Barri Gotic
by sue_stone
Barri Gotic is the heart of medieval Barcelona. It is made up of beautiful squares and a mesh of narrow, winding streets, lined with enough interesting shops, bars and cafes to keep you exploring for days! Most of the quarter is closed to regular traffic, with some of its streets too narrow for a car to fit down.
Its squares are impressive - one of my favourite is the stunning Placa Reial, with its central fountain, palm trees and Gaudi lampposts. Or you may prefer the neighbouring squares of Placa de Sant Josep Oriol and Placa del Pi, home to the lovely Esglesia de Santa Maria del Pi. Perhaps you will enjoy the serenity a coffee or drink in the quieter Placa de George Orwell, with its unusual central sculpture.
Head to Placa de Sant Jaume, to see the home of the heads of local and regional governments, or to Placa del Rei which was once the courtyard of an old palace. From here you can navigate the really narrow lanes of the medieval Jewish quarter. You can't miss the adjoining squares of Placa de la Seu and Placa Nova, as here you will see the impressive La Catedral. Have a look behind it's gothic façade at the beautiful interior, and perhaps catch the lift to the roof and enjoy the views over the city.
Across the square you can see the Col.legi de Arquitectes with the giant, childlike scribbles on its facade which were done by Picasso in 1962.
If you are lucky you will walk by the tiny Chapel of Saint Christopher of Regomir, or perhaps go shopping in the oldest shop in Barcelona, Cereria Subira. Also while you wander, keep your eyes open for some of the Roman walls, tombs and towers that are dotted about this ancient quarter.
Columbus
by tompt
The famous discoverer Columbus is looking down on everybody who is coming from or going to the harbour. The statue is at the end (or beginning?) of the Ramblas.
There is a lift to a viewing platfom in top of the statue. Open from 10-13:30 and 15:30-18:30.
Sky show
by arlequin_g
To celebrate the patron saint of Barcelona, Mercè, some events are held in the city during some days: castellets, concerts... One of them is the sky show where you can see planes performances and others. You can see it from Port Olimpic. It's during the end of September. Ask in the tourism office the day it takes place since it's not the same day each year.
B-Ball
by Meadows11
A rather unexpected and unplanned night, which turned out to be thoroughly enjoyable was when we spontaneously decided to watch the FC Barcelona Basketball team play. Barca are supposedly one of the top teams in Europe, and their opponents were AEK Athens who had a number of Olympic gold medalists on their team. It was a good, fun game to watch with plenty of action. The tickets were cheap, and the cheerleaders were hot!!
The Basketball stadium is once again within the Camp Nou complex, and is a pretty impressive arena in it's own right.
Continue to San Juan de las Abadesas
by atufft
From Barcelona, it's easy to catch a train and continue to Olat (see previous tip) and San Juan de las Abadesas. There's a marvelous arched stone bridge that must be quite old, and a small romanesque church with interesting details. The church seen there is the third on the site, and was built in 1150, when the related convent transferred to the Augustinians. A translated Wikipedia article found by the link below provides a rambling account of the mixture of folklore and history associated with the convent and church. The little town is very pleasant to walk in the morning. I like the tree shaded decomposed granite ramblas where saw a group dancing the traditional Sardana. We had stayed with a friend overnight at her house, and together we took a second day to drive into the Pyrennes.
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Montjuic cablecar
Cable cars to the top
Porvenir restaurant
Entrance to the museum
