Camp Nou (“new field” in Catalan), or “el Estadi del FC Barcelona”, Barcelona’s well-known Football Stadium, is situated a little out of the centre, in the West side of the city (Les Corts area). Built in 1957 (and later expanded in the 80s), Barcelona’s Camp Nou is the largest football stadium in Europe, and 11th in the world, with a capacity of over 99,000 supporters.

It is home to one of Europe’s best-known football clubs, the FC Barcelona (Fútbol Club Barcelona, also better known as Barça – but be careful, don’t confuse this nickname with Barcelona city’s nickname Barna), and is considered an ambassador for Catalonia. Famous names from FC Barcelona – Players: Diego Maradona, Josep Guardiola, Ronaldo, Figo, Ronaldinho and Messi. / Managers: Frank Rijkjaard, Bobby Robson, Johan Cruyff and Pep Guardiola.

Millions of visitors come each year to the city to visit the FC Barcelona museum, with the ultimate experience for the fans: you can take a tour of the stadium, walk down the tunnel where huge games have taken place, and get admission to the museum itself to see trophies, find out about the history of the club and of course its part in Catalonia’s history, and discover its multimedia area. As well as being quite a sight for football fans, in its heyday the stadium also hosted big events such as concerts by Julio Iglesias (1983), Lluis Llach (1985), Bruce Springsteen (1988), Michael Jackson (1988) and U2 (2009).

On a more historic note, Camp Nou is not just a stadium, it’s also a huge symbol for the people of Catalonia (Catalunya in Catalan). It unites everyone under one pretence: being supporter of the Barça team is showing your support for Catalonia’s independence. During the time of General Franco’s dictatorship, the FC Barcelona was the point of ralliement between the Catalan nations who were repressed to use even their own language during 36 years and only freed from this repression after Franco’s death in 1975.

Being in Barcelona during a Barça football match is a great feeling, people in the street dressed in the club’s colours (blue and red stripes) with the Catalan flag hung on balconies… Most bars show the match on TV and supporters gather to cheer for their favourite team. But one of the best experiences must be to actually attend one of the big football matches in Camp Nou itself, with a party atmosphere and the fans’ pride taking over the stadium… especially if it’s a game between Barça and its lifetime adversary Real Madrid! But be aware, ticket prices are worth their weight in gold!