Many of you football crazy people will probably be stuck with the dilemma of where to watch the matches when on holidays. Especially for all our guests staying in our Barcelona apartments or at our Rotterdam apartments, we can now give the following tips.
When you are staying in one of our Barcelona apartments, you need to know that only the matches of Spain are broadcasted by normal cable television called Telecinco.
Some matches of the popular countries such as Brasil, Argentina and Italy will be broadcasted by Cuatro. The rest of the South Africa FIFA Worldcup 2010 matches can only be seen by paid TV (Digital Plus).So, assuming you are going to have an apartment in Barcelona that has no pay TV you are left without FIFA Worldcup 2010 unless you are from one of the countries mentioned earlier. Now, of course we found a solution for you. There are three ways to find the match you want to see.
You can step out of your apartment in Barcelona and take a look in a radius of 2 blocks. Just check the bars. Take into account that you should preferable look for a bar, not a bar-restaurant.
Most bars have especially contracted Digital Plus in order to attract extra clients. Most bar-restaurants will have the traditional channels and will not be happy to make exceptions for when other countries than Spain are playing. They are looking mostly for people that want to have lunch in their restaurant, not football supporters… So, go for the bar. Check first with the waiter if actually they are going to broadcast the match (trust me, even though it is announced that the bar will broadcast the match, this is not always certain…).
The second option is to go to the tourist areas, that is La Rambla, Port Olimpic, Port Vell. It is likely that the Worldcup match is broadcasted in some bars.
The third and safest option is to look up, for example the day before, an English or Irish pub and check the program there. There are loads of English and Irish pubs in Barcelona and they are mostly broadcasting all matches played. You may always contact us for specific suggestions to the country you are travelling from. There are several foreign communities in Barcelona that have their own bars in Barcelona so you can even see the match in your own language with your own people.
Instructions for Rotterdam are simple as all matches will be broadcasted on the national channels (NOS). From your Rotterdam apartments you will therefore be able to watch the matches of the FIFA Worldcup 2010. In case you prefer to see the matches in a bar, the best you can do is to go to the Stadhuisplein (near the Stadhuis at the Coolsingel).
Anyways, we hope that you Enjoy teh FIFA Worldcup 2010 and your apartments in Barcelona or your stay in our Rotterdam apartments.