Banks and ATM
Banks are usually open from 09:00 to 16:00 (Monday to Friday) - closed during the weekends.

There will be ATMs (Automatic Teller Machine) in the CCIB or at the nearby shoppingmall and all over the city of Barcelona. At the airport and main station and along the main streets you find currency exchange offices as well.

Credit Cards
All major credit cards, including Eurocard, Diners, Visa and Mastercard are accepted in restaurants, hotels, shopping-centres and stores.

Travel checks can be cashed in most of the banks and exchange offices.
When paying by credit card for your shopping, you will be asked to show identification. Please have your ID card or passport with you all the time, other ways they may refuse to accept your credit card as payment.

Currency
The official currency in Spain is Euro (€). You can exchange your currency without any limits for total amount at all banks as well as many exchange offices in Barcelona. When you are exchanging your currency, you need your passport or official IDcard. If you do not have it with you, the bank may refuse to exchange your currency.

Shopping
Barcelona is an ideal destination to shop for a wide variety of items catering to everybody’s tastes and wishes. Opening hours of midtown shops are 09:00 to 19:30 (Monday-Saturday). Big shopping malls open until 20:00. On Sundays small shops are generally closed. Some Malls are open 7 days a week.

Visas
All foreign visitors entering Spain must possess valid passports. For citizens from the European Union Member countries, a valid identity card is sufficient.
PLEASE CHECK THE CURRENT VISA REQUIREMENTS WITH THE NEAREST SPANISH CONSULATE/EMBASSY IN YOUR COUNTRY BEFORE YOUR DEPARTURE TO SPAIN!

Time Zone
Barcelona is 6 hours ahead of US - Eastern Standard Time, and 1 hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

Restaurants & Nightlife
One of the main characteristics of Barcelona is its night life. The good weather is advantageous for sitting on the terraces of the coffee-shops, bars and restaurants opened until very late.
Downtown restaurants normally open for lunch from 11:00 to 15:00 and for dinner from 19:30 to 23:00. Cafés and breakfast bars may already open at 08:00, some even earlier.
There is a great number of “Tapas-bars” where you can enjoy a drink and small “tapa” or “pincho” to eat any time of the day.
Fast food, kebab, and take-away pizza stalls usually serve food all day long, and some of them stay open till midnight. Bars, night clubs and discotheques usually open from 22:00 to 04:00 (some even longer).

Climate
Barcelona enjoys a Mediterranean climate, with short cool winters and hot summers. The location of the city beside the sea increases the humidity level. Generally it rains with more intensity during the spring and autumn. In September and October the thunderstorms are very frequent.
On sunny autumn days during the month of October the temperatures are frequently very nice, decreasing radically at night.

Electricity
The power supply in Spain is 220/240 V. Most electric outlets adhere to the continental standard (Schuko). Appliances from North America require a transformer and British ones an adaptor for the two-pin sockets in use in Spain.

Telephones
Pay phones are available at the Congress venue, both for local and long distance calls. Public phones in Barcelona operate by using phone cards which can be purchased at kiosks and newspaper shops.