Schuetz

While tickets are made available to the general public just 2 weeks before a match, the way that Futbol Club Barcelona distributes them means that the seats left by this stage are among the worst in the stadium.

There are 98,000 seats in the stadium and 140,000+ members of the club, which means that club members have usually cherry picked the best seats long before they are made available for general sale.

If you're travelling to Barcelona for a weekend when they play at home and who wouldn't want to ensure that? you can make sure of getting tickets by reserving in advance from an official ticket agent for FC Barcelona. Although they are expensive they are guaranteed tickets for every match and this is likely to be your only option for matches such as Barcelona v Real Madrid.

If you wait until arriving in Barcelona you do have the option of the ticket touts. They congregate around the entrance to the ticket offices a few days before matches and there prices also tend to be high, but if you wait until match night you may find people with extra tickets wanting to sell them for face value.

If you really don't mind what tickets you receive then you have a few options. The first is to simply go to the FC ticket office, either during the day or an hour before the match. Queues tend to be long, so do make sure you have enough time. You can also buy tickets for the club from the tourist offices locate on the Ramblas.

Your final option is to buy tickets from the cash machines of La Caixa. Not all their machines sell tickets, but if you look for the ones marked ServiCaixa you can select tickets and they'll be printed out for you instantly. There is a small booking fee and you don't have a good choice, but at least this option is easy.

The best advice for good seats is to book in advance. Although you pay over the odds, it is worth it for the convenience it brings.