Barcelona the city of my dream

Barcelona is the city of my dreams and I hope to have the opportunity to visit this it. This city is best place for tourism because of its monument, climate and soccer.

First and foremost, Barcelona can be described as an ancient city in Spain, rich in civilization. There are lots of memorials in its museum, covering the most of the historic events. You can enjoy its monuments too. Barcelona has been well-known by its historic buildings. There are lots of eye-catching structures visible throughout the city. Many famous architects have displayed their abilities by developing amazing buildings and make it be one of the most interesting cities for tourism interested in monuments like me.

Second, Barcelona enjoys a Mediterranean climate with mild- cool winter and warm summer suitable for sunbathing. It has several beaches around the city. Snowfalls are not prevalent in the city but those are common on the outskirts of the city. its humid weather is so pleasant and often producing no rain. It is a sunny city and suitable for me to travel.

Last but not least, Barcelona has a long sporting tradition specially soccer. FC Barcelona is a sport club best known worldwide for its soccer team and I am one of its dedicated fans. Messi, who is chosen as the best soccer player in the world, is playing in this team. "camp nou" is FC Barcelona stadium and lots of matches will be held in there every year. Being in "camp nou" and seeing my favorite player is one of my dreams that can be achieved by traveling to Barcelona.

Hope I will get enough money for traveling to Barcelona and reach one of my dreams.

More about Barcelona….

Catalonia and Barcelona has become one of the first tourist destination of Spain, it knows how to please the big majority : with a history among the oldest in Europe, a capital, Barcelona, which never sleeps and an inland full of charm not to forget beautiful beaches in La Costa Brava. The variety of artistic treasures, the Romanesque churches and the great names in modern art and architecture , Dali, Gaudi, Miro, Picasso.

The Weather Barcelona's location on the shores of the Mediterranean means that it enjoys a warm, welcoming climate and pleasant temperatures all year round. Between the Barceloneta district and the River Besos, the city has over four kilometres of perfectly equipped beaches which are frequented by its residents during most of the years. Barcelona also has an olympic harbour which provides excellent conditions for water sports. Rainfall is often heavy, with levels of around 1,000mm per year. This helps to maintain the many green areas around the city. In any season of the year, Barcelona basks in the sun. You can eat in open-air restaurants or have a drink on the terraces, by the shores of the Mediterranean sea. Transport The subway is the easiest and fastest way of moving around the city.
Barcelona has got 2 different systems, the subway with its 5 lines and the FCG , with 2 lines in Barcelona and 4 more lines going to nearby towns. The bus is certainly a slower transportation but it allows you to enjoy the city views while moving around. Black and yellow cabs show a green light when free. Just wave your hand to call them. The meter (it is compulsory to use them) will indicate the price to pay, but an extra fee is charged when taking it at the airport or when you carry luggage with you, etc. Prices are shown on a sticker inside the cab. City and Culture

Barcelona is one of the few cities whose personality reflects an increasingly clear, yet ever changing and multifarious image the more you get to know them. Even fewer are those which reveal such startling contrasts, as between worlds beating with a different pulse.

Barcelona is a many-hued, vital city that changes with the light as the hours go by and fluctuates with the seasons. It is a social mosaic, all of whose pieces bear the imprint of the slow historical process that has made it unique.

Barcelona is a two thousand year-old city, the capital of a country with a millennium of history–Catalonia– to which it gives cohesion. Its whole past is projected into its present; in its buildings and streets the story of its growth from ancient times is clearly written. It is the essentially maritime capital of a people of merchants and sailors. In short, it is a Mediterranean city. Its unrivalled location and beauty are matched by the friendliness of its people. Its tradition of initiative, hard work and creativity is largely the product of the repeated influxes of foreign blood that are the lot of all cosmopolitan, hospitable, open minded cities, and these factors doubtless also account for the vitality of its population and for its rich cultural and artistic heritage.

Barcelona now enjoys a position as a premiere tourist destination; a paradigmatic city chock full of the type of possibilities that can be offered by a people who have known how to blend a long and solid traditional lifestyle with the dynamism and capacity for carrying out a series of extraordinary modernization projects. The city seized the opportunity of the 1992 Olympic Games to carry out widespread projects dedicated to urban renewal. Since then, Barcelona has continued to ascend and is on its way to becoming the main logistical centre in southern Europe, and one of the great cultural poles of the Mediterranean.

The old city Barcelona was founded by the Romans who, during the reign of Emperor Augustus (27 BC - 14 AD), established a new colony, Barcino, on the coastal plain between the Llobregat and Besòs rivers, at the meeting point of the country’s major thoroughfares.The original walled city, on a small hill called Mons Taber, had the usual rectangular layout of the period.The two main streets (decumanus and cardo maximus) met at the forum, now the Plaça de Sant Jaume, which even today is the political hub of the city.

On the top of the hill stood the temple to Augustus, of which four impressive columns still stand inside the headquarters of the Centre Excursionista de Catalunya.

Parts of the Roman walls can still be admired .They come from the fortifications built in the late 3rd and early 4th centuries, after the first invasion by Franks and Alemani, when Barcelona had in effect replaced Tarraco as the capital of Hispania Citerior. Its importance declined in the Visigothic period, buildings where, today as in despite a brief period as capital

under Ataülf (415). Captured by the Moslems in the 8th C., it was conquered by the Franks in 801, thus becoming an outpost of Charlemagne’s empire south of the Pyrenees and the capital of the earldom of Barcelona, which became hereditary in the times of Guifré el Pilós and independent of the Carolingian kings from 988 under Borrell ll.

Barcelona became the most powerful of the Catalan earldoms and the dominant partner in the confederation of Catalonia Aragon until the end of the 15th C. The growth of maritime trade also turned it into a leading Mediterranean sea power.The whole medieval city was the scene of this age of splendour. Until the mid-19th C. it was surrounded by walls.The central part, known nowadays as the Barri Gòtic (Gothic Quarter), though in fact Gothic architecture is also to be found elsewhere, contains most of the Barcelona in bygone ages, the major events of the city’s political life take place.

Two sides of the Plaça del Rei are occupied by the Palau Reial Major, the former residence of the Catalan royal family, which mostly dates back to the 14th C.The façade is flanked by a great 16th C. tower known as the Mirador del Rei Martí. At the top of the flight of circular steps is a doorway with voussoirs leading into the austerely beautiful Saló de Tinell, which has great stone arches supporting the roof, and into the small chapel of Santa Àgata, also in Gothic style, which contains a magnificent altarpiece by Jaume Huguet entitled El Conestable. On the other side of the courtyard is a great Renaissance mansion, the Palau del Lloctinent, the former seat of the important Archives of the Crown of Aragon, and the Casa Clariana Padellàs, which houses the Museu d’Història de la Ciutat.

The Cathedral comprises several highly interesting constructions from different periods. The spacious church has slender Gothic lines and three aisles and was built in the 13-15th C. (except for the lantern and façade which are neo-Gothic). Inside are numerous features of artistic value: the crypt of Santa Eulàlia, choir stalls, paintings, sculptures, and gold and silver ware. The small Romanesque chapel of Santa Llúcia opens off the cloister.

Nearby are the Museu Marès, and the Gothic Cases dels Canonges, now the residence of the President of the Generalitat (Catalan autonomous government), and the Casa de l’Ardiaca, which was built into the Roman walls and now houses the Arxiu Històric de la Ciutat. A sharp contrast is provided by the modern Col·legi d’Arquitectes, on the Avinguda de la Catedral, with interesting sgraffiti by Picasso. Facing each other across the Plaça de Sant Jaume, the scene of all the great events of city life, are the homes of the Catalan government –the Generalitat– and of the City CounciI.The

Generalitat, which was re-established in the 20th C., evolved from the permanent Barcelona Cathedral delegation of members of the Catalan parliament, or Corts Catalanes, founded in the 13th C.

The Palau de la Generalitat has several handsome Gothic features, mostly from the 15th Century: the entrance and courtyard, the chapel of Sant Jordi (the finest example of Catalan flamboyant Gothic) and the Pati dels Tarongers. The wellbalanced façade is 16th C. Renaissance. The Casa de la Ciutat or Ajuntament is the headquarters of the present City Council, the successor of one of the most ancient institutions to represent the power of the citizens, the Consell de Cent (Council of one hundred), which ran the city till the 18th C.

The famous Saló de Cent on the main floor are 15th C. Gothic while the main facade is neoclassical (19th C.). During the Middle Ages, when Mediterranean trade was at its height, merchants and nobles lived side by side with sailors in the old district of La Ribera where the 14th C. church of Santa Maria del Mar, considered the foremost achievement of Catalan Gothic architecture on account of the purity of its lines and the harmony of its proportions, can still be admired. Nearby, on the Carrer de Montcada, once the home of powerful Catalan noble families, various characteristic Gothic and Renaissance mansions still stand, with their entrance courtyards and stairways going up to the main porticoed first floor. The mansions that attract most visitors are those which house the Museu Picasso (the city’s most popular museum), the Palau dels Marquesos de Lió (the Museu Tèxtil i de la Indumentària), the Palau delsCervelló (Galeria Maeght) and the Palau Dalmases.

Another group of buildings in the old district of El Raval, to the right of the Rambla, recall this age of prosperity: the former Hospital de la Santa Creu, set up in 1410 to bring together the services of various older hospitals. In addition to the great Gothic halls, now occupied by the Biblioteca de Catalunya (national library), one can admire the Baroque Casa de Convalescència, which ha a courtyard decorated with fine ceramics, and the neoclassical Col·legi de Cirurgia, now the Acadèmia de Medicina.

The fair of Sant Ponç, which is still held in the neighbouring streets, is a relic of the age-old sale of medicinal herbs.The former Casa de Caritat (hospice), located in the same area, has been remodelled to house the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB) and Centre de Recursos Culturals.The nearby late Gothic Church of Els Àngels has been restored, and beside it, the Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA) has been built. The magnificent church and cloister of Sant Pau del Camp, an outstanding example of Catalan Romanesque architecture (11-13th C.) was a Benedictine abbey from the10th C.

The Rambla

The unique and colourful Rambla, popularly called “Les Rambles”, is undoubtedly the most lively part of Barcelona, a good place to get to know the city at close quarters.This varied and spectacular promenade, stretching from Plaça de Catalunya to the harbour, was originally a stream running along the western side of the 13th C. walls. Population growth caused the walls to become too confining, and so they were rebuilt along the present inner Rondes, leaving the Rambla inside the city limits. Between the 15th and 17th C., several monastic and academic buildings were built along it and it began to look like a promenade, a vocation that was confirmed in the 18th C. when the rows of trees were planted. The part closest to Plaça de Catalunya is called Rambla de Canaletes, after the still popular fountain of the same name which has stood there from ancient times. Football supporters hold lively discussions around it and tradition has it that any visitor who drinks the waters will one day come back to Barcelona. Another characteristic feature are the stalls full of books and periodicals on either side of the central walkway which always attract crowds. The next part is the Rambla dels Estudis, also nicknamed Rambla dels Ocells (of the birds) on account of the sparrows which nest in the trees and the stalls selling birds, as well as tortoises, fish, monkeys and a wide assortment of other small animals which delight the children. It was here that the Estudi General, Barcelona’s first university, stood until 1714. On either side of the avenue are the 17-18th C. Baroque Betlem church, which was part of a Jesuit convent, and Palau Moja, an important 18th C. building which is now one of the headquarters for the Departament de Cultura i Mitjans de Comunicació de la Generalitat. Inside, there is a large reception room containing fine mural paintings by Francesc Pla, “El Vigatà”. Jacint Verdaguer, the foremost poet of the 19th C. Catalan.

Plaça de Catalunya, the link between Old Barcelona and the Eixample, was developed in 1927 by F. de P. Nebot with interesting sculptures by Josep Llimona, Eusebi Arnau, Pau Gargallo and Josep Clarà a copy of whose La Deessa stands in the square.There is also a Barcelona Casa Batlló monument to President Macià, the first President of the Republican Generalitat by Josep M. Subirachs. The main street of the Eixample, the Passeig de Gràcia, leads off the Plaça de Catalunya. Its wide pavements are lined with large, well established shops.The street lamps by Pere Falqués are another characteristic feature. Numerous buildings of eclectic, medievalist or fully Modernist design are located on Passeig de Gràcia. The most important is Casa Milà, known as “La Pedrera” (the quarry), one of Gaudí’s –and Barcelona’s– best known works, which stands at the corner of Carrer Provença. It has been restored and fit as an artistic space.

This short summary would not be complete without references to two singular Modernist buildings situated near the northernmost stretch of Diagonal at either end of Avinguda de Gaudí. The first is the best known of Gaudí’s creations throughout the world, the expiatory church of Sagrada Família, conceived as a “cathedral of the twentieth century”, in which his genius takes on a complex religious symbology. From 1883 until his death in 1926, Gaudí worked exclusively on the Sagrada Família. It was left unfinished but work has continued to the present day in the midst of fierce controversy .The second of thesebuildings is the Hospital de Sant Pau (1902-12) by Domènech I Montaner, which consists of several brick pavilions, decorated with polychrome ceramics, standing amid spacious gardens. Both buildings have been declared a “World Heritage” site by Unesco.

Güell park, designed by Antonio Gaudí 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 Gaudí clearly let his imagination run free.

Popular Traditions

Catalonia has managed to maintain many customs and traditions over the years, which are very common in everyday life.The most important from a tourist point of view are: Sardanas: Traditional Catalan dance. People meet in front of the cathedral on Sundays to dance it. Castellers: The "castells" are impressive human towers of up to 9 "floors". They originated in the Tarragona region, although they can be seen in popular festivals in Barcelona, especially during the "Mercè". Saint George (Sant Jordi), patron saint of Catalonia: On 23 April the Catalans celebrate Saint George's day by offering a rose and/or book, and the main shopping streets of Barcelona are filled with book stands. Eve of Saint John's: On the 23 June, the summer solstice is celebrated with big bonfires, firecrackers and fireworks, and people eat the traditional "coca de Sant Joan" (a pastry). La Mercè festival: This is the festival for Barcelona's patron saint, held in the week of the 24 September, the day of La Mercè. All kinds of activities are organized, for all tastes and all ages. Of particular interest is the "correfoc" (fire-breathing dragons from all over Catalonia), and the pyrotechnical music show (fireworks and classical music next to the Montjuïc fountains).

Leisure Attractions

Maremagnum - Monument a Colom

At the end of "La Rambla" there's the harbor. We are now on the bridge over the sea that links "Maremagnum" with "La Rambla". At your left, you can see the Columbus monument. The discoverer of America is pointing in the wrong direction, because he points to the east at the Mediterranean Sea, and America is on the other side to the west. Nou Estadi del Futbol Club Barcelona

Barcelona Football Club operates a number of sports teams in Barcelona, Catalonia. Its slogan is Barça is more than a club, which is inspired by the club's pivotal social and political role in Spain. The club's stadium is Camp Nou. It can host the biggest number of spectators out of all stadiums in Europe with 98 800 seats in total. Its official name is Nou Estadi del Futbol Club Barcelona. Barcelona are the legendary champions of Europe and Spain alike. The team's home colors are maroon and blue, and their away colors are yellow and black.

Beaches Since the massive clean-up operation of the beach and nearby Olympic marina and village undertaken for the 1992 Olympics, this area has become a magnet for Barcelonans and visitors alike. A lot of effort goes into maintaining the cleanliness of both sand and sea, which is tested daily, and all beaches have disabled access, lifeguards (in season), sun beds and showers.

Barceloneta

Very wide and long and fringed by woodendecking along which lies a series of American-style eateries(pizzas and Tex-Mex mostly) plus the busy Catalan restaurant Agua. Somewhere along its length, the beach becomes San Sebastian (Metro: Barceloneta), a traditional and popular stretch with locals and consequently crowded, noisy and very jolly.

Nova Icaria

Closest to the Olympic marina, and therefore always crowded, this wide swathe of rough golden sand is great for food goers. There are three spotless beach bars, two immensely popular restaurants on the promenade behind (Mango and Chiringuito de Moncho) and countless bars and restaurants off the Port Olímpic just a short stroll away.

Bogatell

This beach is twice the length of adjoining Nova Icaria and fringed by a stretch of stone walkway perfect for jogging, roller blading and cycling. The raised promenade cuts down on traffic noise and makes it possible to almost believe you're a million miles from the city. No beach bars, but three large informal restaurants on the promenade.

Catalan Cuisine Basques may well disagree, but Catalunya has a reputation for producing some of Spain's finest cuisine. Catalunya is geographically diverse and enjoys a variety of fresh, high-quality seafood (although, due to high demand, much seafood is now crated in from other parts of Spain and Europe), meat, poultry, game, fruit and vegetables. These can come in unusual and delicious combinations: meat and seafood (a genre known as mar i muntanya - 'sea and mountain'), poultry and fruit, fish and nuts. Quality Catalan food tends to require a greater fiscal effort. The essence of Catalan food lies in its sauces for meat and fish. There are five main types: sofregit (fried onion, tomato and garlic); samfaina or chanfaina (sofregit plus red pepper and aubergine or courgette); picada (based on ground almonds, usually with garlic, parsley, pine or hazel nuts, and sometimes breadcrumbs); allioli (pounded garlic with olive oil, often with egg yolk added to make more of a mayonnaise); and romesco (an almond, tomato, olive oil, garlic and vinegar sauce, also used as a salad dressing). Catalans find it hard to understand why other people put butter on bread when pa amb tomaquet - bread sliced, then rubbed with tomato, olive oil, garlic and salt - is so easy. Other good things to look out for include oca (goose) and canalons (Catalan cannelloni). Wild mushrooms are a Catalan passion - people disappear into the forests in autumn to pick them. There are many, many types of bolets; with the large succulent rovellons being a favourite. Many bars and some cafes offer some form of solid sustenance. This can range from entrepans/bocadillos (filled rolls) and tapes/tapas (bar snacks) through to more substantive raciones (basically a bigger version of a tapa), and full meals in menjadors/comedores (sit-down restaurants) out the back. Cerveseries/cervezerias (beer bars), tavernes/tabernas (taverns), tasques/tascas (snack bars) and cellers/bodegas (cellars) are just some of the kinds of establishment in this category. For a full meal, you are most likely to end up in a restaurant/restaurante, but other names will pop out at you. A marisqueria specialises in seafood, while a meson (a 'big table') might indicate (but not always!) a more modest eatery.

Breakfast

A coffee with some sort of pastry (pasta) is the typical breakfast. You may get a croissant or some cream-filled number (such as a canya). Some people prefer a savory start - you could go for a bikini - a toasted ham and cheese. A Spanish tostada is simply buttered toast (you might order something to go with it). The Catalan version, a torrada, is usually more of an open toasted sandwich with something on it besides butter (depending on what you ask for). Although not terribly common in Barcelona, some people go for an all-Spanish favourite, xurros amb xocolata/churros con chocolate, a lightly deep-fried stick of plain pastry immersed in thick, gooey hot chocolate. You'll find a few such places around town and they are great hangover material.

Lunch & Dinner

Many straightforward Spanish dishes are available here as elsewhere in the country. The travellers' friend is the menu del dia, a set-price meal usually comprising three courses, with a drink thrown in. This is often only available for lunch and can range from around €6 at budget places to €25 at posh establishments. A plat combinat/plato combinado is a simpler version still - a one-course meal consisting of basic nutrients - the 'meat-and-three-veg' style of cooking. You'll see pictures of this stuff everywhere. It's filling and cheap but has little to recommend it in culinary terms. You'll pay more for your meals if you order a la carte, but the food will be better. The menu (la carta) begins with starters such as amanides/ensaladas (salads), sopes/sopas (soups) and entremesos/entremeses (hors d'oeuvres). The latter can range from a mound of potato salad with olives, asparagus, anchovies and a selection of cold meats - almost a meal in itself - to simpler cold meats, slices of cheese and olives. The hungry Catalan, after a starter, will order a first then second course. The latter may come under headings such as: pollastre/pollo (chicken); carn/carne (meat); mariscos (seafood); peix/pescado (fish); arros/arroz (rice); ous/huevos (eggs); and verdures/verduras (vegetables). Red meat may be subdivided into porc/cerdo (pork), vedella/ternera (beef) and anyell/cordero (lamb). Be aware that second courses frequently do not come with vegetables: You order a side dish of vegetables or salad. Often the first course is designed to take care of this side of your diet, though. Postres (desserts) have a lower profile; gelats/helados (ice cream), fruit and flans are often the only choices in cheaper places. Sugar addicts should look out for local specialities, such as crema Catalana, where possible. Nightlife Bars, cafes, clubs and discotheques abound in the vicinity south of Avd. Diagonal between Calle Pau Claris and Calle Aribau. The music beats are as diverse as the ambiences and cater to all different tastes. Above the Avd. Diagonal on Calle Santaló and nearby, in the vicinity of the Plaça Francesc Macià, a more high class selection of night spots can be found. Calle Aribau and Calle Muntaner are also very lively strips at night. In the area of Avd. del Tibidabo, at the end of the Tramvia Blau (Blue tram), there are music and dance spots which offer a more layed-back atmosphere and are popular in the summer. The Poble Espanyol (Spanish Village) on Montjuïc provides a striking background for one of the most unique night spots. The Olympic Village in Poble Nou has a good selection of bars and discotheques. The Gràcia district has a myriad of small night spots with lots of personality and a good number of outdoor cafés in the squares.

Shopping Although not quite in the same league as Paris or Milan, Barcelona is certainly among Europe's cities of style. It is a natural magnet for the fashion-conscious and there is no shortage of design outlets for even the most tireless consumer. Everything from books to jewels, haute couture (local and international), designer furniture, cava and condoms is on offer. Several markets animate squares around the centre of town. Most of the mainstream stores can be found on a shopping 'axis' that looks something like the hands of a clock set at a quarter to five. From the waterfront it leads up La Rambla through Placa de Catalunya and on up Passeig de Gracia. At Avinguda Diagonal you turn left. From here as far as Placa de la Reina Maria Cristina (especially the final stretch from Placa de Francesc Macia) the Diagonal is jammed with places where you can empty your bank account. The T1 Tombbus service has been laid on for the ardent shopper and eventually a tram may run the length of Avinguda Diagonal, too. The best shopping areas in central Barcelona are Passeig de Gracia and the streets to its southwest, including the Bulevard Rosa arcade just north of Carrer d'Arago, and Barri Gotic streets such as Carrer de la Portaferrissa, Carrer de la Boqueria, Carrer del Call, Carrer de la Llibreteria and Carrer de Ferran, and around Placa de Sant Josep Oriol.

Barcelona

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Park Güell

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Sagrada Familia
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Museu Picasso

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Palau de la Música Catalana