Tourist attractions
Barcelona offers a unique opportunity for the tourist on foot to walk from Roman remains to the medieval city, and to the modern city with its open thoroughfares with all intersections left wide open by the unique cut-off corners of the buildings. The historic city center is reasonably flat, while the modern city extends towards the surrounding hills with streets showing increasing slopes, some of them reminiscent of San Francisco.
A notable feature is La Rambla (that is, THE one Rambla), a boulevard that runs from the city center to the waterfront, crowded with people until late at night, with florists, bird sellers, street entertainers, cafeterias, and restaurants. Walking up or down La Rambla one can see the prestigious opera house El Liceu, the food market of La Boqueria and the Plaça Reial (literally Royal square), with its arches and palm trees, amongst other interesting buildings.
La Rambla ends at the old harbour, where a statue of Christopher Columbus points to the sea.
Next to it is the Museu Marítim (naval museum), which chronicles the history of life on the Mediterranean, including a full-scale model of a galley. The building of the museum are the medieval Drassanes (shipyards), where the ships which sailed the Mediterranean were built.
The old harbour offers all kinds of other amenities, including the largest Aquarium of the Mediterranean.
To the north of downtown is the Parc de la Ciutadella, which includes both the Parlament de Catalunya (Catalan Parliament) and the Parc Zoològic de Barcelona (zoo). One of Barcelona's most famous residents, the late albino gorilla Floquet de Neu, lived at the zoo.
Outstanding is the legacy of architect Antoni Gaudí, who lived and worked in Barcelona, and who left several famous works like the Palau Güell, the Parc Güell, and the immense but still unfinished church of the Sagrada Família, which has been under construction since 1882, financed by popular donations like the cathedrals in the Middle Ages (notice though, that it is NOT a cathedral - the cathedral of Barcelona is the Cathedral of Santa Eulàlia, a Gothic building of the late Middle Ages). The Sagrada Familia is expected to be finished in the year 2020.
Art visits include the museum of the Joan Miró Foundation, where several paintings and sculptures of this artist are shown, together with guest exhibitions from other museums around the world. There is further a unique museum featuring less known works by Pablo Picasso of his earlier period. For those interested in romanic art, the National Museum of Art of Catalonia is a must. It shows wall-paintings of romanic churches and chapels around Catalonia, which have been transferred to the museum. Also worthwhile visiting is the Contemporary Art Museum, not only because of its paintings and sculptures, but because of its architecture, the building having been designed by American architect Richard Meier.
In the modern districts of the city are several avenues on which most of the international companies of clothing, jewelry, leathergoods and other have their stores. The most elegant avenue is the Passeig de Gràcia, where two buildings of Antoni Gaudí are located, the Casa Milà (La Pedrera) and the Casa Batlló.
For spectacular views over the city and the coast line there are two hills. One, Montjuïc hill, is next to the harbour. On its top is an old fortress which used to guard the entrance to the port. Around the hill are the Olympic Stadium and the Sport Palace, the latter one designed by Japanese architect Arata Isozaki, so as the Botanical Gardens. Uptown is the hill of the Tibidabo, more than 500 meters high, with an amusement park at its top.
World Heritage Sites in Barcelona
World Heritage Sites of UNESCO in Barcelona: