View Points in Barcelona

There is no need to be a long time in Barcelona to notice that Barcelona is an absolutely fascinating city that one should visit in any case. But one thing is certain: after barely half a day in Barcelona, one feels for the first time the need to see the city from above. Specially after having seen a lot of sightseeings spread over the city, one wants to have at least once an overview of that what one has seen so far from the bottom. Barcelona offers so many fascinating view points, that for two days, one could only go from view point to view point.

Sagrada Família

Let us start with a "harmless" view point that are the towers of the Sagrada Família; Why do I first mention this small observation deck when there are so much better ones? Well, the Sagrada Família is one of the absolute musts for a visitor of Barcelona. Most of the tourists go straight within their first day in Barcelona to this impressive temple of atonement.

By ascending the towers of the church or taking one of the two lifts in order to get up comfortably, one gets a first overview of the city. This will be surely not breathtaking yet, as one is simply still too low. But anyhow, the view is still impressive as the view to the church and the two towers in the front are in the foreground.

Parc Güell

A visit to the Parc Güell is also a must for each sightseeing of Barcelona, as the visit of the Sagrada Família is. As the Parc Güell is located on a little hill at the north of the city, one already has a great view to the city by natural means.

Also those who only do the standard program, thus only get up to the famous observation deck with the wave-shaped bench will already be rewarded with a great panorama view. But the view to Barcelona gets unforgettable and gigantic if one takes an hour more of time for the park and walks up to the tops of the hill. From there, one has a real panorama view to the whole city. The local mountain Montjuïc suddenly seems to be very small.

From the tops of the hill of the Parc Güell one does not only look to the city centre, the harbour and the beaches of Barcelona, but also to the mountain at the north and the east of the city. The more than 500 m heighted Tibidabo suddenly seems to be within one's gasp and one already guesses what a dream view there must be from there above.

El Corte Inglés

One excelent observation deck that is hardly known is offered by the department store El Corte Inglés at the Placa de Catalunya; All tourists come around serveral times at the Placa de Catalunya during their visit to Barcelona, as from here, the famous promenade La Rambla begins. Then I recomend everybody to go to El Corte Inglés before leaving this plaza, not only in order to be impressed by the biggest department store of the city but also to get a fascinating view to the surroundings for free.

In the 9th floor of the department store, there is a big restaurant-complex, from fastfood-restaurants up to a posh speciality restaurant with service. Those who can get a seat at the window will double enjoy their meal, as the views to the city and the surroundings are impressive. Right underneath, one sees the big Placa de Catalunya. But one can look over the whole city away up to the Tibidabo and over to the Montjuïc.

So much for the view points that practically are on the way; Now we come to some distinctive points of the city from which one can enjoy the best panorama views to which one has to go to purposively.

Tibidabo

The Tibidabo is the more than 500 m heighted mountain that limits the city at the north. From the city centre, one can comfortably drive up the hill on a road of nearly 10 km length. With the public transport, the trip is a little more complicated but therefore more romantic. One starts at the Placa de Catalunya with the subway line U7, but attention: the line U7 does not belong to the subway lines 1-5, but to the company Ferrocarril de la Generalitat, thus the railway of Catalonia.

By arriving with the subway to the Placa de Catalunya, one can continue using the normal subway ticket, that is that one does not need to cancel a new trip. But one must know where the Gate to the line L7 is: the access to the FGC is a little upside the corner, there where the Rambla begins. Those who arrive with the subway at the Placa de Catalunya have first to leave the subterranean station in order to get down to another subterranean station. There is practically no signposting in the subway area. One really has to walk on the Rambla de Catalunya up to the La Rambla in order to find the gate to the FGC station. I describe the way in such a detailed way as I have been looking eternally for the gate of the FGC station, as numerous other tourists.

One takes the L7 up to the final station Tibidabo. There, either a blue tram (Tramvia Blau) or a line bus is waiting that takes one to the valley station of the cableway at a height of 223 m. The trip leads to a posh district of Barcelona. Here, there are no block of houses but mansions that partly remind on castles rather than a simple apartment house. At the valley station of the funicular, there are several panorama bars and panorama restaurants. Then, the trip continues in the funicular up at a height of more than 500 m. The trip with the old mountain railway is impressive, as it really ascends the mountain straightaway. While one gets up to the funicular with one single subway ticket, for the two- way trip with the mountain railway one has to fork out 3 €.

At the top of the mountain, the fun park Tibidabo is waiting, that specially in the week-ends has a large stream of visitors. But the visitors of the Parc d'Atraccions are mainly the inhabitants of the city Barcelona and the surroundings. The tourists stream up to the chapel Sagrat Cor and to the observation deck.

The view that one has from here will be probably not forgotten in a lifetime. One looks to a huge panorama of houses that does not have an end up to the shore line at the south and the mountains at the east. But one also looks to the mountaineous hinterland; with such a view one suddenly feels like being in a lonely mountain region. The local mountain of the city, the Montjuïc, suddenly appears to be tiny.

The view to Barcelona from a height of more than 500 m is so breathtaking that one can stand there for a hour motionless and without saying a word looking down to the panorama of houses. Thus, a visit to the Tibidabo is an unforgettable experience. But therefore, one needs at least half a day time as the trip with different means of transport is quite time-consuming.

TV Tower

A view from the Tibidabo to Barcelona is an unforgettable experience that actually is hard to beat. But there is the Torre de Collserola, the TV tower that rises up for barely 150 m right beside the Tibidabo. As a visitor, one can take a super fast lift to an observation deck at a height of 115 m.

The views from the tv tower hardly beat the ones from the observation decks of the Tibidabo. But what is interesting is the view to the Tibidabo itself, as this is the only way to see that this mountain heighted more than 500 m is only a little hill compared to what comes behind it. Finally, Barcelona is - I can only emphasize it repeatedely - not only a city that is located right at the sea, but also a city that is located at the edge of high mountains.

Montjuïc

A very requested and fantastic view point is, of course, the local mountain of Barcelona itself. By taking the cableway from Barceloneta across the port basin over to the Montjuïc, one is spoiled with dream views. From the peak of the Montjuïc, one enjoys an all-round panorama view that makes one breathe slowlier.

More about the trip to the local mountain of Barcelona is available on the page Montjuïc.

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Copyright: Patrick Wagner, www.tourist-guide.biz