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The pilgrimage to Camp Nou – Tickets, travel, and match day

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Traveling to see FC Barcelona and visiting the Camp Nou is something that should be on the bucket list of every football fan.

Even if Barcelona has had a rough couple of years behind them with financial woes and the departure of Messi, the experience of going to the Camp Nou is still incredible. 

And the recent chaos of the club can even act in a visitor’s favor due to attendance being down somewhat from previous highs. All games aren’t sold out anymore and for those quick on the trigger there are often very good seats available without too much trouble. In this text we’re going to provide you with a brief guide about visiting the Camp Nou in regards to tickets, travel, accomodation, and more.

Getting tickets 

If you’re planning on making the trip to the Camp Nou the first thing on your priority list should be getting tickets to the game. Due to the turmoil of the club some season tickets have opened up and today it’s relatively easy to score tickets to a game during the regular season. The earlier you buy your tickets the more likely you are to get the seats that you want. Some of the better seats can still be fairly expensive, but if you’ve traveled to see Barca play it might be worth shelling out some extra cash for better seats. 

A couple of years ago it could be a real hassle trying to buy tickets coming from abroad. Flippers would buy tickets and then sell them for double or triple the amount to tourists. But nowadays you can buy tickets from Hellotickets or other similar sites to visit camp nou. Hellotickets is an official partner of FC Barcelona and is a good place to turn to make sure everything is done correctly.

Traveling to the city 

Regardless of where you live, traveling to Barcelona is a very straightforward process. Barcelona is one of the most visited cities in Europe and therefore there are a ton of options when it comes to finding flights. Regardless of whether you’re flying from a major city somewhere or have to catch connecting flights the process is smooth and relatively cheap

Experiencing Barcelona by choosing the right accommodation 

One mistake that many travelers to the Camp Nou make is staying too close to the arena. There are some hotels very close to the stadium but these are usually expensive. While traveling to Barcelona there is so much to see and do in and around the city center, that paying more to stay closer to the arena where you’ll spend half a day makes little to no sense. Instead, make sure you stay somewhere within your budget that will allow you to see the sights of the city as well. Getting to the Camp Nou is easy and quick via public transport.

Match day

Barcelona is a city that lives and breathes for Barca, but on matchdays this is even more prevalent. Everywhere you turn you’re bound to see people wearing their jerseys and getting ready for gametime. If you want the full experience of match day it’s best to arrive at the Camp Nou a couple of hours early. Going into the stands about an hour before kick off will allow you to stock up on drinks and snacks and will give you time to navigate through the catacombs to find your seats. Watching close to 90 000 people fill their seats is a spectacle in and off itself.

If you’re looking to eat something close to the arena before walking to the match there are a ton of options. There are usually a ton of different food stands parked around the stadiums selling all kinds of food. If you’re looking to sit down and eat something more substantial, a good bet is to walk about 500 meters away from the stadium towards the city centre. There you will find an abundance of restaurants and tavernas that are more than likely going to be filled with other fans. Keep in mind that food inside the stadium can be quite expensive and does not usually taste as good as the food at a restaurant or a food truck. 

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