What's New: An Online Update for Frommer's Barcelona

I first knew Barcelona back in the days when Montjuic Hill was dotted with shantytown shacks and the grimy port area below -- lined by spindly palm trees -- looked like a dumping ground. Since then, the city has gradually metamorphosed from gutsy semi-obscurity to chic world fame, thanks to its niftily re-invented waterfront and park lands, Michelin star-winning restaurants, cutting edge art exhibitions, and proliferation of avant-garde architecture -- a rich blend of attractions that annually seduces more and more visitors.

Since 2008, the city's creative dynamism has been largely stalled by Spain's current economic crisis and some projects -- like Sir Norman Foster's revamped Camp Nou soccer stadium, Richard Rogers' conversion of the Las Arenas bullring into a sophisticated commercial center, and Frank Gehry's brand new AVE high-speed train terminal -- have been shelved. Others are still on track, like Iranian-born top female architect Zaha Hadid's extraordinary gravity-defying Spiraling Tower near the coastal Forum building, which is still firmly scheduled for 2011. The sail-shaped, Bofill-designed W Hotel in the port will be Barcelona's number one beachside choice when it opens in October 2009.

Many scheduled transport changes are also forging ahead as planned. Sants railway station will house a huge underground bus terminus by 2012, and that same year will see the L9 metro link between the northeastern coastal suburb of Badalona and El Prat Airport extend to 43km (/28 miles), making it the longest underground route in Europe (let's try to forget that costs have rocketed to 6 billion euros -- three times the originally planned budget).

Ever since the 1992 Barcelona Olympics attracted universal attention, sports events have been a key attraction in the city. If you're here between July 26th and August 1st 2010, you'll have a chance to see the 20th European Athletics Championships at the Olympic Stadium up on park-filled Montjuic hill. And if you're fairly athletic yourself and fancy getting around under your own non-motorized steam, you can take advantage of the city's highly successful "bicing" transport system which allows you to rent light-weight red and white bikes and explore the center from a multitude of pick-up points. It's cheap, you get exercise in the process and (really!) it's not as dangerous as it sounds. The cliché impatient and volatile Spanish driver is quite considerate these days, and to prove it, 180,000 cycling locals have already registered to use Bicing's services.

Ethnically, the city has also been transformed. Its immigrant population has mushroomed in the past decade and today the city is the most internationally diverse in Spain. Currently, Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu -- director of Babel and 21 Grams -- is shooting a viscerally realistic movie that will depict the city from this angle. Set in the "Little Asia" district of El Raval, it features Oscar winner Javier Bardem. The movie is tentatively titled Biutiful (sic) and should reach the States in 2010.

Polyglot influx notwithstanding, the Catalans have given increasingly determined -- read: obsessive -- prominence to their guttural and rather harsh sounding local language (a blend of Provençal, French, Latin and Italian) which was ruthlessly repressed by the late dictator Franco. There's a strong possibility that by 2010 the dubbing ration of non-Spanish movies will change from the current 90% Castilian and 10% Catalan to 50% for each. Hard luck for the large percentage of residents, let alone visitors, who don't understand the regional lingo.

Fancy some healthy re-fuelling between sightseeing? My favorite new refreshment oasis, right in the heart of the Old Town, is the perky Smoothie Republic, where you can counteract the toxins with a whole spectrum of tasty fruit juices as well as the eponymous frozen yogurt smoothies.

Planning

For the most up-to-date Metro System rates, timetables, and maps, go to www.tmb.net.

For details about Barcelona's bicycle transit system including rental fees and registration fee information, check out www.bicing.com. The program increased in 2009 to include 400 pick up points and 6,000 bikes. Services operate from 5am to midnight Sun-Thu, and 24 hours a day Fri-Sat.

Accommodations

W Hotel. Moll de Llevant, Passeig Joan de Borbó; (tel. 93-221-0830; www.starwoodhotels.com), will open in October 2009.

Dining

Smoothie Republic. Calle San Jaume 1, Plaça San Jaume; (tel. 647-856- 553) is now open from 10am-10 pm daily.

Activities/Attractions

Summer European Olympics 2010. For more information see www.bcn2010.org. Events are programmed for July 26-August 1st., 2010.

Talk with fellow Frommer's travelers in our Spain Forum today.