General information
History of the city
Churches, cathedral
Places
Parks
Museums
Modernisme Buildings
Viewpoints
Montjuic day trip
Beaches
Ports
Shopping
Restaurants
Hotels
Weather and climate
Imprint

Barcelona Index | General Information | History of the City | Churches, cathedral | Places (Plaças) | Parks | Museums | Gaudí's Modernisme Buildings | Viewpoints | Montjuic day trip | Beaches | Ports | Shopping | Restaurants and Tapas-Bars | Hotels | Weather and Climate

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Barcelona - the Mediterranean Metropolis of Spain

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While for most of the people a visit of one of the big European world cities like Paris, Rome, Madrid, London or Berlin is a matter of course to do at least once in a lifetime, Barcelona is only at the second place in the scale of popularity of city trips - maybe because Barcelona is not an official capital of a country or because the city as a little smaller than the European metropolis with one and a half million inhabitants? Does Barcelona have less to offer in culture and history than for example the capital Madrid?

Far from this! Barcelona was once the capital of an own kingdom and is still today the capital of the independent region Catalonia. Barcelona has a more than 2.000 year old history that can be compared with the one of Rome or Berlin. Barcelona is a big city of a size between Hamburg and Munich. Barcelona offers cultural and arquitectorial sightseeings in an abundance that any other city barely can offer.

Barcelona is a city that surprises most of the visitors, as one gets much more than expected. What kind of city is Barcelona that is overflowed by tourists? Is Barcelona a harbour and bathing city located at the sea or rather a big city located at the mountains? Is Barcelona a city of football or an pearl of architecture that sets new designer trends? Does one go for shopping in Barcelona or for a promenade on the Ramblas or the quayside? Does one visit some museums in Barcelona or some gorgeous buildings?

It nearly sounds incredible, but Barcelona offers everything! The city is located right at the sea and has sand beaches of a length of kilometres. But the city is also surrounded by high mountains that in the north have a height of several thousand metres. Barcelona is of course the city of football; there is no football club in the world with more members than the 1. FC Barcelona. As a tourist one does not know where to start having a walk in Barcelona, either in the picturesque oldtown alleyways, the famous promenades (Ramblas) or in the quaysides. The umpteem museums of the city are at least as interesting as the countless buildings, parks and churches. And what about the beaches?

Every year, millions of people spend their holiday in the huge hotel complexes of the Costa Brava at the northeast of Barcelona. A day excursion to Barcelona is a must of such a holiday; but one single day is just sufficient to breathe some air in the city. Even those who have a three-day city trip Barcelona, are only roughly introduced to the city and will be annoyed by a full schedule up to late night. In order to know the city well and to understand it, one needs at least two weeks - but then, one is still far from having seen everything...

For the sightseeings that I describe on these pages, I took more than two weeks time. One can enjoy the city even more by also experiencing the pleasant things of the city - the long beaches - and take part into a little of the daily life of the city, thus not go 10 hours per day form monument to monument. Have good fun with my Barcelona pages!



Index

General Information about Barcelona

  • The City and the Population
  • The Catalan Language
  • Streets and Traffic
  • Public Means of Transport
  • Taxis
  • Tourist Buses
  • Safety and Crime
  • Catalan Specialities
  • Weather and Climate in Barcelona

The History of Barcelona and Catalonia

  • The Pre-history
  • The Antiquity
  • The Moors in the Iberian Peninsula
  • The Unification of Catalonia with Castilia
  • Boom and Independence Tendencies in the 19th Century
  • Catalonia and Barcelona in the 20th century
  • Barcelona and Catalonia today

Churches and Cathedrals

  • Sagrada Família
  • The Cathedral
  • Santa María del Mar
  • Sagrat Cor

Plazas in Barcelona

  • Plaça de Sant Jaume
  • Plaça de Catalunya
  • Plaça del Rei
  • Plaça Reial
  • Plaça d'Espanya
  • Plaça de Toros
  • Arc de Triomf

Parks in Barcelona

  • Parc de la Ciutadella
  • Parc Güell

Museums of the city

  • Museu d'Història de la Ciutat
  • Museu de l'Història de Catalunya
  • The football museum of the F.C. Barcelona
  • Further museums of the city

Modernisme-Buildings in Barcelona

  • Casa Milà
  • Casa Battló
  • Casa Amatller
  • Palau de la Música Catalana

View points to the City and to the Hinterland

  • Sagrada Família
  • Parc Güell
  • El Corte Inglés
  • Tibidabo
  • TV Tower
  • Montjuïc

A One-Day-Tour to the Montjuïc with many Highlights

  • Cableway Trip to the Montjuïc
  • The Montjuïc
  • The Olympic Complex
  • The National Palace (Palau Nacional)
  • Poble Espanyol - the Spanish Village
  • Water Games in front of the National Palace

Beaches and Bathing in Barcelona

  • Distribution of the Beaches
  • The Touristic Beaches
  • The Beaches of the local people

Barcelona's Harbours - Visit, Roundtrip

  • Port Vell (Old Harbour)
  • Port Olímpic (Olympic Harbour)
  • Port Franc de Barcelona (Industrial Harbour)

Shopping in the Big City - Shopping, Strolling

  • The Famous Promenade La Rambla
  • Shopping in the small Alleyways of the Oldtown
  • The biggest Department Store of the City El Corte Inglés
  • Shopping Centres and Galleries
  • Traditional Shops of Small Items in Barcelona
  • Markets in Barcelona
  • Big Shopping Streets in the Eixample

Restaurant-Recommendations and Warnings

  • Egipte
  • Specchio Magico
  • Can Culleretes
  • La Fitora
  • La Oca Mar
  • La Barca del Salamanca
  • Pizzeria La Poma
  • Les 15 Nits
  • Pato Pekin
  • El Merendero
  • Moncho's
  • Hard Rock Café

Hotels in Barcelona - Accommodation, Staying Over Night

  • General Information of the Hotels in Barcelona
  • What is actually the best place to stay over in Barcelona?
  • Experience Report Hotel Hesperia del Mar

Weather and Climate in Barcelona

  • Day and Night Temperatures
  • Water Temperatures
  • Sunshine Hours per Day
  • Rainfall Days per Month

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