Barcelona

Barri Gòtic

The Celtic Sage looked forward to the long overdue trip to Catalonia and its atmospheric capital Barcelona. My neighbourhood in Dublin was taken over every summer by Spanish language students who stayed in Irish homes and no doubt went back home speaking a strange form of English. My amigo was Ignacio Preciado whose parents ran a pharmacy on the Ramblas and as I learnt about Barcelona’s role in the Civil War and the suppression of Catalan culture under Franco I developed a fascination with the city which I have waited too long to expiate. The Catalan people speak two official tongues - Catalan and Spanish - and their culture has what some may call a more ‘sophisticated’ flavour than other Spanish regions, perhaps due to the influence of neighbouring France. In any case, don’t go to Barcelona expecting flamenco dancers and bullfights. Those aspects of southern Spanish culture are not as present here, but Barcelona has so much to offer that they’re hardly necessary.

Barcelona is probably the most innovative and intriguing of all Spanish cities. Its beautifully preserved Gothic Quarter (Barri Gòtic) contains an impressive concentration of medieval buildings within the former confines of 4th century Roman walls. While this neighbourhood signals the height of Barcelona's prosperity in the 13th to 15th centuries, the Art Nouveau structures of the Eixample area manifest the city’s 19th century affluence and industrial success. Here, the masters of Catalan modernisme – most notably and prolifically Antoni Gaudí - constructed houses, parks and churches characterized by undulating, colourful, experimental forms that rejected the rigid neoclassicism so popular in the earlier half of the century.

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Parc Güell

To tie it all together, Barcelona has its beloved Ramblas, a bustling street with a plethora of restaurants, cafes and shops that diagonally traverses the old part of town. Strolling up this avenue will lead you away from the sea and winding cobblestone streets of the old part of town to the wide boulevards of L'Eixample. The Ramblas is the heart of Barcelona, its most populated area at any given hour and the first stop for every visitor.

Barcelona is a major economic centre with one of Europe's principal Mediterranean ports, and Barcelona International Airport is the second largest in Spain. Founded as a Roman city, Barcelona became the capital of the Counts of Barcelona. After merging with the Kingdom of Aragon, it became one of the most important cities of the Crown of Aragon. Besieged several times during its history, Barcelona is today an important cultural centre and a major tourist destination and has a rich cultural heritage. Particularly renowned are architectural works of Antoni Gaudí and Lluís Domènech i Montaner that have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The city is best known in recent times for the 1992 Summer Olympics.




Sagrada Familia

The Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia or simply Sagrada Familia, Antoni Gaudí's unfinished masterpiece, is one of Barcelona's most popular tourist attractions. Construction on this church will continue at least until 2014, but it has already become Barcelona's most important landmark.

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An overview of Barcelona should start with the location of this city. The capital of the state of Catalonia; Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain. Overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and with co-ordinates like 41° 16' N and 2° 4' E; the city is located on the northern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.

Barcelona today, is counted amongst one of the most feted, dynamic and sophisticated cities in the world. There are many things to do in Barcelona and if you are on a short trip then you will find that you have to cram in several things within a short time. You can enjoy taking yourself off to sightseeing tours in Barcelona on the hop-on, hop-off buses which leave from the Placa Catalunya or go on trips to Montserrat in the mountains or Salvador Dali’s hometown of Figueres ; Opened in 1974 the Dali museum also bears the distinction of being the largest surrealistic object in the world. The site originally housed the Municipal Theatre which was constructed in the 19th century and was destroyed in 1939 at the end of the Spanish Civil War. However, where everyone saw ruins, Dali saw an opportunity to create a piece of history and he built his museum. Currently, the Dali Theatre-Museum houses approximately 1,500 pieces of art of varying mediums from sculpture to painting and drawing, from engraving to photography and much more.




Arc del Triomf

Barcelona has a very moderate Mediterranean type climate. The winters are mild, dry and summers are warm and humid. January and February are the coldest and July and August are the hottest months. Snowfall is rare in Barcelona. It will definitely help you if you decide to visit the city during summer as in Barcelona; summer is party and fiesta time. Because of the proximity of Barcelona to the Mediterranean the city has some excellent beaches within its boundaries which are the best places to relax in the heat of summer with more than 4.5 kilometres in length; the famous five beaches are: Nova Icària, Bogatell, Mar Bella and Nova Mar Bella. Apart from beaches, parks in this beautiful city feature high on every tourist's travel destinations. All the 68 parks in Barcelona are an important urban lung and open air living rooms for the city.


Harbour from Montjuïc

Barcelona is one of the most popular tourist destination cities in Europe. Set between the Mediterranean seaboard and the hills of Montjuïc, Barcelona’s location is unbeatable. Few cities of its stature boast more than 4 km of beaches right in the downtown area! What's more, you can take a short trip to France, to local costal settings with pristine beaches, or to nearby mountains perfect for hiking and skiing. Barcelona is widely considered Europe’s coolest city, so it logically follows that its population of about 2 million is full of interesting, artistic and fashionable people. With 12.6% foreigners and a lot of diversity in every sense of the word, a recent poll showed that 80% of Barcelona’s residents consider their city a great place to live.

Barcelona contains 4th century remnants of the Roman Empire, Romanesque churches, and a whole Gothic neighbourhood replete with Cathedral, plazas, streets and churches from the 13th – 15th centuries. Most notably, the Eixample neighbourhood holds late 19th and early 20th century Art Nouveau (modernisme) buildings by Antoni Gaudí and other masters whose colourful, curvy, imaginative structures stand as Barcelona’s defining and unique aesthetic identity.


Cathedral & Cloisters



Barcelona has a great offering of museums. Highlights include the Picasso Museum, the Joan Miró Foundation and the National Museum of Catalan Art, housed in a beautiful palace constructed for the 1920’s World Exhibition. My own personal favourite is the macabre funeral museum containing 20 horse drawn carriages with plaster horses, people and funerary accessories. This is a museum which has no competition!


Joan Miró Foundation

Ferran Adrià, a Catalan native, was proclaimed the world’s best and most innovative chef by the New York Times and Le Monde in 2004 for his iconic El Bulli restaurant. Barcelona has been giving French cuisine a run for its money as of late, and it’s also been voted Europe’s eating capital by various cooking magazines. From traditional Catalan staples to the most experimental of foods, Barcelona doesn’t disappoint the palate. Classic, down-to-earth, Barcelona food would be impossible without a handful of essential ingredients. Olive oil, garlic and tomato are the top three without a doubt. Barcelona cuisine is characterised by an innate creativity that other Spanish regions lack. For example, raisins and nuts are often mixed into vegetable dishes; rabbit is combined with snails; poultry or meat is cooked with fruit. Due to its proximity to the Mediterranean, Barcelona food includes great seafood dishes. You will also detect neighbouring influences from France and Valencia; the latter because Catalan cuisine includes a variety of rice dishes, variations on the typical Spanish paella.


Go Car!

Barcelona has 2 football teams: FC Barcelona & Espanyol de Barcelona. FC Barcelona has won the Spanish national league several times and often attracts the world's best players. They’re one of the most exhilarating teams on the globe to watch, and when you visit Barcelona you can see them play at their home stadium!

Besides fantastic museums and architecture, Barcelona is full of galleries, concert venues and theaters to round out the vibrant art scene. When you visit Barcelona, you'll find yourself torn between choosing one cultural event or another. There are many museums at Barcelona whose contents are from the most ancient periods. A visit to the City History Museum that is housed in a medieval building will tell you the history of the city. There is a Roman ruin in the basement of the city that is really interesting. It also comprises the Museum-Monastery of Pedralbes, one of the best examples of Catalan Gothic architecture. The Museum-House Verdaguer is dedicated to the poet Jacint Verdaguer.


Museum of Catalonia

The Museum on the History of Catalonia was opened in 1996. A visit to this museum will tell you the story of Catalonia since prehistoric times. The Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art, more widely known as MACBA gives an insight on post-1945 Catalan and Spanish art. It also includes foreign works. The works of Joan Miró are found in the museum of the Fundacio Joan Miró, along with the guest exhibitions from other museums around the world. The Picasso Museum features early works by Pablo Picasso and his "Las meninas" series. The Fundació Antoni Tàpies holds a collection of Tàpies works.




Harbour Cable Car

The Olympic Harbour, Barcelona is one of the popular sightseeing options in the city. The Harbour was built for the 1992 Olympic Games which were held in the city. It is an excellent global work built by architects Oriol Bohigas, Josep Martorell, David Mackay and Albert Puigdomènech and the engineer Joan Ramon de Clascà. The Harbour today remains one of the most visited landmarks in the city and is connected to the Playa de Colon by a swing bridge. It is popular for shopping, eating and people watching and there is plenty of street entertainers in this area. Afterwards head for a promenade to view the ships and port traffic and enviously view the extravagant yachts parked on the quayside. At sunset there is no better place to be than along Barcelona's waterfront, which boasts two marinas full of private sailing boats and luxury yachts as well as clean sandy beaches.

The Magic Fountain, Barcelona is another frequently visited and popular sightseeing destination in the city. The fountains are a must visit. The fountains were the fruits of engineer Carles Buïgas who had conceived a new type of fountain where the artistic element consists in the changing shapes of the water. This was one of the last works to be constructed in the grounds of the Universal Exhibition of 1929.

Another sightseeing option in Barcelona is Poble Espanyol ("Spanish Village") on a hillside overlooking the city beside the Museum of Catalonia. The village is definitely a must visit for those who wish to gain an overall vision and also admire the different styles of architectural and urban constructions of the different towns and cities of the whole Spanish state. The village has become a meeting place for people who also want to enjoy different forms of entertainment such as theatrical shows or concerts. The Poble Espanyol or the Spanish Village is also a good place to share a dinner with friends in the innumerable restaurants that the village offers.



The Church of Santa Maria del Mar, Barcelona is the only perfectly finished Catalan Gothic church. The outer walls of the Basilica display the features which differentiate Catalan Gothic from European. The church is a built in Catalan style and there is a predominance of horizontal lines, of solid panels over empty spaces, of flat terraces without roofs, and a preference for large bare surfaces.

However, partying and clubbing are not the only things to do in Barcelona. There are a couple of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Barcelona which are must sees. You must see the works of Lluis Domènech i Montaner and Palau de la Musica Catalana. You must also visit Hospital de Sant Pau. Ignoring the works of Antoni Gaudí, Park Güell, Palau Güell, Casa Mila, Casa Vicens, Sagrada Familia (Nativity facade and crypt), Casa Batllo, and Crypt in Colonia Güell will leave your trip in Barcelona incomplete. There are also other fine buildings of architectural importance and lots of museums.






Shopping till you drop and gorging on the delectable local cuisine are amongst the many things to do in Barcelona. Sample some of the exquisite wines and take part in the festive celebrations. Some sort of festive celebration is always going on here and the carnivals are great fun. Some festivals are dedicated to the patron saint of the neighbourhood, Carnival, the Festivities of Santa Eulalia, Saint Jordi, Saint Joan, and the Christmas cavalcade of the Reis (the Three Kings).

For getting around the Barcelona Metro is one of the most under-used resources available to tourists. It is safe to use at any time of day and it comprehensively covers most of the city and is pretty cheap. Metro maps appear on most Barcelona maps and guide books usually say which stop is the nearest to a particular sight (it is a 'M' in a diamond shape in most guide books) so you will always know where you are going. The metro in Barcelona is open until midnight from Sunday to Thursday, until 2am on Friday and through the night on Saturday.

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Rising majestically behind the city is the Tibidabo, an imposing pine tree-coated hill that frames the metropolis, its urban sprawl and vast port beside a glittering sea. "Tibi dabo" is Latin for "I give thee," which according to the gospels of Luke and Matthew is what the devil said, offering Christ the glories of the world were he but to kneel and worship him. The inference is that Barcelona, nestled beneath the Tibidabo, encompasses all known earthly delights.




The Sage regaling a Sagette


La Rambla

The first Sunday of every month is a no-pay day at city museums, and Barcelona also has one of the most ambitious public art projects in Europe with sculptures by artists such as Javier Mariscal or Roy Lichtenstein dotted around town. People-watching along La Rambla is more entertaining than many of the things you have to pay for and catching a glimpse of locals dancing Sardana on Sunday morning in front of the cathedral in the medieval heart of the city is unforgettable.

Barcelona is not a cheap city to visit or to stay in but even at that it is well worth the trip. It is a confident, self assured place which has grown in stature with democratic Spain, is proud to have regained its Catalan identity and as it has done since the Spanish Emperors Hadrian and Trajan ruled Rome looked outwards to the middle sea and the countries surrounding it rather than inwards to Spain. It is cosmopolitan, dynamic, sometimes maddening but altogether unique and well worth visiting.