Even though we happen to be Manchester City Football fans after living two years in Manchester, visiting a World Cup Football stadium like Camp Nou in the heart of Barcelona is a lifetime, #bucketlist kind of experience not to be missed. We were fortunate to spend Christmas 2015 in Barcelona with our two daughters and one of their boyfriends. We were able to find tickets easily on line for the FCB vs Real Betis match on 30 December 2015 and watched the great #10Messi work his magic in a 4-nil win for the home team.
Even though it was still early in the season, the stadium was full and the crowd was electric with holiday cheer and hometown spirit. We had no idea what they were chanting in Spanish, but it sounded so cool to hear the rise and fall in pitch and tempo as the stadium filled to it’s 98,787 capacity cheered with 98,782 who knew the words (we were the 5 Americans who only mumbled along).
Getting in and out of the stadium was really trivial with the Barcelona excellent metro system and we were able to get your basic sports pub dinner and obligatory Estralla beer for dinner just outside of the stadium before the match began. Finding souvenir jerseys was also trivial before the game as roving street vendors are selling knock-offs in the street everyday for €15 to €20 and you can buy authentic jerseys in authorized stores all over Barcelona for around €60.
The Camp Nou stadium is well laid out and the FCB fans, at least at this match, were a spirited but courteous family crowd that was reminiscent of an American Style Football game. The food was good and reasonably priced and you could bring back your also reasonably priced beer to your seats. All-in-all, this was an experience that we will all remember and tell stories about whenever we see World Cup Football or the great #10Messi play in the future.
You can read more about the full details of our trip in the Destinations section of our website under the Barcelona tab.
Phil & Diane
