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[[Barcelona]] is the capital of [[Catalonia|Catalunya]], a region in [[Spain]] (and [[France]]).
== Hitching in ==
When on the main motorway from France to Barcelona, some cars are being stopped at the border for identity and luggage check. When going to Spain (Catalunya), there are several big rest areas on that road. You can either ask your driver to let you out in towns (with train stations) and cities along that road, such as [[Girona]] or [[Rubí]] and [[San Cugat]] (latter two are better options), or get out of the car at a rest area and wait for another ride to Barcelona. A train ticket generally cost you between €1,30 (San Cugat/Rubí) and €10 (Girona).
You can also ask the driver to leave you at the junction by the university (''Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona''). There is a [[roundabout]] right by the motorway ramp. The only challenge is that your driver has to be going from the junction of ''Barbera de valles'' on the right site of the motorway as it gets split - otherwise you leave the car at ''Castellbisbal'' [[rest area|service station]].
You can also try to get a ride to the [[Costa Brava]] - there you will find many train stations with trains to Barcelona. There is a cheap train service along the coast all the way to Barcelona (as of 2004, the ticket for the longest distance was 4 euro).
==== Option 4: Barcelona Beach, petrol station ====
This is a good option to start hitching from near the beach itself in Barcelona. It works pretty well if you know some Spanish or even catalan as you have to ask the drivers at the petrol station.
you can take the bus 41 from placa catalunya towards Pg del Taulat-Pl de Llevant and get of at Bisbe Josep Climent-Cementiri de l'Est (there is a very modern church. . that you head towrads the beach, crossing the motorway. then you see mac donalds and the petrol station. see a
[http://maps.google.de/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=de&geocode=&q=barcelona&aq=&sll=43.846165,7.51585&sspn=0.063015,0.154324&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Barcelona,+Provinz+Barcelona,+Katalonien,+Spanien&t=h&ll=41.392763,2.20439&spn=0.004129,0.009645&z=17&layer=c&cbll=41.392668,2.204321&panoid=THN4T4qwi_RHw72drz6r8A&cbp=12,328.03,,0,-0.5 photo-link]
When staying on the beach in Barcelona, you may notice thieves. They walk around and observe people on the beach for hours before stealing anything. Even though they aren't usually hostile or confrontational, they can steal clothes off your back while you're asleep. The only sure way to keep your things safe is to bury it in the sand and sleep on top of it. Sleeping with your head on your bag is just not enough.
Another option is sleeping by the roundabout of the Colom monument near the port at the end of ''Las Ramblas'' although the traffic nearby can be quite noisy. You can sleep near statues of lions and as long as you are low-key about it, both police and locals probably won't disturb your stay. Hitchhiker [[User:Zac Stewart|Zac]] did this is October 2006 and had no problems with thieves, but discretion is wise nonetheless.
In the city roofs etc are quite fine sleeping places. Sleeping in abandoned houses is recommendable although it is considered a crime, "trespassing" unless you have a banner with the squatting "N" hanging from a balcony, window etc. The cops are going to put this down and inform the landlord. If they do not want you to stay and if you have been there for less than a week they can evict you right away.