BARCELONA ON THE CHEAP

Barcelona is not the most affordable destination, but here are five ways to stretch your rands:

1 BOOK AHEAD

Advance bookings will often get you discounts on entrance fees to museums and historical buildings. The official Visit Barcelona website ( barcelonaturisme.com) is an excellent resource.

2 DO YOUR RESEARCH

Some museums and galleries offer free entry on certain days, usually Sundays. See the tourism website for details.

3 BE YOUR OWN GUIDE

The free Visit Barcelona app offers ideas for itineraries and has free guides to themed walking tours. BCN Gaudí gives interesting insight into the architect and his buildings; BCN Paisatge was designed to highlight the ‘between places’ – murals, shops and landscapes around Barcelona.

4 STAY CONNECTED

Barcelona has one of the largest free internet networks in Europe ( barcelonalowdown.com/free-wifibarcelona). At phone stores you can get a Spanish SIM card and 2GB of data (take your passport) for R225.

5 MAKE LUNCH YOUR MAIN MEAL

Many restaurants offer a set threecourse menú del dia (menu of the day) for about R150.

6 BUY IN BULK

It’s cheaper to buy bus or Metro tickets in a bundle than per trip. For info on the cards available, see publictransport.barcelona/metro_ bus_tram/tickets_travelcards/