Barcelona is made up of three main zones. The old city (Ciutat Vella) lies between Placa de Catalunya and the port and breaks down into the Rambla; the Barri Gotic (Gothic Quarter); the Barri de la Ribera (Waterfront Quarter); the Raval, or medieval "outskirts" west of the Rambla; and Barceloneta, the old fishing quarter.
Above the old city is the grid-patterned expansion built after the city's third set of walls was torn down in 1860. Known as the Eixample ("Widening"), this area contains most of Barcelona's Moderniste architecture. Farther out are the former outlying towns of Gracia, Sarria, and Pedralbes, and looming up behind are Tibidabo and the Collserola hills. South of Barcelona proper lies the hill of Montjuic, on which are several of the sights most worth seeing.
Barcelona's main cross-town traffic arteries are the Diagonal (so called because it runs diagonal to the longitudinal line through the city) and the midtown speedways Carrer d'Arago and Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, both cutting northeast-southwest through the heart of the city.
Passeig de Gracia, which becomes Gran de Gracia above the Diagonal, runs all the way from Placa de Catalunya to Placa de Lesseps, but the main up and down streets, for motorists, are Balmes, Muntaner, Aribau, and Comtes d'Urgell. Because of general noise and air pollution, you should avoid walking these streets (with the possible exception of Passeig de Gracia, which is unavoidable because of its dense endowment of Moderniste architecture) and instead take the charming and leafy Rambla de Catalunya, which is the upper extension of the Rambla between Placa de Catalunya and the Diagonal.
Here's our highly selective list of the very best things to see and do in Barcelona.
BOQUERIA. Barcelona's most spectacular food market, also known as the Mercat de Sant Josep, is an explosion of life and color sprinkled with little bar-restaurants. Marked by a ceramic portrait of the wood-nosed prevaricator himself, Pinotxo (stand 66-68) has won international acclaim as a gourmet sanctuary. Don't miss mushroom supplier and expert Petras and his mad display of wild 'shrooms, herbs, nuts, and berries ("Fruits del Bosc" - Fruits of the Forest) at stand 867-870, at the very back. Rambla 91.
CASA BRUNO QUADROS. Like something out of an amusement park, this prankster of a building designed (assembled is more like it) by Josep Vilaseca in 1885 includes a Chinese dragon with a parasol, Egyptian balconies and galleries, and a Peking lantern - exotic touches all very much in vogue at the time of the Universal Exposition of 1888. Now housing the Caixa de Sabadell bank, the structure is theoretically in keeping with Art Nouveau's eclectic playfulness, though it has never been taken very seriously as an expression of Modernisme and, consequently, is generally omitted from most studies of Art Nouveau architecture. La Rambla 99.
CASA COMALAT. This Salvador Valeri i Pupurull creation is one of Barcelona's most interesting Moderniste houses, especially its bulging polychrome ceramic balconies and its melted wax underpinnings. Look for the curious wooden galleries and check out the designer bar, SiSiSi, on the less interesting facade at Diagonal 442. Carrer de Corsega 316. Closed to the public.
CASA MARTI-ELS QUATRE GATS. Just a few minutes' walk from the Cathedral, this Art Nouveau house built in 1896 by Josep Puig i Cadafalch for the Marti family houses the famous Quatre Gats cafe and restaurant. The exterior is richly decorated with Eusebi Arnau sculptures, featuring the depiction of St. George and the dragon that no Puig i Cadafalch project ever failed to include. Picasso had his first opening here on February 1, 1900, and Antoni Gaudi hung out here with Moderniste painters from Casas to Russinyol to the likes of Nonell and Anglada Camarassa, so the creative reverberations ought to be strong. Carrer Montsio 3 bis, PHONE: 93/302-4140. Daily 9 AM-2 AM (closed Aug. 2-20).
CASA MILA. Gaudi's Casa Mila, usually referred to as La Pedrera (The Stone Quarry), has a remarkable, curving stone facade that undulates around the corner of the block. When the building was unveiled, in 1905, local residents were not enthusiastic about the appearance of these cavelike balconies on their most fashionable street. Gaudi's rooftop chimney park is as spectacular as anything in Barcelona, especially in late afternoon, when the sunlight slants over the city. The handsome Espai Gaudi (Gaudi Space) in the attic has excellent displays of Gaudi's works from all over Spain; also of interest is the Pis de la Pedrera, a model apartment showing the life of a family that lived in La Pedrera in the early 20th century. Passeig de Gracia 92, PHONE: 93/484-5995. COST: Espai Gaudi EUR4, Pis de la Pedrera EUR4, combined ticket EUR7. Daily 10-8; guided tours weekdays 6 PM, weekends 11 AM; July-Sept. Espai Gaudi and rooftop also open 9 PM-midnight.
CASA VICENS. Antoni Gaudi's first important commission as a young architect, this was begun in 1883 and finished in 1885. The historical eclecticism of the early Art Nouveau movement is evident in the Orientalist themes and Mudejar details lavished throughout the facade. That it was commissioned by a ceramics merchant, may explain the use of colored ceramic tiles, which render nearly the entire facade a striking checkerboard. Casa Vicens was the first building on which this technique, now omnipresent, was used in Barcelona. Carrer de les Carolines 24-26. Interior closed to the public.
CASA DE LA VILA-AJUNTAMENT DE BARCELONA. This 15th-century city hall, located on the Placa Sant Jaume, has an impressive black-and-burnished-gold mural (1928) by Josep Maria Sert and the famous Salo de Cent, from which the Council of One Hundred ruled Barcelona between 1372 and 1714. To visit the interior, which is lavishly endowed with art (especially the sensual sculptures by all of the great Catalan masters from Maillol to Gargallo to Clara to Subirachs), you need to make arrangements with the office ahead of time (ask for the protocolo, the protocol office). Placa Sant Jaume 1, PHONE: 93/402-7000. Mon.-Sat. 10-2 and 4-8, Sun. 10-2.
CATEDRAL DE LA SEU. Barcelona's magnificent Gothic cathedral, named for La Seu, or See, the seat of the bishopric, was built between 1298 and 1450, with the spire and neo-Gothic facade added in 1892. Architects of Catalan Gothic churches strove to make the high altar visible to the entire congregation, hence the unusually wide central nave and slender side columns. Highlights are the beautifully carved choir stalls; Santa Eulalia's tomb, in the crypt; the battle-scarred crucifix (used as a bowsprit in the famous 1571 naval showdown between the Christian and Turkish fleets at Lepanto) in the Lepanto Chapel; the intimate Santa Llucia chapel, in the front right corner; and the tall cloisters surrounding a tropical garden.
In front of the cathedral is the grand square of the Placa de la Seu, where, on Saturday from 6 PM to 8 PM, Sunday morning, and occasional evenings, Barcelona folk gather to dance the sardana, the somewhat dainty and understated circular dance, a great symbol of Catalan identity. Placa de la Seu, PHONE: 93/315-2213. Daily 7:45-1:30 and 4-7:45.
FUNDACIO MIRO. The Miro Foundation was a gift from the artist Joan Miro to his native city and is one of Barcelona's most exciting showcases of contemporary art. The airy, white building was designed by Josep Lluis Sert and opened in 1975; an extension was added by Sert's pupil Jaume Freixa in 1988. Miro's unmistakably playful and colorful style, filled with Mediterranean light and humor, seems a perfect match for its surroundings. Look for Alexander Calder's mercury fountain. Miro himself rests in the cemetery on Montjuic's southern slopes. When he died in 1983, the Catalans gave him a send-off amounting to a state funeral. Av. Miramar 71, PHONE: 93/329-1908. COST: EUR5. Tues.-Wed. and Fri.-Sat. 10-7, Thurs. 10-9:30, Sun. 10-2:30.
GAUDI CASA-MUSEU. Gaudi lived with his niece from 1906 to 1926 in this pink, Alice-in-Wonderland house, now a house museum. Exhibits include Gaudi-designed furniture, decorations, drawings, and portraits and busts of the architect. Parc Guell (up hill to right of main entrance), PHONE: 93/219-3811. COST: EUR3. May-Sept. daily 10-8; Oct.-Feb. daily 10-6; Mar.-Apr. daily 10-7.
GRAN DE GRACIA. Many of the buildings along this central artery through Barcelona are of great artistic and architectural interest, beginning with Can Fuster. Built between 1908 and 1911 by architect Lluis Domenech i Montaner, who also designed the Palau de la Musica Catalana, the building shows a clear move away from the chromatically effusive heights of Art Nouveau.
ESTADI OLIMPIC. The Olympic Stadium was originally built for the Great Exhibition of 1929, with the idea that Barcelona would then host the 1936 Olympics (ultimately staged in Hitler's Berlin). After failing twice to win the nomination, Barcelona celebrated the attainment of its long-cherished goal by renovating the semiderelict stadium in time for 1992, providing seating for 70,000. Next door and just downhill stands the futuristic Palau Sant Jordi Sports Palace, designed by the Japanese architect Arata Isozaki. The structure has no pillars or beams to obstruct the view, and was built from the roof down - the roof was built first, then hydraulically lifted into place. Passeig Olimpic 17-19, PHONE: 93/426-2089. Weekdays 10-2 and 4-7, weekends 10-6.
GRAN TEATRE DEL LICEU. Barcelona's opera house has long been ranked among the most beautiful in Europe. First built in 1848, burned and restored once in 1861, and bombed by anarchists in 1893, the splendid and heroic Liceu was a cherished cultural landmark until finally gutted once and for all by a raging fire of mysterious origins in early 1994. The five-year restoration process has been judged a complete success - indeed, a great improvement. Even if you don't see an opera, inquire about tours of the building; some of the Liceu's oldest and most spectacular halls and rooms were unharmed by the fire of 1994. La Rambla 51-59, PHONE: 93/485-9900. COST: EUR4.85. Daily 9:45-10:15.
MANZANA DE LA DISCORDIA. The name is a pun on the word manzana, which means both "city block" and "apple," alluding to the architectural variety on this block and to the classical myth of the Apple of Discord. The houses here are spectacular. The ornate Casa Lleo Morera (No. 35) was extensively rebuilt (1902-06) by Palau de la Musica architect Domenech i Montaner, and the Eusebi Arnau sculptures on the main floor are excellent. The pseudo-Gothic, pseudo-Flemish Casa Amatller (No. 41) is by Puig i Cadafalch. Next door is Gaudi's Casa Batllo, with a mottled facade that resembles nearly anything you want it to. Passeig de Gracia 35, 41, and 43 (between Consell de Cent and Arago).
MIES VAN DER ROHE PAVILION. The pavilion that Mies van der Rohe Pavilion designed as the German contribution to the 1929 Universal Exhibition, held on Montjuic, was reassembled between 1983 and 1986 and is open to the public. It is a stunning "less is more" study in interlocking planes of white marble, green onyx, and glass: Barcelona's aesthetic counterpoint to the Moderniste Palau de la Musica. Av. Marques de Comillas, PHONE: 93/423-4016. COST: EUR2.70. Daily 10-8.
MONESTIR DE PEDRALBES. Founded by Reina Elisenda for Clarist nuns in 1326, this convent has an unusual, three-story Gothic cloister, arguably the finest in Barcelona. The chapel has a beautiful stained-glass rose window and famous murals painted in 1346 by Ferrer Bassa, a Catalan much influenced by the Italian Renaissance. The medieval living quarters can be visited, and the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection of medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque art, installed in what was once the dormitory of the nuns of the Order of St. Clare, is also stunning. Surrounded by 14th-century windows and pointed arches, these canvases by Tiepolo, Canaletto, Tintoretto, Rubens, and Velazquez will restore any weary traveler's soul. Baixada Monestir 9, PHONE: 93/203-9282. COST: Monastery and cloister EUR2.50, Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection EUR2.50, combined ticket EUR4.25; free 1st Sun. of month. Tues.-Sun. 10-2.
MUSEU NACIONAL D'ART DE CATALUNYA (Catalonian National Museum of Art). Housed in the imposing Palau Nacional, this museum was built in 1929 and recently renovated by Gae Aulenti, architect of the Musee d'Orsay, in Paris. It contains the world's finest collection of Romanesque and Gothic frescoes, altarpieces, and wood carvings - most of the pieces removed from small churches and chapels in the Pyrenees during the 1920s to save them from deterioration, theft, and art dealers. The museum also contains works by El Greco, Velazquez, and Zurbaran. Mirador del Palau 6, PHONE: 93/423-7199. COST: EUR5.70; EUR3.31 for temporary exhibits only. Tues.-Wed. and Fri.-Sat. 10-7, Thurs. 10-9, Sun. 10-2:30.
MUSEU PICASSO. The Picasso Museum is across Via Laietana, down Carrer de la Princesa, and right on Carrer Montcada - a street known for Barcelona's most elegant medieval palaces. Picasso spent several of his formative years (1901-06) in Barcelona, and this collection, while not one of the world's best, is particularly strong on his early work. Displays include childhood sketches, pictures from the beautiful Rose and Blue periods, and the famous 1950s Cubist variations on Velazquez's Las Meninas (Ladies-in-Waiting). Carrer Montcada 15-19, PHONE: 93/319-6310. COST: EUR4.50; free 1st Sun. of month. Tues.-Sat. 10-8, Sun. 10-3.
PALAU DE LA GENERALITAT. The Palau de la Generalitat, seat of the Catalan government, is a majestic 15th-century palace - through the front windows you can see the gilded ceiling of the Salo de Sant Jordi (St. George), named for Catalonia's dragon-slaying patron saint. Normally you can visit the Generalitat only on the Dia de Sant Jordi (St. George's Day), April 23; check with the protocolo. The Generalitat hosts carillon concerts on occasional Sundays at noon. Placa Sant Jaume.
PALAU GUELL. Disneyesque chimneys, a flying-bat weather vane, parabolic arches, neo-Byzantine salons, and post-Mudejar ornament all accent this imposing mansion - one of the first and greatest masterpieces built by that genius of Barcelonan Modernisme, Antoni Gaudi, and one of the few private Gaudi houses open to public view. He built this mansion in 1886-89 for textile baron Count Eusebi de Guell Bacigalupi, the architect's main patron and promoter. The dark facade is a dramatic foil for the treasure house inside, where spear-shaped Art Nouveau columns frame the windows and prop up a series of minutely detailed and elaborately carved wood ceilings. Nou de la Rambla 3-5, PHONE: 93/317-3974. COST: EUR2.70 with guided tour. Weekdays 10-2 and 4-7:30.
PALAU DE LA MUSICA CATALANA. One of the world's most extraordinary music halls, with facades that are a riot of color and form, the Palau de la Musica (Music Palace) is a Barcelona landmark. From its polychrome ceramic ticket windows on the Carrer de Sant Pere Mes Alt side to its overhead busts of (from left to right) Palestrina, Bach, Beethoven, and (around the corner on Carrer Amadeus Vives) Wagner, the Palau is a flamboyant tour de force. Designed by Lluis Domenech i Montaner in 1908, it is today considered the flagship of Barcelona's Moderniste architecture. If you can't attend a concert, take a tour of the hall, offered daily at 10:30, 2, and 3 (in English) for 700 ptas./EUR4.21. Ticket office: Sant Francesc de Paula 2 (just off Via Laietana, around a corner from the hall itself), PHONE: 93/268-1000.
PARC GUELL. Guell Park is one of Gaudi's, and Barcelona's, greatest resources. Whereas the Sagrada Familia can be tiring in its massive energy and complexity, Parc Guell is light and playful, uplifting and restorative. Named after Gaudi's main patron, it was originally intended as a hillside garden suburb on the English model, but only two of the houses were ever built. It's an Art Nouveau extravaganza, with a mosaic pagoda, undulating benches, and large, multicolored lizards guarding a Moderniste grotto. Carrer d'Olot 3 (Take metro to Lesseps; then walk 10 mins uphill or catch Bus 24 to park entrance). Oct.-Mar. daily 10-6; Apr.-June, daily 10-7; July-Sept. daily 10-9.
PLACA DEL REI. This plaza is widely considered the oldest and most evocative space in the Gothic Quarter. Upon Columbus's return from his first voyage to the New World, the Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella are reputed to have received him on the stairs fanning out from the corner of the square - the Palau Reial Major was the official royal residence in Barcelona. Inside the palace is the Salo del Tinell, a magnificent banquet hall built in 1362. Other ancient buildings around the square are the Palau del Lloctinent (Lieutenant's Palace), the 14th-century chapel of Santa Agata, and the Palau Padellas.
PLACA REIAL. Colombian Nobel Prize-winning novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez, prestigious architect and urban planner Oriol Bohigas, and once-mayor of Barcelona and future-president of the Catalonian Generalitat Pasqual Maragall are among the many famous people known to have acquired apartments overlooking this square, a chiaroscuro masterpiece where formal Neoclassical elegance clashes with everyday big-city street squalor. The place is most colorful on Sunday morning, when crowds gather to sell and trade stamps and coins; after dark it's a center of downtown nightlife for the jazz-minded, the young, and the adventurous (it's best to be street-wise here in the late hours).
PLACA RIUS I TAULET. The Gracia neighborhood was once an outlying town, and it joined the municipality of Barcelona only under duress. This square, named for a memorable Gracia mayor, is the area's most emblematic and historic square, marked by the handsome, 19th-century clock tower in its center. The Gracia Casa de la Vila (town hall) at the lower end of the square is a Francesc Berenguer opus.
POBLE ESPANYOL. The Spanish Village was created for the 1929 Universal Exhibition. A sort of artificial Spain-in-a-bottle, with faithful reproductions of Spain's various architectural styles, it takes you from the walls of Avila to the wine cellars of Jerez de la Frontera amid shops, houses, and craft workshops en route. The liveliest time to come is at night, and a reservation at one of the half dozen restaurants gets you in for free, as does the purchase of a ticket for one of the two discos or the Tablao del Carmen flamenco club. Av. Marques de Comillas s/n, PHONE: 93/325-7866. COST: EUR6. Mon. 9-8, Tues.-Thurs. 9-2, weekends 9-4.
SANTA MARIA DEL MAR. The most elegant of all Barcelona's churches is on the Carrer Montcada end of Passeig del Born. Simple and spacious, it's something of an oddity in ornate Barcelona. The church was built between 1329 and 1383 in fulfillment of a vow made a century earlier by Jaume I to build a church for the Virgin of the Sailors. Its stark beauty is enhanced by a lovely rose window, soaring columns, and unusually wide vaulting. Placa de Santa Maria. Weekdays 9-12:30 and 5-8.
TEMPLE EXPIATORI DE LA SAGRADA FAMILIA (Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family). Begun in 1882, Barcelona's most emblematic landmark is still under construction well over a century later. This striking and surreal cathedral was conceived as a gigantic symbol for the entire history of Christianity. Antoni Gaudi's designs called for three facades - Nativity, Passion, and Glory - with four towers each, representing the 12 apostles. These would be joined by four more towers representing the Evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Ultimately, the 17th tower, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, will be dwarfed by a giant central dome, dedicated to Jesus. At the moment, eight towers are standing; the Glory facade is not projected to be finished before 2050. Placa de la Sagrada Familia, PHONE: 93/207-3031. COST: EUR5.40. Sept.-Mar. daily 9-6; Apr.-Aug. daily 9-8.
