Barcelona
Created | Updated Jul 23, 2002
The Catalan capital of Barcelona is considered to be the most European city in Spain and boasts a rich artistic and cultural heritage, as well as enjoying the benefits of the Mediterranean.
In Barcelona, hot summers contrast with cool winters and in August, despite the shade in the tree lined boulevards, locals desert the city for the coastal resorts to escape the heat.
Whatever Barcelona's present status, its history has always been rather turbulent. The Catalan language has been banned on a number of occasions throughout the ages, most recently by the dictator General Franco. Franco's death in 1975 began the road to democracy and the 1978 Spanish Constitution included autonomy for all the regions in Spain, since when the language and culture have been allowed to flourish. The 1992 Olympics put Barcelona firmly back on the international map with huge investment in the city, and the creation of the modern European city we see today.
With a modern international airport, good road networks, ferry services and cheap and efficient public transport, Barcelona is extremely easy to reach from all over Europe. Accommodation ranges from budget hotels and youth hostels to grander places such as Hotel Majèstic, with its highly acclaimed Restaurant Drolma and a rooftop swimming pool with a spectacular view of the city. The city has a huge variety of bars and restaurants offering everything from fast food restaurants to the ubiquitous tapas, and from seafood to Basque, oriental or international cuisine and restaurant visits can be exceedingly good value when eating from el menu del día.
Although Barcelona well known as home to the modernista architect Antoni Gaudí, the Catalan capital contains much more than the work of the modernistas, although little the mediaeval city survives. Much of the work of the modernistas was inspired by the Gothic architecture found in the old town and the very different aspects to modernisme can clearly be seen by visiting Gaudí's Casa Batllo and comparing it with Puig i Cadafalch´s Casa Amatller next door.
In Barcelona, hot summers contrast with cool winters and in August, despite the shade in the tree lined boulevards, locals desert the city for the coastal resorts to escape the heat.
Whatever Barcelona's present status, its history has always been rather turbulent. The Catalan language has been banned on a number of occasions throughout the ages, most recently by the dictator General Franco. Franco's death in 1975 began the road to democracy and the 1978 Spanish Constitution included autonomy for all the regions in Spain, since when the language and culture have been allowed to flourish. The 1992 Olympics put Barcelona firmly back on the international map with huge investment in the city, and the creation of the modern European city we see today.
With a modern international airport, good road networks, ferry services and cheap and efficient public transport, Barcelona is extremely easy to reach from all over Europe. Accommodation ranges from budget hotels and youth hostels to grander places such as Hotel Majèstic, with its highly acclaimed Restaurant Drolma and a rooftop swimming pool with a spectacular view of the city. The city has a huge variety of bars and restaurants offering everything from fast food restaurants to the ubiquitous tapas, and from seafood to Basque, oriental or international cuisine and restaurant visits can be exceedingly good value when eating from el menu del día.
Although Barcelona well known as home to the modernista architect Antoni Gaudí, the Catalan capital contains much more than the work of the modernistas, although little the mediaeval city survives. Much of the work of the modernistas was inspired by the Gothic architecture found in the old town and the very different aspects to modernisme can clearly be seen by visiting Gaudí's Casa Batllo and comparing it with Puig i Cadafalch´s Casa Amatller next door.
