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.
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.
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.
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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