Budget Travel - Cheap flights from Barcelona this weekend?!

I'm taking my wife on a short business trip to Barcelona starting this weekend (4/27) and just realized that I'm going to have a window from Sunday morning through Monday evening on our own (I thought I had a mandatory event Sun night-but I don't).

Does anyone have any tips (web sites/engines) etc that I can use to facilitate a search for an inexpensive flight out of Barcelona to another major European city on such short notice? I went to Ryanair and they want 14 days advance. We've been to London, Paris, Munich, etc. together, and wouldn't mind revisiting any of those fine cities, but we're also interested in a day in Dublin, Zurich, Budapest, Rome, Venice, etc.

Obviously we can't do anything requiring a visa or other special travel permit, but I'm sure there are options out there that I'm just not aware of.

Thanks in advance!!

hts

If you're just looking for flights, www.skyscanner.net is a good place to start. This site allows searches on low cost carriers, though you'll have to enter each possible destination individually.

With that such a short amount of time, though, you may also consider staying in Barcelona or the nearby beach towns and enjoying some of the local attractions!

You're probably right. I may be overly-zealous in my interest to get out of Spain for the 36 hours that we have. I don't suppose you have any recommendations for good beaches/quaint towns within 1-2 hours drive/train from Barcelona we might consider?

:-D

There's a festival in Catalonia that day, that's what I'd do. Can't give a personal recommendation, but a fiesta is a fiesta and they are always worth going to.

Festa Major dels Sants Màrtir at Vilassar de Dalt http://www.vilassardedalt.org/ events kick off at midday in the town square.

Vilassar de Dalt is right on the coast, just South of Mataró (http://www.spain.info/TourSpain/Destinos/TipoIII/Datos+Generales/I/CP/0/mataro?language=en). Seems to be a pretty place and has some nice buildings and a castle. Best thing about a Spanish fiesta is the atmosphere, and it's likely there'll be people in regional costume.

I think at midday they'll be doing this kind of thing (http://blocs.mesvilaweb.cat/media/M2QxMGZtIDIxLTExLTAy.jpg).

At 5pm there's an event aimed at children

And at 7pm (I may be wrong here) I think there's snail racing in the town square.... (you did say you wanted quaint! :) )

Lots and lots of other things going on though, like free concerts, right up until midnight. Fiestas are always a lot of fun, and everyone gets to take part, no matter what their age.

More stuff going on on the Monday, which kicks off at 10am with a rice festival at parc de can Rafar (which will be a Park there)

Here's a google map of Barcelona (http://maps.google.es/maps?f=q&hl=es&q=barcelona&layer=&ie=UTF8&om=1&z=12&ll=41.384537,2.149544&spn=0.136008,0.291824), just follow the coast up towards the North, Vilassar is about 15 miles to the North.


Also Esparraguera will be putting on a passion play
http://www.passioesparreguera.com/
You'd have to speak to your contacts in Spain about getting tickets if you were interested.

When you go out and see real Catalonia, you find that everything is in Catalan.

Depeding on your interests, there is also the Salvador Dali trail to the north based around the town of Figueres and the coastal villages around Roses on the coast.

http://www.salvador-dali.org/en_index.html

Depeding on your interests, there is also the Salvador Dali trail to the north based around the town of Figueres and the coastal villages around Roses on the coast.

http://www.salvador-dali.org/en_index.html

Do please be warned that the Dali Museum in Figueres is closed on Mondays.

(As I learnt when I turned up there with a friend in the pre-internet days)
Did see a London underground train (from the Central line), several carriages long, at Figueres rail station. That was an incredibly surreal experience (found out later it was sent there to be furnished - there's a company in the area who fit seats on public transport vehicles)

Those are some GREAT suggestions--thank you! My wife particularly likes the idea of the fiesta (she's American, but was a spanish linguist in the Army) and mingling with the locals. Thanks again LapLap--I owe you one!

hts

Those are some GREAT suggestions--thank you! My wife particularly likes the idea of the fiesta (she's American, but was a spanish linguist in the Army) and mingling with the locals. Thanks again LapLap--I owe you one!

hts

Visca les festes de Catalunya!

I hope you both have a wonderful time!

How is your wife with the Catalan webpage with details of the festival? All the details are here: http://www.vilassardedalt.org/document.php?id=2069 Hopefully a helpful Catalan person can help you with any further questions you might have. (My family is from Alicante and the version of the 'Catalan' dialect they speak is significantly different from that used around Barcelona. My own understanding is far from faultess.)

In the next few days some photos of the festivities should be posted here:

http://www.vilassardedalt.org/document.php?id=1450

(So far, no sign of them - last year's are here (http://www.vilassardedalt.org/document.php?id=1344))