Montjuïc - The Rough Guide to Barcelona - page 136

FLYING THE FLAG
SimplestofarchitectJosepPuigiCadafalch'sideasfortheceremonialgatewaytoMontjuïc
at Plaça d'Espanya were four 20m-high columns , erected in 1919 on a raised site below
the future Palau Nacional. Who could possibly object? The authoritarian government of
General PrimodeRivera, asithappened, whichknewperfectly well that notedCatalan na-
tionalist Puig i Cadafalch meant the columns to represent the four stripes of the senyera ,
the Catalan flag. Down they came in 1928, to be replaced by the Magic Fountain, and not
until 2010 were the columns (reconstructed using the original plans) to be seen again in
public - erected (across from the fountain) by the city government as “an act of memory”
and symbol of freedom and democracy.
ARRIVAL AND GETTING AROUND
By metro For easy access to Caixa Forum, Poble Espanyol and the Museu Nacional d'Art
deCatalunya (MNAC)use Espanya (followexit signsfor“Fira/Exposició”). TheOlympic
area can then be reached by escalators behind MNAC.
By funicular The Funicular de Montjuïc (every 10min: April-Oct Mon-Fri 7.30am-10pm,
Sat, Sun & hols 9am-10pm; Nov-March Mon-Fri 7.30am-8pm, Sat, Sun & hols 9am-8pm;
€2,transportticketsandpassesvalid; tmb.cat ) departsfrominsidethestationat Paral.lel
and takes a couple of minutes to ascend the hill. The upper station on Av. de Miramar is only
a few minutes' walk from the Fundació Joan Miró, or you can switch to the Montjuïc cable-
car or bus services.
By cable-car The cross-harbour Transbordador Aeri from Barceloneta (departures every
15min: daily March-April & Sept-Oct 11am-7pm, June-Aug 11am-8pm, Nov-Feb
10.30am-5.30pm; €11 one-way/€16.50 return; 934 414 820) drops you by the Jardins de
Miramar, from where it's a 10min walk to the Montjuïc cable-car and funicular stations, and
another five to the Fundació Joan Miró. Then, the Telefèric de Montjuïc cable-car (daily
April, May & Oct 10am-7pm, June-Sept 10am-9pm, Nov-March 10am-6pm; €7.30 one-
way/€10.30 return, under-12s €5.50/7.40, under-4s free; tmb.cat ) from Av. de Miramar
whisks you up to the castle and back in automated eight-seater gondolas.
By bus City bus #150 (transport tickets and passes valid) covers a circular route around the
main Montjuïc attractions, departing from a stop on Av. de la Reina Maria Cristina, outside
Espanya. The sightseeing, hop-on-hop-off Bus Turístic follows a similar route.
INFORMATION
Timing your visit
Montjuïc covers a wide area, so if you're intent on covering everything it might be better to
make two separate visits - MNAC, Poble Espanyol and the Olympic area on one day, and