Logistics
Venue, accomodation and food

Venue

The course will be held at the Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC), Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta, 37-49, Barcelona (Spain) The institute is quite well connected to public transportation. 

You will need to pick up your entry pass at the front desk; be sure to bring valid identification to allow entry!

Nearby accomodation

Barcelona has many hotels and hostels in a wide range of prices. Internet searches can help such as Google, Booking.com, or perhaps Bing. Be careful using unlicensed rentals through Airbnb because there have been recent crack-downs on cheap tourism.

Also, before you book any accommodation, we advise you to check reviews on TripAdvisor, Booking, etc. While some hostels are fantastic, others can be quick money-making enterprises short of staff, services and anemities. We don't want your trip to Barcelona turn into a nightmare. Be careful!!

You can also check accommodation options at the student residency in the vicinity of ICM-CSIC. Campus Mar and Ciutadella are further away from ICM-CSIC but are closer to the city center.

The following list was assembled in July 2026 with the aid of ChatGPT: 

• Hotel Santa Marta — about 25 minutes’ walk; modest, clean and well reviewed, near Estació de França; buffet breakfast can be included. Pros: private rooms, quiet location, good-value 2-star hotel. Cons: small/basic rooms; verify that the selected rate includes breakfast.

• Hotel del Mar — about 20–25 minutes; slightly nicer sister hotel overlooking Pla de Palau. Pros: excellent location, private rooms, varied breakfast plans, consistently praised for cleanliness. Cons: generally dearer than Santa Marta; some street noise.

• ibis Styles Barcelona City Bogatell — about 25–30 minutes; dependable modern option with very good reviews. Pros: safe-feeling residential/business area, twin rooms, 24-hour reception, rooftop pool. Cons: no longer assume breakfast is automatically included—the current Accor listing treats it as an extra, so select a breakfast rate; prices can climb.

• Hotel Cuatro Naciones — about 40–45 minutes; historic but unpretentious hotel on the lower Rambla. Pros: usually one of the better-value central hotels, private bathrooms, breakfast commonly included, strong reviews for cleanliness and service. Cons: basic/dated rooms; La Rambla is busy and requires normal pickpocket vigilance.

• Black Swan Hostel — about 35 minutes; highly rated hostel near Arc de Triomf. Pros: female-only dorms, privacy curtains and lockers, inexpensive light breakfast, excellent location and security ratings. Cons: youthful/social atmosphere and organised nightlife—not ideal for quiet-hotel expectations.

• Fabrizzio’s Petit — roughly 45 minutes walking distance from the ICM-CSIC. Pros: female-only dorm options, breakfast included, exceptionally strong staff and cleanliness reviews, towels included. Cons: small hostel with shared bathrooms; availability disappears quickly.

• Unite Hostel Barcelona — about 15–20 minutes and probably the best budget location for ICM. Pros: dedicated women-only rooms, lockers, private-room options, shared kitchen, very short and straightforward walk. Cons: reviews are more mixed than Black Swan/Fabrizzio’s; breakfast is available but not consistently included, so participants must choose the correct rate.

• RESA Campus del Mar — about 5–10 minutes; university residence in Barceloneta. Pros: extraordinarily convenient, private studios with bathroom and kitchenette, accustomed to academic visitors, good option for women wanting more privacy than a dorm. Cons: institutional rather than hotel-like; breakfast arrangements vary and may need to be added separat

Accommodation details, prices and breakfast arrangements may change. Please confirm the room type - particularly female-only accommodation - and check that breakfast is explicitly included in your selected rate before booking.

Places to eat

There are lunch options nearby that we will mention during the course.

For the evenings, Spanish food is great, and Barcelona has a wide range of choices of local, regional, national and international foods. When in search for a good meal, we suggest that you adhere to the following:

• Eat where the locals do and avoid the "tourist traps" where food tends to be more expensive and of lower quality;

• Paella is Spanish but Spain is a big country. Paella originated from Valencia and is not a specialty of Barcelona, although you’ll see it on offer everywhere. A word of warning: in general, do not expect a cheap, quickly made paella to taste good. A true paella takes hours to prepare and typically does not come out of a microwave. However, IF you manage to find a restaurant where you are required to order it hours in advance, go for it!

• The Gothic Quarter and Barceloneta have many small tapas bars and other tasty surprises. We can suggest the area around the Cathedal of the sea - Santa Maria del Mar for abundant options;

• Hot chocolate with churros is a fall and winter treat worth committing a minor crime for.

Keep your personal belongings close while roaming the city.
Pick pocketing is a local art