When applying for a visa to Spain, nine out of ten potential tourists dream of starting their acquaintance with the country of Cervantes, bullfighting and sangria from Barcelona. This city is called the most beautiful not only in Catalonia, of which Barcelona is the capital, but throughout Spain. In Barcelona, cultures, architectural styles, moods, traditions, cuisines, fashion trends, genres and trends are mixed. The most popular city in Europe and the world guarantees all guests a generous portion of good mood, positive emotions and good memories, and when asked what to see in Barcelona, its residents will recommend the creations of the great Gaudí, shady parks, noisy streets and museums, which are great in the Catalan capital. lots of.
TOP 10 attractions in Barcelona
Rambla
1200 meters between the Gothic Quarter and the Raval is the famous Ramblas in Barcelona. The street consists of five sections, smoothly merging into each other and forming a seething channel, along which the tourist river of the most beautiful city in Spain flows:
- Kanaletes boulevard starts from pl. Catalonia. The name was given to him by the drinking fountain, installed here in the 19th century. The cast-iron plate promises that everyone who drank water from Canaletes will certainly return to Barcelona.
- The Teaching Boulevard is famous for its bird market, the Poliorama theater and the Church of Our Lady of Bethlehem, built in the 17th century.
- On Boulevard de Flowers you can look at the most beautiful Palace of the Viceroy in Barcelona and admire the Joan Miró mosaic that adorns the sidewalk on Pla del Os.
- The theater section of the Rambla is Boulevard des Capucines. It is overlooked by the facades of the Liceu Opera Grand Theater and the first theater in the city "Principal".
- The plot by the sea is called St. Monica Boulevard. It rests against the Gate of the World square with the Columbus monument.
All buildings on the Rambla can be called architectural monuments. They were built in the period from the 16th to the 18th century.
How to get there: Barcelona metro, st. Liceu, Catalunya or Drassanes.
Sagrada Familia
As soon as tourist guides do not name the most famous building in Barcelona: an architectural dominant, a visiting card, the creation of the great Gaudi, and even the most famous long-term construction in the world. All definitions are correct, because the Temple of the Sagrada Familia has indeed been continuously being built since 1882, its image invariably appears at the very mention of the Catalan capital, and the author of the project was the famous Antonio Gaudi, who gave his brainchild more than 40 years of life.
The Sagrada Familia is perhaps the most unusual cathedral on the planet. The originality of its form, structure, external and internal decoration inspires delight, bewilderment and surprise at the same time. During the construction, the techniques of Gothic and Art Nouveau, vintage steps and modern supports, paintings and majolica, stone carving and stucco were used. Talking about the creations of Antoni Gaudi is a thankless task, and therefore it is worth going to Barcelona at least to look at the Sagrada Familia with your own eyes.
How to get there: Barcelona metro, st. Sagrada Familia L2 and L5.
Tour price: from 15 to 29 euros, depending on the program.
Park Guell
This world-famous park is another creation of Antoni Gaudi. The living painting, where thousands of Barcelonians and their guests enjoy daily life, occupies 17 hectares in the upper part of the city. Work began on the organization of a trendy Art Nouveau green living area in 1900.
The land was owned by the Catalan industrialist and philanthropist Eusebi Güell. In the course of the work, Gaudí joined the project, building several mansions, pavilions at the entrance, pedestrian walkways called "bird nests" and a winding bench. Today, in the house where the architect lived, a museum is open, which displays samples of furniture created by him.
In 1984, Park Guel in Barcelona was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
How to get there: Barcelona metro, st. Lesseps, L3.
Ticket prices: 7 and 8 euros on the park's website and at the box office, respectively.
Casa Mila
There is another Barcelona gem on the list of Antoni Gaudi's creations. Mila House was built by him at the very beginning of the 20th century for one of the local families. After the completion of the work, Gaudí completely immersed himself in work on the construction of the Sagrada Familia, and Casa Mila became the last secular project he implemented.
The house received many innovative engineering solutions for its time. For example, the system of natural ventilation, thought out to the smallest detail, made it possible not to use air conditioners, and residents could change the interior layout of the apartment at their own request, thanks to mobile interior partitions.
Tourists who find themselves in Barcelona can look not only at the exterior of Casa Mila, but also take a tour of the interior. There is an attic, where a museum exhibition dedicated to the engineering and creative heritage of Gaudí is located, an apartment on the 4th floor, turned into a museum with an authentic atmosphere of the first third of the twentieth century, and an exhibition hall in the former apartments of the Mila family.
To get there: st. Metro Diagonal, L3 and L5.
Gothic Quarter
All the charm of the Middle Ages can be found in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona, which occupies the space from pl. Catalonia to the Rambla. Narrow streets, chaotic layouts, cobbled pavements, imposing stone walls - in the Gothic Quarter, everything reminds of the former might of the Aragon union.
Special attention of tourists is attracted by:
- Cathedral of the Holy Cross and St. Eulalia of the XIII-XV centuries.
- Royal Square, built in the neoclassical style.
- Art cabaret "Black Cat" created in the image of the Parisian. Pablo Picasso was called the guest of honor here.
- The ruins of the Roman wall and the palace of Octavian Augustus, dating from the 1st century BC.
The Gothic Quarter is home to many of Barcelona's souvenir shops and museums.
Picasso Museum
Painter and graphic artist, ceramist and sculptor, designer and founder of Cubism, Pablo Picasso lived and worked in Barcelona for a long time. The museum was opened in 1963, and the basis of its exposition was a collection of works by Picasso and objects belonging to him, which was donated to the city by a friend and secretary of the great master Jaime Sabartes.
The collection includes the early works of Picasso, and its pride is the painting "Meninas", created based on the painting of the same name by Velazquez.
To get there: metro station L4 Jaume I and L1 Arc de Triomf.
Ticket price: 11 euros. Free admission to the first opening every month and on Thursdays from 6 pm to 9.30 pm.
National Art Museum of Catalonia
One of the richest in the world, this museum opened in 1990 as a result of the merger of the museums of modern art and the art museum of Catalonia. It most fully represents the Romanesque style that existed from 1000 to the XIII-XIV centuries. The basis of the collection of Romanesque in the Museum of Barcelona is Romanesque frescoes, taken out at the beginning of the last century from small churches in the Pyrenees. The museum offers an acquaintance with a collection of paintings made on wood and a collection of wooden sculptures.
Particularly noteworthy are the halls presenting the picturesque masterpieces of Velazquez and El Greco.
Ticket price: 12 euros.
Boqueria market
Noisy and colorful, fragrant and generous, as befits a real market, Boqueria seems to symbolize the whole city and it is not for nothing that it is considered the hallmark of Barcelona not only among gourmets, but also among other tourists who are hungry for impressions and emotions.
What to buy in Barcelona at the Boqueria market? Fragrant fruits and Mediterranean spices, seafood and black truffles, fresh berries and fish, souvenirs and gifts to relatives. The most popular product among foreign tourists is a real Iberian ham.
How to get there: by Barcelona metro, st. Liceu.
Barcelona Aquarium
Look at the typical representatives of the flora and fauna of the Mediterranean, feel in the thick of the events taking place on the seabed, buy souvenirs to remember the trip and drink a cup of aromatic coffee or taste real paella - you can all this in the aquarium of the capital of Catalonia, which is popular with children and adults.
The largest of its kind in Europe, the Barcelona Aquarium is a 36-meter-long aquarium that houses 35 isolated spaces for special types of underwater flora and fauna. The pride of the organizers is an 80-meter tunnel with transparent walls and a ceiling, in which you can feel yourself at the bottom of the sea and observe its inhabitants, being with them, as they say, side by side.
In addition to the fauna of the Mediterranean region, the aquarium features the ecosystems of the Caribbean, the Red Sea and the Great Barrier Reef.
How to get there: Barcelona metro station L4 Barceloneta or L3 Drassanes.
Ticket price: from 20 euros.
Tibidabo
The name of this green hill in Barcelona, which offers the best views of the city, sounds like a fairytale spell. But not only for the sake of panoramic photos, the guests of the city storm the 500-meter Tibidabo. The natural science museum CosmoCaixa is located on the mountain, which is called the best in the Old World by fans of chemistry, physics and biology. In the museum, visitors are allowed to participate in experiments and experiments and observe the unique animals that live in the Amazonian jungle.
Lovers of attractions, having climbed the mountain, will put a tick in the list of splendid architectural structures seen. At the top of Tibidabo stands the most beautiful neo-Gothic church of the Sacred Heart, built in the first half of the twentieth century. The original design of the temple was invented by the architect Enric Sagnier. The Basilica is a complex of two churches, which are stacked one on top of the other.
To get there: direct route - bus T2A from pl. Catalonia; with a transfer - by train FGC lines S1, S2 to the station. Peu del Funicular, then by funicular to the upper station and bus. 111 to the final.
