Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Welcome to Barcelona
A city of fabled architecture, inspiring museums and a world-class dining scene, Barcelona
has long enchanted visitors. This is a city of narrow medieval lanes, elegant boulevards
lined with sculpted buildings and sun-kissed beaches fronting the deep-blue Mediterranean.
Galleries showcase Catalonia's renowned artistic heritage, while inventive chefs carve a
name for themselves in colourful dining rooms all across town. Barcelona is no less en-
chanting by nightfall, with its vintage 19th-century bars, historic concert halls and buzzing
nightclubs and lounges.
Barcelona's architectural heritage dates back more than 700 years. At its core lies one of
Europe's best-preserved medieval centres. Centuries later, that heritage lent Gaudí and his
Modernista contemporaries the historical foundation and inspiration for some of their wild-
est architectural creations. Their adventurousness is in the city's DNA, and local and inter-
national architects continue to unleash their fantasies here.
Architecture is just one manifestation of Catalan creativity. The heady mix of Gothic
monuments and contemporary skyscrapers is accompanied by a bevy of world-class mu-
seums that take you from the wonders of giant Romanesque frescos to the playfulness of
Joan Miró, from pre-Columbian South American gold to early Picasso.
Barcelonins
are passionate about their cooking. Thousands of restaurants offer an incred-
ible palette for the palate, from traditional Catalan cuisine to the last word in 21st-century
nueva cocina española
. A plethora of tippling establishments and dance clubs also spreads
in a hedonistic arc across the city - drop into century-old taverns or glam it up in bright
seaside bars.
Shoppers, meanwhile, may never make it to a museum. L'Eixample is filled with avenues
lined with top boutiques and shopping galleries, while the meandering streets of the Ciutat
Vella hide all manner of unique finds from vintage boutiques and record stores to wine
sellers and handicraft shops.
