Camp Nou (Estadi del FC Barcelona)

If you are football fan like me you will enjoy this stadium. It is the home of Barcelona FC. I was on a conference for a week and I got there a few days early (as I was one of the organisers). Firstly I asked the concierge if there is a football match that day and to my delight there was but it was at a venue litterally down the road up the hill opposite my hotel (near the Fira Conference centres). It was held at the Olympic Stadium. It was a match between Espanyol vs Santander. Now I know well enough that European football is much slower than English football so it was going to be relaxing and I do not support of the teams so I would not get carried away. I walked to the stadium and no got a ticket quite easily and it was cheap (well much cheaper than that you would find here in the English Premier League). Yippee I thought. Seated myself (yes I was alone), next to a bunch of Catalans smoking cigars. Now that is odd to see. In England I would be sat next fans that do not smoke cigars at all. I then thought it would be alright to get my cigar out and enjoy it whilst I watched the game. And so I was. Luvly jubbly. No one would notice as I would blend in. At first many eyes were at me - here is a woman all alone, smoking a cigar watching a football match... but that did not last long as the game started eyes were then glued to the game. Thank god! I even made friends - although I did not understand any Spanish and they did not speak English - but language did not seem too much of a barrier. Expressions and passion for the game seem to have one universal language. It was great. Then one of the chaps next to me asked me if I had gone to see the Nou Camp... to which ashamedly I replied no. It then came highly recommended that I should see it. So the next day off I went - took a taxi to the Nou Camp. To get in was not cheap but it was not too expensive. The Nou Camp is absolutely a sophisticated stadium amazing. It just awe inspired me. Frankly it puts most of the Premiership Stadiums in England Europe at that, to shame. The tour took about 2hrs but the funniest part of the tour was the visitors' changing rooms. You see Barcelona FC is an elite team in an elite league and are treated like royalty - especially at home. Their changing rooms are better than a 5 star hotel room - it even had a chapel connected to their dressing rooms. Wow I thought .... now on the other hand the visitors end was a dive!!!! I am not kidding. It looks like room with 4 grey walls cement floors (not covered with any nice tiles or anything else), with old run down white tiled showers that could do with a re-fit. To me, it seemed like Barcelona want to get into the minds of the visitors team that they do not mean much to them and they are second rate... ha ha ha ha ha how funny - bearing in mind they play against teams like Real Madrid (whom once had David Beckham in their team). Now I would like to know what they thought about that and what went through their minds at the time. Nou Camp has 2 stadiums side by side. The large one is of course for the first team on official matches and the smaller one next to it is for the reserve team and the youth squad. They are both amazing and very well looked after. I smell money here and lots of it. Well worth a visit. Their hall of fame corridor and museum is amazing. Like walking through football history. Here you can see how passionate the Catalans are about their heritage and football. Even their language is slightly different from the rest of Spain. Wonderful.

I love football and this is one of the greatest stadiums in Europe, one of the biggest! + it's Barsa ;)more...A Five Star Stadium The old Les Corts ground after several expansions had increased its capacity to 60,000. It was still not big enough to cope with the surging interest in the team though, especially after the arrival of Hungarian superstar Ladislau Kubala and the new Barça stadium was built to replace it. The stadium was designed by architects Francesc Mitjans Miró and Josep Soteras Mauri, with the collaboration of Lorenzo García Barbón, and it was constructed between 1954 and 1957, using mainly concrete and iron. The whole project cost a staggering 288 million pesetas, which meant the club would spend the following years in heavy debt. Although it was originally going to go under the official name of ‘Estadi del FC Barcelona’, it soon came to be popularly known as the 'Camp Nou' (the ‘new ground’), as opposed to the club’s old home at Les Corts. It was not until the 2000/2001 season that, following a mail vote made by the club membership, that the decision was made to make ‘Camp Nou’ the official name of the stadium. Of the 29,102 votes the club received, a total of 19,861 (68.25%) preferred Camp Nou to Estadi del FC Barcelona. The stadium’s maximum height is 48 metres, and it covers a surface area of 55,000 square metres (250 metres long and 220 metres wide). In accordance with UEFA stipulations, the playing area has been downsized to 105 metres x 68 metres. With a capacity of 98,787, it is now the biggest stadium in Europe. However, the total capacity has varied over the years owing to different modifications. When it was first opened in 1957, it held 93,053 spectators, which would be increased to 120,000 in 1982 on occasion of the FIFA World Cup. However, the introduction of new regulations outlawing standing areas reduced the stadium’s capacity in the late 1990s to just under 99,000. In the 1998-99 season, UEFA recognised the services and functionalities of the Camp Nou by awarding it five star status. In the whole of Spain there are only three other stadiums that can claim that, the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium, also in Barcelona, the new Cartuja Olympic Stadium in Seville and the Vicente Calderón, home of Atlético Madrid. Of the different facilities on offer inside the stadium, of particular note are a chapel next to the changing rooms, the presidential box, the VIPs lounge, the press rooms, several television studios, the Sports Medicine Centre, the Operative Control Unit (UCO), the veteran players area, the FC Barcelona club museum, the nursery and the offices of all of the many different club departments.

Europe's biggest stadium, which was inaugurated exactly 50 years ago, is not only home to one of the world's top football clubs but has also been as one of the symbol of prosperity of the Catalonia region. During General Franco's regime it was one of few places in Catalonia where people spoke Catalan freely. The stadium has witnessed numerous important games, including Champions' League finals, 1982 World Cup matches, 1992 Olympic games football matches and of course many other memorable matches played by FC Barcelona. It was also a concert venue to some of the world's most famous musicians, including U2 and Bruce Springsteen, to name just the most recent ones.Stadium tour can include a visit to Josep Luis Nunez Museum, named after the longest-serving and most successful president of FC Barcelona. Museum visits guided stadium tours Museum's opening times are as follows: Monday-Saturday: 10:00-18:30 Sundays holidays: 10:00-14:00 It is planned that the stadium undergoes a major reconstruction in the coming years, which will feature an increase in the number of spectator seats and putting a roof to cover all four stands.Everything mentioned above are just facts about this magnificent place. I could tell you about my feelings there, but I am not going to. Instead, I will let you visit the stadium and see it yourselves!

If you thought a football arena was big. Wait till you see Camp Nou.At first glance from outside the stadium it looks like every other European football arena. The magic happens when you first set your step into the arena.Camp Nou is very much like a small city, with a capacity of nearly 100,000 people and a great big, green field in the middle for the kids to mess around in. Camp Nou is catalan which means "The New Field" and was opened in 1957, at that time with a capacity of 93,053. By the time of the World Cup 1992 the capacity was even more enlarged, then rising to a capacity of a total 115,000!

one of the biggest soccer stadiums in the world. As soon as you enter it it is just huge. As a supporter of football you shouldn't miss a guided tour trough it.

Fór að sjá Barcelona - Boca jr. og staðan var 0-1 og allt var að tryllast þar til að Barcelona vann 2-1 sigur á síðustu 5 viðbótarmínútunum. Boca jr. menn hoppuðu allan tímann.

This isn't the only great thing to do in Barcelona but visiting the Camp Nou is a great experience for any football fan. You'll wanna go on the tour!

Fantastic feeling to stand in the legendary camp nou and immagine the atmosphere of a champions league game! don't forget to visit the hall of fame!

I don't even like football, I went here with my boyfriend and I LOVED it! What an amazing stadium, absoute must see if going to Barelona

u have to see it, it's huge!! a had a tour there where u can see some club history and enter the stadium...great fun

Most amazing stadium I've seen so far...especially when Barcelona is playing against FC Internationale Milano!!!

One of the most interesting places for me and I hope to get there sometimes in the near future again :)

savage museum that leads you into the stadium, a must see for any football fan, its unreal!!!!!

the biggest stadium i've ever seen... with the best football club playing there ;)

Enormous football (soccer) stadium! Great museum of FC Barcelona.

Amazing to go to, I recommend a tour. The size is mind blowing

For football fans... This is the stadium to see! It's huge...

Visca el Barca!!!Most amazing place in whole world:)

FC BARCELONA foa sure, for real, for life and forever!!!!

Was pretty good in 1999! Not been back since though!

Great feeling to see the whole huge stadium!

Such a great stadium. Everyone should go there.

Amazing rly , the locker rooms everything ..

the most beautiful stadium in the world

Barcelona 1 Dundee United 2 - Nuff said

:) it was great. hihihihihihihihihihihi

incredible stadion I have ever seen

It's so awesome there !!!

Greatest stadium in Europe and

Great Stadium. Fantastic Tour.

Barca Barca Barcaaaaaaa

Barcelonaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

stadium of F.C Barcelona

pretty good! pretty big :)

S'isch eifach riesig!

unbelievable atmosphere.