1 Places of Interest in Barcelona

La Rambla
Five separate streets strung end to end, La Rambla (also called Las Ramblas) is a treelined pedestrian boulevard packed with buskers, living statues, mimes and itinerant salespeople selling everything from lottery tickets to jewellery. The noisy bird market on the second block of La Rambla is worth a stop, as is the nearby Palau de la Virreina, a grand 18th-century rococo mansion, with arts and entertainment information and a ticket office. Next door is La Rambla's most colourful market, the Mercat de la Boqueria. Just south of the Boqueria the Mosaic de Mir punctuates the pavement, with one tile signed by the artist. The next section of La Rambla boasts the Gran Teatre del Liceu, the famous 19th-century opera house. Below the Plaa Reial, La Rambla becomes decidedly seedy, with strip clubs and peep shows. La Rambla terminates at the lofty Monument a Colom (Monument to Columbus) and the harbour. You can ascend the monument by lift. Just west of the monument, on Avinguda de les Drassanes, stand the Reials Drassanes (Royal Shipyards), which house the fascinating Museu Martim. It has more seafaring paraphernalia than you'd care to wag a sextant at - boats, models, maps, paintings, ships' figureheads and 16th-century galleys.

Barri Gotic
The Barri Gotic contains a concentration of medieval Gothic buildings only a few blocks northeast of La Rambla, and is the nucleus of old Barcelona. It's a maze of interconnecting dark streets linking with squares, and there are plenty of cafes and bars, as well as the cheapest accommodation in town. Most of the buildings date from the 14th and 15th century, when Barcelona was at the height of its commercial prosperity and before it had been absorbed into Castile. Around the Catedral, one of Spain's greatest Gothic buildings, you can still see part of the ancient walls incorporated into later structures. The quarter is centred around the Plaa de Sant Jaume, a spacious square, the site of a busy market and one of the venues for the weekly dancing of the sardana. Two of the city's most significant buildings are here, the Ajuntament and the Palau de la Generalitat.

Museu Picasso
The Museu Picasso is Barcelona's most visited museum. It's housed in three strikingly beautiful stone mansions on the Carrer de Montcada, which was, in medieval times, an approach to the port. The museum shows numerous works that trace the artist's early years, and is especially strong on his Blue Period with canvases like The Defenceless, ceramics and his early works from the 1890s. The second floor shows works from Barcelona and Paris from 1900-1904, with many of his impressionist-influenced works. The haunting Portrait of Senyora Canals (1905), from his Pink Period is also on display. Among the later works, all executed in Cannes in 1957, are a complex technical series (Las Meninas), which consists mostly of studies on Diego Velazquez's masterpiece of the same name.

La Sagrada Familia
La Sagrada Familia is truly awe-inspiring - even if you don't have much time, don't miss it. The life's work of Barcelona's favourite son, Antoni Gaud, the magnificent spires of the unfinished cathedral imprint themselves boldly against the sky with swelling outlines inspired by the holy mountain Montserrat. They are encrusted with a tangle of sculptures that seem to breathe life into the stone. Gaud died in 1926 before his masterwork was completed, and since then, controversy has continually dogged the building program. Nevertheless, the southwestern (Passion) facade, with four more towers, is almost done, and the nave, begun in 1978, is progressing. Some say the shell should have been left as a monument to the architect, but today's chief architect, Jordi Bonet, argues that the task is a sacred one, as it's a church intended to atone for sin and appeal to God's mercy on Catalunya.

La Pedrera
Another Gaud masterpiece, La Pedrera was built between 1905 and 1910 as a combined apartment and office block. Formerly called the Casa Mil, it's better known now as La Pedrera (the quarry) because of its uneven grey stone facade that ripples around a street corner - it creates a wave effect that's further emphasized by elaborate wrought-iron balconies. Visitors can tour the building and go up to the roof, where giant multicoloured chimney pots jut up like medieval knights. On summer weekend nights, the roof is eerily lit and open for spectacular views of Barcelona. One floor below the roof is a modest museum dedicated to Gaud's work.

Montjuic
Montjuic, the hill overlooking the city centre from the southwest, is home to some fine art galleries, leisure attractions, soothing parks and the main group of 1992 Olympic sites. Approach the area from Plaa d'Espanya and on the north side you'll see Plaa de Braus Les Arenes, a former bullring where the Beatles played in 1966. Behind it lies Parc Joan Mir, where stands Mir?'s highly phallic sculpture Dona i Ocell (Woman and Bird). Nearby, the Palau Nacional houses the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, which has an impressive collection of Romanesque art. Stretching up a series of terraces below the Palau Nacional are fountains, including the biggest, La Font Mgica, which comes alive with a free lights and music show on summer evenings. In the northwest of Montjuic is the 'Spanish Village', Poble Espanyol. At first glance it's a tacky tourist trap, but it also proves to be an intriguing scrapbook of Spanish architecture, with very convincing copies of buildings from all of Spain's regions. The Anella Olmpica (Olympic Ring) is the group of sports installations where the main events of the 1992 games were held. Down the hill, visit masterpieces of another kind in the Fundacio Joan Miro, Barcelona's gallery for the greatest Catalan artist of the 20th century. This is the largest single collection of the his work.

Tibidabo
At 542m (1778ft), Tibidabo is the highest hill in the wooded range that forms the backdrop to Barcelona. If the air's clear, it's a great place for views over the city. The

locals come up here for some thrills at the amusement park Parc d'Atraccions, which has rides and a house of horrors. As hair-raising as anything at the Parc, however, is the glass lift that goes 115m (126yd) up to a visitors' observation area at Torre de Collserola telecommunications tower. The more sedate can find solace in Temple del Sagrat Cor, Barcelona's answer to Paris' Sacr Coeur; it's even more vilified by aesthetes than its Paris equivalent. Looming above Tibidabo's funicular station, it is actually two churches, one on top of the other. The top one is surmounted by a giant Christ and has a lift to the roof.

2 Parks in Barcelona Park Gell:

Gell park, designed by Antonio Gaud is the most famous park in Barcelona, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It has been subject to all types of praise and criticism, including comments such as "outrageous modernism", "surrealistic island", "nightmare expressionist park". First conceived as a private estate, it became a public park in 1922. The main entrance to the park and the stairway leading to the Hundred Columns Room are structures where Gaud clearly let his imagination run free.

Park Gell How to go: Access: Buses 24, 25, 31, 32 and 74.

Park de la Ciudadella:
This park is situated in the Barri Gotic, and you can find many huge, important museums

of art and culture, and even a great lake where you can rent boats. This was originally a fortress made in the shape of a star, built for King Felipe V in 1715. But after an 18 month seige the fortress fell, and after a while it was a hated symbol of oppression for the locals. Under the Napoleonic regime it was used as a prison. General Prim destroyed the Citadel in 1878, and a statue was erected to him on the spot. Now this is a public garden and exhibition space. You can find palaces of typical Spanish architecture filled with art here. In 1888 the park was used for the Universal Exhibition and many of the beautiful buildings were constructed for that. The gardens and fountains were also designed in that time, partly by a very young Gaud.

Park de la Ciudadella

Park de la Ciudadella

How to go: Metro: Line 1 (Arc de Triomf) and Line 4. (Barceloneta or Ciutadella).

Park Laberint:
Labyrinth park was built in 1791 on different levels with stairways, pavilions and richly ornamented railings. Adorning the gardens are various statues of mythological figures.

Park Laberint How to go: Metro: Line 3 (Montbau).

Park Guinard:
Guinard park clearly resembles a forest and has an intricate topography oriented towards the four cardinal points. How to go: Metro: Line 4 (Guinard)

Jardins del Palau Reial de Pedralbes:

The gardens of the Pedralbes Royal Palace form a geometrically designed classical-style park with lovely flower beds and large trees from the original royal estate. How to go: Metro: Line 3 (Palau Reial)

Park Espanya Industrial:

The Spanish Industrial park, located on the west side of Estaci de Sants, offers us two different aspects: one charming and one industrial. How to go: Metro: Lines 3 and 5 (Estaci Sants)

3 Museums of Barcelona

Fundaci Mir
Category: Museums/Galleries Location: Montjuc Address: Parc de Montjuc, s/n, 08038 Barcelona, Spain. Phone: 934 439 470 The Mir Foundation was a gift from the artist Joan Mir to his native city and is one of Barcelona's most exciting showcases of contemporary art. The airy, white building was designed by Josep Llus Sert and opened in 1975; an extension was added by Sert's pupil Jaume Freixa in 1988. Mir's unmistakably playful and colorful style, filled with Mediterranean light and humor, seems a perfect match for its surroundings. Look for Alexander Calder's mercury fountain. Mir himself rests in the cemetery on Montjuc's southern slopes. When he died in 1983, the Catalans gave him a send-off amounting to a state funeral. COST: EUR5. Tues.-Wed. and Fri.-Sat. 10-7, Thurs. 10-9:30, Sun. 10-2:30.

Gaud Casa-Museu
Category: Museums/Galleries Location: La Rambla and the Raval Address: Parc Gell (up hill to right of main entrance), Barcelona, Spain. Phone: 93/219-3811 Gaud lived with his niece from 1906 to 1926 in this pink, Alice-in-Wonderland house, now a house museum. Exhibits include Gaud-designed furniture, decorations, drawings, and portraits and busts of the architect. COST: EUR3. May-Sept. daily 10-8; Oct.-Feb. daily 10-6; Mar.-Apr. daily 10-7.

Museu Picasso
Category: Museums/Galleries Location: Sant Pere, La Ribera, La Ciutadella and Barceloneta Address: Carrer Montcada 15-19, Barcelona, Spain. Phone: 93/319-6310 The Picasso Museum is across Via Laietana, down Carrer de la Princesa, and right on Carrer Montcada - a street known for Barcelona's most elegant medieval palaces. Picasso spent several of his formative years (1901-06) in Barcelona, and this collection, while not one of the world's best, is particularly strong on his early work. Displays include childhood sketches, pictures from the beautiful Rose and Blue periods, and the famous 1950s Cubist variations on Velzquez's Las Meninas (Ladies-in-Waiting).COST: EUR4.50; free 1st Sun. of month. Tues.-Sat. 10-8, Sun. 10-3.

Palau de la Msica Catalana

Category: Museums/Galleries Location: Sant Pere, La Ribera, La Ciutadella and Barceloneta Address: Sant Francesc de Paula 2, Barcelona, Spain. Phone: 93/268-1000 One of the world's most extraordinary music halls, with facades that are a riot of color and form, the Palau de la Msica (Music Palace) is a Barcelona landmark. From its polychrome ceramic ticket windows on the Carrer de Sant Pere Ms Alt side to its overhead busts of (from left to right) Palestrina, Bach, Beethoven, and (around the corner on Carrer Amadeus Vives) Wagner, the Palau is a flamboyant tour de force. Designed by Llus Domnech i Montaner in 1908, it is today considered the flagship of Barcelona's Moderniste architecture. If you can't attend a concert, take a tour of the hall, offered daily at 10:30, 2, and 3 (in English) for 700 ptas./EUR4.21. Ticket office: (just off Via Laietana, around a corner from the hall itself). The Barbier-Mueller Museum of Pre-Columbian Art This is the only museum in Europe devoted exclusively to Pre-Columbian cultures. Housed in a gothic palace, its collection is one of the finest of its kind and gives visitors an insight into the rich world of the earliest cultures on the American continent. This tiny, intimist museum contains some one hundred pieces, including wood and stone sculptures, ceramics, tapestries, jade, an archaeological ensemble often found in international exhibitions and prestige publications. The collection is structured around the human groups which inhabited the territory between Mesoamerica and South America before the arrival of the Spanish. The cultures represented include the Olmec, Maya, Aztec, Chavin, Mochica and Inca civilisations. Opening hours Tuesday to Friday from 11am to 7pm (groups by prior arrangement after 10am) Saturday from 10am to 7pm. Sunday and public holidays from 10am to 3pm. Closed on Monday (except public holidays)

Admission 3 General 1,50 Students, pensioners, unemployed, large families, etc. 2 Groups of more than 10 people Under 16 years old, free access

Squares and streets

The small squares and streets The most charming corners of our city are its small squares, very often hidden away, like the Placeta de Sant Just or that of Sant Felip Neri, and alleys that still conserve the charm of ancient times, such as Carrer del Call, Carrer de Parads and others no less representative of Roman and medieval Barcelona, or streets like Montcada, which was one of the city's noble arteries during the 14th century. To explore these places, we have to enter into the very heart of the old city. At the core of this old town there are many captivating spots, full of history and tradition, as corresponds to a city whose oldest stones date back to times that are distant but also very close in the real presence of their architectural manifestations. We will understand and appreciate better these corners if we recall that the origins of present-day Barcelona lie in the small rise of the Tber. The city gradually extended across the plain surrounded by the hills of Monterols, the Putget, the Creueta, the Carmel, the Muntanya Pelada and the Tur de la Peira. The tribe of the Laietans who settled there converted it into the ancient Iberian town of Laia, which doubled in extension after being conquered by the Romans, who gave it the name of Colnia Favncia Jlia Augusta Paterna Barcino.

Passeig de Grcia and rambla Catalunya

All cities have, among their most important thoroughfares - due to being vital arteries of communications, especially in large cities - a number of streets which are broad, busy commercial avenues, and which conserve a special attraction which is due, no doubt, to their past, which is not lost despite the modifications and remodellings necessary to adapt them to the changing times. In Barcelona, this phenomenon is clearly seen in streets such as Passeig de Grcia, and especially in Rambla de Catalunya. The terraces of the cafeterias give them life, together with the variety of traditional shops and the brightly-lit entrances to the modern commercial galleries. Rambla de Catalunya, which is 30 metres wide and runs from the Diagonal to Plaa de Catalunya, has conserved the elegance of its tree-lined central passage. At its crossroads with Gran Via we find a small illuminated fountain, with four putti figures riding dolphins.

And we must not overlook two monuments located at the beginning and end of the street: a bull and a giraffe, called Meditaci and Coqueta, respectively, made by Josep Granyer in 1972. The installation of these figures was sponsored by the residents of Rambla de Catalunya. This thirty-metre-wide avenue that begins at the Diagonal and ends at Plaa de Catalunya has conserved the charm of its central tree-lined promenade. Passeig de Grcia was, at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, the residential centre of the highest ranks of the Catalan bourgeoisie. Few of their houses had shops on the ground floor in those days, but since 1925 many of these buildings have been transformed and now have commercial establishments at street level. This boulevard follows the straight line traced by the old road from Barcelona to the village of Grcia, which has long been absorbed by the expansion of the city. In 1827 this road was converted into a broad, tree-lined avenue. Unlike today, the central part was for the use of pedestrians. In 1853 gas lighting was installed. In 1848 an Italian landscape gardener planted along the edges a series of gardens which he called Tvoli, a name which is still conserved by the theatre in Carrer de Casp. The modernist movement left ample testimony in Passeig de Grcia, in buildings such as the Lle Morera mansion , de Domnech i Montaner, the Batll house, by Antoni Gaud, and the Mil mansion, also by Gaud. The section between the streets Consell de Cent and Arag is notable for the contrast between the buildings by Enric Sagnier, in a modernised Louis XV style, and the neo-Gothic Amatller mansion,by Josep Puig i Cadafalch. This variation of styles has popularised this part of the street with the name l'illa de la discrdia. Passeig de Grcia and Avinguda Diagonal are two arteries that have concentrated a great deal of traffic and commerce, and at the same time they are residential streets and the site of many restaurants, cinemas, commercial galleries, discotheques, cafs, and so on.

Plaa Nova
In the heart of the old city, with its many charming small squares such as Sant Josep Oriol, Sant Felip Neri, Sant Just, Plaa del Pi and Plaa del Rei, it's a surprise to come across the broad, modern space of the Plaa Nova, forecourt of the Cathedral of Barcelona , which precedes the Pla de la Seu, the small square at the foot of the cathedral steps. In its origins, the Plaa Nova was one of the plains that formed outside the gates of the Roman city. In 1355 it became a square when the City Council decided to channel the waters from the Collserola hills to the Plaa de Sant Jaume. The square was finished in April 1358, receiving the name that it still bears. In recent times it was opened up to communicate with the Avinguda de la Catedral. The two Roman towers conserved here were completed and reformed during the 12th century, and several windows were installed In the 16th century. The present urbanisation of the square dates from 1991,

and as a curiosity we can mention that it is under the protection of Saint Roc, the figure situated in one of the towers.

Plaa de Sant Jaume

The Plaa de Sant Jaume (St. James' Square) joins, via the streets Jaume I and Ferran, two avenues as important as the Via Laietana and the Rambla. Due to its situation in the heart of the city, it has a historical past that stems from Roman times. It was originally the crossroads of the two thoroughfares (Decumanus and Cardo Maximus) which crossed the city from north to south (now the streets Llibreteria and Call) and from west to east (now the streets Bisbe, Ciutat and Regomir). The Plaa de Sant Jaume, flanked by the Palace of the Generalitat and the City Hall, adopted its present structure in 1840, and was inaugurated with the name of Plaa de la Constituci

The Rambla
The Rambla is a boulevard that is transformed with the hours of the day and of the night. Few streets have such a marked capacity for changing their appearance, the rhythm of their life and even their smells and colours, depending on the season of the year and the time of day. In addition to being a street that preserves almost entirely its original characteristics, it has had, like no other thoroughfare, a capacity to assimilate the traces of the many and varied events that have taken place here during the different periods of its history. The Rambla is a street, and an experience, that remain in the memory.

The square of the Sagrada Family

The Plaa de la Sagrada Famlia has become a very important touristic and commercial nucleus. It is situated between two of the main streets of the Eixample: Carrer Mallorca and Carrer Provena. It owes its name to the Temple of the Holy Family , planned by Antoni Gaud. The square has been remodelled since its beginnings in order to make it wider and to adapt it to the needs now imposed by the number of visitors to the church and of residents who inhabit this neighbourhood, in which there is the municipal market of the same name.

The avinguda Diagonal

The Avinguda Diagonal cuts through the grid pattern of

An extensive section of this avenue is dedicated to commerce: large stores, shopping centres and famous-name establishments. It is also an area of restaurants and cafeterias, and of the offices of large official bodies and major corporations. The Diagonal, together with Passeig de Grcia, is one of the most prestigious streets in Barcelona. We must also mention the part occupied by the various faculties of the University of Barcelona and the Polytechnic. This area is known as the University Zone in which we can visit the Royal Palace of Pedralbes, with its large gardens open to the public.

The plaa de Sant Just

This small square is one of the places that best preserves the character of traditional Barcelona, due to the fact that it has not suffered the decay of other old nuclei, nor the effects of progress that have stolen some of the charm of streets like the Ramblas or the Passeig de Grcia. The Square of Sant Just is a part that remained, in the 19th century, of the cemetery of Sant Just, in which, as tradition has it, Barcelona's first Christian martyrs were buried. Of special interest is the Gothic fountain at the corner of the streets of Palma de Sant Just and Lled, which was commissioned by the freeman Joan Fiveller in 1367. The fountain has received influences of the neoclassical period, but it conserves an image of Saint Just, some falcons alluding to the hunts of its founder, and the coats of arms of the king and of the city. At the corner between the streets Dagueria and Bisbe Caador stands the Palau Moix.

The Gran Via

The Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes is one of Barcelona's main thoroughfares and also the longest, crossing the whole city from south-west to north-east. It has many buildings which are important for their architecture, for their history, and for being nowadays the homes of public institutions such as the University of Barcelona and the Catalan Health Institute. We should also mention the buildings of the Comdia and Coliseum cinemas, old private mansions of considerable architectural interest. The Gran Via also contains the large hotels Avenida Palace , Havana Palace and HUSA Palace (formerly the Hotel Ritz). top

The street of Sant Felip Neri

The street of Sant Felip Neri and the square of the same name form a corner with a very particular atmosphere. The first time you walk down this Roman alleyway, it's a surprise to find that it ends in this small, quiet square. The 'square', originally part of the cemetery called "de Montjuc del Bisbe" ("the Bishop's Jewish Hill"), has a fountain in the

On the right-hand side of the square stands another Renaissance building: the Shoemakers' Guildhouse, which now contains the Antique Shoe Museum. The lion of St Mark, patron of the guild, may be seen on its faade.

The plaa d'Espanya

The Plaa d'Espanya was urbanised in 1929, the year of the Universal Exhibition held in Barcelona. In the centre of the square is a large fountain designed by the architect Josep Maria Jujol, a collaborator of Antoni Gaud, ornamented with sculptures in marble and bronze by Miquel Blay. The series of bare brick buildings are the work of Nicolau Maria Rubi i Tudur, and served as a hotel during the Exhibition. The reforms carried out in the succeeding years have gradually transformed the square, but it still retains the twin towers by Ramon Revents that overlook the entrance to the Barcelona Trade Fair and to one of the ways to go up the mountain of Montjuc, where you can visit the Acclimatisation Garden, the gardens named after Father Cinto Verdaguer , and Father Costa i Llobera , in addition to the one dedicated to the poet Joan Maragall.You can enjoy an extraordinary view of the whole city from many spots on the mountain.

Carrer and placeta de Montcada

Beside the apse of the basilica of Santa Maria del Mar , to the right, is the Placeta de Montcada, which leads to the street of the same name. Few streets are capable of arousing in the heart of the people of Barcelona the same fascination for the past, due to its extraordinary wealth of artistic and historic treasures. The street takes its name from the Montcada dynasty, who served the Counts of Barcelona for generations, finally becoming the leading power in the land in the mid- 11th century. The founding of the Monastery of Santes Creus marked the culminating moment of the family's history. They occupied most of the key positions of the country, and in their period of greatest splendour, Guillem Ramon de Montcada was appointed regent to the young Alfons II. The mansions of the Carrer de Montcada were built at

different times, and currently house institutions such as Omnium Cultural, in the Palau Dalmases, and museums, such as the Picasso Museum which occupies the Aguilar, Castellet and Meca houses. The Cervell mansion is now occupied by the Maeght art gallery. The mansion of the marquises of Lli, formerly the home of the Royal Academy of Letters, now houses the Textile and Clothing Museum. Other buildings which are very interesting for their architecture are: the house with the tower with the trifoil window, the house formerly occupied by the Cradle of the Child Jesus orphanage, the house with the lattice window, the house with the large arcade and the house with the Tuscan gateway.

The plaa de la Universitat

This space owes its name to the building of the University of Barcelona , designed by the architect Elies Rogent (1821-1897) in a style based on Catalan Romanesque. The faade and the entrance hall are inspired in the forms of the monastery of Poblet. The square is enlivened by the presence of students and by the fact of being the confluence of streets with busy commercial activity, namely Ronda Sant Antoni, Carrer Pelai, Ronda Universitat and Carrer Tallers.

La plaa del Rei

The Plaa del Rei (the 'King's Square') is the most noble urban space of old Barcelona. At the rear is the faade of the Royal Palace which contains the exquisite Sal del Tinell banqueting hall. To the right is the Palatine Chapel or Chapel of Saint Agatha and to the left the Lieutenant's Palace where, during some time, the Archive of the Aragon Crown was housed. Now this Archive is located at Almogvers street. To the right, at the corner of Carrer del Veguer, is the ClarianaPadells house, which now houses the City History Museum.

The plaa de Catalunya

The Plaa de Catalunya is the centre of the city; it is the confluence of streets as important as Passeig de Grcia , Rambla Catalunya , the Rambla and Portal de l'ngel, all filled with multitudes of local people and visitors. This square has shops, cafeterias and banks, and is also a major centre of urban communications. On 17th October 1986, thousands of people gathered in

Placetes del Pi and de Sant Josep Oriol

At the end of Carrer de Petritxol we find two small adjoining squares, first the Plaa del Pi, and alongside it the Plaa de Sant Josep Oriol. The Plaa del Pi has for some years had a pine tree like the one that existed there when the square was first opened up, and which gave it its name. Opposite the 15th-century Gothic church Santa Maria del Pi there are two interesting buildings, the Shopkeepers' Guild (1685) and the house of the Congregation of the Holy Blood. As a curiosity, we will mention that the church Esglsia del Pi is the home of the popular giant figures of the same name, which were recovered in 1960, as is recalled in a ceramic panel at the entrance to Carrer de Petritxol. Every weekend the Plaa de Sant Josep Oriol is filled with a colourful painters' market. In the middle of the square there is a seated statue of the dramatist ngel Guimer, by Josep Cardona, which was installed here in 1983. There is also the 'new' Fiveller mansion, from 1571.

Carrer de Petritxol
Go down the Rambla turn left into Carrer de la Portaferrissa, and the second turning on the right is Carrer de Petritxol. This is a quiet, narrow street, enlivened by the small art galleries, long-established shops and typical 'chocolate rooms' and pastry shops, some renovated, where locals and visitors can enjoy delicious Catalan specialities. The writer Josep Maria Huertas called it a 'sweet' street, and it preserves as a treasure its oldest spots, which proudly display mosaics and ceramic panels with pictures of traditional customs.

The plaa Reial

Just off the left-hand side of the Rambla , as you go down towards the harbour, after Carrer Ferran, there opens up the plaa Reial, one of the spaces with most tradition and interest in the city, as a result of its configuration and the life that goes on there. Like many of the public spaces of the old town, the Plaa Reial occupies the site of a monastery, in this case of the Capuchin order. It was laid out in 1848 by the architect and town planner Francesc Daniel Molina. This square, remodelled on several occasions, is now the meeting-point for a very mixed public, which finds here a space to sit and have a drink in the open air at the terraces cafs situated under the welcoming porches that so characterise it. In the centre of the square there is the 'Three Graces' fountain, with two lanterns designed by the young Antoni Gaud.

 A walk around the Olympic Village The Palau Sant Jordi Sports Hall The Olympic Stadium The Olympic Harbour The National Institute of Physical Education of Catalonia The Olympic Ring

A walk around the Olympic Village

A tour of the Olympic Village enables us to discover this new neighbourhood of Barcelona, an extremely important part of the works of the Olympic programme. We begin our walk at the Plaa dels Voluntaris, in front of which there stand the two towers which, with their original architecture, give the neighbourhood its own character. One of the towers is the Hotel Arts, the work of the architects Bruce Graham and Frank O. Gehry, with 44 floors and 456 bedrooms; the other is the Mapfre Tower, designed by Iigo Ortiz and Enrique de Len, an office building with a commercial centre on the ground floor. These two towers have a height of 153.5 m and are the highest in Spain In the Plaa dels Voluntaris itself there is a giant fountain, designed by Josep M. Merc, and not far away can be seen the face of the sculpture David and Goliath, by Antoni Llena. Further in the distance we see Frank O. Gehry's Gold Fish, and behind that the Atlanta Gardens, with the chimney of the Can Folch factory, a testimony to the industrial past of the zone, and the group of buildings in the form of an ellipse, the work of the Martorell- Bohigas-Mackay-Puigdomnech team of architects, who designed the overall plan of the Olympic Village. Now we can stroll across the Park of the Olympic Harbour , until we reach Carrer de Rosa Sensat. The group of buildings which form the neighbourhood are the work of architects who have won the FAD prizes for architecture: the Eurocity 2, 3, and 4 buildings, situated at the crossroads of Carrer de Rosa Sensat with Avinguda Icria, designed by Helio de Pin and Albert Vilaplana, count among the most original of this urban complex. The Telefnica building is by Jaume Bach and Gabriel Mora. Following Avinguda del Bogatell, we find the circular Plaa de Tirant lo Blanc, with buildings by Elies Torres and Josep Antoni Martnez Lapea. Crossing the Plaa, we reach Carrer de Salvador Espriu, where we find one of the fountains designed by Oscar Tusquets and the Canary Islands sculptor Juan Bordas. We can cross the Ronda del Litoral by one of the wooden bridges to reach the Parc dels Ponts, where there is a small canal. The large sculpture Tallavents ('windbreaker'), by Francesc Fornells, stands at the crossroads of Carrer de Salvador Espriu and Carrer de Vicens Vives. We finish this brief tour at the Plaa dels Campions, where we find, set in the ground, a list of the 257 gold medals won during the 1992 Olympic Games. Some of the legendary figures of international sport have left their handprints in this square.

The Olympic Harbour

The Olympic Harbour , built for the 1992 Games, is an excellent global work by the architects Oriol Bohigas, Josep Martorell, David Mackay and Albert Puigdomnech and the engineer Joan Ramon de Clasc. It was a key element of the competitions held during the Games, which required this type of installation. Its capacity enables it to berth a considerable number of sports boats, and, in addition to being one of the most important areas of the new city facing the sea, it

has a large number of restaurants, bars and other establishments which have made Barcelona's nightlife even more intense. It's a place where you can stroll, ride a bike or study the offer of the small stalls that, on certain days of the week, are set up in the open air and sell anything from paintings to articles of cut glass.

The Olympic Ring

Within the remodelling works which have given rise to the new Barcelona facing the sea, we must also mention the highest part of the city: the hill of Montjuc, where the sports facilities were remodelled to adapt them to the modern conditions demanded by the holding of the 1992 Olympic Games. The extensive area of the Montjuc hill which has been reurbanised between the Stadium Straight and the walls of the cemetery was named the Olympic Ring. This part of the hill has undergone a radical change: the Stadium was rebuilt , respecting the faade, and the Picornell swimming pools , built in 1969, were modernised.Two brand-new buildings were constructed: the Sant Jordi Sports Hall , by Arata Isozaki, and the National Institute of Physical Education of Catalonia. Also integrated into this area is a new baseball ground, a circular pond, the acclimatisation garden from the 1929 Universal Exhibition, an extensive park area and a monolith commemorating the Olympic Games by the engineer Santiago Calatrava. The esplanade is decorated by the sculpture Canvi ('Change'), by Aiko Miyawaki, the wife of Arata Isozaki. The general urbanisation project of the Olympic Ring is the work of the team formed by Federico Correa, Alfonso Mil, Carles Buixad and Joan Margarit.

El Palau Sant Jordi

The Palau Sant Jordi is considered the most important element of the Olympic Ring. It is a covered sports pavilion, designed basically for the competitions of

The terraces have a capacity for 17,000 spectators, and the ventilation system is designed to be supported by an air-conditioning installation if necessary. Alongside the main hall there is a flatroofed multi-purpose pavilion with a capacity for housing four basketball courts. The author of the project is the Japanese architect Arata Isozaki. Its construction began in August 1985 and it was inaugurated during the festivity of La Merc in September 1990. The roof, computer- designed by the Japanese engineer Mamoru Kawaguchi, is an extraordinary work of engineering. It is formed by a large concave metallic grid which supports the glazed ceramic tiles and the zinc sheets which ensure impermeability.

The National Institute of Physical Education of Catalonia

The project of the Sports University was commissioned to Ricard Bofill. After the Olympic Games, this university became the seat of the National Institute of Physical Education of Catalonia (INEFC). An important participation in the design of this building is attributed to Peter Hodgkinson, a member of Bofill's architectural workshop. The construction consists of two symmetrical buildings, with four floors and a neoclassical faade, united by a vestibule. There are two twin courtyards of 50 x 50 m, one of which staged the modern and Greco-Roman wrestling competitions during the Games, while the other contained five warmup mats. The works commenced in April 1988 and were financed in their entirety by the Government of Catalonia. top

L' Estadi Olmpic

The Olympic Stadium of Montjuc has a capacity for 55,000 spectators, which can be increased to 77,000 with the incorporation of temporary terracing. It can stage sports competitions, musical performances or any type of popular event. This new construction is a transformation of the old stadium, of which it conserves the faade designed by the architect Pere Domnech i Roure (the son of the modernist Llus Domnech i Montaner), the ornamental frontage by the sculptor Vicen Navarro, and the statues over the main entrance by Pau Gargallo. The rest was constructed following the project resulting from fusing into one the projects submitted to the international contest by the architect Vittorio Gregotti, on one hand, and the team formed by Federico Correa, Alfonso Mil, Carles Buixad and Joan Margarit, on the other. Richard Weile was the technical supervisor of the plans and the consultant on matters of sports engineering.

The opening ceremony of the 1992 Olympic Games took place at the Montjuc Olympic Stadium.