Barcelona Travel Guide

This is going to be a very full day, so get an early start at the Plaça Cataluña. Spend the morning wandering down La Rambla to the statue and Mirador de Colón, beside the port. Return via the Plaça Reial and explore the neighboring Barri Gòtic with its central Catedral. In the afternoon visit Antoni Gaudí's unfinished masterpiece, La Sagrada Família and the Parc Güell, before returning to the Raval and Poble Sec districts on the western side of La Rambla. From there take the funicular to the top of Montjuïc for a fine view of Barcelona and its harbor. Explore the gardens and castle museum and if there's time pop into the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya for a glimpse of the finest collection of Romanesque relics in Spain.

1. Plaça Cataluña

Located at the top of La Rambla and midway between the medieval Old City and wide-avenued, 19th-century L'Eixample, this circular plaza, with its fountains and sculptures, is the cultural hub of the city. Surrounded by large stores, open-air cafes, and hotels, it's a place to watch passersby, listen to the Latino buskers, feed the pigeons, and even try to join in and dance the sardana on festive occasions. As the afternoon proceeds it gets increasingly crowded and colorful.

2. La Rambla

Also known as Les Ramblas, this mile-long avenue is divided into five distinct sections named successively Canaletes, Estudis, Sant Josep, Caputxins, and Santa Monica. It's a stage set of human statues, jugglers, singers, eccentrics, misfits, transvestites, caged animals, kiosks, cafes, and radiant flower stalls. Originally called ramla (riverbed) by the Arabs, it's the favorite strolling place for Barcelonese and visitors alike. For year-round atmosphere there's nowhere else like it in Spain.

3. Mirador de Colón (Columbus Monument)

Situated at the port end of La Rambla, this ornate bronze statue in honor of the Genovese sailor who discovered you-know-where was built during Barcelona's 19th-century industrial boom. After 10pm you can get to the top by elevator and enjoy marvellous views of the harbor and Ciutat Vella. Notice, too, the deliberate mistake: He's pointing east across the Mediterranean to Majorca instead of west toward the Atlantic.

Take A Break

Halfway down La Rambla, Café de l'Opera, La Rambla 74 (tel. 93-317-75-85), is a 19th-century Parisian-style cafe. Its murals, iron columns, and wall mirrors with etchings evoke a more elegant age, when waiters with bow ties served you with delightful indifference. It's the ideal spot to sit back, enjoy a quality coffee, and watch the nonstop activity outside.

5. Plaça Reial

This is one of the city's great old squares, with neoclassical pillars and archways, 19th-century lampposts, slender aging palm trees, and enough semi-resident marginals -- from drug addicts to transsexuals -- to fill an Almodóvar movie. More ominous in the past, today it's virtually become a tourist attraction. Watch out for pickpockets, though.

6. Barri Gòtic

Said to be the largest inhabited (and probably most densely populated) medieval quarter in Europe, the narrow-alleyed Barri Gòtic really merits a minimum of a half-day's leisurely exploration. At night its illuminated streets and buildings give it a magical touch. If you're only here for a day, then the Catedral is an absolute must. Also not to be missed are the central Plaça del Rei with its two key monuments, the Museu d'Història de la Ciutat, built over a complete subterranean Roman township, and the Palau del Rei in whose Saló del Tinell Columbus introduced American Indians to Spain's monarchs for the first time.

7. Catedral

Originally built within the old Roman town, this monumental place of worship has seen many changes over the centuries, though it was mercifully one of the few to be spared the destructive fury of the Spanish Civil War. Here the young Santa Eulalia -- cruelly martyred for protesting Dacian's treatment of Christians during his repressive rule -- is buried. Don't miss the 14th-century choir stalls and chapter house and roof (extra charges payable); or the unexpectedly delightful cloister, which harbors tall palms, a cluster of orange trees, and a pond with geese amid the surrounding Gothic and Renaissance splendour.

Take A Break

For an atmospheric lunch you can't do better than Barcelona's oldest restaurant (est. 1786), Can Culleretes, Quintana 5 (tel. 93-317-64-85). It's tucked away in a secretive lane in the heart of the Barri Gòtic. You won't be the only non-Catalan visitor -- the place is in too many guidebooks -- but the restaurant is a monument, the service and decor from another age, and the traditional food and wine pretty good.

9. Montjuïc

Topped by an imposing castle that is now a military museum, this distinctive hill on the city's west flank also offers some of the best vistas of the Catalan capital. After radical improvements prior to the 1992 Olympic Games (don't forget to take an quick peek at the stadium), it's now also the city's greatest green zone with a wealth of walkways, parklands, leisure areas, and cultural attractions to explore. Get there by the funicular from Poble Sec or by the more vertiginous teleféric, which carries you high above the harbor.

Take A Break

Tucked away inside the castle with a patio section where you can sit outside in good weather, the Montjuïc Castle Café is a great spot for relaxing and savoring the old "castell" ambience.

11. Sagrada Família

This is where you'll want to start your evening. Abandoned for decades, the still-unfinished cathedral finally saw restoration and expansion work carried out when its hermitlike architect, Antoni Gaudí (who was killed by a tram in 1926 and whose tomb can be viewed in the crypt), came back into fashion in the 1990s. The four original spires -- designed by the master himself -- are generally acknowledged to be far superior to the additional quartet. You can now take an elevator up to the top of one of the towers and enjoy the fine view. Loved and reviled in equal measure, the building remains unique. Current construction progresses slowly, however, and even the most optimistic forecaster doesn't believe the whole project will reach completion for at least another decade.

12. Parc Güell

You can imagine gremlins living in this unique fairy-tale park located high up in the city and loved by children and adults alike. Look out for its mosaic serpent and Hansel and Gretel houses at the entrance (one of which is a tiny museum, the Centre d'Interpretació i Acollida, devoted to depicting creator Gaudí's building methods). At its center, up some steps, the Banc de Trencadís -- a multicolored ceramic bench -- curves around a spacious esplanade, while behind it footpaths climb into the pine woods of Vallcarca and Monte Carmel, offering scenic views through the trees of the city below.