Barcelona

Why Barcelona works

Barcelona is inseparable from Antoni Gaudi, whose unfinished Sagrada Familia — under construction since 1882 and still decades from completion — remains the city's dominant landmark, its forest-like columns and stained glass flooding the interior with coloured light. Park Guell, Gaudi's mosaic-tiled public park on a hillside above the city, offers sweeping views over Barcelona to the sea, its serpentine benches and gingerbread-style gatehouses drawing crowds that now require timed tickets. Casa Batllo and Casa Mila (La Pedrera), both on the elegant Passeig de Gracia, showcase Gaudi's undulating, skeletal facades inspired by natural forms. The Gothic Quarter's medieval lanes, largely rebuilt after 19th-century 'improvements' but still atmospheric, surround the Barcelona Cathedral and open onto Placa Reial, ringed by Gaudi-designed lampposts. La Rambla, the city's famous pedestrian boulevard, leads to La Boqueria market, its stalls piled with jamon, seafood and fruit. Barceloneta's beachfront, created for the 1992 Olympics, offers Mediterranean swimming within walking distance of the old town, while the Bunkers del Carmel, former anti-aircraft positions on a hilltop, give the city's best free sunset view. Evenings favour tapas crawls through El Born, and FC Barcelona matches at the newly renovated Camp Nou remain a pilgrimage for football fans.

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