A major European city with beaches and harbour sporting facilities
in the city centre
The Mediterranean Sea nudges the coast of the city of Barcelona, while the
Collserola ridge, borders the west side of the city, whith a 8,000 hectares green island, which makes
one of the largest Metropolitan parks in the world, with pine and oak woodland, fields and meadows, as well as wetland vegetation. This environmental diversity enables the existence of a rich, varied wildlife.
Close to the see,
Montjuïc , a hill overlooking the port, offers a plethora of green areas and gardens, museums and cultural attractions and sports facilities and Olympic sites.
Barcelona is a cosmopolitan city, which the Mediterranean opens to the rest of the world, establishing a bond with other cultures and producing a history marked by diversity. Magnificent examples of artistic trends throughout the ages can be found here providing a great
Romanesque, Gothic and above all Modernisme legacy, the latter represented,among others, by the work of architectural genius
Antoni Gaudí.
Barcelona is a city of contrasts, cosmopolitan, but with a lot of respect for its old traditions. It is a good example of a Mediterranean city, its streets full of life, commercial activity and interchange between its inhabitants.
One of the city's major attractions is its mild climate, inviting you to take a stroll and ideal for enjoying the open air, on its beaches or in its parks and gardens.
Barcelona is the only major European city with beaches and harbour sporting facilities in the city centre. Its Mediterranean climate, parks and hills make it an ideal place to discover on foot or by bike.
Collserola
one of the largest Metropolitan parks in the world
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Collserola Park, with over 8,000 hectares, is a true green island in the middle of one of the most densely populated urban areas on the Mediterranean coastline. 50 % of the population of Catalonia lives less than ten kilometres away from the park, which makes in the largest metropolitan park in the world:
8 times larger than the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, and 22 times larger than Central Park in New York. The valleys of the rivers Llobregat and Besós, together with the plain of Barcelona and the Vallés basin, mark the geographical boundaries of the Collserola massif.
Biogeographically, two worlds come together in the mountain range: the Euro-Siberian and the Mediterranean; this, in conjunction with Man's use of the terrain since prehistoric times, conditions a natural heritage formed by a complex mosaic of landscapes, where we find from forests of Aleppo pines and nut pines, evergreen oaklands, riverside copses, maquis and scrublands, to brush and Savannah grasslands. In the park, over
a thousand major plants and around thirty plant communities have been catalogued. This environmental diversity enables the existence of a
rich, varied wildlife.
Montjuïc
A mountain full of parks, gardens, museums and cultural attractions, sports facilities and Olympic site
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Montjuïc is the greenest area of the city, a mountain full of parks and gardens which was the centre for the International Exhibition of 1929 and the 1992 Olympic Games. Lovers of nature will particularly appreciate the gardens of Montjuïc. There you can enjoy the parks and gardens with the added attraction of the castle, the museums, the miradors and the cultural and sports centres.
The Botanic Gardens and the Jardins de Joan Brossa areamong the highlights on Montjuïc, towards the top of the mountain. Others worth seeing are the Petra Kelly Gardens, the Mirador Gardens, the Mossèn Jacint Verdaguer Gardens, with bulbs and aquatic plants, the Costa i Llobera Gardens, with tropical and desert plants, the Parc del Migdia, and the romantic Laribal Gardens, between the Teatre Grec (Greek Theatre) and Joan Miró Foundation.
www.barcelonaturisme.com/English
BCN Culture
A city bubbling all year round
Alternative art galleries, urban sport, festivals, fairs, exhibitions and more, fill the calendar with ideas that bring us closer to a culture always hanging on the latest trends.
The city offers a wide range of very different musical and theater international events, from the opera season at the
Gran Teatre del Liceu and the annual classical music programmes at the
Palau de la Música Catalana, to the
National Theater of Catalunya seassons and
The Grec Festival of Barcelona opening in June. The city offers as well a large range from the folk and pop traditions to be enjoyed at a big neighbourhood festival to the latest musical trends at such festivals among others Sonar the festival of advanced music and multimedia art in June (( 16,17, 18)
www.liceubarcelona.cat
www.palaumusica.org
www.tnc.cat
www.bcn.cat/grec
www.sonar.es
BCN museums
Barcelona houses a great number of museums
The
National Museum of Art of Catalonia possesses a well-known collection of Romanesque art while the
Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art focuses on post-1945 Catalan and Spanish art.
The Fundació Joan Miró, Picasso Museum and Fundació Antoni Tàpies hold important collections of these world-renowned artists.
Several museums cover the fields of history and archeology, like the
City History Museum, the Museum of the History of Catalonia, the Archaeology Museum of Catalonia, the Barcelona Maritime Museum. the Natural History Museum and CosmoCaixa the interactive science museum that received the European Museum of the Year Award in 2006.
www.bcn.es/museus/bona
BCN and the Catalan Art Nouveau
One of Barcelona's main attractions
Cultural movement, which demonstrated extraordinary vitality and artistic qualities, is one of the most convincing reasons for getting to know the city. Even today,
Modernisme, as it is known locally, still characterises the city, giving it a very special charm. It is the style of many buildings here and you can see it clearly for yourself at various city museums and historical houses.
Modernisme influenced other arts, even leaving its mark in the smallest details of everyday objects. The movement combined elements of modernity with cultural revival and was driven by a group of intellectuals who did not limit themselves to promoting architecture, the cornerstone of Modernisme, but also sculpture, painting, graphic arts, literature, the theatre, music and the decorative arts, as well as reviving old craft skills, which the great architects really knew how to exploit.
Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926) is one of Catalonia's geniuses with the most universal appeal, its best-known architect internationally. Barcelona is proud to be the setting for the best examples of his work. Here you can see, in detail, the marvels produced by the complete architect, which is what Gaudí, one of our best cultural-ambassadors in the world, was.
Gaudí may be the best-known representative of Catalan Modernisme, but there are others, who remain in his shadow. Some of their work is also a must if you are interested in this movement.
www.gaudiallgaudi.com
BCN Gastronomy
Today the standing of Catalan cuisine is as high as any
Barcelona is a city with an extraordinary number of good restaurants and cheaper
cases de menjar. If we add granges, cafés offering breakfasts and lunch-time menus, the figure we get, in relation to the number of inhabitants, is three times higher than capital cities with a strong tourist tradition like Paris and Rome.
There are still lots of places that do some great Catalan food and we also have some excellent Michelin starts restaurants.
BCN brochure
For more detailed information:
www.barcelonaturisme.com
Shopping Barcelona
You will find excellent shopping in several areas of downtown Barcelona:
Paseo de Gracia and
Rambla Catalunya, which are home to very well known, top-quality, leading brands from around the world; the
El Born and
Gracia neighbourhoods, where you will discover a surprising collection of cutting-edge shops featuring the latest trends; and affordable fashion for the young (and not so young) around
Puerta Ferrissa,
Puerta del Angel and
Plaça Catalunya.
In plaça Catalunya you will also find el
Corte Inglés, a large department store, and throughout the
Gothic Quarter shops offering handcrafted products. For designer items and gifts, a good place to visit is
Vinçon on Paseo de Gracia, just round the corner from Gaudi's masterpiece "la Pedrera."and don't miss la
Boqueria in las Ramblas, one of the best markets in Europe. DISCOVER IT!
www.barcelonaturisme.com/Shopping
BCN Weather
Between 2,553.90 and 2,777.20 hours of sunshine every year!
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The winters are humid and mild, the summers humid and warm. Temperatures peak between mid-July and mid-August, giving everyone the perfect excuse to laze about on the beach. Spring and autumn bring a few rainy spells, but the average rainfall amounts to a scant 90 days.
Average temperatures in Barcelona during the month of June are about 26/17 C (High/Low)
www.meteo.cat
www.bcn.es/temps
