In the 1850’s Barcelona was booming and the medieval walls which surrounded the Gothic Quarter were torn down to allow the city to grow. The city council asked several architects and city planners to submit plans for a new suburb which would envelope surrounding villages such as Gràcia, Sarría and el Clot. The councillors initially MORE»
Antoni Gaudi’s unfinished masterpiece, La Sagrada Familia is one of the world’s most popular tourist attractions. In this post we answer some common questions and share some tips that will help you make the most of your visit. Including how to avoid the queues ! The Sagrada Familia receives approximately 4.5 million visitors each year. MORE»
The Las Arenas de Barcelona bullring was inaugurated in 1900 and was the second of 3 bullfighting rings built in Barcelona. Designed by Catalan architect August Font i Carreras, the plaza had a capacity for nearly 15,000 spectators. During the 1970s, as bullfighting became less popular, the arena faced declining attendance and finally closed in MORE»
This bronze statue of Antoni Viladomat I Manalt by Catalan artist Torquat Tasso was one of a series eight monuments depicting Catalan heroes inaugurated in 1886. In 1959 most of the statues were melted down and used to make a replacement for the statue of Mare de Déu de la Mercè which tops the church MORE»
Plaça de Tetuan is a tiny green oasis on Gran Via in Barcelona’s Eixample district. The small tree-lined plaza is dominated by a 12m high Art Nouveau monument to Doctor Bartomeu Robert built in 1904 by Josep Llimona. The monument took 6 years to complete and was originally installed in Plaça de la Universitat. After the Spanish MORE»
The Plaza de Toros Monumental was built in 1914 and is the world’s only Art-Nouveau bullring. It was the last active bullring in Catalonia and finally closed in 2011 when bullfighting was banned by the Parliament of Catalonia. The building now houses a small bullfighting museum. Visiting the La Monumental Bullring I’ve never been to a MORE»
This bronze statue of Pau Claris was inaugurated in 1880 and originally stood on what is now Via Laietana. It was withdrawn from public display during the Spanish Civil War, as were other monuments to famous Catalan figures such as Dr Bartomeu Robert and Rafael Casanova. In 1977 the statues were restored and reinstated in MORE»
The main attraction at Joan Miró Park is the 22m high Woman and Bird Sculpture (Dona I Ocell). This somewhat phallic tiled statue was constructed in 1983 just a few months before Miro’s death. Although the the main body of the sculpture might look inherently masculine, the vertical black hole on one side indicates that MORE»
Rafael Casanova was the Councillor in Chief of Barcelona during the war of the Spanish succession. He is a Catalan national hero and was wounded defending the city when it fell to Bourbon troops on September 11th 1714. Catalan politicians and public figures lay floral tributes in front of the statute as part of the MORE»
The ÚS Barcelona urban art festival took place on the site of the old Encants Vells market on February 1st 2014. The event was sponsored by Barcelona city council and the Rebobinart organisation. The idea behind the festival was to make use of a part of the city which is undergoing transformation to promote urban MORE»
If you like quirky and unusual traditions then you’ll love “L’Ou Com Balla” aka “The Dancing Egg” which takes place every year as part of Barcelona’s Corpus Christi celebrations. Basically the idea is that an egg is placed in a fountain and dances suspended by a jet of water. There are a total of 12 eggs dancing MORE»