Barcelona is a city with... by Humberto_san
Barcelona is a city with charming streets, busy with people and full of life. There is nowhere better to make Barcelona's acquaintance than La Rambla, the bustling avenue, famous for the vivid colours of its flower stalls. Barcelona is the city of marvels. The old town, comprising the Gothic Quarter, the Ribera and Raval districts, and famed for its historical monuments, narrow streets and bohemian atmosphere, is a perfect place for a stroll. A wander through the maze of streets is essential in order to understand the different periods in the history of Barcelona and to admire its finest monuments: traces of the Roman wall glimpsed between well-preserved Gothic buildings, the remains of the Jewish Quarter, witnesses to the industrial expansion of the 19th century and the design of the 20th. Musicians in the medieval streets provide the ideal accompaniment. The city also has the biggest selection of modernist architecture: a genuine open-air museum. Most of the buildings, built in this unique style, are in the Eixample, a district planned in 1860 by the engineer Ildefons Cerdà which constitutes a unique model of European urban planning. The Sagrada Família, the Casa Batlló, the Casa Amatller and the Casa Milà are some examples of this. Barcelona is the only European capital with over four kilometres of beaches where you can enjoy the most modern amenities, the beaches are not far form Barcelona's historical and cultural landmarks, and they have opened up our modern and cosmopolitan city to the sea. Today, the Olympic Harbour and the old port, the Port Vell, are some of the main meeting places, with many bars, restaurants, shops and recreational areas. Barcelona is, without a doubt, a city of marvels: on foot, by bicycle or bus, it is a magnificent spectacle which you should not miss.If you estais in barcelona the obligatory excursions that to go they are the following ones: -Gran Teatre del Liceu. The Gran Teatre del Liceu returns in a venue rebuilt with great artistic and technological quality. It has a stage which makes it possible to present two or three works in repertory, it improves to the maximum the view of the stage from all seats, and also increases the overall acoustic level. -Catedral. Building work began at the end of the 13th century and ended six centuries later. The oldest part of the cathedral is the doorway of Sant Iu; the façade, which was completed in 1890. -La Rambla - Drassanes. La Rambla is a lively and entertaining spectacle, justly renowned throughout the world. It begins at the Pl. Catalunya and continues down towards the Mirador de Colón, Columbus Monument, in the harbour, past long-established shops, cafés, the Palau de la Virreina, the Boqueria (the best market in the city), the Gran Teatre del Liceu, the Pl. Reial and the Centre d'Art Santa Mònica. -Colón. The Columbus Monument is located at the bottom of La Rambla, by the sea. This major landmark was built in 1888 for the Universal Exhibition and commemorates the discovery of America. -Montjuïc. Montjuïc was claimed by the city on the occasion of the 1929 International Exposition, when the mountain was developed and trade fair halls and sports installations were constructed as well as the parks and gardens which are to be found all over the mountain. Today it is the most important recreational area in Barcelona. -Parc de la Ciutadella On the edge of the Ribera district is the Parc de la Ciutadella, built on the site of the old military fortification from which it gets its name. Some of the old buildings from the fort are still in existence today, such as the chapel, the Governor's Palace and the arsenal, today seat of the Parliament of Catalonia, and the Museu d´Art Modern. -Casas Lleó-Morera, Amatller y Batlló LLeó-Morera (1902-1906) Lluís Domènech i Montaner, architect. Amatller (1898-1900) Josep Puig i Cadafalch, architect Batlló (1904-1906) Antoni Gaudí, architect. -Sagrada Familia The Sagrada Família temple is Gaudí?s most emblematic work, the greatest exponent of his genius, and a symbol of Barcelona all over the world. -Park Güell. This is the work of the greatest scope in terms of size which Gaudí realized in Barcelona. It covers an area of 20 hectares, and the initial aim was to make it a garden-city in the English style (the reason why it was called a park). -Tibidabo. Tibidabo is the highest point of the Serra de Collserola hills, an extensive woodland area that has been converted into a metropolitan park 500 metres above sea level. There is an excellent panoramic view of the city from the top.
