In most cities, when you want to see great art you go to a museum. Incredibly, if you’re in Barcelona, you just take a walk.
Few places in the world have the wealth of architectural treasures you find in Barcelona. They include a staggering nine UNESCO World Heritage Sites. By comparison, Paris has one site, the entire greater London area just four.
It’s the beauty of these sites, along with the city’s many museums, galleries, photogenic historic areas and multiplicity of good restaurants that makes Barcelona an exceptional travel experience, almost magical in some respects.
Having the opportunity to spend five days in Barcelona, my wife and I decided to stay in and apartment, not a hotel. Our thinking was it would provide a more personal view of the city.
In fact, it was one of the best things we did. Since we weren’t surrounded by tourists in a hotel, we were able to get a genuine view of the city.
Modernist architecture, his distinctive architectural style was greatly influenced by nature.
As you might expect, you see his masterpieces all over the city: the unusual Casa Batlló, the magical Park Güell, his landmark Palau Güell, beautiful La Pedrera and his magnum opus, the incredible Sagrada Familia. Construction of the soaring Sagrada Familia began in 1882. It continues to this day.
BEYOND GAUDI
But even without all of the Gaudí masterpieces, there’s enough in Barcelona to keep any traveler busy for weeks.
One of the biggest tourist attractions in the city is the Picasso Museum, which rambles through five medieval buildings. It contains a collection of paintings and drawings from the artist’s youth, as well as pieces from his later life.
And there’s the Palau de la Música Catalana, a lavish jewel of a concert hall that rivals any other in the world. It is so stunning a glass building has been constructed around it to ensure its preservation. More than 300 concerts are still held in it every year. Its guided tour, which takes about an hour and a half, is worth taking to see the interior.
Also wander over to the Cathedral of Barcelona, in the center of the city’s old, historic Barri Gòtic, the Gothic Quarter. Amazingly, the Cathedral’s construction, begun in the 13th century, took 600 years to complete. One of its highlights is its cloister.
In addition to several altars, it also has palms and fruit trees, and a pool with a flock of geese.
From the Cathedral you can see the whimsical curving roof of 19th-century Santa Caterina market. It’s painted to reproduce the colors of fruit and vegetables in the market below.