December 23, 2013/ altair / European Vacations

You can’t help falling in love with Barcelona

Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain, after Madrid, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of 101.4km² (39sq.mi). The city, located directly on the northeastern Mediterranean coast of Spain, has a rich history dating back at least 2,000 years when it gained prominence as a Roman town under its old name, Barcino.

Barcelona is today one of the world’s leading tourist, economic, trade fair/exhibitions and cultural-sports centres, and its influence in commerce, education, entertainment, media, fashion, science, and the arts all contribute to its status as one of the world’s major global cities. Indeed, it is a major cultural and economic centre in southwestern Europe (Iberian Peninsula), 26th in the world (after Moscow, before Dubai) and a growing financial centre (Diagonal Mar and Gran Via). It is the fourth economically powerful city by GDP in the European Union and 35th in the world with an output amounting to €177 billion. As of 2009 the city was ranked Europe’s third and one of the world’s most successful as a city brand. At the same time, the city was ranked Europe’s fourth best city for business and fastest improving European city, with growth improved by 17% per year. Barcelona is the transport hub with one of Europe’s principal ports, Barcelona international airport, which handles above 34 million passengers per year, extensive motorway network and also is a hub of high-speed rail, particularly that which is intended to link Spain with France and the rest of Europe as the second longest in the world.

The Barri Gòtic (Catalan for “Gothic Quarter”) is the centre of the old city of Barcelona. Many of the buildings date from medieval times, some from as far back as the Roman settlement of Barcelona. Catalan modernista architecture (related to the movement known as Art Nouveau in the rest of Europe), developed between 1885 and 1950 and left an important legacy in Barcelona. Several of these buildings are World Heritage Sites. Especially remarkable is the work of architect Antoni Gaudí, which can be seen throughout the city. His best-known work is the immense but still unfinished church of the Sagrada Família, which has been under construction since 1882, and is still financed by private donations. As of 2007, completion is planned for 2026.

Old City

Stroll along the following famous streets in Ciutat Vella – the Old City:

• Las Ramblas or La Rambla, a gorgeous tree-lined pedestrian walkway, the busiest and most lively street of the city. Mostly occupied by tourists, expect to pay higher prices for food and drink. Avoid the groups of people supposedly betting on a game played on a cardboard table, they are thieves. Head off into some of the side streets for a cheaper, more local, and authentic experience of Barcelona. Often called Las Ramblas, because it is actually a series of several different streets each called ‘Rambla de ____’, the sections also have distinct feels. As you get closer to Plaça Catalunya, you find more street performers doing stunts. In the middle, you’ll find street performers in costumes. Towards the pier, there are artists who will do pencil drawings, paintings, etc.
• La Plaça Catalunya. Connecting all the major streets in the city, the Plaça is known for its fountains and statues, and the central location to everything in the city. A favourite meeting spot for locals.
• El Portal de l’Àngel. Large pedestrian walkway with many new and stylish shops to browse in.

The most spectacular sights in the night are:

• Musical fountains, in Plaça d’Espanya. From Th-Su, May to October, 9:00PM. Each session lasts 30 minutes, with the last one starting at 11PM.
• Casa Batlló.
• Torre Agbar office tower, highlighted F-Su 7-11PM.
• City views from Montjuic hill

Barcelona was also home to Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona Pavilion. Designed in 1929 for the International Exposition for Germany, it is an iconic building that came to symbolize modern architecture as the embodiment of van der Rohe’s aphorisms “less is more” and “God is in the details.” The Barcelona pavilion was intended as a temporary structure, and was torn down in 1930 less than a year after it was constructed. A modern re-creation by Spanish architects now stands in Barcelona, however, constructed in 1986.

Barcelona won the 1999 RIBA Royal Gold Medal for its architecture, the first (and as of 2012, only) time that the winner has been a city, and not an individual architect.

Historic buildings and monuments

• Sagrada Família, the international symbol of Barcelona
• Palau de la Música Catalana and Hospital de Sant Pau, designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner, included in the UNESCO Heritage List list in 1997.
• Works by Antoni Gaudí, including Park Güell, Palau Güell, Casa Milà (La Pedrera), Casa Vicens, Sagrada Família (Nativity façade and crypt), Casa Batlló, Crypt in Colonia Güell. The first three works were inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1984. The other four were added as extensions to the site in 2005.
• The Cathedral of St. Eulalia
• Church of Santa Maria del Mar (Gothic)
• Gothic church of Santa Maria del Pi
• Church of Sant Pau del Camp
• Palau Reial Major, medieval residence of the counts of Barcelona and the Kings of Aragon
• The Columbus Monument
• The Arc de Triomf, a triumphal arch built in 1888

Museums

Barcelona has a great number of museums, which cover different areas and eras. The National Museum of Art of Catalonia possesses a well-known collection of Romanesque art while the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art focuses on post-1945 Catalan and Spanish art. The Fundació Joan Miró, Picasso Museum and Fundació Antoni Tàpies hold important collections of these world-renowned artists.

Several museums cover the fields of history and archeology, like the City History Museum, the Museum of the History of Catalonia, the Archeology Museum of Catalonia, the Barcelona Maritime Museum and the private-owned Egyptian Museum. The Erotic museum of Barcelona is among the most peculiar ones, while Cosmocaixa is a science museum that received the European Museum of the Year Award in 2006.

Parks

Barcelona contains sixty-eight municipal parks, of which twelve are historic parks, five are thematic (botanical) parks, forty-five are urban parks and six are forest parks. They range from vest-pocket parks to large recreation areas. The urban parks alone cover 10% of the city (549.7ha/1,358.3 acres). The total park surface grows about 10ha (25acres) per year, with a proportion of 18.1 square metres (195sqft) of park area per inhabitant.

Beaches

Barcelona beach was listed as number one in a list of the top ten city beaches in the world according to National Geographic and Discovery Channel. Barcelona contains seven beaches, totalling 4.5km (2.8mi) of coastline. Sant Sebastià, Barceloneta and Somorrostro beaches, both 1,100m (3,610ft) in length, are the largest, oldest and the most-frequented beaches in Barcelona. The Olympic Harbour separates them from the other city beaches: Nova Icària, Bogatell, Mar Bella, Nova Mar Bella and Llevant. These beaches (ranging from 400 to 640m/1,300 to 2,100ft) were opened as a result of the city restructuring to host the 1992 Summer Olympics, when a great number of industrial buildings were demolished. At present, the beach sand is artificially replenished given that storms regularly remove large quantities of material. The 2004 Universal Forum of Cultures left the city a large concrete bathing zone on the eastmost part of the city’s coastline.

Gaudi architecture and Modernist Barcelona

Gaudi architecture includes the Parc Güell in Gràcia, the still unfinished (as of 2011) Sagrada Família in Eixample and the houses La Pedrera/Casa Milà and La Casa Batlló both in Eixample. Park Güell is designed by Antoni Gaudí; 17.2ha/42.5acres). The main part of the route can be walked in a couple of hours, providing you don’t stray too far from the main routes. The Tourist Offices offer a pack that includes discounted tickets to many attractions such as La Pedrera and La Casa Batlló. All can be seen from the outside for free.

Sagrada Família

Getting up to the tower by elevator costs €3, and believe the signs that tell you that the wait could be 120 minutes to ascend. Previously, it was possible to go up the spiral stairs, but now, they allow you only to get back down. As of July 2011, children under 6 and elderly people with reduced mobility cannot go up into the towers. The most impressive thing is to see Sagrada Família at night with lights on, this is the time when you understand why people say that it is built of bones. Entrance costs €13. Get the audio commentary for €4 as it is well worth it. You will gain a much better appreciation of the Sagrada Família. Sagrada Família metro station. At busy times, you would be well-advised to take snacks, refreshments and maybe even a personal music player to pass the time in the queue. As of August 2010, there will be a new service of fast entering. Visitors can buy their tickets for future dates at any Servicaixa ATM (part of ‘La Caixa’ bank, easily recognizable by their blue logo and also because there is one just across the street from the entrance) or ticketmater.es, they will get a code with which they are going to be allowed to enter the Temple by a fast line. The service has a fee of 1.30€ extra.

Since November 2010, you must buy tickets for the lift at the same time you buy your entry ticket because they have time slots. Make sure you know which lift you are going to take. There are two: Nativity lift, lower but you get to walk on two different towers and you walk down so you can see the famous stairs and Passion lift, it goes up to 85m and it offers you a panoramic view of the city, you can walk down or take the lift down. If you go later than 10am, you are going to get tickets with at least one hour waiting, but they are worth and also there is no real waiting because you buy the entry ticket and the lift ticket for the following hour, you go inside and then to the museum and before you realize you may have even missed your ride, time goes fast inside. Take into account that if you ask for an audioguide, it lasts over 90 minutes. If you buy the ticket online or at the ATM respect your time slot, if you go early, you won’t be able to get in and if you miss it, then you lose the money.

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Tags Barcelona VacationsEuropean Vacations