The best thing about Mobile World Congress is that everyone who's anyone in the world of mobile gets together for four days to share their genius. The second best thing about it is that it's in Barcelona. Whether this is your first MWC or your tenth, you'll have the opportunity to see and taste the renowned Catalan creative imagination if you can possibly tear yourself away from the convention hall.
As before, we've worked with Barcelona Turisme and local experts to find out what's new in town. (Thanks again to Miquel Vidal of Blackpool Digital for his suggestions.) Always start with the official MWC website, which has lots of planning information.
This 2017 guide builds on our past few years' worth of updates for MWC goers. You can read our 2016 update and the base guide from 2013, which still has a lot of valid information. I especially recommend checking out last year's list of Barcelona apps to install.
Barcelona is a great family destination, by the way. I bring my family to the show every year. This year, the Mobile Explorers Club day camp for ages 8-15 is connected to YoMo: The Youth Mobile Festival, where 20,000 10-16 year olds from around Spain survey a 13,000-square-meter show floor of their own. MEC kids will spend some time at the "grownup" MWC, some time at YoMo, and some time programming robots and playing augmented-reality games on their own.
- What to Expect at MWC 2017
- Getting There and Around
- The Best New Attractions and Restaurants
- SIM Cards, Wi-Fi and Hotspots
Getting There and Around
MWC is mostly held at the Fira Gran Via, which is out in the suburb of L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, between Barcelona itself and the airport. The Fira is an extremely efficient, well-laid-out convention center, but it's also extremely long. If you're headed to Halls 1-3 or Registration, you need to go to the South Entrance. If you're headed to Halls 6-8, you need to go to the North Entrance. (Halls 4 and 5 are in the middle.)
You'll be able to pick up your badge and transit pass at the airport, so make sure to do that before heading into the city.
Last year, the Barcelona Metro finally reached both the airport and the Fira. It isn't always the best way to get to either, because you have to change trains to get to the center of the city. If you're heading to the center of the city from the airport, the direct Aerobus is still the simplest way, and it leaves the airport every five minutes. The transit pass doesn't cover the Aerobus, which costs E5.90.
Avoid any road transport trying to get to or from the South Entrance of the Fira. Take a train, whether the metro L9 or the suburban L8. If you're on Metro lines 1 or 3 towards the center of town, transferring to the suburban L8 train at Placa Espanya is faster. If you're on L5 or the upper part of L3, transferring to metro L9 is faster.
The train stations are a long way from the North Entrance and Hall 8. If that's where you're going, your best bet is still to take a taxi, or to take the frequent H16 public bus from Placa Espanya or Placa Catalunya to the corner of Passeig de Zona Franca and Foneria, which is close to the North Entrance. MWC will also run a shuttle between the North Entrance and Hall M8 at the older convention center by Placa Espanya.
If you find all of that confusing, Citymapper is our favorite app for Barcelona transit. It will tell you where to go.
MWC runs official shuttles from a range of hotels. They're useful if you're staying out in the suburbs or at the W Hotel, which has very poor public transit access.
Uber and Lyft are both illegal in Barcelona, but there's no shortage of taxi apps and Web sites. Locals predominantly use MyTaxi and Hailo. A good alternative option, especially for scheduled rides, is the "Taxi Ecologic" app, which hails a cab company where every cab is larger than usual and has Wi-Fi. Unfortunately, you need a local Spanish SIM card to sign up for that app.
The Best New Attractions and Restaurants
Barcelona's beauties are eternal, and if you haven't been to the city before, the best idea is to pick up a guidebook or go to a site like Frommers.com and see some of the most famous sights. Walking up the Passeig de Gracia, visiting the cathedral, taking in the Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell and the Fundacio Miro and, well, eating can take up all of your free time pretty easily.
If you think you've seen everything there is to see in Barcelona, though, you're wrong. Two new architectural gems opened just this year.
Casa de les Punxes. (Av Diagonal 420, +34 930 185 242). Oh, you think you've seen all of the Modernist buildings? Not so. One of the city's major modernist buildings, this mansion just opened to the public last fall. It's not Gaudi, but architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch is a major Barcelona figure in his own right. The house is full of gorgeous architectural touches and themed to the legend of dragon slaying Sant Jordi, complete with an "interactive experience" on the main floor.
Superilla Poblenou. What would a neighborhood be like if you kicked all of the cars to the curb? Barcelona is undertaking a massive civic experiment in the neighborhood of Poblenou, which has turned nine blocks near the Glories shopping mall and the relatively new Can Framis contemporary-art museum into a primarily pedestrian zone. The "superblock" is highly controversial among locals, but the city government wants to spread these spaces across the city's major residential neighborhoods. The Superilla is at the corner of Ciutat de Granada and Sancho de Avila.
The dining-focused Web site Eater has a great list of the 15 Hottest New Restaurants in Barcelona, updated just this month. It's pretty spot on. If you aren't an old Barcelona hand, you'll also appreciate Eater's list of the 38 Essential Barcelona Restaurants.
We'd like to call out a few new standouts that are probably quite unlike where you've been eating at home. This year, "entertainment restaurant" concepts seem to be big in town.
Celeri. (Passatge de Marimon 5, +932 529 594) If you've been eating far too much jamon during MWC week, Celeri is a refreshing alternative. At this higher-end casual dining spot, seasonal, local vegetables are the stars of each dish (and yes, you can get them with meat.) This winter, the menu features pumpkin, potato, cauliflower and leek dishes, although I'd be surprised if calcots (Catalan scallion-leeks) don't show up in February. Dinner will run around E30/person.
El Mama/La Papa. (Passatge de Pere Calders 2, +934 417 662) This dual restaurant/nightclub combines fusion cuisine with live cabaret shows. It's "el mama" before 9 p.m., a more traditional restaurant, transforming into "la papa" at dinnertime. (Yes, they're mixing up the genders on purpose.) Performers in elaborate costumes march out into the crowd as multicolored disco lights strobe, acrobats appear, and the food teeters between Spanish and global, with Thai influences claimed.
Lasarte. (Carrer de Mallorca 259, +34 934 453 242) We mentioned this one last year, but this year it got its third Michelin star. Have you been waiting to sample no-expense-spared nouvelle Spanish food, with the greatest of decorum, at the highest possible level? Now's the time, if you can get a reservation.
Marea Alta. (Av. Drassanes 6-8) is undoubtably the most spectacular new restaurant in Barcelona. It's on top of the Columbus monument at the bottom of the Rambla! Amazing views and nautically-themed décor keep you busy while you await your excellent grilled fish - yes, it's an all-fish menu, with several options priced by the kilo. This isn't cheap by any means (you'll be lucky to get out at E60/person) but it'll be a memorable meal for sure.
Opera Samfaina. (La Rambla 51, +34 934 817 871) is a Modernista experience with food, and it's getting lots of buzz for its overall experience. It's part food court, part theme park, part statement of cultural identity: everything in here is Catalan, down to the dreamlike, Dali-esque décor. There are four different bars, various tapas, and a sit-down dining space called Odisea where you enjoy a tasting menu while surrounded by a 360-degree projection of prominent Catalan chef Jordi Roca.
We'd also like to include one new entrant very near the South Entrance of the Fira.
La Pepa (Placa Europa 17-19, +932 590 380) is open from 7 a.m. through 11 p.m. or midnight, and it's a bright, friendly, new yet traditional tapas place which is perfectly positioned for waiting out the post-MWC traffic. The restaurant has more character than your other obvious option, which is hitting the food court at the Granvia 2 mall across the street (where everything is basically okay and nothing is particularly good, but there's a lot of beer and a lot of seating.)
If you don't feel like sitting after a day at the show, proceed on to Placa Europa for Meet & Eat, a food court and entertainment series run by a bunch of local L'Hospitalet restaurants. It'll be open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. during the show, with 16 food stands and live music. This is the second year for Meet & Eat, and I remember it being a buzzing scene, albeit with long lines for food tickets.
SIM Cards, Wi-Fi and Hotspots
Barcelona's public Wi-Fi system now includes all of the city's public buses, which is great news when you're stuck in traffic. Download the Free Wi-Fi Barcelona app for your smartphone and connect to the "Barcelona Wi-Fi" SSID across the city. Public Wi-Fi is slow, at 256kbps, but it's free.
Your own carrier may have an affordable roaming package, depending on what you consider 'affordable.' AT&T is the least appealing. It offers 200MB for $40, 300MB for $60 or 800MB for $120; overages are brutally punishing. Verizon's "travel pass" costs $10/day and lets you use high-speed data as if it's coming from your plan allowance at home. That's preferable.
Sprint and T-Mobile both offer free, low-speed global roaming. Sprint's is throttled to a crawling 64Kbps, while T-Mobile is throttled to 128Kbps or 256Kbps depending on your service plan. 500MB of additional high-speed from either Sprint or T-Mobile costs $50.
Use the Opera Max app to compress data transfers and save money.
Otherwise, Vodafone Spain's Tourist Plan is still the best deal for visitors, offering 60 minutes of calling and 1.5GB of data for 15 euros. (It throttles to 16kbps after your 1.5GB.) If you need laptop access, you can also get a hotspot to put the card into for 55 euros. There are Vodafone stores all over town, but I know the one at Portal de l'Angel 36, near Placa Catalunya, is used to dealing with tourists. You can also try at the Crystal Media shop in T1 of the Barcelona airport; just make sure to get the Tourist Plan. Bring your passport for identification.
If you have a recent model iPad, AlwaysOnline Wireless is another useful option.
Most WiFi hotspot rental companies still limit you to 3G, which is irritating. My Webspot continues to be the leader, giving you about 10GB of 4G LTE for your trip for E10/day. They'll deliver to hotels.