Just a quickie guys & gals,,
Me and the other arf are thinking of a trip to go and watch a game in Catalan in the not too distant future and seeing that you have just returned from there i was wondering what were your impressions of the place,accomodation,beer prices and so on..
I ask because when attending last years Grand Final i was talking to some speccies and they seemed negative about it saying " How the French rip you off with prices for beer and grub"..Did they do it to you?Anyway if i get good vibes will be thinking of going over...

its a nice place but with the low euro rate at the min works out expensive for drinks, food isnt to bad and there are enough hotels to choose from in all price ranges. the place itself is very nice however a little quiet and if you have been on a few occasions you tend to attend the same bars but if its your first time youl enjoy it

If your happy paying 100 euros a pint then go for it, other than that it's a fantastic city. Very friendly and they love the game. We stayed at the Mecure hotel in the city centre, very handy as your only a couple minutes walk away from all the bars where most people meet. Definitely going back next year.

We've been twice now (2007 & Jun 2008) and it's a nice enough place if a bit dull. There aren't that many shops around so alls there is to do really is eat and drink. I'm sure that may be fine for some who have bottomless pockets but for us it was a bit of a pain in the hole. It is the south of France so you pay South-of-France prices for things. On average a pint will set you back around 4 euros, which with the current exchange rate is steeper than Everest. If you want to be frugal, there is a supermarket that we wnt to last year that done 6 cans of lager for €2.50, which was a bit of a bargain. Then you can just sit by the canal with your admittidly not as cold but a lot cheaper drinks. Accomodation-wise, we stayed 2 nights there for about £100 per room. If you've got some spare cash, I recommend staying in Barcelona for a couple of days then going to Perpy on the train for the match. We did it last year and I think all in was about £300 each inc. flights to/from Barca.

What are taxi prices like to and from the airport?

1000 Euros wasn't it?

Don't bother with a taxi - get shuttle bus. Simple (and cheaper - especially if there's a few of you)
I always stay in Canet-Plage. Plenty to do, sea and sand if required and the famous Bar Wembley. Great place.

hopefully next year you'll be able to fly manchester to perpignan with BMI rather that gerona and drive like we had too the last couple of years.
we stayed at the IBIS this year and it was a good price and right in the centre, over in europe its priced per room rather than per person so if you share with someone its cheaper.

baring in mind that this year we we're over during easter weekend and being a religious part of the world most things were shut, but if you go in mid summer (which i know its out of our control as to when we're playing there) its buzzing and everything is open with BBQ's and markets etc.

good city bit steap for a pint but wine is very good price (for obvious reason). I don't know many who haven't enjoyed the weekend as a whole even with the wrong result.

When me and SiY went in '07 it worked out pretty cheap, got a few bottles of some sparkling white wine for like 25c a bottle Awful stuff, but did the job.

I've been twice now and I actually quite like the place, good laugh when there's plenty of people there.

The Mecure is probably the best hotel to stay in. It's bang in the centre, it's nice, very clean and just generally very reliable.

The Ibis is also good but is a bit of a trek from the centre and some of those who those who stayed at the Kyriad wished they'd have paid the little extra to stay at the Mecure.

It isn't somewhere that I could stay for more than 2/3 days but for the short time you're visiting, there are plenty of cafes & bars that do good food.

This year we stayed two days in Barcelona and drove a hire car up to Perpignan which took just two hours. We stayed one night in Perpignan and managed to squeeze in two nice meals and the game.