Barcelona is one of those places you arrive to and immediately feel at home. You step off the plane and the heat hits you instantly - especially if you arrive in summer time. You drive to your apartment in barcelona or your hotel and begin to realise that you might belong in this wonderful city.

Many people who have come to Barcelona Spain for any length of time end up staying for one reason or another. Some stay because of the diverse culture here, others because of work and many because they just want to try living here a while to see if it works out.

Some, if not a lot of people stay because they want to study the Spanish language. Not only do they learn Spanish with the aid of the numerous quality learning language schools and centres in Barcelona but they sometimes end up learning Catalan as well.

I'll always remember the first time I heard the Catalan language. It reminded me of the French language courses I took and of the times I spent in London trying to get to grips with it at school. It took me quite a few Spanish lessons and quite a lot of practice to actually decipher between the two languages - Spanish and Catalan. To the untrained ear, one probably wouldn't know if one were being spoken to in Spanish or Catalan - that knowledge will come with time. Looking back in retrospect though, I don't know how I could not tell the difference!

Getting back to Barcelona, there is so much to do here - so much in fact that you could never ever get bored. For the architects and lovers of architecture amongst us, let it be said that the city is swamped in peculiar buildings from the great Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi.

Many people will have heard his name as it is generally associated with The Sagrada Familia or The Sacred Family Church. Catalans generally call this Church a temple and it is indeed a shrine to the excellence and fine works of this gifted Catalan architect.

Other things to see and are "must sees" in my opinion are the following:

* The gothic quarter or (barrio gótico)
* The Picasso Museum
* The Nou Camp (Barcelona FC stadium)
* Tibidabo - a lovely mountain with a theme park on top and spectacular vistas.
* Parc Güell
* La Pedrera
* Casa Battló
* Las Ramblas
* La Boquería - a fantastic indoor market with the freshest fruit and fish.

These are my "must haves" and "must sees" and are highly recommended to anyone contemplating visiting this wonderful city for the first time. Also, why not rent an apartment in Barcelona - these days it is far cheaper than a hotel and you can enjoy a lot more freedom.