On Wednesday 19th August 2015, I visited the home of FC Barcelona for the ‘Camp Nou Experience’ museum and stadium tour.
With a visit to RCD Espanyol completed earlier in the day, we returned to the Camp Nou to experience the FC Barcelona museum and stadium tour – aptly named ‘The Camp Nou Experience’.
Attracting millions of people from all over the world each year, it is a must-visit which provides football fans a behind-the-scenes look one of the world’s biggest and most famous stadiums. Unlike most stadium tours, it is self-guided meaning visitors can take in the experience at the own pace and soak up every aspect of the football club.
The visit begins in the museum. Here, hundreds of items from FC Barcelona’s history are exhibited – including shirts, boots, balls and other artifacts from every era. There is also the ridiculously impressive trophy cabinet that houses numerous La Liga, Copa Del Rey’s, World Club Cup’s and more, as well as the club’s five Champions League’s and Lionel Messi’s four Ballon D’or’s.
It is truly a sight to behold, putting most clubs to shame, and one that Barca recently added to with their treble victory last season – which is commemorated in the brand new ‘treble space’ of the museum.
After spending what could easily become hours admiring the club’s museum, you then head into the stadium, visiting the press area, dressing room and tunnel before heading up the famous steps and being greeted with the breathtaking sight of the stadium from pitchside.
Unfortunately, the pitch was being relayed ahead of the new La Liga season during our visit, but this took little away from the magnificent nature of Europe’s largest stadium – although admittedly this may have been a bit more disappointing had I not visited for a game a couple of days earlier.
After viewing the inside of the stadium from pitchside, the stands, the press box (somewhere I’d like to be reporting from in the future!) and taking advantage of a photo opportunity with the trio of trophies – we concluded the tour in the huge, two-tier club shop.
But before heading back into the city, we decided to check out the Mini Estadi, the 15,000-seater stadium across the road from the Camp Nou which is the home of third division club Barcelona B. The Spanish pyramid allows reserve clubs, including that of Barcelona, to play in the lower leagues – although they cannot play in the top tier or the Copa Del Rey.
While we unable to get access to the stadium, views from the outside and glimpses through the gate were enough to see how impressive it is considering it is only the home of a reserve side!
This nice little extra rounded off an excellent day at the Camp Nou. Whilst certainly not as good as the matchday experience, I still thoroughly enjoyed my experience and feel that I have seen every aspect of the home of FC Barcelona – a life-long dream come true for me personally!
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