Must see's in Barcelona

Barrio Gotico

The Gothic quarter is one of the oldest and most interesting parts of Barcelona. There are countless ancient buildings to be found, which date back all the way to Roman times. Every year tourists flock to Barrio Gótico and it is still one of the most popular residential areas. The small narrow winding streets as well as the many tapas bars and cafes add a unique charm to this area of the city, which guarantee a wonderful experience.

The roman gate on Plaça Nova is especially worth mentioning. Here you will also come across the Palacio de la Generalitat as well as the Palacio del Ayuntamiento (Town Hall). Other interesting sites to see include Plaça del Rei, Plaça Reial, the Gothic Cathedral as well as the medieval palaces Casa dels Canonges, Pia Almoina and Ardiaca.

Las Ramblas
This 2 km-long boulevard – which lies between the Plaça de Catalunya and the port – is probably the most famous walkway in Barcelona. People of all ages, cultural backgrounds, nationalities and social classes, flock to this boulevard. There is also an endless string of cafes, street theatres, stores, galleries, vegetable and fruit stands, flower stands, living statues, jugglers, acrobats and buskers to wonder at.

There are exceedingly interesting buildings to discover. Examples include the Gothic-Baroque Iglesia de Betlem, the Palacio de Moya and the Academia de Sciencias (Academy of Sciences) with its enormous clock dating back to 1868.

Other sights to include on your itinerary when strolling along Las Ramblas are the Mercado de la Boquería (the markets), the Palacio de la Virreina (which is currently the seat of the culture department of the regional government) and la Casa Bruno Cuadros.

El Puerto (the Port)
The Port is found at the end of the Las Ramblas boulevard, with the tower of Colon as its most dominant feature. From the top you get the chance to take in the breathtakingly beautiful view of the city. The Paseo de Colon Boulevard is ideal for an enjoyable stroll, so come along and relax while taking your Spanish Language Course in Barcelona.

Barcelona Football Stadium Tour
The most popular tour in Barcelona, If you intend going to the Barcelona FC football stadium tour we recommend you book this tour in advance of arriving in Barcelona. If you're a football fan this is the tour for you - visit the Barcelona FC museum which is packed with trophies and cups and photos of players from Barcelona FC's history, see what it's like behind the scenes at the club with a visit to the VIP room, and players changing quarters as well a chance to sit in the VIP box in the Football stadium itself. This is a fascinating tour for all football fans interested in Barcelona football.

El Ensanche / L' Eixample
This part of Barcelona is made up of the city’s modern center, built between 1870 and 1936, joining the old Barcelona (Ciutat Vella) with the surrounding villages. The architect who designed this part of the city with its rectangular style was Cerdá and it was his idea to create a luxurious district for the bourgeoisie. Barcelona was thus enlarged to five times its initial size.

The most famous structures are those designed and built by Antoní Gaudi, such as Park Güell and Palacio Güell, the immense Sagrada Familia Cathedral, the Casa Amatler de Puigi Cadalfach and the Casa de los Punxes.

The Plaza de Cataluña is probably the central most square in El Ensanche, and has dimensions that are comparable to the Vatican City. Discover the Paseig de Gràcia, a bizarre boulevard with strange benches and banana trees – adding to Barcelona’s quirky charm.

Montjuic
Montjuïc Hill overlooks the Barcelona city center and is one of the city’s greenest areas. Its buildings display typical Spanish architectural styles and it is where in 1929 the Poble Espanyol (a replicated Spanish village displaying art and architecture) was built and also where main sites for the 1992 Olympic Games were constructed.

Tibidabo
In order to get to this 350-meter-high summit of this mountain you will have to take the Tramvia Blau tram, which runs people up the hill on weekends only (except in the summer months when the tram runs on a daily basis). Once at the top, you’ll come across the most famous and fascinating amusement park in all of Europe, the Parc d’Atraccions. You will also be able to enjoy one of the best views of Barcelona.

Parc De La Ciutadella
This Park should not be left out of any itinerary if possible. Filled with interesting sites and monuments, it stands on what was once a military fortress. One of Barcelona’s “green” areas, this park harbors all sorts of plant species as well as the Barcelona Zoo. Museums are also to be found within this park, such as the Museu de Ciències Naturals, among others and the park is also known for its lake and monumental fountain in the northeast corner.

The Park is also home to the Catalan Parliament. Used in 1888 for the Universal Exhibition when many of its beautiful buildings were constructed, many of the designs involved input by Gaudí, who at that time was still a young architect looking to make a name for himself.

Antonio Gaudi's Barcelona
Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí y Cornet (1852-1926), was born in Réus, Tarragona (Catalonia), son of a coppersmith. He lived during the wonderful time of the Spanish Art Nouveau movement, referred to as the Modernisme – an artistic and architectural movement comparable to the Jugendstil movement in Germany or the Art Nouveau movement in France.

Gaudí mainly built his creations in Barcelona and this city is witness to his creativity. This is where he let his imagination run wild. His unmistakable style and use of forms is evident throughout the city, giving Barcelona a slightly bizarre atmosphere. Some of his most famous masterpieces include Parc Güell, the immense cathedral Sagrada Familia, Bellesguard (the symbol of Catalonia) as well as la Casa Batlló.

Barri Gòtic
The maze of streets known as the Barri Gòtic or Gothic Quarter contains an exemplary collection of Gothic buildings dating from Catalonia's Golden Age in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, interspersed with Roman ruins, delightful squares and numerous bars and restaurants.

Plaça Sant Jaume, at the heart of the district, is the epicentre of the city's political life. The square is overlooked on one side by the Renaissance-style Palau de la Generalitat - location of the Catalan government, and on the other by the Ajuntament (town hall).

Catedral de la Seu
Catedral de la Seu was built in the fourteenth century on the site of an earlier basilica, but the spire and fatade were not added until the end of the last century. Highlights include the spiritual space of the cloisters, the carved choir stalls and the Capella de Lepanto.

Santa Maria del Mar
Santa Maria del Mar is generally considered to be the most beautiful church in the city and a prime example of Mediterranean Gothic architecture. It is located just to the northeast of the Barri Gòtic in the Ribera district. A fifteenth-century rose window adds colour to the simple harmony of the columned interior.

Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia
Recently the subject of much controversy over who should pay for its completion, Gaudí's unfinished masterpiece and the city's most outlandish landmark, the Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family, towers crazily above the grid-like streets of the Eixample. Despite being very much a building site the cathedral has a certain beauty that somehow emerges despite the omnipresent construction.

Casa Milá
Casa Milá - also known as La Pedrera (the stone quarry) - is an undulating apartment block on the corner of Passeig de Gràcia. The building, inspired by the ocean, is an incredible testament to Gaudí's ability to make stone malleable. Apartments (not open to the public) are arranged around elliptical patios with no square corners in sight. The roof terrace is watched over by sentry-like chimneys and offers an excellent view across the city to the spires of La Sagrada Familia.

Parc Güell
With Parc Güell, Gaudí created a fantasy land that seamlessly combines the natural and the man-made, as well as offering good views back over the city.

The park, originally conceived as a garden city, covers a hill to the north of the centre. The gardens are enlivened by fantastic pavilions, stairways, columned halls and an organic plaza decorated with stunning broken-mosaic work (trencadís) by Gaudí's assistant, Josep Maria Jujol.

Mançana de la Discòrdia
A series of extraordinary houses by Montaner, Gaudí and Puig i Cadafalch comprise the Mançana de la Discòrdia (Block of Discord) on the Passeig de Grácia between Aragó and Consell de Cent. Information and passes for the Ruta Modernista can be obtained from the first floor of Casa Lléo Morera at number 35.

Museu Nacional d'art de Catalunya (MNAC)
The Palau Nacional on Montjuïc was the focus of Barcelona's International Fair in 1929 and now houses the National Museum of Catalonian Art. The museum boasts a stunning collection of Gothic, Romanesque and Medieval treasures and religious artefacts. The most impressive approach to the Palace is up Avinguda de La Reina Maria Cristina from Plaça Espanya; the Avinguda is lined with fountains that are floodlit at night.

Museu Picasso and Museu d'art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA)
The Picasso Museum is devoted to the artist's early work, including a large number of Rose and Blue period paintings, exhibition posters and childhood sketches. The delightful collection is housed in two fifteenth-century palaces close to the Parc de la Ciutadella.

Looking rather incongruous in the down-at-heel surroundings of the Raval district to the west of La Rambla, the brilliant-white Museum of Contemporary Arts is at the forefront of efforts to regenerate this traditionally seedy area of the city. The museum opened amid a blaze of publicity in 1995 and houses a permanent collection of post-1940s international art and various temporary exhibitions.

CONTACT US:
E-mail: info@languagesabroad.com
Tel: NORTH AMERICA: 1 800 219 9924 or WORLDWIDE: +1 416 925 2112