Sightseeing
Overview
Barcelona is neatly framed by the Mediterranean to the east and
the hills of Montjuïc and Tibidabo
on two of its other flanks. The central section of the city, where
most tourists spend their time, is even more conveniently divided
by La Rambla, the main artery of Barcelona life,
which tumbles from Plaça de Catalunya southeast
towards the Mediterranean and the recently reborn districts of Port
Vell (Old Port), and trendy La Ribera
(The Waterfront).
The atmospheric Barri Gòtic (Gothic Quarter),
the area to the right of La Rambla, heading in the direction of
Plaça de Catalunya, is the charming heart
of the old city, embracing the Catedral de la Seu
and Museu Picasso amid narrow streets and hidden
squares.
Plaça de Catalunya divides
the old town from the Eixample, a grid of streets laid out in the
19th century, in which much of the city’s finest Modernist
architecture is to be found, including the celebrated Sagrada
Família, a marvel of design by Antoní
Gaudi.
Gaudí, an eccentric
recluse, was the most celebrated practitioner of the Modernist style,
whose innovative work threw all design rulebooks out of the window
in his quest to get architecture to mirror the curves and intricacies
of nature.
In addition to those sights described in Key Attractions, further
architectural highlights include Hospital de la Santa Creu
I Sant Pau and the Palau de la Música Catalana,
both designed by Gaudí’s contemporary, Domènech
i Montaner. Passeig de Gràcia,
the most stylish street in the city, is at the heart of the Eixample
and intersects with the Diagonal, the city’s
main thoroughfare, at its northern end.
The Montjuïc mountainside has successfully
managed the transition from being the site of the 1992 Olympic
Games to become a permanent tourist attraction, boasting
the remaining Olympic installations, such noteworthy museums as
Fundació Joan Miró and the Museu
Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, as well as great views
of the city.
Tourist Information
Centre d’Informació Turisme de Barcelona
Plaça de Catalunya 17-S
Telephone number: (906) 301 282 (within Spain) or (93) 368 9730
(international). Fax number: (93) 348 9735.
E-mail: teltur@barcelonaturisme.com
Website: www.barcelonaturisme.com
Opening hours: Daily 0900 hrs–2100 hrs.
Other information desks can be found at the airport, at Central-Sants
station and in the City Hall, Rambla de Catalunya 2–4.
Passes
The Barcelona Card
offers discounts of up to 50 per cent at many of the most interesting
tourist attractions, including museums, entertainment and leisure
venues, shops and restaurants, as well as free public transport
and assistance insurance. Attractions include Museu Picasso,
Casa-Museu Gaudí and Museu d’Art
Contemporani de Barcelona. The card is available for 1,2,3,4,
or 5 days, for €17, €20, €23, €25 and €27
respectively, from the main tourist offices at Plaça de Catalunya,
Plaça Sant Jaume and Central-Sants station.
The
Articket gives half-price admission to six of the city’s
main art galleries and museums, Museu Nacional d’Art
de Catalunya (MNAC), Fundació Joan Miró,
Fundació Antoni Tàpies, Centre de Cultura Contemporània
de Barcelona (CCCB), Centre Cultural Caixa de Catalunya and Museu
d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA). It is available
for €14.00 from any of the respective box offices and branches
of Caixa Catalunya.
The Ruta Modernista
pass allows admission to all the best of the city’s modernista
architecture (see Tours of the City). The pass costs €3.60
(concessions are available) and is available from the Centre del
Modernisme, situated inside Casa Amatller, Passeig de Gràcia
41, Monday to Saturday 1000 hrs -1900 hrs and Sundays 1000 hrs -1400
hrs.
Key Attractions
Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada
Familia (Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family)
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. However, it remains the subject of
continual controversy over who should pay for its completion. The
extraordinary structure has elicited cries of astonishment, awe,
amusement and anger from visitors and residents alike, although
it remains one of the city’s most visited attractions.
Carrer de Mallorca 401.
Telephone number: (93) 207 3031. Fax number: (93) 476 1010.
E-mail: informa@sagradafamilia.org
Website: www.sagradafamilia.org
Transport: Metro Sagrada Familia.
Opening hours:
Daily 0900 hrs–1800 hrs (October–March), daily 0900
hrs–2000 hrs (April–September).
Admission: €8.
Museu Picasso
(Picasso Museum)
The Picasso Museum is the one of the city’s main tourist attractions,
housed in 2 15th-century palaces close to the Parc de la Ciutadella.
The impressive permanent collection is devoted to the artist’s
early work, including a large number of childhood sketches, paintings
from the Blue Period (1901–1904) and the
Pink Period (1907–1920), exhibition posters,
ceramics and cubist works. There are also 2 exhibition spaces for
temporary exhibitions.
Carrer Montcada 15–23
Telephone number: (93) 319 6310. Fax number: (93) 315 0102.
E-mail: museupicasso@mail.bcn.es
Website: www.museupicasso.bcn.es
Transport: Metro Jaume I.
Opening hours:
Tuesday–Saturday 1000 hrs–2000 hrs and Sunday 1000 hrs–1500
hrs.
Admission: €4.80.
La Rambla
La Rambla is not one street but rather a seamless series of pedestrian
avenues stretching from the Monument a Colom on
the waterfront to Plaça de Catalunya in
the centre of Barcelona. La Rambla has the same place in the psyche
of the city as the Champs Elysées in Paris or Oxford Street
in London do, although is far less snooty than the former and far
more attractive than the latter. Lined with trees, cafés,
restaurants, flower stalls, shops and newspaper stands, La Rambla
is the perfect place in which to stroll and soak up the unique Barcelona
atmosphere.
Attractions along the way include Gaudí’s first major
architectural project, Palau Güell (Güell
Palace). Plaça Reial, just off La Rambla,
is one of the most attractive squares in the city, elegant 19th-century
houses look down on palm trees, lampposts designed by Gaudí,
and an eclectic mix of people enjoying the lively atmosphere at
outdoor cafés. Some of La Rambla’s most captivating
attractions are its famous street entertainers who delight the crowds
with their weird and wacky shows. Other points of interest are the
Gran Teatre del Liceu and the legendary Café
de L’Opera opposite, as well as La Boqueria, Barcelona’s
wonderful, bustling food market.
La Rambla
Transport: Metro Liceo or Drassenes; bus 14, 38, 59 or 91.
Palau Güell
Carrer Nou de la Rambla 3–5
Telephone number: (93) 317 3974.
E-mail: info@gaudiclub.com
Website: www.gaudiclub.com
Opening hours: Monday–Friday 1000 hrs–1400
hrs and 1600 hrs–1930 hrs.
Admission: €2.40.
Gran Teatre del Liceu
La Rambla 51–59
Telephone number: (93) 485 9900 (information) or (902) 332 211 (booking).
Fax number: (93) 485 9918.
E-mail: informacio@liceubarcelona.com
Website: www.liceubarcelona.com
Opening hours: Performances daily 1700 hrs
and/or 2030 hrs(varies).
Admission: From €20 (performances).
La Boqueria
Rambla Sant Josep
Opening hours: Monday–Saturday
0800 hrs–2000 hrs.
Admission: Free.
Parc
Güell (Güell Park)
With Parc Güell, Gaudí created a fantasy land that seamlessly
combines the natural and the man-made, as well as offers good views
over Barcelona. The park, originally conceived as a garden city,
covers a hill to the north of the city 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. At the bottom of the hill is a house designed by Francesc
Berenguer, which is now home to a collection of Gaudí’s
furnishings and other memorabilia.
Carrer d’Olot
Telephone number: (93) 424 3809.
E-mail: info@gaudiclub.com
Website: www.gaudiclub.com
Transport: Metro Vallcarca/Lesseps.
Opening hours:
Daily 1000 hrs –1800 hrs (November–February), daily
1000 hrs –2100 hrs (May–August), daily 1000 hrs –1900
hrs (March and October); daily 1000 hrs –2000 hrs (April and
September).
Admission: Free; €1.20 (guided tours).
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, which are 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 Barcelona to the spires of La Sagrada
Familia. The loft space of Casa Milá
houses a beautiful museum, Espai Gaudí,
dedicated to the architect.
Passeig de Gràcia 92/Carrer Provenca 261–265
Telephone number: (93) 484 5979. Fax number: (93) 484 5889.
E-mail: info@gaudiclub.com
Transport: Metro FGC Diagonal/Provenca.
Opening
hours: Daily 1000 hrs–2000 hrs, guided tours in English
Monday–Friday 1600 hrs.
Admission: €7
Barri Gòtic
(Gothic Quarter)
The maze of streets known as the Barri Gòtic
or the Gothic Quarter contains an exemplary collection of Gothic
buildings dating from Catalonia’s Golden Age, in the 14th
and 15th 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 Barcelona's political life. The square is overlooked on one side
by the Renaissance-style Palau de la Generalitat
and the location of the Catalan government on the other side by
the Ajuntament (city hall). Nearby, the Palau Real
on Plaça del Rei houses the Museu d’Història
de la Ciutat. The remains of the Roman city of Barcino,
beneath the palace, were uncovered in 1931, Roman streets are still
visible in the vast cellar space that stretches as far as the cathedral.
The museum admission fee gives access to the cellar and to a number
of beautiful medieval buildings.
Museu d’Història de la Ciutat
Plaça del Rei
Telephone number: (93) 315 1111. Fax number: (93) 315 0957.
E-mail: museuhistoria@mail.bcn.es
Website: www.museuhistoria.bcn.es
Transport: Metro Jaume I.
Opening hours:
Tuesday–Saturday 1000 hrs–1400 hrs and 1600 hrs –2000
hrs and Sunday 1000 hrs –1400 hrs (October–June), Tuesday–Saturday
1000 hrs –2000 hrs and Sunday 1000 hrs –1400 hrs(June–September).
Admission: €3.60 (concessions available).
Catedral
de la Seu
Catedral de la Seu was built between the 13th and 15th centuries,
on the site of an earlier basilica, although the spire and façade
were not added until the beginning of the 20th century. Highlights
include the carved choir stalls, the Capella de Lepanto
and the tranquil cloisters containing a pond of white geese.
Plaça de la Seu
Telephone number: (93) 315 1554. Fax number: (93) 315 3555.
Transport: Metro Liceu or Jaume I.
Opening hours:
Daily 0900 hrs –1300 hrs and 1600 hrs –1900 hrs.
Admission: Free.
Museu Nacional
d’Art de Catalunya – MNAC (National Museum of Catalonian
Art)
The Palau Nacional, on Montjuïc, was the focus
of Barcelona’s International Fair in 1929. It 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 Avenida de La Reina Maria Cristina, from Plaça Espanya,
the Avenida is lined with fountains that are floodlit at night.
Palau Nacional, Parc de Montjuïc
Telephone number: (93) 622 0360. Fax number: (93) 622 0374.
Website: www.mnac.es
Transport: Metro or FGC Espanya.
Opening hours:
Monday–Wednesday and Friday–Saturday 1000 hrs –1900
hrs, Thursday 1000 hrs–2100 hrs and Sunday 1000 hrs –1430
hrs.
Admission: €4.80.
Fundació
Joan Miró (Joan Miró Foundation)
Also on Montjüic, the Joan Miró Foundation is one of
the most innovative galleries in Barcelona. The foundation was a
gift from the artist himself and houses a permanent collection of
his paintings, graphics and sculptures.
Parc de
Montjuïc
Telephone number: (93) 443 9470. Fax number: (93) 329 8609.
E-mail: fjmiro@bcn.fjmiro.es
Website: www.bcn.fjmiro.es
Transport: Metro Parallel, then funicular to Parc de Montjuïc.
Opening hours: Tuesday–Saturday 1000
hrs–1900 hrs, Thursday 1000 hrs –2130 hrs and Sunday
1000 hrs –1430 hrs (October–June), Tuesday–Saturday
1000 hrs –2000 hrs, Thursday 1000 hrs–2130 hrs and Sunday
1000 hrs –1430 hrs (July–September).
Admission: €7.20 (concessions available).
Mançana
de la Discòrdia (Block of Discord)
A series of extraordinary houses by Montaner, Gaudí
and Puig i Cadafalch comprise the Mançana
de la Discòrdia (Block of Discord) located on the
Passeig de Grácia, between Aragó and Consell de Cent.
Gaudí’s Casa Batlló, at number 43, looks rather
like an underwater grotto, with blue-green tiles on the façade,
frog-faced balconies and a reptilian roof. Together they form part
of the Ruta Modernista (see Tours of the City).
Information and passes for this architectural tour can be obtained
from the first floor of Casa Lléo Morera, at number 35. Regrettably,
the interiors of all three houses are closed to the public. However
Ruta Modernista pass-holders are permitted onto the roof of Casa
Batlló.
Passeig de Grácia
E-mail: gaudiallgaudi@yahoo.es
Website: www.gaudiallgaudi.com
Transport: Metro Passeig de Grácia lines 2 (purple), 3 (green)
and 4 (yellow).
Santa Maria del
Mar
Santa Maria del Mar is counted among the most beautiful churches
in the city and is considered a prime example of Mediterranean Gothic
architecture. It is situated just to the northeast of the Barri
Gòtic, at the heart of the fashionable La
Ribera district. A 15th-century rose window adds colour
to the simple harmony of the columned interior.
Plaça de Santa Maria
Telephone number: (93) 310 2390.
Transport: Metro Jaume I or Barceloneta.
Opening
hours: Daily 0900 hrs –1330 hrs and 1630 hrs –2000
hrs.
Admission: Free.
Museu d’Art
Contemporani de Barcelona – MACBA (Museum of Contemporary
Arts)
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 during 1995 and houses a permanent
collection of post-1940s international art, as well as various temporary
exhibitions.
Plaça dels Àngels 1
Telephone number: (93) 412 0810. Fax number: (93) 412 4602.
Website: www.macba.es
Transport: Metro FGC Plaça de Catalunya.
Opening
hours: Monday–Friday 1100 hrs –1930 hrs, Saturday
1000 hrs–2000 hrs and Sunday 1000 hrs –1500 hrs (25th
September – 24th June), Monday–Friday 1100 hrs –2000
hrs, Saturday 1000 hrs–2000 hrs and Sunday 1000 hrs–1500
hrs(25th June–24th September).
Admission: €4.80 (concessions available).
The
Waterfront
A stroll along the harbourside passeig and wooden walkway is an
excellent way for one to see some of the results of Barcelona’s
huge regeneration programme. The focus of interest and activity
in Barcelona is shifting back towards the sea, with the continued
development of Port Vell (Old Port). The waterfront
now boasts a myriad of eateries and bars, a vast shopping mall and
leisure centre (Maremagnum) and an excellent aquarium.
Barceloneta, the old fisherman’s quarter,
which dates from 1755, still has some of the best fish restaurants
in the city and is now also the gateway to Barcelona’s cleaned-up
beaches.
Further to the east, the Vila Olímpica at
Poble Nou, created for the 1992 Olympic Games, is one of the liveliest
and most interesting areas of the city during the warmer months,
although it is often deserted during winter.
Passeig de Colom
Transport: Metro line 4 (yellow) to Barceloneta or Ciutadella-Vila
Olímpica.
Further Distractions
Montjuïc
(Mountain of the Jews)
The hill of Montjuïc has enough attractions
to fill several days and was the main location of the 1992
Olympic Games. In addition to the Palau Nacional
and the Fundació Joan Miró, visitors
might also want to explore the Estadi Olìmpic
and the accompanying museum, the Museu Arqueològic,
the replica Spanish village (Poble Espanyol) or
the Pavellò Barcelona, created by architect Mies
van der Rohe, for the 1929 Exhibition.
Other attractions include Castell de Montjuïc,
an 18th-century fortress, and an amusement park. Half the fun is
the funicular ride up the mountainside and the outstanding views
from the top.
Montjuïc
Transport: Metro FGC Plaça Espanya, then bus 50; metro Parallel,
then funicular; bus 55 from Plaça de Catalunya.
Reials Drassanes and Museu Marítim
(Royal Shipyard and Maritime Museum)
The Maritime Museum harks back to Barcelona’s
seafaring past, with a staggering number of nautical exhibits, including
a map by Amerigo Vespucci. The museum is housed
in the magnificent Reiales Drassanes (Royal Shipyards),
which date from the 13th century.
Avenida de les Drassanes.
Telephone number: (93) 342 9920. Fax number: (93) 318 7876.
Website: www.diba.es/mmaritim
Transport: Metro Drassanes.
Opening hours:
Daily 1000 hrs–1900 hrs.
Admission: €5.40. |
