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La Sagrada
Familia, La Rambla, The
Placa d'Espanya, The
Placa de Catalunya, The
Placa Reial, La
Casa Mila, Cathedral
of Barcelona,
Picasso
Museum, The
Parc de la Ciutadella, Casa
Batillo, National
Palace, The
World Trade Center, The
Gran Casino, Spanish
Village,
The Parc
Guell, Tibidabo, Montjuic
Park, The
Olympic Stadium, Camp
Nou, Maremagnum, Fira
De Barcelona, Barcelona
Airport. |
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Barcelona
attractions guide |
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 La Sagrada Familia
Situated to one side of
the Placa de la Sagrada Familia, between the
streets Marina, Provenca, Sardenya and Mallorca,
stands the Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia,
which was initially a neo-Gothic project designed by
the architect Francesc de Paula del Villar. Gaudi was
commissioned to continue the work in 1891, and replaced
the existing project with a much more ambitious one which
resulted in the enormous present-day structure. Sagrada
Familia aspires to be a symbolic construction. It has
three monumental facades: the east front, dedicated
to the Birth of Christ; the west front, dedicated to
the Passion and Death; and the south front, the facade
of the Glorification, the largest of all. The four towers
of each of the three facades jointly symbolise
the twelve apostles. A dome- shaped tower which crowns
the apse is the symbol of the Mother of God, and the
four large towers dedicated to the evangelists encircle
the central spire, which symbolises the Saviour.
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 La Rambla
The Rambla is a boulevard that is transformed
with the hours of the day and of the night. Few streets
have such a marked capacity for changing their appearance,
the rhythm of their life and even their smells and
colours, depending on the season of the year and the
time of day. In addition to being a street that preserves almost
entirely its original characteristics, it has had, like
no other thoroughfare, a capacity to assimilate the traces
of the many and varied events that have taken place here
during the different periods of its history.
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 The Placa d'Espanya
The Placa d'Espanya
was urbanised in 1929, the year of the Universal Exhibition
held in Barcelona. In the centre of the square is a
large fountain designed by the architect Josep Maria
Jujol, a collaborator of Antoni Gaudi, ornamented
with sculptures in marble and bronze by Miquel Blay.
The series of bare brick buildings are the work of
Nicolau Maria Rubio i Tuduri, and served
as a hotel during the Exhibition.
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 The Placa de Catalunya
The Placa de Catalunya
is the centre of the city; it is the confluence of
streets as important as Passeig de Gracia,
Rambla Catalunya , the Rambla and Portal de l'angel,
all filled with multitudes of local people and visitors.
This square has shops, cafeterias and banks, and is
also a major centre of urban communications.
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 The Placa Reial
Just off the left-hand
side of the Rambla , as you go down towards the harbour,
after Carrer Ferran, there opens up the placa
Reial, one of the spaces with most tradition and interest
in the city, as a result of its configuration and the
life that goes on there. Like many of the public spaces
of the old town, the Placa Reial occupies the
site of a monastery, in this case of the Capuchin order.
It was laid out in 1848 by the architect and town planner
Francesc Daniel Molina.
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 La Casa Mila
Next to the Sagrada Familia,
Casa Mila or "La Pedrera" as it is often called,
is probably Gaudi's second most popular building
in Barcelona. Casa Mila covers an area of more than
100 square meters and includes two large circular patios,
so that almost every part of the house gets its share
of sunlight. It is constructed entirely in natural
stones, and lacking all the colors and ornamentation
design. Maybe one of the most interesting places of
the whole complex is the rooftop: Here you can find
a large ensemble of surrealistic chimneys all looking
different and like sculptures standing there alone
or in small groups, dominating the rooftop.
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 Cathedral of Barcelona
This impressive structure
is the gem of Barcelona's Gothic Quarter. The cathedral,
which was built mostly during the 14th century (the
facade
is from the 19th century), lies on the remains of
both Roman worship grounds, as well as an ancient
basilica, and is dedicated to Saint Eulalia, patron
saint of Barcelona. Its giant lacework steeples overlook
a plaza, which is always filled with street performers,
antique markets, and artists.
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 The Picasso Museum
The Picasso Museum, internationally
renowned, and housed in three adjoining medieval palaces,
displays the largest collection of Picasso's early
works, including childhood sketches, engravings, lithographs,
and pottery. The museum's best known work, however,
is Las Meninas, Picasso's Cubist variations on the
famous work of the same name by the father of Spanish
painting, Valazquez.
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 The Parc de la Ciutadella
The park is the perfect
place to relax and has a peaceful and welcoming atmosphere
and pleasant attributes such as the spectacular waterfall,
the pond, flower gardens, and an abundance of trees.
It is also the location of the Museum de Zoologia,
a building designed by the architect Dom?nech
i Montaner. Another area of the park is occupied by
the large zoo. One of the most evocative corners of
the park is a brick and wood building known as the
Umbracle, whose interior spaces filled with lush tropical
plants, are defined by slender iron columns. The Hivernacle,
a wrought-iron and glass construction, has been recently
restored for exhibitions and cultural events.
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 Casa Batillo
The Casa Batll? (1904-1906)
is the most celebrated building on the "Block
of Discord" in Barcelona's Eixample district.
It stands at Passeig de Gr?cia between Carrer Consell
de Cent and Carrer Arag? and it is one of the
best-known works of Antoni Gaudi. It is the result
of the radical reform and modernization of a commercial
and residential building between party walls, typical
of the Eixample district, in which Gaudi unfolded all
his genius.
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 National Palace
The National Palace was
the emblematic construction of the Universal Exposition
of 1929. It is a large sumptuous building that resembles
the great edifices of the European royalty. The architects
in charge of constructing this impressive work were
Enric Catal? i Catal? and Pedro Cendoya Oscoz. Of special
note in this monumental building is its large oval
hall, which forms the largest indoor space in Europe.
Its dome was painted by Francesc Gal?. The lavish
vestibule and the double stairway are also interesting.
In 1934 the National Palace became the National Art
Museum of Catalonia.
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 The World Trade Center
The World Trade Center is
the largest business and services centre in Barcelona,
formed by four round buildings facing the four points
of the compass. It is shaped like a giant transatlantic
liner at the edge of the city. Inside it contains a
large central courtyard with the common services of
the various centres. Situated in the Old Port area,
It stands in an area that receives 15 million visitors
a year.
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 The Gran Casino de Barcelona
The Gran Casino de Barcelona
offers visitors a broad range of entertaining opportunities,
from traditional gambling tables - French and American
roulette, blackjack, punto y banca, and synthetic poker,
7 card stud, Texas Hold'em and Omaha -, to exciting
tournaments of the world's most emblematic games. These
unique events, which are as thrilling as they may be
rewarding, are becoming increasingly popular among
visitors.
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 Spanish Village
Between 1926 and 1929,
Francesc Folguera and Ramon Revent?s built one of the
emblematic constructions of the Universal Exposition
of 1929: the Spanish Village. The original plan was
to bring together, in the form of a tiny village, representative
samples of the traditional architecture of diverse
regions of Spain. The result was better than had been
expected since it would have been easy to create something "kitschy".
What was achieved was a pleasant urban setting where
people enjoyed walking about from one ambience to another.
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 The Parc Guell
Parc Guell is situated
on the Carmel hill, which, along with that of La Creueta
and the Muntanya Pelada, separates the district of
Gracia
from that of Horta. The financier Eusebi Guell
decided to construct a garden city on the old estate
of Can Montaner, and commissioned the project to Gaudi.
Only two houses came to be built within the enclosure
of the Park, which was conserved as such and which
is now a municipal garden. The whole of the urban development
part was realised between the years 1900 and 1914.
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 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' Sacre 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.
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 Montjuic Park
Montjuic Park is the lung
of Barcelona. Today Montjuic hill comprises
a space of 250 hectares for leisure and sports, and
it is equipped with all sorts of cultural and sports
facilities. Over the course of the 20th century,
Montjuic
has undergone various remodellings, always in connection
with major events such as the Universal Exposition
of 1929, when the Magic Fountain, the Mies Van der
Rohe Pavilion, the Spanish Village and the National
Palace were built, or the 1992 Summer Olympics, when
the facilities of the Olympic Ring were constructed.
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 The Olympic Stadium
The Olympic Stadium of
Montjuic has a capacity for 55,000 spectators, which can be
increased to 77,000 with the incorporation of temporary
terracing. It can stage sports competitions, musical
performances or any type of popular event.
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 The Camp Nou
Futbol Club Barcelona was
founded in 1899 by Hans Gamper, so it is one of the
few Spanish clubs with over one century of history.
Its stadium, the Camp Nou, has room for almost 100,000
spectators and is the sports facility with the largest
capacity in all Europe. Visitors can see the club's
museum, a "must" for
football fans since here they can learn all about the
history of "Bar?a" through the trophies,
photo-graphs, monuments, banners and other curiosities
on display.
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 Maremagnum
The Moll d'Espanya was originally
a quay where ships moored to be loaded or discharged.
This function has changed radically over the years,
however, and today this site is occupied by the Maremagnum,
a huge recreational, cultural and shopping centre of
innovative design in which water plays an outstanding
role. In the nerve-centre of this building lies a spacious
square with an undulating pavement, flanked by a large
recreational area where you can have a coffee, stroll
around, shop for fashion or gifts, enjoy a lunch or
snack, dine or have a drink at the new terrace.
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 Fira De Barcelona
Since its creation almost
one hundred years ago, Fira de Barcelona has grown
considerably to become the most important professional
and industrial trade fair organiser in the State and
one of the first five in Europe in number of events.
Every year, Fira de Barcelona plays host to over 30,000
exhibiting companies and has an audience of around
3,500,000, many of them trade visitors who represent
all industrial and trade sectors.
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 Barcelona Airport
Barcelona Airport is the second
largest spanish Airport, just behind Madrid Airport.
The airport is located about 10 km in the south of
Barcelona. It can easily be reached by Taxi, Bus or
Train. At Barcelona Airport you will find more than
9000 parking lots, all within close distance to the
terminal buildings. Barcelona car rental companies,
all major names are represented, also have their car
pickup areas around the parking space. Within the three
Terminals at Barcelona Airport you will find two main
Barcelona tourist information Desks, one in Terminal
A and the other in Terminal B. There you will be helped
on any question concerning Barcelona Hotels or Barcelona
city information. Throughout the entire Barcelona Airport
you will find many restaurants, shops and newsagents.
A pharmacy can be found at Terminal B. Duty free shops
are located inside the Terminal A and B area of the
Barcelona Airport.
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