WELCOME TO BARCELONA

The City of Barcelona is the capital of the province known as Catalunya (Castilian Spanish as Cataluña, whilst in English as Cátalunia). It has its own distinct character standing apart from being the “heavy and austere” image that tends to be associated generally with Spain. It is in this city that culture literally “bubbles” on the surface with its extremes of expression matched only by its ambitious, imaginative and hard-working population.

The history of the region shows us that they are people with a tendency to be very capably and creative as individualists which they pursue with emotional tenacity. At the same time their strong loyalty and pride to their regional origins binds them together with equal passion

For the purposes of the traveller it is easier to divide the city into the following districts and when possible each item of interest indicates the district in which it will be found

Barri Gòtic & La Ribeira

These are basically the “downtown” heart of the old part of the city around the Cathedral and the tourist attraction of the walking street, La Rambla

El Raval

The El Raval district boarders to the west of the Barri Gòtic and has been in the past traditionally the workers persons district. It is now being slowly upgraded and is now a cosmopolitan area for living besides its commerce.

Montjuïc

Named after the Jewish cemetery the Montjuïc lies to the west of the El Raval and includes a pleasant large Park with several attractions and several other buildings left over from the 1992 Olympics.

Port Vell, Barceloneta & Port Olímpic

These three districts are linked together and cover the port area stretching from below El Raval and Barri Gòtic to the south west edge of Sant Martí district. This was once a scruffy area which underwent transformation with advent of the Olympics.

Eixample

This district is a more recent part of Barcelona and lies directly to the north of El Raval and Barri Gòtic. Through it runs the greater part of the wide Avinguda Diagonal. When in the middle 1800 the city expanded beyond its city walls, Eixample was used to expound the architecture chosen by rich merchants and it is here the famous Sagrada Família is to be found.

Gràcia, Tibidabo & Zona Alta

These districts are on the northern limits of Barcelona in the hilly area with 15 parks which included the most well known, Parc Güell. From a tourists point of view there are so many attractions that they have been listed separately in this site under each category. However, as a brief guide we have short listed below the most popular and major cultural locations for the visitor. Barcelona has many other attractions and this can be seen by just checking the number and variety of the many museums within the city.

La Rambla – Barri Gótic

Barcelona Cathedral – Barri Gòtic

Parc de la Ciutadella – Barceloneta

Sagrada Família – Eixample

Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya – Montjuïc

Palau de la Música Catalana – La Ribeira

La Pedrera – Eixample

Fundació Joan Miro – Montjuïc

Museu Picasso – La Ribeira

Museu d’Art Contemporani Contemporània – El Raval

BARCELONA – ATRACTIONS

This city is probably one of the most praised of all cities in Europe and there are countless written accounts of its fascinating cultural attractions. Below we have just skimmed over its surface – a city that has held two international World Fairs in 1888 and 1929, and recently the host for the 1992 Olympic Summer Games.

The heart of old Barcelona is the section known as the “Barri Gòtic”, a warren of narrow streets and medieval gothic palaces as a reminder to the past that have been built on ruins of pre-Roman times. In the turbulent middle 1850s, the city elders decided to change the face of the rest of the town by removing the old city walls and creating grand boulevards designed to impress and at the same time allowing for future functional expansion. The winning architect was Ildefons Cerdá whose design remains today as a testimony to his excellent layout. Happily for the city, it also coincided with the emergence of their internationally famous architect Antoni Gaudí whose creations still to this day amaze and inspire all those who view his works. Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926), has left his signature in the form of sculptured buildings and objects in such an impressive manner that there are “Guided Gaudí Tours” which come highly recommended.

Another area to explore must be the famous “Ramblas” which have been built over what were once river beds. It is on a promenade down these vibrant arteries of the city that diversity and glamour meet. The city also has its own version of the Paris “Left and Right Bank” with the Rambla de Catalunya marking its division.

Another of the many landmarks is the 350 foot towers crowning Gaudí’s unfinished masterpiece of “Templo Expiatorio de la Sagrada Família”. Among the many creations by Gaudí we wish to single out for visit both the “Convento Del Santa Teresa” in Sarrià, and the “Palace del Pederalbes”

There is so much more to be seen! We hope that the above will “vet your appetite” to the vast wealth of architectural and historic structures and their many fascinating interiors that await every visitor to the unforgettable Barcelona.

La Rambla

Five separate streets strung end to end, La Rambla (also called Las Ramblas) is a tree-lined pedestrian boulevard packed with buskers, living statues, mimes and itinerant salespeople selling everything from lottery tickets to jewellery. The noisy bird market on the second block of La Rambla is worth a stop, as is the nearby Palau de la Virreina, a grand 18th-century rococo mansion, with arts and entertainment information and a ticket office.

Next door is La Rambla's most colourful market, the Mercat de la Boqueria. Just south of the Boqueria the Mosaic de Miró punctuates the pavement, with one tile signed by the artist. The next section of La Rambla boasts the Gran Teatre Del Liceu, the famous 19th-century opera house. Below the Plaça Reial, La Rambla becomes decidedly seedy, with strip clubs and peep shows. La Rambla terminates at the lofty Monument a Colom (Monument to Columbus) and the harbour. You can ascend the monument by lift. Just west of the monument, on Avinguda de les Drassanes, stand the Reials Drassanes (Royal Shipyards), which house the fascinating Museu Marítim. It has more seafaring paraphernalia than you'd care to wag a sextant at - Boats, models, maps, paintings, ships' figureheads and 16th-century galleys.

Barri Gotic

The Barri Gotic contains a concentration of medieval Gothic buildings only a few blocks northeast of La Rambla, and is the nucleus of old Barcelona. It's a maze of interconnecting dark streets linking with squares, and there are plenty of cafes and bars, as well as the cheapest accommodation in town. Most of the buildings date from the 14th and 15th century, when Barcelona was at the height of its commercial prosperity and before it had been absorbed into Castile. Around the Catedral, one of Spain's greatest Gothic buildings, you can still see part of the ancient walls incorporated into later structures. The quarter is situated around the Plaça de Sant Jaume, a spacious square, the site of a busy market and one of the venues for the weekly dancing of the sardana. Two of the city's most significant buildings are here, the Ajuntament and the Palau de la Generalitat.

Museu Picasso

The Museu Picasso is Barcelona's most visited museum. It's housed in three strikingly beautiful stone mansions on the Carrer de Montcada, which was, in medieval times, an approach to the port. The museum shows numerous works that trace the artist's early years, and is especially strong on his Blue Period with canvases like The Defenceless, ceramics and his early works from the 1890s. The second floor shows works from Barcelona and Paris from 1900-1904, with many of his impressionist-influenced works. The haunting Portrait of Senyora Canals (1905), from his Pink Period is also on display. Among the later works, all executed in Cannes in 1957, are a complex technical series (Las Meninas), which consists mostly of studies on Diego Velazquez's masterpiece of the same name.

La Sagrada Família

La Sagrada Família is truly awe-inspiring - even if you don't have much time, don't miss it. The life's work of Barcelona's favourite son, Antoni Gaudí, the magnificent spires of the unfinished cathedral imprint themselves boldly against the sky with swelling outlines inspired by the holy mountain Montserrat. They are encrusted with a tangle of sculptures that seem to breathe life into the stone. Gaudí died in 1926 before his masterwork was completed, and since then, controversy has continually dogged the building program. Nevertheless, the South-western (Passion) facade, with four more towers, is almost done, and the nave, begun in 1978, is progressing. Some say the shell should have been left as a monument to the architect, but today's chief architect, Jordi Bonet, argues that the task is a sacred one, as it's a church intended to atone for sin and appeal to God's mercy on Catalunya.

La Pedrera

Another Gaudí masterpiece, La Pedrera was built between 1905 and 1910 as a combined apartment and office block. Formerly called the Casa Milà, it's better known now as La Pedrera (the quarry) because of its uneven grey stone facade that ripples around a street corner - it creates a wave effect that's further emphasized by elaborate wrought-iron balconies. Visitors can tour the building and go up to the roof, where giant multicoloured chimney pots juts up like medieval knights. On summer weekend nights the roof is eerily lit and open for spectacular views of Barcelona. One floor below the roof is a modest museum dedicated to Gaudí's work.

Montjuïc

The hill overlooking the city centre from the southwest is home to some fine art galleries, leisure attractions, soothing parks and the main group of 1992 Olympic sites. Approach the area from Plaça d'Espanya and on the north side you'll see Plaça de Braus Les Arenes, a former bullring where the Beatles played in 1966. Behind it lies Parc Joan Miró, where stands Mir's highly phallic sculpture Dona i Ocell (Woman and Bird). Nearby, the Palau Nacional houses the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, which has an impressive collection of Romanesque art. Stretching up a series of terraces below the Palau Nacional are fountains, including the biggest, La Font Màgica, which comes alive with a free lights and music show on summer evenings. In the northwest of Montjuïc is the “Spanish Village”, Poble Espanyol. At first glance it's a tacky tourist trap, but it also proves to be an intriguing scrapbook of Spanish architecture, with very convincing copies of buildings from all of Spain's regions. The Anella Olímpica (Olympic Ring) is the group of sports installations where the main events of the 1992 games were held. Down the hill, visit masterpieces of another kind in the Fundacio Joan Miro, Barcelona's gallery for the greatest Catalan artists of the 20th century. This is the largest single collection of his work.

Tibidabo At 542m (1778ft),

Tibidabo is the highest hill in the wooded range that forms the backdrop to Barcelona. If the air's clear, it's a great place for views over the city. The locals come up here for some thrills at the amusement park Parc d'Atraccions, which has rides and a house of horrors. As hair-raising as anything at the Parc, however, is the glass lift that goes 115m (126yd) up to a visitors' observation area at Torre de Collserola telecommunications tower. The more sedate can find solace in Temple del Sagrat Cor, Barcelona's answer to Paris' Sacré Coeur; it's even more vilified by aesthetes than its Paris equivalent. Looming above Tibidabo's funicular station, it is actually two churches, one on top of the other. The top one is surmounted by a giant Christ and has a lift to the roof. Barcelona is a mine of gold, as a horn of plenty. One have to feel it, from moment to moment, feel it on your own skin - discovering the perls of Barcelona.

Tourist guide map and info of Barcelona