links. If you book this hotel, you'll enjoy the roof top swimming pool that offer unbeatable panoramic views of Barcelona. For sport lovers there is also a small gym with weights, exercise bikes and a treadmill. This is the ideal place to stay during your business or leisure stay in Barcelona.
Plaza de España, 6-8
08014 Barcelona

HOTELS IN BARCELONA NEAR SANTS STATION

Hotel Torre Catalunya

An enchanting 4-star hotel with amazing views of the city. I think just few hotels in Barcelona have this views as spectacular as those from the upper floors of this hotel. Ideally located just 50 metres from Sants railway station, right near Barcelona’s centre.
Avda. Roma, 2-4
08014 Barcelona

Expo Hotel Barcelona

Located near the Barcelona Sants station, this 4-star hotel is in the heart of Barcelona. With pleasant and courteous service, it is another ideal solution for a good stay in Barcelona. Sants Station and public transportation available nearby provides direct access to downtown Barcelona and the top tourist destinations in the city.
Mallorca, 1-23
08014 Barcelona

H10 Itaca

Another good hotel located close to Barcelona Sants Station. The value of this position is the direct connection to and from the airport and other major cities in Spain, and the public transportation available nearby. With just 10 minutes (15 maximum...) away on the metro from all the city´s main touristic sites, this is a good place to stay when in Barcelona. This hotel has a good Mediterranean restaurant.
Avda. Roma 22
08015 Barcelona

Amister Hotel Barcelona

Exceptional location, this hotel is located just 10 minutes by foot from the city center of the city. Perfect base to discover the Barcelona's business part of Town and the main tourist attractions.
Av. Roma 93-95
08029 Barcelona

HOTELS IN BARCELONA NEAR THE RAMBLAS

Hotel Serhs Rivoli Rambla

Located just on the famous Ramblas, this Art Deco style hotel has a lovely terrace with views over the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona. A beautiful interior courtyard welcomes you, and the Restaurant Le Brut is another good point to remark.
La Rambla 128, Ciutat Vella
08002 Barcelona

Catalonia Portal de l'Angel

This hotel offers free Wi-Fi (like many other places in Spain), an outdoor pool and a bar with a charming terrace. Located between Plaza de Catalunya and Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter, the Catalonia Portal de l'Angel features comfortable rooms with satellite TV and air conditioning. I suggest to try the stylish El Jardí de l’Angel Restaurant, that serves Catalan food for breakfast and lunch. The famous Las Ramblas is less than 200 metres away. Just 5-minute walk from Catalunya Metro and Railway Station.
Portal del Angel, 17, Ciutat Vella
08002 Barcellona

NH Barcelona Centro

Air-conditioned rooms with smart wooden flooring, modern bathrooms, plasma satellite TV, pillow menu, all this just 100 metres from La Rambla. On a quiet pedestrian street, this charming hotel is one my best solutions when I visit Barcelona for business or a leisure trip. Wi-Fi is available for free in all rooms and public areas. The restaurant offers great views of the city. La Rambla is just 1 minute walk from NH Barcelona Centro. Placa Catalunya with metro, bus and airport bus links is only 2 minutes away.
Duc, 15, Ciutat Vella
08002 Barcelona

Italian villages

Small towns with fascinating colors and unforgettable flavors...

Italy has a new recipe to climb the ranks of the World Tourism Organization. The new recipe is "The Most Beautiful Villages of Italy". Just over 200 are those surveyed by this special 'club' sponsored by italian Anci. This mini-travel guide is dedicated to these areas as small as rich of typical food, breathtaking landscapes, medieval towns with castles and towers.

Welcome to the South

Among the "most beautiful villages in Italy" there are also Castellabate, the town in the province of Salerno, Campania, where it was shot the famous film "Welcome to the South" ("Benvenuti al Sud"), and Nusco, the village of the famous former Italian premier Ciriaco De Mita. Those who love good drinks, such as grappa and prosecco will love Portofubbolé, a small village in the province of Treviso, which Italian Wikipedia page describes as "a real gem in historical and artistic terms."
The northernmost Italian village is Vipiteno, Trentino Alto Adige, a region that has a total of seven villages of excellence. The southernmost is Castelmola, Sicily, the village well known for its almond wine.

Italian villages in Umbria and Abruzzo, "uber alles"!

The highest concentration of "mignon" villages with extreme beauty is prerogative of the central Italy, between Tuscany (18), Marche (19), Umbria (22), Lazio (11), Abruzzo (21) and Molise (2) are 93 smalls villages on which stands the amaranth flag, eco-tourism and environmental Anci award established in 2001. If you want to organize a trip to Italian villages, this area is where you have to go.

Around Italian villages with the caravan or cycling

The best 'formula' to visit many of the small towns across Italy with fascinating colors and unforgettable flavors, is precisely this way of itinerant tourism: on board a camper or with a caravan, it is easier to go through the Country village by village, becoming explorers of the wonders "the Peninsula" can offer even far from the big cities and the most famous places of the Adriatic and Tyrrhenian coasts. If along with the 'mobile home', there is also a bicycle, then the exploration can become even more interesting: the most beautiful towns in the world offer endless possibilities for lovers of two wheels to make tours in small town centers, in the countryside around them or on the waterfronts that draw the skyline. The line of the sky, in these small italian villages is often characterized by towers, castles, ancient and imposing fortifications that perpetuate extraordinary beauty and timeless.

Italian villages: for more information, read...

- Travel PUGLIA;
- Travel MATERA;
- Travel CAPRI.

How to book and save

- Hotels in Italy - Good selection of Hotels in Italy from Booking.com website.

In general, it is always good to book online, where there is more competition, you can compare the offers and choose the best calmly. The guides present on my blog on flights online booking, hotels, and car rental with discount codes are certainly useful and recommended readings.

Holidays in Puglia

Hi, and welcome to Puglia, I've been in this region of Italy several times and here I am ready to help.

I am pleased you have chosen this lovely region for an holiday in Italy, and want to help you where possible. First of all, in case every need of information don't hesitate to leave a comment and I'll promptly provide a response if you are lost in translation, need help to communicate with locals, need information on directions, or for any other sort of indication.
Click here for a selection of Hotels in Puglia.

In Puglia I suggest you a visit to Ostuni.
Here you have some inspiring pictures of Ostuni.
When in Ostuni, go straight to Piazza della Libertà, where there is the Guglia di Sant'Oronzo. Do not miss, also the old Barocco style of the church of S. Maria Maddalena, with the facade from 1700, and finally the Palazzo Ducale. Beautiful viewpoints everywhere, in Ostuni.
A restaurant in Ostuni I loved was the Osteria la Sparacima, in Via Arcidiacono Zaccaria.
Here you can find the direct link to the list of Hotels in Ostuni.

Polignano a Mare is another very nice small old city to visit.
Few pictures of Polignano a Mare can be found here.
And here a quick link to Hotels in Polignano a Mare.

Alberobello, is the town famous around the world for white houses with cone roofs, the Trulli. Arrived in town, look for the Rione Monti (Monti district), it's the oldest of Alberobello. It's a unique place. It's very interesting to see also the Trullo Sovrano (Sovereign Trullo), one of the few with two floors, now it's a small museum that tells the story of the Trulli.
Here you can find a selection of Hotels in Alberobello.

If you're in the area, I highly recommend you do not miss a visit to the Grotte di Castellana (Caves of Castellana), culminating in the fantastic subterranean Grotta Bianca (White Grotto), the most admired for its white limestone sculpture.
There are several good Hotels in Castellana Grotte.

Any information you need on Puglia, please don't hesitate to let me know, leave a comment and I'll sort it for you!

Enjoy your holidays in Puglia.