Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ation date is January 2015, although this - as with so many grand projects in Barcelona -
will almost certainly prove to be optimistic.
PALAU DE LA MÚSICA CATALANA THROUGH THE AGES
The original Modernista creation, now a World Heritage site, did not meet with univer-
sal approval in its day. The doyen of Catalan literature, Josep Pla, did not hesitate to
condemn it as 'horrible', but few share his sentiments today. Domènech i Montaner
himself was also in a huff. He failed to attend the opening ceremony in response to un-
settled bills.
Thepalau(palace) was at the centre of a fraud scandal from 2009 to 2012, as its
president, Felix Millet, who subsequently resigned, admitted to having siphoned off
millions of euros of its funds. He and his partner were ordered to repay the embezzled
money to thepalauin March 2012.
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
OLD FLAME
Opposite Basílica de Santa Maria del Mar's southern flank, an eternal flame burns
brightly over an apparently anonymous sunken square. This is
El Fossar de les
cemetery. It's also where Catalan resistance fighters were buried after the siege of
Barcelona ended in defeat in September 1714, and for whom the flame burns.
Local Life
Tapas & Bar Hopping in El Born
If there's one place that distils Barcelona's enduring cool to its essence
and provides a snapshot of all that's irresistible about this city, it has to
be El Born, the tangle of streets surrounding the Basílica de Santa Maria
del Mar. Its secret is simple: this is where locals go for an authentic Bar-
celona night out.
