Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain. It has a rich history dating back to the 3rd century BC and contains architectural treasures from various eras. The document outlines Barcelona's main attractions such as La Sagrada Familia church, Park Güell, Las Ramblas boulevard, and several buildings and works by architect Antoni Gaudi. It also mentions the beaches, Olympic venues, and museums as top things to see and do in Barcelona.

1. Comprehensive Barcelona Information available at BarcelonaEguide.com
arcelona is the capital of
Catalonia and the second
largest city in Spain with a po-
pulation of about 4.5 million.
A visual city with elegance and
sophistication. A contrast of
medieval and modern, with ve
Barcelona buildings designated
as World Heritage Sites. Muse-
ums, art galleries and archi-
tecturally signicant buildings
and squares are all to be
explored. Relax in the excellent
restaurants, bars and cafes or
indulge at one of the many
shops. Escape from the urban
environment at one of the
beaches that line the city coast-
line or in the hills that stretch
inland.
Barcelona History
Originally known as Barcino
and founded in the 3rd Cen-
tury. During the 5th Century
the Visigoths controlled the
city and then the Moors in
the 8th Century. In the Middle
Ages Barcelona was the capital
of the Catalan empire and
money was made from com-
merce. During the 19th Century
Barcelona expanded again with
active trade with the Americas
bringing a lot of wealth to
the city. A Catalan renaissance
movement emerged during the
early 1900’s and Catalonia was
declared a Republic in 1931.
Barcelona
B
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Barcelona was taken by Fascist
forces in 1939 and after Franco’s
death in 1975 democracy came
and the Catalan language was
once again used. The Olympics
of 1992 launched Barcelona onto
the world stage. Considerable
changes were made to the city
before the Olympics including
building museums, parks, roads
and major infrastructure.
Barcelona Attrac-
tions
For a complete list of the many
Barcelona attractions and things
to do visit BarcelonaEguide.com.
Only the main attractions are
listed and full details of each are
available on the web site. Barce-
lona has a lot more to offer than
listed here!
Beaches
The seafront, from the Moll de
la Fusta and the area around the
Palau de Mar to the Rambla de
Mar and the Olympic Port area
is a popular recreational area. The
beaches that stretch along the
urban coast are Sant Sebastià, La
Barceloneta, Nova Icària, Bogatell,
Mar Bella and Nova Mar Bella.
Barceloneta
The area along the waterfront
includes the Olympic Port and
Port Vell, developed for the
Barcelona Olympics and now a
very popular place to walk and
for entertainment. The aquarium
with sh, penguins, sharks and
a strong Mediterranean theme is
one of the largest in Europe. In
part of the Palau de Mar a former
commercial warehouse is the
Museu d’Hist?ria de Catalunya
with interactive exhibits and
authentic recreations. From the
harbour a cable car runs up to
Montju?c.
Eixample
The northern part of central Bar-
celona extending north from Plaça
Catalunya and has as at the centre
the Passieg de Grà cia, a major
shopping street and location of
some of them main Gaudi build-
ings.
Montjuïc
Montjuïc overlooks Barcelona and
where the main sites of the 1992
Olympics are to be found. Laid
out on the slopes of Montjuïc
with plants from all the main
regions of the world are the Bar-
celona Botanical Gardens. The
magical fountains of Montjuïc on
summer evenings have displays of
light, colour and music. The Joan
Miró Museum dedicated to Joan
Miró with his numerous paint-
ings, sculptures and sketches is
just below the summit. The
National Art Museum of Catalo-
nia preserves the wall frescos of
Romanic churches, a collection of
Romanesque art and has works by
Ramon Casas, Santiago Rusinol
and Antoni Gaudi.
La Pedrera
La Pedrera is one of Gaudi’s mas-
terpieces built between 1905 and
1910. Characterized by the strange
undulating rooftop and wrought
ironwork. Inside is an exhibition
of Gaudi’s work.
MACBA
A collection of contemporary art
going back 50 years. Exhibitions
change during the year. A modern
building designed by Richard
Meier that contrasts with the
surrounding traditional buildings
in the centre of Barcelona. The
forecourts are well used by
skateboarders and features on
numerous skateboard lms.

3. Comprehensive Barcelona Information available at BarcelonaEguide.com
LasRamblas
The wide tree lined
boulevard known as
La Rambla, is a long
continuous pedes-
trian avenue that
changes names ve
times as it cuts
through Barcelona’s
‘old city’. Lined with
cafes, restaurants and
shops. A street of
atmosphere and a
place all visitors to
Barcelona experience.
All day long you will
see buskers and mime
artists as well as stalls
selling owers, news-
papers, birds and rab-
bits. Near La Rambla
is Barcelona’s most
beautiful square Plaça
SagradaFamí-
lia
The Church of the Holy
Family designed by
Antoni Gaudi was
started in 1882, but it
was never nished. Con-
struction still continues
based on Gaudi’s original
plan. The magnicent
spires of the unnished
cathedral are one of Bar-
celona’s landmarks. Some
of the facades are open
as is the nave, apse and
museum.
Barcelona Football
Club
The Barcelona Football Club
Museum is located in the main
stand of the Nou Camp. Camp
Nou is the biggest stadium in
Europe. The museum explains the
history of the club and houses
many trophies. The tour includes
a visit to the dressing area.
Reial with tall palm trees and
lamp posts which was Gaudi’s
rst commission in Barcelona. El
Mirador de Colom next to the sea
at the end of La Rambla provides
from the top views of the Gothic
Quarter, the Old Port, the Olym-
pic Port and the Forum grounds.
At the bottom of La Rambla is
Museu de Cera with 300 wax
models displayed in various elabo-
rate settings.
BarcelonaCathedral
Dating from 1298 but transformed
into a Gothic Cathedral. In one
wing of the Cathedral is the chap-
ter house, the meeting place of
the Cathedral chapter which is
now the home of the Cathedral
Museum.
Casa Batllo
Built between 1904 and 1906 by
Antoni Gaudi. The facade repre-
senting a calm sea hides a hidden
world of architectural surprises
such as ceramic roof tiles, inge-
nious use of light, parabolic arches
in the attic and twisting ceilings.
Cosmocaixa Museu
de la Ciencia
The Cosmocaixa Science Museum
has a number of thematic areas
with the “Room of Matter”’, “Geo-
logical Wall”; “Flooded Forest”
and “Planetarium.

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Gothic Quarter
The Gothic Quarter is east of the
Rambla’s and contains medieval
Gothic buildings dating from the
14th and 15th century. A maze
of interconnecting streets linking
with squares with plenty of cafés,
bars and restaurants. The Gothic
Quarter has the Cathedral of
Santa Eulàlia in front of which
is the broad, modern Plaça Nova.
A good example of Gothic archi-
tecture is Santa Maria del Mar
with a very open feeling inside
due to the spacing between the
gothic columns. Museu Picasso
housed in two medieval palaces
displays some of the early works
produced by Pablo Picasso during
Parc Güell
Barcelona architect Antonio
Gaudi developed Parc Güell with
views of the city. The gardens
have examples of his work,
including ights of stairs, col-
umns and a plaza decorated with
mosaics. Gaudi House was built
in 1904 as a show house for
potential buyers at Parc Güell
and where he lived until just
before his death. The pink fai-
rytale house contains some Gaudi
designed furniture. The interpre-
tation centre located in one of the
gatehouses shows what the origi-
nal park project looked like and
provides general information on
Parc Güell.
Tibidabo
Tibidabo is just over 500 metre
high and 6km northwest of Bar-
celona. Tibidabo can be reached
by funicular and is home to the
Parc d’Attractions, an amusement
park, the Torre de Collserola
telecommunications tower which
provides views of the whole city
and Temple del Sagrat Cor
church.
1901 - 1906 when he lived in Bar-
celona. The Museum of the City
of Barcelona provides access to
underground Roman ruins and a
complex of historic buildings in
the centre of the Gothic Quarter.