The Great Italian Adventure: Barcelona City Tour and Sites

So much to see in Barcelona. We only got the overview this trip. Many of the sites are within walking distance in the downtown hub. We had a driver and tour guide for the better part of one day and went to Mountjuic and the surrounding area of Barcelona. It was altogether a very interesting and fun day!

Barcelona has really changed since I was here in 1978. That was the time in the aftermath of Franco's dictatorship, and Spain was just trying to figure out who it was. Franco hated Barcelona and allowed Hitler to bomb Barcelona over 200 times as target practice for the Nazi troops. During Franco's regime, Catalan, the native language of Barcelona and that region of Spain, was outlawed and severe punishment was given for anyone speaking, or teaching the language. After Franco's death, Catalan once again began to emerge as the dominant regional language; Spanish is also spoken throughout the area.

Some very wise city visionaries realized that Barcelona need to be updated and made attractive as a site for tourism. Today the city has a wonderful metro system, clean, friendly streets for walking, lots of parks and pedestrian malls, and is friendly to many cultures and languages. At least three and sometimes more languages are spoken everywhere, so a traveler from about any country will feel welcome. This is why Barcelona is now the No. 1 Tourist destination in Spain.

Skyline of Barcelona - three smokestacks of the old electric power plant

Skyline over the marina and port area

Our tour first took us to Montujuic (Mount of the Jews, so called because in old times there was a Jewish cemetary there). Today Montjuic is the home of the Olympic facilities built for the 1992 games. Happily, these wonderful facilities are in full use today.

Flame for the Olympic torch was ignited by an arrow passing over the top of the gas torch

Stadium for Olympic games 1992

The complex where the stadium is located has the indoor and outdoor swimming pools, several competition venues and a wonderful promenade for walking.

Japanese sculptor imagines an athlete bending down to receive his crown of laurel leave

Stadium facade

Bull fighting is really a sport of Southern Spain, so Barcelona outlawed bull fighting and turned their bull fighting ring into a shopping mall. They did preserve the exterior of the old ring.

Old Bull Fighting ring turned to shopping center

Next stop the Museu Nacional D'Art de Catalunya

This marvelous building was constructed for the 1929 World Exhibition and later repurposed to be the National art museum. It is a huge building with several wings for different styles of art. We did not visit the different wings -- that would be an entire day or more to see all the exhibits -- but went into the main hall and public areas.

View of the plaza in front of the Museu

Entrance hall to the Museu

Hall used for conventions, meetings, birthdays, etc.

Rotunda artwork

Park Guell

Park Guell was designed by Anton Gaudi. It is located on the hills outside Barcelona. Originally it was intended to be a location for vacation homes for the wealthy Barcelona people to escape the summer heat, but because the public transportation didn't reach that far, it fell flat as none of the serving people could get out there (the rich had horses and carriages). So only two houses were actually built. This park is beautiful and defies description, so I am only including one photo. You will have to see it for yourself!

Standing atop Park Guell, Barcelona

Sagrada Familia

The Basilica de Sagrada Familia is another totally amazing place that is hard to describe in photos or words. This project was started in 1882 I think, and Gaudi took over the design and construction until the Spanish Civil war interrupted it's progress in 1936. It was not until the 1950s that progress resumed. Of course, Gaudi was long dead but models were found of the finished building and process along the lines of his original design.