Of all the most iconic teams and stadiums in the world, I would have to put FC Barcelona and Camp Nou at the top of the list.
Built in the 50s, you can tell Camp Nou is an older stadium. But there is so much history here. From Ronaldo (not Cristiano Ronaldo), Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, to the present day stars like Neymar, Luis Suarez, and Messi, FC Barcelona has had some of the best players wear their jersey. So when we were in Spain going to a game was a must!
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Tickets
We bought our tickets a month in advance, directly from the official FC Barcelona Website. Purchasing tickets was pretty straight forward except when Louise was buying them the website double charged our credit card. It took months just to get a refund, but it must be a common theme in Spain, as it seems everything there is done a little slower.
Picking seats next to each other was also a challenge. From my experience, I’ve learned that corner sections are best for their price. So we spent about $100 Canadian, or 67 Euros, per ticket for two in the upper bowl close to the corner. If you are willing to spend the money, center court/fifty yard line/midfield is always the best view. Avoid the less expensive seats behind the goal as you only get to see half the game at a time. Unless you’re in the rowdy section, but I’ve never sat there. All the chants, heckling and flag waving looked like a lot of fun.
The thing that was a bit annoying was that the date and time of the games are not set until a few weeks before. This can makes things quite difficult to plan around. You really need to make sure you are available the entire weekend if you buy a ticket to a weekend game as it could be on the Friday, Saturday or Sunday and could be afternoon or evening. It is all up to the TV networks as they are the ones who set the date and time of the games.
Getting to Camp Nou
Making our way to Camp Nou was an adventure in itself. The stadium holds 100,000 people, so you can imagine what public transportation is like with everyone trying to get to the game. We went early and were still squished like sardines in the metro.
Since we were staying near Plaça d’Espanya it was easy to catch the metro to Camp Nou.
Line: L3 to Zona Universitaria
Stop: Les Corts
Exit: Travessera de les Corts
Walk about 8 minutes (800 m) and you will arrive at Camp Nou! You don’t even need a map as all you need to do is follow the massive crowds! You will know you are headed in the right direction.
Walking from the metro station to the stadium we saw lots of restaurants and bars filled with fans. Camp Nou doesn’t sell alcohol so lots of fans were pre-gaming it before going into the stadium. Right outside the entrances were mobile stands selling FC Barcelona memorabilia which were about the same prices as we paid at the Nike Store in the mall. Both Louise and I got shirts to rep the local team!
Seating at Camp Nou
Once you walk in the gates all the sections are very well marked. Staff there are very friendly and helpful finding your seat. When you get to your section immediately look at the seat numbers as they are a little confusing. They are not sequential, so depending on what side of the section you are on, all the seats are either all odd for the left side and even for the right. Since we couldn’t buy tickets right next to each other we asked the nice family next to us if we could trade seats. They also seemed very excited to see the match. Lucky kids!
The Match and Fans
Most of the fans in our section were pretty calm. No one really stood up, except when Barcelona scored the one game-winning goal. Unlike American stadiums, they don’t play much music during the game. Instead, fans memorize chants that get the team going. I kinda wish we knew the songs. Everyone in the stadium was singing along and atmosphere was very exciting.
I was worried about a week before the game. Messi was injured and they did not know when he would be back. Luckily he played so we got to see all three stars: Messi, Neymar Jr. and Suarez. It was unlike any other sporting event I’ve been to before. Seeing Europe’s most famous team in Europe’s biggest stadium was once in a lifetime. And to top it off they won one nil!
Exiting the Stadium
After the match we were trying to get back to our hotel. But the metro had lines of people backed up out of the stairwell and into the streets. Luckily our hotel was somewhat close (3km away) so we decided to walk. It was much faster than waiting in line and better than being uncomfortably packed into the metro. Along the way, it also gave us a chance to do one of our favourite things in each country we visit – check out the local grocery and convenient stores!
If I had a chance to go see FC Barcelona play at Camp Nou again I’d go in a heartbeat. The whole experience was one I will remember forever. As a huge sports fan, this is one team and stadium I had to check off my list.
PS. Check out Expedia below for hotel bookings in Spain! We used it to book some good deals!
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