Barcelona
Districts of Barcelona
Guadí
Gaudí is the city’s most internationally renowned and emblematic architect. His buildings are a must-see attraction which leave everyone who sees them speechless with wonder.
Who was Gaudí?
Born in 1852 in Reus (Baix Camp, Tarragona) Antoni Gaudí i Cornet was the son of a family of copper makers. From childhood, Gaudí was an attentive observer of nature. He watched his father and grandfather working, as they beat the copper with skill. He felt attracted to colours and geometry.
When Gaudí was 17, his family sent him to Barcelona to study architecture. He had a good grasp of calculus and was an imaginative student of great dexterity. However, his teachers soon voiced misgivings about his approach to architecture, which was unorthodox in its treatment of structural forms.
His early works attracted the interest of the Catalan bourgeoisie, who immediately entrusted him with the execution of creative and unique buildings. The industrialist Eusebi Güell hired him to build a mansion, a church for a model industrial village and a series of gatehouses for his summer home. Güell also commissioned him to draw up the project for the garden city which was to bear his name.
Gaudí was a religious man and the church was one of his regular clients. The Association of Devotees of Saint Joseph commissioned him to build the Sagrada Família Church of Atonement (the cathedral of modern Barcelona). Gaudí devoted himself tirelessly to this monument until the end of his days.
Modernisme-"El Quadrat d'Or"
Barcelona’s Eixample district is the result of the city’s expansion project drawn up by Ildefons Cerdà and begun in 1860. It is one of the world’s most unusual urban spaces and Barcelona’s personality lies, to a great extent, in the unique layout of this district.
The modernista hallmark is centred around a relatively small area, the central hub of the Passeig de Gràcia. This privileged area of the Eixample, known as the Quadrat d'Or, or Golden Square, is bounded by Carrer Aribau and the Passeig de Sant Joan, the Rondes and the Avinguda Diagonal.
The consolidation of the Quadrat d'Or as the centre of bourgeois Barcelona, which came about during the last decade of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries, coincided with the appearance and dissemination of Catalonia’s home-grown art nouveau, modernisme. A leisurely walk through this area reveals a wealth of architecture, the result of the move made by the middle-class residents from the old town to the central Eixample, around 1900.
You can find other examples of modernista architecture in other areas of the city.
La Rambla and el Raval
This unique, lively and colourful boulevard runs from Plaça de Catalunya down to the port, lined with newspaper and book stands, and interspersed with bird and flower stalls. Thriving commerce has its focus on one of the side streets, the Portaferrissa. The route features buildings of great architectural value, such as the Betlem church, the 18th-century Palau Moja and the Palau de la Virreina, where temporary exhibitions are held.
In the heart of the district, we find two new cultural infrastructures built in the nineties, which form the new cultural focus of the city: the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB) and the Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA). Back on La Rambla, visit the traditional food market, La Boqueria. Nearby, you will find the multicoloured cobbled pavement designed by Joan Miró. On your right, you will find the opera house, the Gran Teatre del Liceu. Gaudí's magnificent Palau Güell stands on Carrer Nou de la Rambla. Across La Rambla, the totally rejuvenated Plaça Reial continues to be an obligatory meeting point. Nearby you can visit the Wax Museum, the Museu de Cera.
Gothic Quarter
The remains of the Roman city survive here alongside the city’s medieval buildings, witnesses to a splendid past. Barcelona was the capital city where the Catalan counts and monarchs held their court for 500 years.
Its historic centre is Plaça del Rei, bounded by the Palau Reial Major. Nearby, we find the Museu d'Història de la Ciutat. Other places of interest in the Gothic Quarter include the Cathedral and its environs which include the Romanesque church of Santa Llúcia.
An infinite variety of history and art is ever present in the district’s array of cobbled streets. The Plaça de Sant Jaume stands right in the centre of the district and on either side of the square, facing each other, we can see the Casa de la Ciutat, or City Hall, and the Palau de la Generalitat, the seat of the Catalan government. Antique dealers, bookshops, restaurants, and unusual shops maintain the activity of this historical district and add to its interest.
Parc de la Ciutadella
The Parc de la Ciutadella stands on the site of the old military citadel from which it takes 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.
The park is the perfect place to relax and has a peaceful and welcoming atmosphere and pleasant attributes such as the spectacular waterfall, the pond, flower gardens, and an abundance of trees. It is also the location of the Museu de Zoologia, a building designed by the architect Domènech i Montaner.
Another area of the park is occupied by the large zoo. One of the most evocative corners of the park is a brick and wood building known as the Umbracle, whose interior spaces filled with lush tropical plants, are defined by slender iron columns. The Hivernacle, a wrought-iron and glass construction, has been recently restored for exhibitions and cultural events.
Port, Barceloneta and Vila Olímpica
Today, Barcelona is a city which is open to the sea. The port has become one of the favourite stop-off points for luxury cruise liners. The fishing area of the port still survives, with its clock tower which gives its name to the wharf -Moll del Rellotge- and the small fish auction mart. The medieval shipyards, the Drassanes Reials, bear witness to the splendour of sea trading and the Catalan Navy of the Middle Ages, and currently house the Museu Marítim.
From the Columbus Monument you can walk along the oldest part of the harbour front, the Port Vell. The domed viewing gallery of the Columbus Monument provides views of the whole of Barcelona and the Port Vell, with the city's new leisure complex comprising the Maremàgnum, the Imax cinema and L' Aquàrium. The city can also be viewed from the sea on one of the Golondrinas pleasure boats which travel across the harbour and along the city’s seafront.
The Barceloneta is a traditional sailing and fishing district which is renowned for its fish and seafood restaurants. It leads to the Olympic Village, where the athletes lived during the Olympic Games. The Olympic Marina has over 40 bars and restaurants and has become a new recreational area which, together with over four kilometres of beaches, offers the possibility to enjoy all kinds of water sports.
Montjuïc
Montjuïc hill was claimed by the city on the occasion of the 1929 International Exhibition, when the mountain was developed and trade fair halls and sports installations were constructed. Today it is the city’s foremost cultural area with attractions such as the Museu d'Arqueologia, the Museu Etnològic, the Fundació Joan Miró, the Fundació Fran Daurel and the Fundació CaixaForum, which is housed in the old Casaramona factory.
Montjuïc is also the site of the performing arts complex, known as the Parc de les Arts Escèniques, which comprises the Ciutat del Teatre, the Teatre Grec and Barcelona Teatre Musical. A large number of events, congresses, trade fairs and single-theme salons are held in the trade-fair precinct every year.
Not far from here is the Poble Espanyol, or Spanish Village, also built on the occasion of the 1929 Exhibition. It features examples of architecture and handicrafts from every corner of Spain. The most emblematic image of Montjuïc is the night-time view from Plaça d'Espanya, with the Avinguda Reina Maria Cristina, the Magic Fountain and the Palau Nacional floodlit. The Olympic Ring, the nerve centre of the competitions during the Games of the XXV Olympiad, is currently one of the most visited places in the city. Montjuïc hill covers a large area and is replete with interesting places. Here are a few suggestions.