Barceloneta / Beaches: an Old Fishermen District

After the Olympic Port I walked along the Passeig Maritim de la Barceloneta watching the beach of Barceloneta but when I passed the park de la Barceloneta I was surprised of this old fishermen district which is full of narrow streets. Since 1753 fishermen and workers were living here. First I started to walk along with no direction getting lost in the small streets having only the aroma of the sea as a guide. The beach was full of people and at Placa de la Barceloneta I saw the church Sant Miquel del Port. If you walk down to Torre Sant Sebastia you can take the teleferic that takes you up to Montjuic park. At Moll d’Espanya is the Aquarium of Barcelona, one of the biggest in the world with more than 11.000 creatures of the sea world. It is open 9.30-21.00 daily.

Then I headed back towards the center so I passed from the museum of history of Catalunya that faces Marina Port Veil. There were a dozen of people outside at the café but the museum was empty. It is opened 10.00-19.00 (closed on Mondays) and you can see the history of the area from the ancient times till the medieval period and then at the third floor the modern era. The entrance fee is 4 euros. By the way Port veil has a walkway that will lead you to the Aquarium or the IMAX cinema.

Finally, I visited the Monument of Columbus(Monument a Colom) at Placa del Portal de la Pau(Gate Of Peace) which is at the end of Las Ramblas. The monument (made by Gaieta Buigas in 1888) goes up to 60meters on an iron column with a stone base and obviously the statue (made by Rafael Arke) points to the sea but not towards America! At this site Columbus arrived in 1493 after his famous trip to America. He was born in Genoa but some local guides and books claim that he is from Catalonia! There is an elevator that goes to the top(daily 9.00-20.30) but I didn’t use it but I regret it because a good view of Las Ramblas as other travelers told me.

A few steps west of the monument is the Maritime Museum (daily 10.00-20:00, entrance fee 6,50euro) that is located at Drassanes Reals, a nice gothic building that used to be the Royal Shipyards. What you can see here is a collection of ships, things from ships like maps etc and some nice dioramas and paintings. The model of Santa Maria de la Victoria is my personal favorite but probably because I have read so many things about it. Don’t miss Austria’s Lepanto Galera

Directions: by metro get out at Barceloneta stop or Drassanes if you want to start from Columbus Monument

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Barceloneta / Beaches: an Old Fishermen District

Casa Batlló, Barcelona

This project was commisioned by a wealthy textile producer Joseph Batllo who wanted his old house renovated - this was quite a challenge since the house was one in a row of similar houses with small atrium gardens. It would have been much easier and cheaper to build an entirely new house somewhere else , but the prestigious location was obviously worth the extra effort and problems they had with local authotrities after stepping forward on the public walkway with pillars bearing the facade.

Gaudi worked on site just like on all his projects - he was designing and making alterations and finding new technical solutions during the process of building, with his hands on materials and tools. This caused extra costs, delays and problems with local authorities, but also resulted in some amazing visual and technical solutions .

This house had won me over, it is everything I imagined Captain Nemo's home would look like. The shapes and textures resemble those of underwater creatures, vertebra shaped lower border of the staircase, jellyfish shaped doors, fish heads smiling from balconies, fish scales, skeleton supporting the attic ...
Please take a look into Casa Battlo Travelogue for more pictures.

Phone: 93 488 06 66

Directions: Take the metro to Passeig de Gracia, or bus 7, 16, 17, 22, 24, 28, 43 or 44.

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Casa Batlló, Barcelona

Cathedral La Seu

Enter the Catedral by the main entrance. You will soon find yourself engulfed in its glowing darkness and slightly scented air (from the numerous candles). Inside are several traditional but highly ornate chapels, beautifuly designed high-backed choir pews, carved lower-backed benches, an elegant retrochoir, and the magnificent tomb of Santa Eulàlia located in a crypt beneath the altar. The tomb of Santa Eulàlia is an important 14th century work of art, executed in alabaster or marble (I wasn't sure).

Construction on this cathedral began in 1298. There is a main area consisting of 3 naves and an aspe with an ambulatory beneath an octoganal dome. Two 14th and 15th century towers rise at each end of the transept.

You can take an elevator to the roof where you get specatcular views of Barcelona and a close up view at the cathedral towers and roof.
It very much worth the price to go up!

Unfortunately, when we were there, the facade was undergoing some much needed rennovation. As such, you see this picture is not my best, but the best we had of the Catedral.

Phone: 933151554

Directions: Barri Gotic. Metro: Lines 1 and 3 (Catalunya Station) and Lines 2 and 4 (Urquinaona Station.)

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Cathedral La Seu

Barri Gotico

Take a step back in time to medieval europe. You really get a feel of what it must have been like, as you walk around the maze of twisting, narrow streets. You will come across Cathedrals, churches, town squares and excellent small shops and cafes.

The highlights include the Catedral, Barcelona's great cathedral that dates back to the 14th century and has been constantly updated over the centuries with impressive additions such as the late 19th century facade. The square in front of the cathedral (placa de la seu) is certainly worth a stop for a coffee or tapas and sit and wonder at that facade.

Along the beautiful C. del Bisbe Irurita you pass the entrance to the cathedral and end up in the magnificent square, Placa Sant Jaume, which is the historical and political heart of the city. There are 2 stunning buildings that face each other, the Ajuntament and the Palau de la Generalitat.

As you travel west along C. de Ferran and down Ptge. Madoz you enter the beautiful Place Reial with its stunning architecture. There are several good restaurants and nightclubs here.
My advice, if I may, is to just find a street and continue to wind your way round. Each street seems to have it's own atmosphere and sights.

Directions: Metro Line4 (yellow) Jaume I or Line3 (green) Liceu

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Barri Gotico

Casa Mila - "La Pedrera"

Can you become a fan of an architect? As you would of a sports person, film actor or pop star. Well if you can I'm now a fan of Antoni Gaudi. The Casa Mila is a building famous for not having a straight edge, but it's far from just being a novelty building.

It has pride of place along the Passeig de Gracia, try not to get run over taking a photo of the outside. The perfect position for this photo from my camera was the middle lane of the street. Get a companion to keep an eye open for traffic - someone that likes you a lot helps.

The building is made up of several floors. There is a floor recreating an apartment of a bourgeois family from the early part of the 20th century, another that is a permanent exhibition providing an insight into the historical and cultural life of Gaudi. The roof is an unmissable delight consisting of many artistic sculptures and great views of the city.
The entrance ticket includes all of these floors and the roof.

Please see my travelogue for more pictures of Casa Mila.

Best time to visit - Worth visiting both in daylight when the roof looks spectacular in the bright sunshine and at night when the building is beautifully lit.
Opening hours - Daily 10 - 7.30. Closed Dec 25-26, Jan 1 and 6, and 2nd week in January.

Phone: 93 484 5900

Directions: Eixample district Metro 'FGC Diagonal/Provenca'

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Casa Mila - "La Pedrera"

Las Ramblas: La Rambla, the busiest Avenue in Barcelona

I recommend that any trip to walk down La Rambla begin up at the northern end by the Plaça de Catalunya. From there you can embark on that flow of humanity down to the sea (no joke, it's crowded!). The best advice is to plunge in, go with the flow and enjoy the constant weird and wonderful activities taking place around you.

Let yourself be carried past lottery ticket booths, shoe shiners, cheap pensions, human statues (performers), and people of all types. Let your senses be assailed by the squawking of caged birds, the perfumed air of the flower stalls, the chatter of the gossips and the shrieks of the fruit markets.

There are a number of things to see both on La Rambla and off. So if you're really looking to get to know it, expect to spend some time there. La Rambla is broken down to the Rambla de Catalunya, Rambla de Canaletes (which by the way gets it's name from the Font de Canaletes), Rambla dels Estudis, Rambla de Sant Josep, Rambla dels Caputxins, Rambla de Santa Mònica., down to the Monument a Colom and the waterfront.

Oh and please, please be aware of pickpockets. With such large groups of people, they inevitably prey on such a bountiful crowd. As should be a norm anywhere you go, being aware and strapping cameras and bags tightly to your body is usually enough to deter thieves.

Directions: Find the Plaça de Catalunya on any map and it is the avenue heading south of it. Hard to miss.

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Las Ramblas: La Rambla, the busiest Avenue in Barcelona

Parc Guell, Barcelona

One of the star attractions of Barcelona is the Parc Güell, the second most visited park after the Ciutadella. Probably only because of its location in the north of the city. The park owes its magnetic attraction to th fact that it was designed by Gaudí.

In creating the park, Gaudí used shapes which harmonized with the landscape. Always aware of the struggle betwen man and nature, he built a complex garden of staircases, animalike sculptures, curvy ramps, and viaducts.

Today, the park is declared a monument of world interest by UNESCO and has had this status since 1984.

Lastly, expect a climb regardless of how you get to the park (well perhaps unless you drive). I think the best way to get there though was with the Bus Turístic. The Metro is a much longer walk away from the park. Admission to the park is free!

See my travelogue on this park.

Phone: +34 93 317 39 74

Directions: Metro; line 3. Lesseps Station, then follow the street signs.

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Parc Guell, Barcelona

Temple de la Sagrada Familia: Old and New Spires of Gaudi

Antonio Gaudi is without doubt the world's greatest surreal architect. Before he began construction on the Sagrada Familia in 1882, Gaudi had already completed many other works, but it's also true that he spend some 40 years constructing this cathedral, and the last 15 years were devotedly solely to it. Yet, Sagrada Familia, formally known as Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, was always his passion and the birth of surrealism in architectural form.

He modified his designs many times, but most of them are available for visitors in the museum below the Passion side of the structure. To visualize structural symmetry as well as integrity, Gaudi hung fabric with weights in ways that resembled the spires upside down. Thus, he was able to find both beauty and strength of construction that would last a very long time.

In these images, note the slender height of the towers, which deceive the eye by appearing very airy and without the massiveness so often found Gothic style churches of the time. In this respect, the newer towers built after his untimely death try to replicate this with a honeycomb look.

Gaudi's early style appears to me a blend of Gothic and Modern, particularly in the Apse, the first section constructed. Born in that that architectural epoch, as seen in the introductory foundation entrance post of 1882, Gaudi later a clearly evolved beyond the static Gothic that had ruled European church building for nearly a thousand years.

As Gaudi increasingly wanted delicate spires that appeared not massive and imposing but reaching skyward without the terrestrial bound bound nature of stone built Gothic style. He envisioned towers that reached toward the heavens with liberty, rising toward an unearthly realm.

To do this, Gaudi also clearly employed steel and portland cement, a relatively new building innovation at the time. His plans call for a total of 18 spires, one representing each, in ascending order of height, the 12 Apostles, the 4 Evangelists, the Virgin Mary, and highest of all, Jesus Christ.

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Temple de la Sagrada Familia: Old and New Spires of Gaudi