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Key Attractions Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia (Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family) Gaudí’s unfinished masterpiece and the city’s most outlandish landmark, the Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family, towers crazily above the grid-like streets of the Eixample. Despite being very much a building site, the cathedral has a certain beauty that somehow emerges, despite the omnipresent construction. However, it remains the subject of continual controversy over who should pay for its completion. The extraordinary structure has elicited cries of astonishment, awe, amusement and anger from visitors and residents alike, although it remains one of the city’s most visited attractions. Carrer de Mallorca. Tel: (93) 207 3031. Fax: (93) 476 1010. E-mail: sagfam@grupart.es Website: www.sagradafamilia.org Transport: Metro Sagrada Familia. Opening hours: Daily 0900-1800 (Nov-Feb); daily 0900-1900 (Mar, Sep and Oct); daily 0900-2000 (Apr-Aug). Admission: €5. Museu Picasso (Picasso Museum) The Picasso Museum is the one of the city’s main tourist attractions, housed in two 15th-century palaces close to the Parc de la Ciutadella. The impressive permanent collection is devoted to the artist’s early work, including a large number of childhood sketches, paintings from the Blue period (1901-1904) and the Pink period (1907-1920), exhibition posters, ceramics and cubist works. There are also two exhibition spaces for temporary exhibitions. Carrer Montcada 15-23 Tel: (93) 319 6310. Fax: (93) 315 0102. E-mail: mpicasso@intercom.es Website: www.museupicasso.bcn.es Transport: Metro Jaume I. Opening hours: Tues-Sat 1000-2000 and Sun 1000-1500. Admission: €5. La Rambla La Rambla is not one street but rather a seamless series of pedestrian avenues stretching from the Monument a Colom on the waterfront to Plaça de Catalunya in the centre of the city. La Rambla has the same place in the psyche of the city as the Champs Elysées in Paris or Oxford Street in London does, although is far less snooty than the former and far more attractive than the latter. Lined with trees, cafés, restaurants, flower stalls, shops and newspaper stands, La Rambla is the perfect place in which to stroll and soak up the unique Barcelona atmosphere. Attractions along the way include Gaudí’s first major architectural project, Palau Güell (Güell Palace). Plaça Reial, just off La Rambla, is one of the most attractive squares in the city – elegant 19th-century houses look down on palm trees, lampposts designed by Gaudí, and an eclectic mix of people enjoying the lively atmosphere at outdoor cafés. Some of La Rambla’s most captivating attractions are its famous street entertainers who delight the crowds with their weird and wacky shows. Other points of interest are the Gran Teatre del Liceu and the legendary Café de L’Opera opposite, and La Boqueria, Barcelona’s wonderful, bustling food market. La Rambla Transport: Metro Liceo or Drassenes; bus 14, 38, 59 or 91. Palau Güell Carrer Nou de la Rambla 3-5 Tel: (93) 317 3974 Opening hours: Mon-Sat 1000-1800. Admission: €2.50. Gran Teatre del Liceu La Rambla 51-59 Tel: (93) 485 9900 (information) or (902) 332 211 (booking). Website: www.liceubarcelona.com Opening hours: Performances daily 1700 and/or 2030 (varies). Admission: €15.75-1425.50 (for performances). La Boqueria Rambla Sant Josep Opening hours: Mon-Sat 0800-2000. Admission: Free. Parc Güell (Güell Park) With Parc Güell, Gaudí created a fantasy land that seamlessly combines the natural and the man-made, as well as offers good views over the city. The park – originally conceived as a garden city – covers a hill to the north of the centre. The gardens are enlivened by fantastic pavilions, stairways, columned halls and an organic plaza decorated with stunning broken-mosaic work (trencadís) by Gaudí’s assistant, Josep Maria Jujol. At the base of the hill is a house designed by Francesc Berenguer, which is now home to a collection of Gaudí’s furnishings and other memorabilia. Carrer d’Olot Tel: (93) 424 3809. Transport: Metro Vallcarca/Lesseps. Opening hours: Daily 1000-1800 (Oct-Jun); daily 1000-1900 (Jul-Sep). Admission: Free. Casa Milá Casa Milá, also known as La Pedrera (the stone quarry), is an undulating apartment block on the corner of Passeig de Gràcia. The building, inspired by the ocean, is an incredible testament to Gaudí’s ability to make stone malleable. Apartments – which are not open to the public – are arranged around elliptical patios with no square corners in sight. The roof terrace is watched over by sentry-like chimneys and offers an excellent view across the city to the spires of La Sagrada Familia. The loft space of Casa Milá houses a beautiful museum, Espai Gaudí, dedicated to the architect. Passeig de Gràcia 92/Carrer Provenca 261-265 Tel: (93) 484 5900. Transport: Metro FGC Diagonal/Provenca. Opening hours: Daily 1000-2000; guided tours Mon-Fri 1730. Admission: €6; concessions available. Barri Gòtic (Gothic Quarter) The maze of streets known as the Barri Gòtic or Gothic Quarter contains an exemplary collection of Gothic buildings dating from Catalonia’s Golden Age, in the 14th and 15th centuries, interspersed with Roman ruins, delightful squares and numerous bars and restaurants. Plaça Sant Jaume, at the heart of the district, is the epicentre of the city’s political life. The square is overlooked on one side by the Renaissance-style Palau de la Generalitat – location of the Catalan government – and, on the other, by the Ajuntament (town hall). Nearby, the Palau Real on Plaça del Rei houses the Museu d’Història de la Ciutat. The remains of the Roman city of Barcino, beneath the palace, were uncovered in 1931 and Roman streets are still visible in the vast cellar space that stretches as far as the Cathedral. The museum admission fee gives access to the cellar and to a number of beautiful medieval buildings. Museu d’Història de la Ciutat Plaça del Rei Tel: (93) 315 1111. Transport: Metro Jaume I. Opening hours: Tues-Sat 1000-1400 and 1600-2000 and Sun 1000-1400 (Oct-Jun); Tues-Sat 1000-2000 and Sun 1000-1400 (Jul-Sep). Admission: €3.50; concessions available. Catedral de la Seu Catedral de la Seu was built between the 13th and 15th centuries, on the site of an earlier basilica, although the spire and façade were not added until the beginning of the 20th century. Highlights include the carved choir stalls, the Capella de Lepanto and the tranquil cloisters containing a pond of white geese. Plaça de la Seu Tel: (93) 315 1554. Fax: (93) 315 3555. Transport: Metro Liceu or Jaume I. Opening hours: Daily 0900-1300 and 1500-1900. Admission: Free. Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya – MNAC (National Museum of Catalonian Art) The Palau Nacional, on Montjuïc, was the focus of Barcelona’s International Fair in 1929 and now houses the National Museum of Catalonian Art. The museum boasts a stunning collection of Gothic, Romanesque and Medieval treasures and religious artefacts. The most impressive approach to the Palace is up Avinguda de La Reina Maria Cristina, from Plaça Espanya – the Avinguda is lined with fountains that are floodlit at night. Palau Nacional, Parc de Montjuïc Tel: (93) 622 0375. Fax: (93) 622 0374. Transport: Metro or FGC Espanya. Opening hours: Mon-Wed and Fri-Sat 1000-1900; Thurs 1000-2100 and Sun 1000-1430. Admission: €5. Fundació Joan Miró (Joan Miró Foundation) Also on Montjüic, the Joan Miró Foundation is one of the most innovative galleries in the city. The foundation was a gift from the artist himself and houses a permanent collection of his paintings, graphics and sculptures. Parc de Montjuïc Tel: (93) 443 9479. Fax: (93) 329 8609. E-mail: fjmiro@bcn.fjmiro.es Website: www.bcn.fjmiro.es Transport: Metro Parallel, then funicular to Parc de Montjuïc. Opening hours: Tues-Wed and Fri-Sat 1000-1900, Thurs 1000-2130 and Sun 1000-1430 (Oct-Jun); Tues-Sat 1000-2000 and Sun 1000-1430 (Jul-Sep). Admission: €7; concessions available. Mançana de la Discòrdia (Block of Discord) A series of extraordinary houses by Montaner, Gaudí and Puig i Cadafalch comprise the Mançana de la Discòrdia (Block of Discord) on the Passeig de Grácia, between Aragó and Consell de Cent. Gaudí’s Casa Batlló, at number 43, looks rather like an underwater grotto, with blue-green tiles on the façade, frog-faced balconies and a reptilian roof. Together they form part of the Ruta Modernista (see Tours of the City). Information and passes for this architectural tour can be obtained from the first floor of Casa Lléo Morera at number 35. Regrettably, the interiors of all three houses are closed to the public. However Ruta Modernista pass-holders are permitted onto the roof of Casa Batlló. Passeig de Grácia Transport: Metro lines 2 (purple), 3 (green) and 4 (yellow). Santa Maria del Mar Santa Maria del Mar is counted among the most beautiful churches in the city and is considered a prime example of Mediterranean Gothic architecture. It is located just to the northeast of the Barri Gòtic, at the heart of the newly fashionable La Ribera district. A 15th-century rose window adds colour to the simple harmony of the columned interior. Plaça de Santa Maria Tel: (93) 310 2390. Transport: Metro Jaume I or Barceloneta. Opening hours: Daily 0900-1330 and 1630-2000. Admission: Free. Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona – MACBA (Museum of Contemporary Arts) Looking rather incongruous in the down-at-heel surroundings of the Raval district, to the west of La Rambla, the brilliant-white Museum of Contemporary Arts is at the forefront of efforts to regenerate this traditionally seedy area of the city. The museum opened amid a blaze of publicity in 1995 and houses a permanent collection of post-1940s international art and various temporary exhibitions. Plaça dels Àngels 1 Tel: (93) 412 0810. Fax: (93) 412 4602. E-mail: macaba@macaba.es Website: www.macba.es Transport: Metro FGC Plaça de Catalunya. Opening hours: Mon-Fri 1100-1930, Sat 1000-2000 and Sun 1000-1500 (winter); Mon, Wed and Fri 1100-2000, Tues 1100-1930, Thurs 1100-2100, Sat 1000-2000 and Sun 1000-1500 (summer). Admission: €5; concessions available. The Waterfront A stroll along the harbourside passeig and wooden walkway is an excellent way to see some of the results of Barcelona’s epic regeneration programme. The focus of interest and activity in Barcelona is shifting back towards the sea, with the continued development of Port Vell (Old Port). The waterfront now boasts a myriad of eateries and bars, a vast shopping mall and leisure centre (Maremagnum) and an excellent aquarium. Barceloneta, the old fisherman’s quarter, which dates from 1755, still has some of the best fish restaurants in the city and is now also the gateway to Barcelona’s cleaned-up beaches. Further to the east, the Vila Olímpica at Poble Nou, created for the 1992 Games, is one of the liveliest and most interesting areas of the city during the warmer months, although it is often deserted during winter. Passeig de Colom Transport: Metro line 4 (yellow) to Barceloneta or Ciutadella-Vila Olímpica. |
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