Barcelona is known as the second capital of Spain after Madrid. But Barcelona is also the capital city of Catalunya, a region of Northern Spain that has its own traditions, cuisine and language which is very distinct from the rest of mainland Spain. The Catalan people are proud of their rich heritage and have successfully maintained it. This blending of cultures makes the city of Barcelona a truly fascinating city. 

Barcelona's reputation as a world centre for art, architecture and design is growing yearly, with a plethora of cultural activities on offer. In 1999, the entire city was awarded a Royal Gold Medal for Architecture from the Royal Institute of British Architects. The seminal ghosts of such artistic luminaries as Antonio Gaudí, Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró and Antoni Tàpies permeate Barcelona's cultural scene. Barcelona is also a showcase for homegrown Catalan traditions - dozens of festivals, religious holidays and special occasions are celebrated in the city each year. 

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 scaffoldings.

Museu Picasso (Picasso Museum)
The Picasso Museum is one of the city's main tourist attractions, housed in two 15^th-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.

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. Lined with trees, cafes, restaurants, flower stalls, shops and newspaper stands, La Rambla is the perfect place in which to stroll and soak up the unique Barcelona atmosphere. Some of La Rambla's most captivating attractions are its famous street entertainers who delight the crowds with their weird and wacky shows.

Attractions along the way include Gaudí's first major architectural project, Palau Güell (Güell Palace), in Carrer Nou de la Rambla.  Plaça Reial, also 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 cafes. Other points of interest are the Gran Teatre del Liceu and the legendary Café de L'Opera opposite, as well as La Boqueria, Barcelona's wonderful, bustling food market.

Parc Güell (Güell Park)
With Parc Güell, Gaudí created a fantasy land that seamlessly combines the natural and the man-made, as well as offering good views over the city. The park, originally conceived as a garden city, covers a hill to the north of the city 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.

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. 

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 14^th and 15^th 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 (city 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; Roman streets are still visible in the vast cellar space that stretches as far as the cathedral.
 
Catedral de la Seu
Catedral de la Seu was built between the 13^th and 15^th centuries, on the site of an earlier basilica, although the spire and facade were not added until the beginning of the 20^th century. Highlights include the carved choir stalls, the Capella de Lepanto and the tranquil cloisters containing a pond of white geese.

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. It now houses the National Museum of Catalonian Art. The museum boasts a stunning collection of gothic, Romanesque and medieval treasures and religious artefacts. The museum also houses the collections of the Museu D'Art Modern.

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.

Mançana de la Discòrdia (Block of Discord)
A series of extraordinary houses by Montaner, Gaudí and Puig i Cadafalch make up the Mançana de la Discòrdia (Block of Discord). Gaudí's Casa Batlló, at number 43, looks rather like an underwater grotto, with blue-green tiles on the facade, frog-faced balconies and a reptilian roof. Together they form part of the Ruta Modernista.

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 fashionable La Ribera district. A 15th-century rose window adds colour to the simple harmony of the columned interior.

Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona - MACBA (Museum of Contemporary Arts)
Looking rather incongruous in the surroundings of the Raval district, to the west of La Rambla, the brilliant-white Museum of Contemporary Arts is at the forefront of the regeneration of the this district. The museum opened amid a blaze of publicity in 1995 and houses a permanent collection of post-1940s international art, as well as various temporary exhibitions.

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). 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 beaches. Further to the east, the Vila Olímpica at Poble Nou, created for the 1992 Olympic Games, is one of the liveliest and most interesting areas of the city.

Shopping
Barcelona is a shopping paradise where modernity and tradition go hand in hand. The shopping possibilities are unlimited and include international and Spanish designers, traditional jewellers, small antique and art shops and not to mention the enormous shopping centres and department stores.

Barcelona Shopping Line is the city's vast shopping area. Its size is impressive: it starts at the old harbour and goes along las Ramblas, Barri Gotic, Portal de l'Angel, continues from Plaça de Catalunya along the stretch between Passeig de Gracia and Rambla de Catalunya with even more shops along Av. Diagonal.  There is a special bus (Tombus) that runs along the shopping line from Plaça de Catalunya to the end of Av. Diagonal.

Barcelona Markets
The atmospheric Boqueria covered market on la Rambla, is not to be missed. The Boqueria is the most famous market in Barcelona and undoubtedly one of the best markets in the world. With its 6,000 square metres of fruits, vegetables, meat, fish and other specialities, this market is a real pleasure to the senses! 

Encante de las Glories: Barcelona's flea market includes household items, second-hand clothing, crafts and bric-a-brac. Plaça Reial: Stamps and coins. 
Mercat Gotic: (Plaça del Pi, Subway Liceu). Antiques. 
Plaça Josep Oriols: Artist market. 

Food
Barcelona is the first non-French city to be nominated the "Gourmand" city of Europe by the prestigious Michelin Guide. The amount of restaurants is unlimited and you can choose from a traditional taberna or trendy restaurant. Just like in the rest of Spain, lunch is between 2 and 4 and dinner is never before 9.

Catalan cuisine is based on seasonal foods: simple products from the land, herbs, fish and meat, with an abundant use of vegetables and olive oil. Another typical aspect is the ease with which the Catalans mix ingredients which are rarely found together, like fish and red meat.

Popular gourmet dishes include botifarra amb mongetes (sausage with white beans), fricandò (pork stew), faves a la catalana (broad beans with smoked ham), Catalan spinach (with raisins and pine nuts), samfaina a puree of bell peppers and other vegetables served with meat or fish and fidéua (a paella made with pasta).

Fish is very popular and easy available. Cod is found in many dishes, in particular esqueixada. Try zarzuela (fish stew) or romesco de pescado (a fish casserole cooked in romesco sauce) or one of the many suquets de peix, Catalan fish soup.

The most typical desserts are miel i mato (soft cheese with honey) and of course crema catalana (crème brulee)

Wine: Catalonia is one of the main wine growing regions of Spain; its most famous production is concentrated in the Penedés area between Barcelona and Tarragona. This area produces excellent white wines and the famous Cava, Spanish champagne which comes from the vineyards of Vilafranca and Sant Sadurnì d'Anoia The best Catalan reds come from Priorat, an area south of Tarragona. 

Nightlife
Barcelona is one of Europe's coolest cities and offers nightlife as rich and varied as you would expect in any major city. When the sun goes down you will find all forms of entertainment from traditional fiestas and world-class opera which offer countless opportunities to have fun and enjoy yourself. To keep up to date on entertainment, the best source is the weekly magazine La Guia de Ocio.

The old part of the city is very lively at night; explore the narrow streets of Barrio Gótico or stroll along Las Ramblas to the Old Harbour.

La Ribera, also in the historical center, has recently become a very trendy quarter due to its bohemian atmosphere: Passeig del Born is teeming with trendy bars and restaurants for passing a pleasant evening.

Example is an excellent place for night owls, and is very popular with locals. One of the hottest spots is Calle Aribau.

Gracia: has become one of the liveliest areas of the city, popular with young people and bohemian types.

The Port Olimpic is another good spot for those who like the good life, with its post-modern style restaurants, bars and discos which stay open until dawn.  

Getting around
Barcelona's public transport system is an easy-to-use and integrated service that makes travelling fairly manageable.  As well as the regular public transport options, Barcelona has a cable car, tramway and uphill furnicular train for getting around. Barcelona’s bike paths make the city very adapted for cycling and you can easily hire bicycles to explore the city.

Barcelona’s metro system is fairly simple to negotiate. Frequent trains and clearly indicated arrival times make travelling by underground a fast and simpler option.