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Barcelona Tourist Attractions

See Also: Gaudi's Barcelona & Barcelona Museums & Art Galleries

El Corte Inglés

Let's start with a rather unusual recommendation. In Plaça de Catalunya (Plaça de Catalunya,14) there's a huge El Corte Inglés department store, take the escalator to the 9th floor where there's a well stocked café/restaurant and marvel at the amazing view up Passeig de Gracia and over the rooftops of Modernist Barcelona. It's a good place to take a break and to work out your bearings in this rather spread out city.

And now for some more conventional attractions:

La Rambla

It's more than likely that you'll be staying near the Ramblas on your stay in Barcelona. It will be central to your daily activity and nights out. It is a long boulevard which joins the Monument a Colom (Columbus monument) by the port to Placa de Catalunya. All day long you'll find all kinds of buskers and mime artists in action as well as stalls selling flowers, newspapers, birds and rabbits. Look out for Palau de la Virreina, a grand 18th-century mansion, which is next to the Boqueria market.

The Boqueria market (Mercat de la Boqueria) is one of Europe's great food markets, and is well worth well worth a visit. It's a good spot to visit at breakfast time for excellent Spanish tortilla at one of the internal bars near the back. Further south is Barcelona's Opera house (Gran Teatre del Liceu) after which the Ramblas begins to get seedy as you approach the sea with peep shows and the like. La Rambla ends at the Columbus Monument which you can go up in a lift for spectacular views up the Ramblas and across the harbour. 

A word of warning ... Be extremely cautious as you walk along the Ramblas by day and night as this is probably the single worst place in all of Spain for pickpocketing and bag snatching. The times you're likely to be most vulnerable are if you stop to watch the man operating the ball under three cups scam as pickpockets operate amongst observers. At night overly pesistent prostitutes appear on the lower Ramblas, just ignore them and watch your wallet. You should also be aware of the 'legal fleecing' of unsuspecting visitors at some of the bars that line the Ramblas and charge astronomical prices often for enormous drinks that you hadn't expected (be warned that a beer could be served in a litre glass!). Check the price list before ordering.

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Port Vell

At the bottom of La Rambla beyond the Columbus Monument is the bustling of Port Vell. This was formerly the old port of Barcelona but today is an ultra modern leisure zone with bars, restaurants, shopping arcades, the Barcelona Aquarium and an Imax cinema. Another fun thing to do down here is to take a boat excursion on one of the 'golondrinas' which takes you around the harbour and along to Port Olímpic where the sailing events at the 1992 Olympic Games took place.

La Barceloneta & Port Olímpic

If you're happy strolling around just continue north along the seafront from Port Vell until you reach Barceloneta. Traditionally this was the living area of the port's fishermen and is still a heavily populated area of narrow streets criss crossing one another with washing hung out to dry from the upstairs windows of run down looking apartments. In spite of its earthy appearance it has become a popular place to visit attracting many locals and tourists to its fine selection of fish restaurants lining Passeig de Joan Borbò. Where the sea meets la Barceloneta you'll find Barcelona's best sandy beaches which were created as part of the city's pre-Olympics regeneration programme. They are very popular at weekends being only a stone's throw from the city. The Passeig Marítim is a walkway overlooking the beaches which connects La Barceloneta with Port Olímpic which is now a marina with many bars and restaurants. The area is overlooked by the five star Hotel Arts which has become Barcelona's residence of choice for celebrities visiting the city. There's an interesting transport option called the 'Transbordador Aeri' which is a cable car linking La Barceloneta with Montjuïc.

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Montjuïc & La Font Magica

Montjuïc is the hill which overlooks Barcelona from the southwest and is home to the Olympic Stadium which was used in the 1992 Olympic Games. It also has some excellent art galleries including the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya and the Fundació Joan Miró. The best approach is to get to Plaça d'Espanya then climb the steps (or use the escalator) or take the Metro to Paral.lel and then the funicular railway up the Montjuïc hill

On the terraces below the Palau Nacional de Montjuïc are a number of fountains including the largest one known as La Font Magica. Here you can watch a spectacular water, light and music display several times in the evening. From October to the end of June these take place every 30 minutes on Friday and Saturday nights between 7pm and 8.30pm. Between June and September there are displays every 30 minutes between 9.30pm and 11.30pm from Thursday to Sunday nights.

Olympic Stadium

The Catalan capital hosted the 1992 Olympic Games, an event that redefined the face of modern day Barcelona. The main athletics events took place at the Estadi Olimpic in Montjuïc. This impressive stadium with a capacity of 65,000 was originally constructed in 1929 when Barcelona hosted the World Fair. Having fallen into disrepair it was restored for the 1992 Games. Today it is the temporary home of RCD Espanyol who play their matches there whilst their new stadium is under construction. The stadium id open to the public at no charge on non-match days. There's a brilliant swimming pool complex at the Piscines Bernat Picornell right next to the stadium if you a dip during the hot summer months.

Barri Gòtic

The Gothic Quarter is just east off the Ramblas and contains medieval Gothic buildings dating from the 14th and 15th century in what was the centre of old Barcelona. It's a maze of interconnecting dark streets joining together medieval squares. The main tourist attractions are the magnificent Gothic cathedral, the Ajuntament, Plaça del Rei and the Palau de la Generalitat. The city's history museum on Carrer de Veguer is well worth a look. There's a good selection of cafés and bars, especially around Plaça de Sant Jaume, so refreshments are never far away.

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Tibidabo

At 512 metres Tibidabo is the highest point you can see from Barcelona as you look to the north. It provides great views over the city and has an amusement park which attracts many locals. Spain's first funicular railway (tramvia blau), built in 1901, gets you to the top from Avinguda de Tibidabo

Poble Espanyol

Address: Avinguda Marques de Comillas
Metro: Espanya
Entrance Fees & Opening Hours at the Poble Espanyol Website

This model Spanish Village was constructed for the 1929 exhibition consisiting of replicas of some of Spain's most characteriestic buildings. In the evening it also attracts many visitors to the fypical Andalucia flamenco show at the Tablao de Carmen.

Barcelona Aquarium

Address: Moll d' Espanya, Port Vell
Metro: Drassanes
Check Entrance Fees & Opening Hours at the Barcelona Aquarium Website

The aquarium is located in Port Vell near the Imax cinema and is one of the city's most visited tourist attractions.

Barcelona Zoo

Address: Parc de la Ciutadella
Metro: Ciutadella
Check Entrance Fees & Opening Hours at the Barcelona Zoo Website

Another popular attraction, especially for children, is the city zoo which has a great range of animals on display. Unfortunately, their most famous long term resident, Snowflake the white gorilla, died in 2003.

See Also:

Gaudi's Barcelona
Barcelona Museums & Art Galleries

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There is so much to see in Barcelona & a tour of the Modernisme sites is the way to do it.

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