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About Barcelona Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia in Spain, Europe. The city, Spain's second largest, has a wealth of unique historic architecture and emerged as one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe during the 1990s.
In the summer it is serious party time, with week-long fiesta fun. But year-round the city sizzles - it's always on the biting edge of architecture, food, fashion, style, music and good times.
The buildings, many the work of the eccentric genius Gaudí, will blow you away. The art, with significant collections by Picasso and Miró, will make you clammy all over. The people, with their exuberance, their duende, their persistent egalitarianism, will fascinate you.
AttractionsBarcelona offers a unique opportunity for the tourist on foot to walk from Roman remains to the medieval city, and then to the modern city with its open thoroughfares and grid-iron street pattern.
 The wild and whimsical architecture of Gaudí dominates the streets of Barcelona and makes for some of the finest city-walking in the world. The art will beckon you from museums and street sides. The vibrant central drag, La Rambla, will lead you to the city's marvellous medieval quarter, Barri Gòtic.
La Rambla, is a boulevard that runs from the city centre to the waterfront, thronged with crowds until late at night and lined by florists, bird sellers in the higher part, craft sellers in the lowest, street entertainers, cafeterias and restaurants.
 La Sagrada Família is a large Roman Catholic basilica under construction in Barcelona.
It is the last, and perhaps most extraordinary, of the designs of the Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudí.
The Museu Picasso is Barcelona's most visited museum. It's housed in three strikingly beautiful stone mansions on the Carrer de Montcada, which was, in medieval times, an approach to the port. The museum shows numerous works that trace the artist's early years.
Montjuic, the hill overlooking the city centre from the southwest, is home to some fine art galleries, leisure attractions, soothing parks and the main group of 1992 Olympic sites
Restaurants & barsBarcelona has some of the best restaurants and cafes in Europe. For starters, you might try any of the large cafes that line the Passeig de Gracia and the Rambla de Catalunya, just north of the Plaça de Catalunya: nearly all offer a variety of excellent tapas, although a bit expensive.
You can get food from any part of the world in Barcelona, but make sure you try some specifically Catalan food. The great Catalan staple is pa amb tomàquet: toasted bread smeared with tomato (and sometimes with garlic too) and the seasoned with olive oil.
NightlifeBars, cafes, clubs and discotheques abound in the vicinity south of Avd. Diagonal between Calle Pau Claris and Calle Aribau. The music beats are as diverse as the ambiences and cater to all different tastes. Above the Avd. Diagonal on Calle Santaló and nearby, in the vicinity of the Plaça Francesc Macià, a more high class selection of night spots can be found. Calle Aribau and Calle Muntaner are also very lively strips at night.
In the area of Avd. del Tibidabo, at the end of the Tramvia Blau (Blue tram), there are music and dance spots which offer a more layed-back atmosphere and are popular in the summer.
The Poble Espanyol (Spanish Village) on Montjuïc provides a striking background for one of the most unique night spots.
The Olympic Village in Poble Nou has a good selection of bars and discotheques.
ShoppingAlthough not quite in the same league as Paris or Milan, Barcelona is certainly among Europe's cities of style. It is a natural magnet for the fashion-conscious and there is no shortage of design outlets for even the most tireless consumer. Everything from books to jewels, haute couture (local and international), designer furniture, cava and condoms is on offer. Several markets animate squares around the centre of town.
Most of the mainstream stores can be found on a shopping 'axis' that looks something like the hands of a clock set at a quarter to five. From the waterfront it leads up La Rambla through Placa de Catalunya and on up Passeig de Gracia. At Avinguda Diagonal you turn left. From here as far as Placa de la Reina Maria Cristina (especially the final stretch from Placa de Francesc Macia)
The best shopping areas in central Barcelona are Passeig de Gracia and the streets to its southwest, including the Bulevard Rosa arcade just north of Carrer d'Arago, and Barri Gotic streets such as Carrer de la Portaferrissa, Carrer de la Boqueria, Carrer del Call, Carrer de la Llibreteria and Carrer de Ferran, and around Placa de Sant Josep Oriol.
Other things you should know On the shores of the Mediterranean, Barcelona has hot summers and cool winters. July and August are the hottest months with the temperatures occasionally pushing 37 degrees (Celsius). January is the coolest month when temperatures are usually in the 10s. May and June are sunny and warm, and in September the heat starts to cool down to comfortable ranges.
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