Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, is located on the coast and bounded by the Collserola ridge and rivers Besós and Llobregat. The city is less than 150 kilometres fromthe Pyrenees. Barcelona's location on the shores of the Mediterranean means that it enjoys a warm, welcoming climate and pleasant temperatures all year round. Rainfall is occasionally heavy, with levels of around 1,000mm per year. This helps to maintain the many green areas around the city.

In Barcelona, as in the rest of Catalonia, the are two official language: Catalan, the language of th region, and Spanish, the official language of Spain.
As in most countries, the clocks are an hour ahead of solar time (GMT) in winter, and two hours ahead in summer. The clocks change twice during the year.
In Barcelona mealtimes are usually a little late than in the rest of Europe. Breakfast is between 9am and 11am and is similar to other countries on the continent. Lunch is served in restaurants between 1pm and 3pm and dinner form 9pm until midnight
The working day usually begins between 8am and 9am and people break for lunch at 2pm. In the afternoon businesses open from 4pm to 8pm.

Barcelona has a relatively mild Mediterranean climate. Summer can get hot and humid, 30C is not uncommon, while winters are very mild and sunny. The rain falls mostly in the autumn and spring months (October, November, March, April). The year average temperature is 15.8°C with an average maximum of 19.4°C and average low of 12.1°C. The humidity is always a factor because of the sea, and in summer it can get very sticky and uncomfortable, while in winter, although the temperature never drops too far, the humidity can chill you to the bone.