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Table of Contents - Barcelona[click the links below to see photographs of these places] |
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Page 1 - The Rambla Avenue In Barcelona, as in every other large city, one can spend at lease a week, without getting bored. The attractions are almost infinite, therefore obviously we haven't been to all of them, even though we had dedicated quite a long time to the city. Described below are the main attractions, as we see them. We began our tour of the city along the Rambla Avenue. It's best to visit this avenue on Sundays, since then it becomes a sort of gigantic marketplace, including various merchant stands, street clowns, street shows, etc… The place is filled with stands during midweek as well, but not as many as on Sundays. Further more, the avenue has coffee shops, boutiques and stores. Page 2 - The roofed market, Mercat de la Boqueria On one of the turns from the Rambla avenue you can find the roofed market, Mercat de la Boqueria. There you'll find fruits, vegetables, fish, cheese, cakes and many other delicious looking stuff. Another nice market is the St. Antoni market, known by locals as Mercat de St. Antoni, which is located between the streets of St. Pau and St. Antoni. Besides food the later market also contains all sorts of textiles and clothes. Page 3 - Columbus Column & The harbor area If you'll continue through the Rambla Avenue, all the way to its eastern end, you'll find the famous Columbus Column, from which you can go on to the harbor area. There, you'll see a nice, pleasant boardwalk. Page 4 - The Montjuic From the harbor area, you can either take a cable-car, or walk to the Montjuic, which is a huge ground, a kind of park, hosting several appealing sites. Among them are shaded benches, large lawns and a few small kiosks, offering mainly ice creams. Page 5 - The Montjuic - The national palace Immediately at the entrance you'll see the Placa d'Espanya Square (see page 16) followed by the national palace: Palacio Nazional, where you'll find an interesting collection of drawings, china, various crafts, etc. Opening hours: 9:00 to 14:00, closed on Mondays. Entrance fees are being charged. Page 6 - The Montjuic - Pueblo Espanol More in the Montjuic, the unique village: Pueblo Espanol, which is a kind of small village with a mix of various architectural styles, stone paved streets, work shops, little cozy stores, and lots of coffee shops. It should take about an hour or two to tour the place. You can see here a decorative swords shop, ship models, and a glass making workshop. We also encountered a nice green creature, with whom we couldn't miss a photo opportunity. Page 7 - The Montjuic - Pueblo Espanol Within the Montjuic you'll find excellent directions to any place you might wish to go. Page 8 - The Montjuic - The Juan Miro Foundation (Museum) Another highly recommended site in the area is the Juan Miro Foundation (Fundacio Juan Miro). To the left is the entrance to the Juan Miro museum. This museum is almost fully dedicated to the work of Juan Miro. Other things to be found in the museum: Interesting modern collections of photographs, and various displays. Very highly recommended to art fans. Opening hours: Tue - Sat: 11:00 to 19:00. Sun: 11:00 to 14:30. Closed on Mondays. Entrance fees are charged. Page 9 - The Montjuic - The Juan Miro Foundation (Museum) More at the Montjuic, you can find the Archeology Museum, the Anthology Museum, an Olympic stadium, a Greek theater, and much more. Page 10 - Parc Guell A few of the must-see sites are some of the fascinating buildings and constructions of the architect Gaudi. One of them is Parc Guell. The approach path to the park is very steep since Park Guell is located on a hill the middle of Barcelona. Page 11 - Parc Guell This is a huge park (free entrance) designed by the famous architect. Page 12 - Parc Guell It is a remarkable experience. The park combines trees, rocks, fountains and structures, which seem as if taken right out of a fairy tale. Page 13 - Parc Guell This park is highly recommended. You should plan your stay in Park Guell to take about an hour or two. Page 14 - The Church: Sagrada Familia Another interesting structure by Gaudi is the Church: Sagrada Familia. This is Gaudi's finest work, which symbolizes Barcelona. The Church is still under construction. The structure combines several different fascinating architectural styles. It's worth a visit. Page 15 - The Casa Mila & The Casa Batllo Two other very interesting Gaudi structures are the Casa Mila (a building in-between Passeig de Gracia St. and Carrer Provenca St.), and the Casa Batllo, which is near, on Passeig de Gracia St. itself. It's hard to miss these two extraordinary buildings. Page 16 - The Placa de Catalunya Not far away from the two buildings is the Placa de Catalunya square. This is a nice town square that is actually the heart of Barcelona. From it, you'll find easy and comfortable transportation to wherever you wish to go. Another nice placa is Square d'Espania. Page 17 - The Cathedral of Barcelona Another short and interesting trip is to the Gothic quarter of the city. Tour through the narrow streets, between the heavy stony buildings, embedded with little interesting shops. At the heart of the Gothic quarter is the Cathedral of Barcelona. Page 18 - The Cathedral of Barcelona The Cathedral of Barcelona is a gigantic impressive cathedral, and you can tour it from the inside, and outside; the Cathedral Museum and Cathedral Gardens. We photographed some of the more feathery visitors to the cathedral. Page 19 - The Picasso Museum For the art fans, it is recommended to visit the Picasso Museum (Museum Picasso), which contains a collection drawings and etchings by Pablo Picasso. It is preferable to arrive there early in the morning, since most of the time a very long queue is present at the entrance. Opening hours: 10:00 to 19:30, closed on Mondays. Entrance fees are being charged (This photos are unrelated to the Picasso Museum, photographing inside was prohibited). Page 20 - The Zoo Close to the Picasso Museum, is the Barcelona Zoo (Parc Zoologic). The big arch above is the entrance to the Zoo. If you are accompanied by children, you might want to enter it. It is quite a standard, regular zoo. Page 21 - The Zoo The most impressive part of the zoo is the dolphin area, where you can see the dolphins swimming underwater, through a glass. Several times a day you can view organized shows, for an additional fee. Open all day - morning to evening. Entrance fees are being charged. Page 22 - The "Garden Fountain" Next to the Barcelona Zoo, is the Geology Museum, and the Zoology (nature) Museum. The Geology Museum contains a very impressive crystal collection. Opening hours: Tue - Sun: 9:00 to 14:00. Closed on Mondays. Entrance fees are being charged. The Zoology Museum is situated in a building, resembling a castle. Inside you can find various displays of animal skeletons, stuffed animals, etc... Opening hours: Tue - Sun: 9:00 to 14:00. Closed on Mondays. Entrance fees are being charged. You may want to stroll around in the Fort Park, that surrounds the zoo and the museums. In this park, you'll find large lawns, nice vegetation, benches, and a special, magnificent fountain known as the "Garden Fountain". Sculpted around it are a few water-spitting dragons, and you can climb from the fountain, through stairs, to a lovely viewing spot. Page 23 - The Montserrat Convent An appealing tourist attraction, a little outside of Barcelona, is the Montserrat Convent. Very highly recommended. Even if you are without a vehicle, you can reach it easily, by bus or by train. It is a spectacular mountain range, on which lies the Montserrat Convent. A Church neighbors the convent, and in it, the famous "Black Madona" statue is displayed. From the convent, you can stroll by foot on the mountain ridge, which is twined with little interesting caves. Page 24 - The Montserrat Convent From Barcelona, drive through the N11 highway, until the declined turn to Montserrat, as directed. The signs will point you to a large free-of-charge parking lot, from which you can take a cable-car all the way up to the Convent and Church, which lie up the mountain. Along the trail between the upper cable-car station and the Convent and Church, you will find various stores and restaurants. Plan your stay to be about an hour and a half. Many interesting walking paths are available throughout this mountain range, and you can spend several hours on foot. Page 25 - The Montserrat Convent Here at Montserrat our route of Barcelona ends. From it, we went on to a trip in the Shores Area of Spain (see course: Shores Area), and then to the Pyrenees Mountains (see course: Pyrenees Mountains). | |
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