Barcelona is the capital of the Catalan autonomy, the second most populous city in Spain and a fairly large seaport. A piece of the Iberian Peninsula with a rich history, where ancient Roman conquerors, Germanic Visigoth tribes and even warlike Berbers managed to “check in” in different eras, has been in the top 20 most fashionable tourist destinations for several decades.
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| Barcelona Spain |
Basic moments
It would not be an exaggeration to say that everything in Barcelona surprises: from the outrageous creations of Gaudí to the city market - the best supplier of the most unexpected delicacies in the entire Mediterranean. Dozens of museums, historical quarters and all kinds of monuments of medieval architecture here are generously "diluted" with nightclubs and fashionable boutiques. In addition, modern Barcelona is the embodiment of tolerance: perhaps that is why on its fertile soil both Catholic holidays and outrageous gay parades take root equally easily.
An overview of the city should begin with the Gothic Quarter (Barry Gothic). Its temples, palaces and museums embodied the glory of Catalonia, which flourished under the powerful counts of Barcelona. In the 1990s the port area was rebuilt from a labyrinth of gloomy and neglected streets into a sparkling gateway to a new Mediterranean culture and gastronomy. The main artery of this area was La Rambla - a long avenue from Plaza de Catalunya to the statue of Christopher Columbus in the harbor.
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| Barcelona Spain |
In the western part of the old city, the Eixample district of the late 19th century is located. Much of Barcelona's Art Nouveau is here, including the famous Sagrada Familia , Antoni Gaudí's unfinished masterpiece. Since 1884, Gaudi has invested all his creative powers in the construction of the Sagrada Familia ., Sagrada Familia Cathedral. The architect even settled on a construction site and spent the last 16 years of his life that way. The cathedral has 4 spiers, each rising to a height of over 100 m, each decorated with colored ceramic tiles, and the stone portals look like they are made of melting wax or are a bizarre formation of stalactites. The facade of the Nativity is the most finished part of the Gaudí Cathedral, the doorways symbolize Faith, Hope and Charity. Beyond the cathedral is his fantastic Park Güell .
Other creations of Gaudí include Casa Mila , which the locals call La Pedrera ("The Quarry"). This is a residential building with a wavy facade, the outlines of which were suggested by Gaudí by the view of the rocky massif of Montserrat - the sacred mountain of Catalonia. It seems that the volumes of the house seem to smoothly flow into one another, and the pipes and ventilation valves on the roof are a real sculpture garden.
More than 40 of the most interesting museums in Barcelona are concentrated on the beautiful mountain of Montjuic , which can be reached by cable car from the main port. Public transport, especially the metro, is very convenient, the restaurants are of the highest quality, and the surrounding hills and the sea lend clarity to the urban layout.
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| Barcelona Spain |
Geography and climate
Barcelona is located in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, snatching off one of the best sections of the Mediterranean coast. From the south, the capital of Catalonia is protected by the Collserola mountain range, and in the north, its borders are outlined by the Besos River. The most outstanding mountain point of the Barcelona environs is Tibidabo (512 m), while the title of the highest place within the metropolis remains behind the Mantes Taber hill (12 m).
Barcelona has a classic Mediterranean climate with warm and stingy winters followed by hot and humid summers. Even in the coldest months (January, February), the thermometer on the local streets never drops below +10 °C. The peak of the heat falls on July and August, when the average temperature in the city is set at +25 °C, or even +30 °C.
Sights and interesting places of the Catalan capital
The main mistake that most tourists make when visiting Barcelona for the first time is the desire to cover all the iconic places of the metropolis in a weekend. The real reality lies in the fact that even the most cursory sightseeing of the city's attractions will take at least a week, and preferably two.
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| Barcelona Spain |
Traditionally, the starting point of the trip is Plaza Catalunya - a historical site at the intersection of La Rambla and Passage de Gracia boulevards, expanded during the 1888 World Exhibition in the city. The place is purely touristic, which is why it is somewhat “sleek”. And yet, the vast majority of meetings and appointments are scheduled exactly on the Plaza de Catalunya. From here they go on their exciting tours and sightseeing buses.
From the main square of Barcelona, in the direction of the Olympic Port, the legendary boulevard La Rambla departs , a sort of Catalan relative of the Moscow Arbat. The wide, busy and mostly pedestrian street is one of the most popular tourist routes and at the same time an outstanding provocateur, skillfully pushing the gullible traveler to largely unnecessary, but such tempting spending. Souvenir and sweet vendors, flower girls, street performers and living sculptures - these are the typical regulars on the sidewalks of the Rambla , every morning entering the city streets with one single goal: to find their client and promote him to buy.
If the marketing tricks of the sellers from the Rambla did not convince you, do not be too lazy to get to the main trading platform of the city - the Boqueria market . This giant food bazaar dates back to the Middle Ages and is famous for its fantastic gastronomic assortment (for quality jamon, truffles, snails and foie gras - only Boqueria ).
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| Barcelona Spain |
Between La Rambla Boulevard and Laietana Street, the Gothic Quarter is "sandwiched" . In this case, the name speaks for itself: narrow cobbled streets, through which you sometimes have to squeeze sideways, gloomy cathedrals with spiers piercing the sky and basilicas, whose age is five thousand years old - this is a classic picture that opens up to the eyes of visitors to this part of the city. The list of must-see sights of the quarter includes, first of all, the Cathedral of Barcelona(Gothic, in its purest form), the Bridge of Sighs, the Basilica of Santa Maria del Pi (restoration in 1936, all in the same openwork-Gothic style), the remains of the Roman wall and the Museum of the History of Barcelona. You can also look into the art gallery of Villa de Arte or admire the ancient Roman sculptures in the “sentimental museum” of Frederic Mares. And finally, wash down your impressions with a cup of the strongest coffee at the table of the art cafe "4 Cats" - a Catalan clone of the Parisian variety bar "Black Cat".
Museums in Barcelona are a special topic worthy of a separate article. Capuchin Museum, Egyptian Museum, open-air exhibition "Spanish Village", the Maritime Museum of Barcelona, the Barbier-Muller Museum of Pre-Columbian Art and a dozen of the most unusual places with truly amazing exhibits are waiting for their visitors. Little travelers will be delighted by the miniature "laboratories" of CosmoCaixa, as well as the salivary-inducing exhibits of the chocolate museum. A great opportunity to feel like an unlucky rabbit in a bottomless magician's hat is the Barcelona Museum of Illusions. The beautiful half of humanity will definitely find something to do at the Museum of Textile and Costume History, whose outstanding collections are represented by the rarest editions of fashion magazines of the century before last, as well as clothes from various eras.
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| Barcelona Spain |
Loyal Barça fans in the Catalan capital also have somewhere to go: the museum of the legendary football club is located right at the Camp Nou stadium and stores on its shelves all the awards ever received by Barcelona football players. Fans of Picasso's creations usually flock to Moncada Street. The Museum of the Father of Spanish Cubism is housed in 5 historic buildings and boasts 3,500 paintings and sketches by the master. You can get genuine aesthetic pleasure at the National Museum of Catalan Art, under whose roof both paintings by recognized masters of painting and the creations of young, still unknown to the world artists are collected.
Of the buildings that have become recognizable symbols of Barcelona, it is worth noting the Agbar Tower or, as the Catalans call it, the “Cucumber”. The giant, futuristic, streamlined building appeared in the city in 2005 as an architectural ode to Mount Montserrat and the city's fountains.
If you are an avid fan of theatrical art and opera, try to get hold of a ticket to one of Barcelona's theaters. For example, in Liseu , which is located on the Rambla of the Capuchins and whose stage still remembers the proud tread of Montserrat Caballe and José Carreras. You can enjoy the immortal classics in a free interpretation in Liura, and it is best to combine a pleasant dinner with watching a simple performance in the oldest theater in the city - the Principal.