Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain, after Madrid. About five million people live in the Barcelona metropolitan area. It is also Europe's largest metropolis on the Mediterranean Sea. It is the main component of an administrative area of Greater Barcelona, It is located on the Mediterranean coast between the mouths of the rivers Llobregat and Besòs.
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.
Barcelona is the 16th-most-visited city in the world and the fourth most visited in Europe after Paris, London, and Rome, with several million tourists every year.
Founded as a Roman city, Barcelona became the capital of the County of Barcelona. After merging with the Kingdom of Aragon, Barcelona became one of the most important cities of the Crown of Aragon. Besieged several times during its history, Barcelona has a rich cultural heritage and is today an important cultural centre and a major tourist destination. Particularly renowned are the architectural works of Antoni Gaudí and Lluís Domènech i Montaner, which have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The founding of Barcelona is the subject of two different legends. The first attributes the founding of the city to the mythological Hercules 400 years before the building of Rome. The second legend attributes the foundation of the city directly to the historical Carthaginian Hamilcar Barca, father of Hannibal, who named the city Barcino after his family in the 3rd century BC Barcelona is the passionate capital of Catalonia, an unforgettable city of art, culture and beauty. Gaudi's works, museums, concerts and FC Barcelona’s football team homeland.
A tree-lined pedestrian mall, La Rambla stretches for 1.2 kilometers between Barri Gòtic and El Raval, connecting Plaça de Catalunya in the centre with the Christopher Columbus Monument at Port Vell. La Rambla can be considered a series of shorter streets, each differently named, hence the plural form Les Rambles (the original Catalan form; in Spanish it is Las Ramblas). From the Plaça de Catalunya toward the harbour, the street is successively called the Rambla de Canaletes, the Rambla dels Estudis, the Rambla de Sant Josep, the Rambla dels Caputxins, and the Rambla de Santa Mònica. Construction of the Maremàgnum in the early 1990s resulted in a continuation of La Rambla on a wooden walkway into the harbour called the Rambla de Mar.
Walk along Las Ramblas to enjoy street musicians, living statues, hustlers and just plain loonies. Hop onto the Tramvia Blau for a tram trip up to the top of Tibidabo and take in the magnificent sights of the city below you. Shop along the Passeig de Gracia, at the most well known boutiques in Barcelona.
Have a sunset drink at a chiringuito bar on the Barceloneta beach, then after dark, join the locals for pub crawling at the Barri Gotic for a huge selection of tapas bars, wine bars, cocktail lounges and even Irish pubs! Now that you've worked up an appetite, head for El Born where you'll find the finest in new catalonian cuisine.
The Picasso Museum
The best way to visit the Old Town is on foot, Gothic quarter streets, the old fisherman’s village of Barceloneta and the beach, the fantastic Palau de la Musica Catalana in the Borne district, leading you all the way over to the garden of Barcelona – La Cuitadella . This is a huge part of Barcelona and is a really great way to spend a day.
Barcelona is an extremely practical city in which to go shopping, everything you need is concentrated in the centre and the historical city. Fashion is particularly well represented, by world famous brands which all have a store in Barcelona alongside exciting, young designers. Barcelona is a city well known for interior design and decoration with many stylish outlets in the city, also Barcelona city markets are popular, colorful and noisy places. From food markets to fleas or books markets there is a wide selection throughout the centre on most days.
Barcelona has a uniquely wide range of bars: Ranging from colourful tapas bars , outdoor cafés, chocolaterias, coctelerías (cocktail bars), whiskerias (often singles bars with professional escorts), xampanyerias (Catalan cava, sparkling wine bars), and beer halls. Most stay open until about 2:30am, some even later..
Nightlife in Barcelona starts around 10pm for bars and midnight for clubs. Bars close around 2am in week days and 3am during the weekend. Clubs will often still be bouncing till dawn breaks.
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| Barcelona |
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.
Barcelona is the 16th-most-visited city in the world and the fourth most visited in Europe after Paris, London, and Rome, with several million tourists every year.
Founded as a Roman city, Barcelona became the capital of the County of Barcelona. After merging with the Kingdom of Aragon, Barcelona became one of the most important cities of the Crown of Aragon. Besieged several times during its history, Barcelona has a rich cultural heritage and is today an important cultural centre and a major tourist destination. Particularly renowned are the architectural works of Antoni Gaudí and Lluís Domènech i Montaner, which have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The founding of Barcelona is the subject of two different legends. The first attributes the founding of the city to the mythological Hercules 400 years before the building of Rome. The second legend attributes the foundation of the city directly to the historical Carthaginian Hamilcar Barca, father of Hannibal, who named the city Barcino after his family in the 3rd century BC Barcelona is the passionate capital of Catalonia, an unforgettable city of art, culture and beauty. Gaudi's works, museums, concerts and FC Barcelona’s football team homeland.
A tree-lined pedestrian mall, La Rambla stretches for 1.2 kilometers between Barri Gòtic and El Raval, connecting Plaça de Catalunya in the centre with the Christopher Columbus Monument at Port Vell. La Rambla can be considered a series of shorter streets, each differently named, hence the plural form Les Rambles (the original Catalan form; in Spanish it is Las Ramblas). From the Plaça de Catalunya toward the harbour, the street is successively called the Rambla de Canaletes, the Rambla dels Estudis, the Rambla de Sant Josep, the Rambla dels Caputxins, and the Rambla de Santa Mònica. Construction of the Maremàgnum in the early 1990s resulted in a continuation of La Rambla on a wooden walkway into the harbour called the Rambla de Mar.
Walk along Las Ramblas to enjoy street musicians, living statues, hustlers and just plain loonies. Hop onto the Tramvia Blau for a tram trip up to the top of Tibidabo and take in the magnificent sights of the city below you. Shop along the Passeig de Gracia, at the most well known boutiques in Barcelona.
Have a sunset drink at a chiringuito bar on the Barceloneta beach, then after dark, join the locals for pub crawling at the Barri Gotic for a huge selection of tapas bars, wine bars, cocktail lounges and even Irish pubs! Now that you've worked up an appetite, head for El Born where you'll find the finest in new catalonian cuisine.
The Picasso Museum
The best way to visit the Old Town is on foot, Gothic quarter streets, the old fisherman’s village of Barceloneta and the beach, the fantastic Palau de la Musica Catalana in the Borne district, leading you all the way over to the garden of Barcelona – La Cuitadella . This is a huge part of Barcelona and is a really great way to spend a day.
Barcelona is an extremely practical city in which to go shopping, everything you need is concentrated in the centre and the historical city. Fashion is particularly well represented, by world famous brands which all have a store in Barcelona alongside exciting, young designers. Barcelona is a city well known for interior design and decoration with many stylish outlets in the city, also Barcelona city markets are popular, colorful and noisy places. From food markets to fleas or books markets there is a wide selection throughout the centre on most days.
Barcelona has a uniquely wide range of bars: Ranging from colourful tapas bars , outdoor cafés, chocolaterias, coctelerías (cocktail bars), whiskerias (often singles bars with professional escorts), xampanyerias (Catalan cava, sparkling wine bars), and beer halls. Most stay open until about 2:30am, some even later..
Nightlife in Barcelona starts around 10pm for bars and midnight for clubs. Bars close around 2am in week days and 3am during the weekend. Clubs will often still be bouncing till dawn breaks.
