The city of Barcelona has increasingly become one of Europe’s must-visit destinations since it hosted the Olympics in 1992, with a rich local culture, a fantastic heritage and with something to offer for everyone.

In addition to the excitement and buzz of Barcelona’s beautiful architecture, landmarks, restaurants and bars, the wider Catalonia region has superb beaches, forests, mountains, and a highly agreeable Mediterranean climate.

With a strong regional identity, Catalan and Castilian Spanish is spoken by the locals in Barcelona, whilst in cities such as Girona, Reus and Tarragona there is more local Catalan culture, cuisine and tradition to discover.

1- When visiting Catalonia one of the great local tipples is a nice glass of Cava, a sparkling white wine which is comparable in quality to Champagne. The drink is a perfect accompaniment to ‘Crema Catalana’, the famous local dessert - a sweet custard base topped with caramelised sugar.

2- In Barcelona quality, local meat cooked ‘a la parrilla’ (grilled) and Mediterranean seafood dishes are easy to find. Locals eat lunch between 2pm and 4pm and dinner only really gets going after 9pm, so keep it in mind if you are looking to soak up the atmosphere.

3- There is just so much to see in Barcelona but you will want to take in the likes of the remarkable, and still unfinished, Sagrada Familia cathedral, and other major works of historic local architect Antoni Gaudí such as Park Güell. Also, the spectacular light show of The Magic Fountain of Montjuïc is worth a look.

4- Another useful thing to know is that in addition to flying to Barcelona’s main airport at El Prat, the nearby airports of Girona and Reus are also within reasonable driving distance.