Barcelona, a brief
guide to the capital of Catalonia
Whatever your
interests, be sure not to miss a stroll along La
Rambla. It is one of the city's landmark sights, a
bustling thoroughfare where flower stalls and
performance artists jostle for space. The historic
center has a bohemian atmosphere which you can
discover as you walk through the Gothic Quarter, and
the Ribera and Raval districts. This is one of the
world's best-preserved medieval quarters. However, if
Barcelona is famous for anything, it must be the
buildings in the Eixample. If you take a walk around
this neighborhood you will be able to admire
architectural masterpieces such as the Sagrada
Família and La Pedrera, among other wonders
inherited from Antoni Gaudí &endash; don't miss
his Parc Guell - and the other architects of the
city's homegrown art-nouveau movement,
modernisme.
In this city, which
overlooks the sea, you can enjoy a whole host of open
spaces such as beaches, the Olympic Marina, Tibidabo
or Montjuïc and its surroundings. All in all, it
is the ideal city to discover exceptional monuments
and surprising places. The city has over 50 museums,
showcasing permanent collections of works by artists
such as Picasso, Joan Miró and Antoni
Tàpies. At the Museu Nacional d'Art de
Catalunya you can see one of the world's most
important collections of Romanesque art. You will also
find areas where you can play sports in the open air
and a whole host of leisure attractions, such as the
Tibidabo Amusement Park and the old harbor area, the
Port Vell. The 1992 Olympic Games endowed the city
with an extensive sporting infrastructure.
Barcelona has world-class facilities, suitable for
sports training courses and top-level competitions, as
well as amateur sports. And then there is FC Barcelona
and their Camp Nou stadium, just outside the city. The
stadium's museum offers the chance to really get to
know Camp Nou by taking a tour, which takes visitors
into the opposition changing rooms, down the tunnel
and onto the pitch area. Fans can see the new dugouts
and look out across the magnificent stadium. The
alter, the TV studio, the press rooms and the
directors area virtually complete the tour, with the
one final surprise of a chance to enjoy a panoramic
view of all FC Barcelona facilities. Cost is
¤10.50 for the museum and tour or ¤6.50 for
the just the museum.
For more information:
http://www.fcbarcelona.com
http://www.barcelonaturisme.com