Barcelona GP or Valencia GP - Recommend Please!

[theforce]

Hey guys/gals,

Quick question, if you have to choose between the two, which GP would you attend; Barcelona or Valencia? I need to make up my mind soon. I haven't been to Spain before so this will be a good opportunity to check out the relevant city as well.

Any input is much appreciated

[Greig]

Barcelona

[sam101]

Barcelona

[theforce]

Thanks guys, Barcelona sounds good. Any particular stand or will General Admin will sufficient? I'll be going by myself.

[Greig]

I think the track is pretty far outside the city something to bear in mind, Valencia would be a nice place to visit as well I guess but the race is a bit rubbish.

[zorro666]

Valencia is like a super market car park according to Webber!
Has got no soul, produced only boring races so far, and is yet another new track that you cannot overtake.
So it has to be Barcelona.

[Dino]

Barcellona no doubt!!Best place to watch racing is stands E or F at the end of the straight.Most of the overtaking happens there [DRS].

[Ree]

Barcelona is a great track but as Greig said it's a fair way from the actual city. When I went, to keep costs down, I didn't bother booking a stand and have to say it's the best track I've been to for general access

[Agron]

I read somewhere that Barcelona is the city with the highest crime rates in Spain and one of the most dangerous in the EU (still somewhat more safe than some Belgian and South Italian cities, and not that far from Valencia, to be fair), so if you are going alone, try not to take risks or go to dangerous places, in particular if you are a woman, a tourist or both.
It is still Western Europe so you most likely will have no problem, but it is something to keep in mind just in case.

Have fun in the race!

[Suzie]

The track is near the town of Montmelo, about 10 minutes walk away. From what I remember Barcelona is about 30 minutes away by train - there's a station in the centre of Montmelo. As far as Agron's comments on Barcelona goes, I have say that I didn't like Place de la Catalunya at night - I was there with 2 other girls and we all held onto our handbags for dear life. We had a man approach us asking if we took heroin!

I stayed in Montmelo itself when I was at testing last year and I don't know what it's like over race weekend, but there is very little in it and nothing to do... a couple of shops and a garage, that was it. If I was going again I'd probably stay in Barcelona or I know some folk stay in Granollers also.

[theforce]

Thanks for sharing your experience I'm a male so not too worried about a few rough spots around the city I will be staying in Barcelona and taking a few days off work so I don't have to rush like Monza last year. Like Suzie mentioned, the track is about 30mins by train and they operate every half hour. Just read that there is a new train station built to ease travel to the circuit (http://www.circuitcat.com/en/f1/noticia.php?&id=2465)

[theforce]

Barcelona is a great track but as Greig said it's a fair way from the actual city. When I went, to keep costs down, I didn't bother booking a stand and have to say it's the best track I've been to for general access

Now you got me thinking I remember Melbourne was ok for general and Monza was somewhat the same, but looking at Barcelona, there seems to be some extra thought given for general admins.

Is this area to the left of the picture general admin? If so, then that's pretty sweet!

[theforce]

I read somewhere that Barcelona is the city with the highest crime rates in Spain and one of the most dangerous in the EU (still somewhat more safe than some Belgian and South Italian cities, and not that far from Valencia, to be fair), so if you are going alone, try not to take risks or go to dangerous places, in particular if you are a woman, a tourist or both.
It is still Western Europe so you most likely will have no problem, but it is something to keep in mind just in case.

Have fun in the race!

hmmm, how would you rate Milan against Barcelona? Walking around midnight in Milan felt no different to during the day.

[Agron]

hmmm, how would you rate Milan against Barcelona? Walking around midnight in Milan felt no different to during the day.

I wouldn't know, it's something I read, a statistic of number of crimes per X citizens.

[scuderiaferrari]

Barcelona

[PaulW]

Barcelona for me. It's a fair way out of town, but there is an easy rail service there. I like walking, so the 25 minutes from the station to the stadium is pleasant. If not, there are buses.

[Ree]

Now you got me thinking I remember Melbourne was ok for general and Monza was somewhat the same, but looking at Barcelona, there seems to be some extra thought given for general admins.

Is this area to the left of the picture general admin? If so, then that's pretty sweet!

Not quite sure what part of the track that is but, yeah it does look like general access..... there are alot of areas like that dotted around the track... some of the general access areas are alot bigger than that. I'll see if I can find my photos and post one so you can get an idea.

Just to give you some idea though I would say the general access is better at Barcelona than it is at Monza, despite Monza having those little "concrete steps/stands" to sit in

[Avantifer12]

Hi
Im gonna borrow this thread, Im going to Barcelona and have a 3 day ticket so I will be able to do the pit lane walk on thursday and my question ís (for those who have been there) does anyone know if the Ferrari autograph signing is in the morning 10-12 or afternoon 16-19?

[theforce]

Hi
Im gonna borrow this thread, Im going to Barcelona and have a 3 day ticket so I will be able to do the pit lane walk on thursday and my question ís (for those who have been there) does anyone know if the Ferrari autograph signing is in the morning 10-12 or afternoon 16-19?

+1

[Red passion]

Valencia is like a super market car park according to Webber!
Has got no soul, produced only boring races so far, and is yet another new track that you cannot overtake.
So it has to be Barcelona.

Hopefully pirelli will change that into a half decent race.

[diesel08]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewben...s_-_now_p.html

[theforce]

Well, Barcelona it is! Flight and accommodation booked. Seems like I'll be general admin so I can walk around a bit. Hoping the Maranello squad switch on their upgrades and put on a solid show. Thanks for all your replies

[Suzie]

Well, Barcelona it is! Flight and accommodation booked. Seems like I'll be general admin so I can walk around a bit. Hoping the Maranello squad switch on their upgrades and put on a solid show. Thanks for all your replies

Just a word of warning - they may confiscate any bottles, water etc on your way in. And food/drink at the track is expensive.

[Quasar]

Hi, I'm from Barcelona, but i've been in a lot of places around the world. All i can say is Barcelona is one of the more beautiful cities i've seen. It has many, many places to visit, great climate and great people, and also, great food. You can find some of the best Mediterranean food restaurants (the second best restaurant in the whole world is from Catalunya), and is the place with a unique Modernist arquitecture style, like Sagrada Familia. Also, the beaches are really nice, specially on the Costa Brava coast. (and i've been to a lot of beaches around the world).

About crime rates, the new city mayor is making them lower and lower, but anyway, they are very localized to a few neighbourhoods. I'm from the city, and i can tell you i can go to 95% of the city without worrying. We all know there are some places, very tourist places, that have more crime, but it's like many other spanish, italian, french or USA city with a lot of tourism. Take into account that BCN is one of the cities with more visitors per year in the world.

The people are very nice, but we (people from BCN and Catalunya) are little more serious than people from other places from Spain. In Catalunya also, bullfighting is banned.

I hope you enjoy your visit!!

[theforce]

Just a word of warning - they may confiscate any bottles, water etc on your way in. And food/drink at the track is expensive.

Really? Wow, I never thought they would ban non-alcoholic drinks as well! Might have to find a way to sneak them in

[theforce]

Hi, I'm from Barcelona, but i've been in a lot of places around the world. All i can say is Barcelona is one of the more beautiful cities i've seen. It has many, many places to visit, great climate and great people, and also, great food. You can find some of the best Mediterranean food restaurants (the second best restaurant in the whole world is from Catalunya), and is the place with a unique Modernist arquitecture style, like Sagrada Familia. Also, the beaches are really nice, specially on the Costa Brava coast. (and i've been to a lot of beaches around the world).

About crime rates, the new city mayor is making them lower and lower, but anyway, they are very localized to a few neighbourhoods. I'm from the city, and i can tell you i can go to 95% of the city without worrying. We all know there are some places, very tourist places, that have more crime, but it's like many other spanish, italian, french or USA city with a lot of tourism. Take into account that BCN is one of the cities with more visitors per year in the world.

The people are very nice, but we (people from BCN and Catalunya) are little more serious than people from other places from Spain. In Catalunya also, bullfighting is banned.

I hope you enjoy your visit!!

Thanks for sharing Quasar I have read up about Barcelona for a while now and looking forward to spending the week there. Of course Ferrari not being lapped would sweeten the deal

[Quasar]

Thanks for sharing Quasar I have read up about Barcelona for a while now and looking forward to spending the week there. Of course Ferrari not being lapped would sweeten the deal

Here is an interesting article about the 2012 Catalunya F1 event: http://www.mundodeportivo.com/201205...287653725.html

And the translation: http://translate.google.es/translate...5.html&act=url

The last paragraph: "Special mention to the journeys: Although they have added 30,000 parking slots, the recommendation is still to go by train. Besides the new Montmeló station, this year there is also a free bus transfer service (with the train ticket) to the circuit. The company Sagalés also will offer a special bus line from Barcelona. "

Hope it helps!

[Suzie]

Really? Wow, I never thought they would ban non-alcoholic drinks as well! Might have to find a way to sneak them in

It depends - I was there for 4 days testing last year. Some days they searched our bags and confiscated drinks, some days not.

[Avantifer12]

I have read that glass bottles are strictly forbidden to bring into the track but plastic bottles should be OK, but i dont know how they work during the raceweekend.

[Ree]

I have read that glass bottles are strictly forbidden to bring into the track but plastic bottles should be OK, but i dont know how they work during the raceweekend.

When I went to the GP a couple of years ago, they searched our bags but didn't confiscate our drinks or food.... it might just depend on who searches you and how hungry/thirsty they are lol. Suzie is right when she says that the food/drink is expensive at the track... it was 3 euros for a small bottle of water.