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For emergency hospital treatment, call
T
061 or go to one of the following
central
hospitals
, which have 24hr accident and
emergency services: Centre Perecamps,
Avgda. Drassanes 13–15, El Raval,
o
Drassanes
T
934 410 600; Hospital Clinic
i Provincial, c/Villaroel 170, Eixample,
o
Hospital Clinic
T
932 275 400; Hospital
del Mar, Pg. Maritím 25–29, Vila Olímpica,
o
Ciutadella-Vila Olímpica
T
932 483 000;
Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, c/Sant
Antoni Maria Claret, Eixample,
o
Hospital de
Sant Pau
T
932 919 000.
Insurance
You should take out a comprehensive
insurance policy
before travelling to
Barcelona, to cover against loss, theft, illness
or injury. A typical policy will provide cover
for loss of baggage, tickets and – up to a
certain limit – cash or travellers’ cheques, as
well as cancellation or curtailment of your
journey. With medical coverage you should
ascertain whether benefits will be paid as
treatment proceeds or only after you return
home, and whether there is a twenty-four-
hour medical emergency number. When
securing baggage cover, make sure that the
per-article limit will cover your most valuable
possession. Most policies exclude so-called
dangerous sports unless an extra premium
is paid: in Spain this can mean most water
sports are excluded, though probably not
things like bike tours or hiking.
If you need to make a claim, you should
keep receipts for medicines and medical
treatment, and in the event you have
anything stolen you must obtain an official
statement from the police – see the section
on “Police and crime” for where to go in
Barcelona to make a report.
Internet access
There are Internet shops and cybercafés all
over Barcelona, and competition has driven
prices down to around €1 an hour. A stroll
down the Ramblas, or through the Barri
Gòtic, La Ribera, El Raval and Grácia will
reveal a host of possibilities. Most youth
hostels and many small pensions provide
cheap or free Internet access for their
guests, but hotel business centres or hotel
bedrooms wired for access tend to be far
more expensive than going out on the street
to an internet place. Wireless access is
widespread in bars, hotels and other public
“hotspots”, though if the networks are
password-protected you’ll have to check
first with your host to get online. If you take
your own laptop make sure you’ve got
insurance cover and all the relevant plugs
and adaptors for recharging.
Language schools
The
Generalitat
(the government of
Catalonia) offers low-cost
Catalan classes
for non-Spanish speakers through the
Consorci per a la Normalització Linguística
(
W
www.cpnl.cat; call
T
010 for information).
Otherwise, the cheapest Spanish or Catalan
classes in Barcelona are at the Escola Oficial
d’Idiomes, Avgda. Drassanes s/n, El Raval,
Rough Guides travel insurance
Rough Guides has teamed up with Columbus Direct to offer you travel insurance
that can be tailored to suit your needs.
Readers can choose from many different travel products, including a low-cost
backpacker option for long stays; a short-break option for
city getaways
; a typical
holiday package
option and many others. There are also annual
multi-trip policies
for those who travel regularly, with variable levels of cover available. Different sports
and activities (trekking, skiing, etc) can be included, if required.
Rough Guides travel insurance is availabe to the residents of 36 different
countries with different language options to choose from via our website –
W
www
.roughroughguidesinsurance.com– where you can purchase the insurance.
Alternatively, UK residents can call
T
0800/083 9507; US citizens
T
1800/749-
4922; and Australians
T
1300/669 999. All other nationalities should call
T
+44
870/890 2843.
BASICS
|
Travel essentials