The Gothic Quarter is one of the oldest and most interesting areas in Barcelona. There are many ruins of old fortifications to be seen in the area, which still remain from the time the Romans ruled. The area is visited by thousands of tourists every year and is the trendiest place to live. With its winding streets it is easy to get lost, but the many tapas bars and little cafes make the journey most enjoyable. Interesting places to see in this area include: Plaça del Rei, Plaça Reial (see picture), and the Gothic Cathedral.
Las Ramblas is a 2-kilometer long boulevard running between Plaça de Catalunya and Barcelona’s port, showing what is perhaps the essence of Barcelona. On this boulevard you will find people of all ages, nationalities and social classes; including shoeshine boys, small flower stands, living statues, acrobats, jugglers, musicians, big-business galleries, cafeterias, and extremely comfy terraces. Sights to see on this wonderful boulevard are: Mercado de La Boquería, Academia de Sciencias, gothic-baroque church de Betlem, Palacio de Moya, and the Casa Bruno Cuadros.
The tower of Colón dominates the port; it includes a 50-meter iron column supporting the statue of the discoverer of America pointing out to sea. An elevator deck near the top of the column gives spectacular views of the port area, Montjuïc and an overall panorama of the city.
L’Eixample district was designed by the architect Cerdá, and was built to connect the old Barcelona (Ciutat Vella) with the surrounding villages. All of the streets here cross in a rectangular style, which is a very unusual design in European town planning. The whole district is built in a Modernist fashion. The most impressive monuments in this district are: some works of Antoní Gaudí, Casa de los Punxes, Plaça de Catalunya, and Paseig de Gracià.
The mountain of Montjuïc was the backdrop of the World Exposition of 1929. The buildings on Montjuïc represent all of the architectural styles typically found in whole of Spain. The most spectacular sights on this beautiful mountain are: the Pueblo Español, the Olympic Stadium, a 17th Century fortress, and the gorgeous parks.
The Poble Espanyol (“Spanish Village”) is an architectural synopsis designed by the architect Joseph Puig I Cadafalch for the Expo in 1929 which took place in Barcelona. The open-air museum with a surface of 49,000 m² consists of 117 buildings which represent the individual architecture styles of the different regions of Spain. More than 40 artisans have their studios within the Poble Espanyol where visitors can watch them working. In addition there is a garden with sculptures. Art lovers can visit the Fundación Fran Daurel with works of the artists Dalí, Picasso, Miró and Tàpies.
The Parc de la Ciutadella is truly worth a visit, even if it just for a relaxing leisurely walk. It has a lot of possibilities, including lots of monuments and sights. Furthermore, the entrance to the zoo can be found here as well. One of the most pleasurable things to do in the park is renting a boat and rowing around the lake, which can be found in the center of the park.
`Borne´ originally meant `joust´ or `list´, and in the Middle Ages this was the area for Barcelona’s festivals, processions, tournaments, carnivals and the burning of heretics by the Inquisition. The district is full of great bars, and has an ever-expanding number of restaurants. Since the 1980s it has also been a focal point of the city´s alternative art scene. For this reason, an interesting selection of independent textile and craft workshops can be found here. Perhaps the most important Catalan Gothic buildings can be found in this district; the magnificent church of Santa Maria del Mar.
Antoni Gaudí i Cornet, the incredible architect, artist and designer was born in Catalonia (Spain) in 1852. Gaudí lived during the splendour of `Modernism´, the architectural and artistic movement in Catalonia that corresponded to `Art Nouveau´ in France and `Jugendstil´ in Germany. Antoni Gaudí executed most of his works in the city of Barcelona, where he daringly explored a variety of building types and shapes, without the scope of his vision ever being restricted by site and epoch limitations. The most famous, and must see, creations of Antoni Gaudí include: Parc Güell, Sagrada Familia, La Pedrera, and Casa Batlló.