Olympic-Class Hostel

Spain--Why come to Barcelona?

Many reasons. Columbus brought the first native North Americans to Barcelona’s cathedral to be baptized before presenting them to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella; bullfights are still held at a ring in the city each Sunday in summer at 5:30 p.m.; Antonio Gaudi’s bizarre Temple of La Sagrada Familia is well worth seeing.

For now, however, the main tug is that the city is preparing to be the site of the 1992 Summer Olympic Games.

Barcelona also has something quite special to offer young visitors. On a hillside overlooking the city, by Guell Park, is a beautiful mansion that offers bed and breakfast to travelers under 26 (who are members of their national youth hostel association) for about $8 per night. Travelers 26 and older who are youth hostel members are charged about $12.

The home, at 45-51 Passeig Nostra Senyora de Coll, was built for the Marson family in 1907. They lost it during the Spanish Civil War, and it became a home for nuns and an orphanage. Eleven years ago, a rear addition was added and it became a youth hostel that can accommodate up to 180 guests in clean, bright bunk rooms.

The hostel offers guests a taste of what life was like for a wealthy Catalonia family before the war. The building has a Gaudi-style exterior and is flanked by a large sun deck where guests peek over palm trees to enjoy a terrific view of the city.

The entrance hall is all original marble--the floor, pillars and a hand-carved staircase. At the foot of the stairway sits a grand piano with candelabra. Many of the windows contain original stained glass. The second floor has colorful, Moorish-style arches and walls, mosaic floors and 12-foot-tall carved wooden doors.

You can reach the hostel by taking bus 28 from Pl. de Catalunya. Reception is closed from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. There’s a midnight curfew, however the doors are opened again at 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. for guests that wish to stay out late. Visits are limited to three nights.