Camp Nou
Barcelona has a long sporting history and in recent times has hosted both the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup.
Among the jewels in the city’s sporting crown is FC Barcelona, one of the most successful and well known football clubs in the world.
The four-time European Cup winners play at one of UEFA’s elite stadiums, the Nou Camp whose 120,000 capacity doors open every home game to impassioned Catalonians, and neutrals alike to witness the teams unprecedented brand of football.
Officially opening in September 1957, the Camp Nou has been Barcelona’s home for over sixty years. The stadium underwent expansion in 1980 with the anticipation of the upcoming ’82 World Cup in Spain. Construction added VIP boxes, VIP lounges and a third tier which took the capacity to 115,000.
As well as providing a venue for Barca’s home games the stadium also houses a shop, training facilities and the FC Barcelona museum – the second most visited museum in Catalonia. Its functionality has also served multiple purposes away from the beautiful game.
Pope John Paul celebrated mass at the Nou Camp in 1982 whilst a concert for the Three Tenors was also held in 1997. Other musical favourites Michael Jackson, U2 and Julio Iglesias have also played in front of differing Nou Camp crowds, but it is on weekend evenings when the Nou Camp really comes alive.
Spain’s 2010 World Cup final winning team contained seven of Barcelona’s squad, and from their foundation right through to the mordern era, the Nou Camp residents have been well known to have a team has a rich history of players. Johan Cryuff, Diego Maradona and Ronaldo have all pulled on the famous sponsorless Barca shirt whilst the local’s current is two-time FIFA World Player of the Year Lionel Messi who is breaking records on an annual basis whilst wearing the famous blue and red shirt.
Tickets are readily available for FC Barcelona’s home game, and with the sheer capacity of the ground advanced planning can gain you an opportunity to witness the current La Liga and European champions in action. Many of the more available seats are in the third tier of the ground which requires a large climb to the very back of the impressive stadium.
From these places you may not be able to see the finer intricacies of the game, but you get a birds-eye view of the spectacular coliseum like ground which is usually packed to the rafters.
The Camp Nou is accessible via Barcelona’s metro service, but with a large amount of people likely to be visiting on a match night, well planned travelling is advised.
Metros stop at the four corners of the ground so if you have a ticket, it is worth checking which entrance you are required to go through. Line 3 Maria Cristina or La Corts are options, as are Line 5 Badal or Collblanc.
Busses also regularly serve the stadium including 7,15,43,67,68,74,75, L50,L60 and L62. As you would imagine exiting the stadium at the same time a 100,000 other people can be somewhat of a struggle, so don’t expect the busses to be available, and able to run down the supporter laden streets for an hour or so followng the game.
One option would be to walk to a metro station or bus stop further out as these are traditionally less busy.
If you are not lucky enough to pick up a ticket to watch Barcelona then a visit to the club’s museum or going on a stadium tour is highly recommended. The museum allows visitors to learn about the history of the team, view some of the club memorabilia and see Barca’s impressive haul of trophies. Even for a non-football fan, the guided stadium tour is an interesting day out.
The tour covers all the stadiums major areas of interest including the changing rooms, the tunnel area and an opportunity to take tentative steps into the Nou Camp grass at level ground.
The tour and museum open at 10am and close a 6.30pm through on match days the last tour is at 2pm. There are plenty of operators offering packages on tickets duelling together the stadium tour and museum.
Among the jewels in the city’s sporting crown is FC Barcelona, one of the most successful and well known football clubs in the world.
The four-time European Cup winners play at one of UEFA’s elite stadiums, the Nou Camp whose 120,000 capacity doors open every home game to impassioned Catalonians, and neutrals alike to witness the teams unprecedented brand of football.
Officially opening in September 1957, the Camp Nou has been Barcelona’s home for over sixty years. The stadium underwent expansion in 1980 with the anticipation of the upcoming ’82 World Cup in Spain. Construction added VIP boxes, VIP lounges and a third tier which took the capacity to 115,000.
As well as providing a venue for Barca’s home games the stadium also houses a shop, training facilities and the FC Barcelona museum – the second most visited museum in Catalonia. Its functionality has also served multiple purposes away from the beautiful game.
Pope John Paul celebrated mass at the Nou Camp in 1982 whilst a concert for the Three Tenors was also held in 1997. Other musical favourites Michael Jackson, U2 and Julio Iglesias have also played in front of differing Nou Camp crowds, but it is on weekend evenings when the Nou Camp really comes alive.
Spain’s 2010 World Cup final winning team contained seven of Barcelona’s squad, and from their foundation right through to the mordern era, the Nou Camp residents have been well known to have a team has a rich history of players. Johan Cryuff, Diego Maradona and Ronaldo have all pulled on the famous sponsorless Barca shirt whilst the local’s current is two-time FIFA World Player of the Year Lionel Messi who is breaking records on an annual basis whilst wearing the famous blue and red shirt.
Tickets are readily available for FC Barcelona’s home game, and with the sheer capacity of the ground advanced planning can gain you an opportunity to witness the current La Liga and European champions in action. Many of the more available seats are in the third tier of the ground which requires a large climb to the very back of the impressive stadium.
From these places you may not be able to see the finer intricacies of the game, but you get a birds-eye view of the spectacular coliseum like ground which is usually packed to the rafters.
The Camp Nou is accessible via Barcelona’s metro service, but with a large amount of people likely to be visiting on a match night, well planned travelling is advised.
Metros stop at the four corners of the ground so if you have a ticket, it is worth checking which entrance you are required to go through. Line 3 Maria Cristina or La Corts are options, as are Line 5 Badal or Collblanc.
Busses also regularly serve the stadium including 7,15,43,67,68,74,75, L50,L60 and L62. As you would imagine exiting the stadium at the same time a 100,000 other people can be somewhat of a struggle, so don’t expect the busses to be available, and able to run down the supporter laden streets for an hour or so followng the game.
One option would be to walk to a metro station or bus stop further out as these are traditionally less busy.
If you are not lucky enough to pick up a ticket to watch Barcelona then a visit to the club’s museum or going on a stadium tour is highly recommended. The museum allows visitors to learn about the history of the team, view some of the club memorabilia and see Barca’s impressive haul of trophies. Even for a non-football fan, the guided stadium tour is an interesting day out.
The tour covers all the stadiums major areas of interest including the changing rooms, the tunnel area and an opportunity to take tentative steps into the Nou Camp grass at level ground.
The tour and museum open at 10am and close a 6.30pm through on match days the last tour is at 2pm. There are plenty of operators offering packages on tickets duelling together the stadium tour and museum.