BARCELONA HIGHLIGHTS
With its strong Mediterranean character, Barcelona is a city with an abundance of leisure activity and considerable public participation.
The people of Barcelona use their free time to stroll in its parks, play on its beaches, visit its exhibition rooms and meet in its cafés. The city's intense associative life also contributes to enriching its inhabitants' leisure time.
Night-time is when the people of Barcelona most participate in the city's leisure activities, attending concerts and theatrical productions and filling the restaurants, music bars and discotheques.
La Rambla
Until 1860, the year in which Barcelona finally broke out from behind its city walls, the city extended no further than the hexagon of the 15th century enclosure ( the present-day Casc Antic) that lies between these streets: the Rondes de Sant Pau, de Sant Antoni, d'Universitat, and de Sant Pere, the Passeig de Lluís Companys, the Avinguda Marquès de l'Argentera, which continues as the Passeig Colom, and the Avinguda del Paral.lel. The only wide street at the heart of the city was La Rambla, an old stream whose name derives from the Arabic "ramla" meaning "sandy ground".
Until the beginning of the 18th century La Rambla consisted merely of a path beside a stream running between convents on one side and the old city walls on the other. It was in 1704 that the first houses were put up at the Boqueria on the site of the old city walls and the first trees were planted. In 1775 the old city walls by the Drassanes medieval shipyards were demolished, and toward the end of the 18th century the street began to be systematically developed: la Rambla became a kind of tree-lined avenue.
From upper end, which runs into the Plaça Catalunya, to the lower end below the monument to Columbus, this unique street in fact bears five different names, each describing a section of the street: first, there is La Rambla de Canaletes, a name used by the people of Barcelona because of the Font de les Canaletes fountain, found there since ancient times. Folk tradition has it that anyone who drinks from this fountain will subsequently keep returning to Barcelona.
The next section of La Rambla is known as La Rambla dels Estudis, after the mid-15th century building of that name, the Estudi General or Universitat.
This university in Barcelona was suppressed by Philip V and the building used as a barracks. In 1843 it was demolished. If you continue down toward the sea you will enter the stretch known as La Rambla de les Flors, the only place in 19th-century Barcelona that flowers were sold and which even today preserves its that old special charm. Next comes La Rambla del Centre, also known as La Rambla dels Caputxins, because of the old house of Capuchin friars there. And finally, there is the stretch of La Rambla called La Rambla de Santa Mònica, giving access to the port, called after the parish church there which previously had been the religious house of the Agustins Descalços (Barefoot Augustinian order).
La boqueria, a must to see
All the markets, whether located centrally or on the outskirts, fulfil their function to a T, because they have been located wherever they are needed. And they are all worth a visit, for they offer the best snapshot of the neighbourhood, with their intrinsic stalls and the trade that has grown up around them.
But, of course, the chief merit of some is that they are close by and practical, while others have the specific weight of a great architectural or historical value, or even the value of their site, as is the case with La Boqueria.
La Boqueria is the star among the Barcelona markets - if only due to it's being located on La Rambla, the street that so many people have called the most beautiful in the world. We say on La Rambla, and not beside it, because the flower and bird sellers along the promenade are part of the market too. And perhaps we should also include the quiosquers, whose newsstands are also an essential part of this landscape; they say that in 1976, when we still didn't know if we were going to manage a democracy, the newsstands made quite an impression on a great freedom fighter, Mikos Theodorakis, who exclaimed: "What a surprise! A street where you can buy books at three in the morning!" In fact, there is now a food-book seller inside the market itself.
But we're getting ahead of ourselves - let's enter La Boqueria. The main entrance, from La Rambla, takes us through one of the most photographed spots in the world (apologies to the Sagrada Família and La Pedrera) flanked by stalls displaying in the most carefully arranged array of the best fruits and vegetables, local and exotic, that you can buy today. All sorts of stalls and products, all sorts of buyers and all ethnic groups mingle in the bustle of the market's eleven aisles and 300 stalls. It is the biggest market in Spain, the most varied in the produce it offers, and the most popular among tourists. Who has visited Barcelona and not dropped into La Boqueria? The Ionic columns, the five-panel roof borne on metal pillars, the stained glass... But the greatness of La Boqueria also lies in its people, and some of its vendors now form part of the city's gallery of legends, almost comparable with La Monyos, El Xeriff or other mythical characters of La Rambla.
There are other important markets, of course, including the oldest of them all, right by the cathedral, the Mercat de Santa Caterina, which has just reopened its doors after a careful and profound remodelling, like that done in La Boqueria, Clot and Concepció. And there are markets built after the Civil War too, such as Sagrada Família and Lesseps.
Of great architectural and historical value is the Mercat de Sant Antoni, on the left side of the Eixample. It was built on the site that had been occupied by an open-air market since time immemorial, just outside one of the city gates. Built at a time when it was fashionable to show off the beauty of the construction materials, it has an exposed steel structure and is in the Modernista style (the same architect later designed the Sants, Barceloneta and Concepció markets). It has always been the true engine of the neighbourhood, and in addition to the daily food market, it houses a clothing and housewares market four days a week and a Sunday morning used book market.
Gaudí and Modernism
Antoni Gaudí i Cornet
Born into a family of coppersmiths, Antoni Gaudí always proudly cited this family trade as the origin of his personal vision and understanding of space. He was born in Reus (Baix Camp) in 1852, and went to Barcelona in 1870 to study architecture, which he combined with working in the studios of various architects and masons.
Gaudí’s works, which were mainly constructed in the city of Barcelona, can be divided into four stages. The first runs from 1878, the year when he graduated, until 1882. In this stage the works are of an urban and social nature. The following stage, during which he began to work on the Temple of the Holy Family (the Sagrada Família), is marked by the effort to transcend the historical styles and to achieve his own visual and structural forms: these two basic aspects are what define the Gaudí style. He makes a free and personal use of Islamic art and of the Gothic and Baroque styles.
The years from 1900 to 1917 are his most creative and innovative period, in which he developed his most characteristic style: this is the period of the reform of the Batlló House and of the construction of the Parc Güell , the church of the Colònia Güell, the Milà house (known as ‘La Pedrera’) and the schools of the Sagrada Família. Finally, from 1918 until 1926, when he was run over and killed by a tram, Gaudí dedicated himself to the realisation of the Sagrada Família temple.
The Temple of the Holy Family
Situated to one side of the Plaça de la Sagrada Família, between the streets Marina, Provença, Sardenya and Mallorca, stands the Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, which was initially a neo-Gothic project designed by the architect Francesc de Paula del Villar. Gaudí was commissioned to continue the work in 1891, and replaced the existing project with a much more ambitious one which resulted in the enormous present-day structure. Sagrada Familia aspires to be a symbolic construction. It has three monumental façades: the east front, dedicated to the Birth of Christ; the west front, dedicated to the Passion and Death; and the south front, the façade of the Glorification, the largest of all. The four towers of each of the three façades jointly symbolise the twelve apostles. A dome- shaped tower which crowns the apse is the symbol of the Mother of God, and the four large towers dedicated to the evangelists encircle the central spire, which symbolises the Saviour.
El parc Güell
The Parc Güell is situated on the Carmel hill, which, along with that of La Creueta and the Muntanya Pelada, separates the district of Gràcia from that of Horta. The financier Eusebi Güell decided to construct a garden city on the old estate of Can Montaner, and commissioned the project to Gaudí. Only two houses came to be built within the enclosure of the Park, which was conserved as such and which is now a municipal garden. The whole of the urban development part was realised between the years 1900 and 1914.
Modernism
Modernism is a cultural movement which had its heyday in the West in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, embodying the most renovative tendencies in literature, theatre, architecture, fine arts, decoration and the design of furniture and other objects.
The movement received different names in different countries. In the Catalan Countries it was known as Modernisme; in the rest of Spain as Modernismo; in France and Belgium, Art Nouveau; in the Anglo-Saxon countries, Modern Style; in Austria, Sezessionstil; in Germany, Jugendstil; and in Italy, Liberty or Floreale.
All of these styles are parallel, but not identical. Nor are they unitary styles; instead, each one includes various tendencies, particularly the Catalan variant, which is the most varied, the most popularised, the richest and longest-lasting of all: it flourished between 1888 and 1906, with a prologue in 1882 and an epilogue lasting until the First World War.
Modernism is one of the principal attractions of Barcelona, to the extent that many of the city’s modernist buildings are acknowledged by UNESCO as World Heritage sites.
Passeig de Gràcia
In this boulevard, between the streets Consell de Cent and Aragó on the south-western side, stands the famous street block popularly known as l'illa de la discòrdia ('block of discord'), due to the contrast in the architecture of its buildings, all from the first decade of the 20th century. The building at the seaward end of the block is the Lleó Morera house, by Lluís Domènech i Montaner, in modernist floral style. There follow two buildings of a modernised Louis XV type, by Enric Sagnier, and the neo-Gothic Amatller house , with ornamentation of polychrome tiles, by Josep Puig i Cadafalch, followed by the Batlló house , with a mosaic façade and a tiled roof, by Antoni Gaudí. A little further up the street, on the right-hand side on the corner with Carrer Provença, there is the Milà house 'La Pedrera', designed by Gaudí shortly after the termination of the Batlló house . The originality of La Pedrera is not limited to the sculptural forms of its façade, but also extends to the interior of the building.
The Modernism Route
The Modernism Route, promoted by the Barcelona City Council and by other institutions such as the Barcelona Provincial Council, has been created with the ambition of offering both residents and visitors the chance to discover this rich heritage in a walking itinerary which includes prestigious shops, emblematic restaurants, museums and the necessary information for understanding the genesis and urban development of the city.
Visitors can enter the principal buildings and places of interest of the Route: the Palau Güell, the Palau de la Música Catalana, the buildings included in what is popularly known as the ‘block of discord’, the Antoni Tàpies Foundation, the ‘Pedrera’, the Holy Family Temple, the Parc Güell, the Gaudí House-Museum and the Museum of Modern Art.
The Art Nouveau Route aims to extend the model of the The Art Nouveau Route of Barcelona to all European cities with a heritage of modernism or related styles.
This new cultural network embraces 69 cities in 29 countries on three continents, including Latin America and even Africa, represented by the city of Lüderitz (Namibia).
The Magic fountains of Montjuic
The fruit of the inspiration of the engineer Carles Bugas, who conceived a new type of fountain where the artistic element consists in the changing shapes of the water, the Magic Fountain was one of the last works constructed in the grounds of the Universal Exhibition of 1929. The project was completed with cascades and smaller fountains installed at various points of Avinguda Maria Cristina.
This is one of the city's oldest traditions: a water, music and light spectacular.Times: Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, from 9-11.15pm.
The colour and music spectacular takes place at 9.30, 10.00, 10.30 and 11.00pm.
Barcelona and the See
With the opening of the city to the sea, a project first undertaken in the 1980s, the redeveloped seafront, from the Moll de la Fusta and the area around the Palau de Mar to the Rambla de Mar and the Olympic Port area, has become one of Barcelona's most popular spaces for recreation and leisure.
In addition, the beaches of Sant Sebastià, La Barceloneta, Nova Icària, Bogatell, Mar Bella and Nova Mar Bella, stretching more than four kilometres overall, receive annually nearly seven million visitors, and have all the facilities and services necessary for these people to enjoy a pleasant and safe day at the beach.
Barcelona by bike
Our first proposal is directed at inexperienced cyclists who want to gradually get into the world of cycling. Riding a bike amid the bustle of the city can prove daunting for beginners. So it is better to start with an easy route, following some of the main bike lanes through one of the city's most emblematic neighbourhoods: the Eixample.
Without doubt, the Diagonal has Barcelona's main bike lane. The City Council only started promoting this means of transport a few years ago. At the time, no one would have predicted that it would grow from being a simple pastime for active Sunday trippers to being the daily transport of choice for legions of Barcelonians. Today, Barcelona has about 30,000 cyclists who can take advantage of over 100 kilometres of bike lanes which criss-cross the whole city.
Should you decide to ride along the Diagonal bike lane, remember that on workdays this is very busy, especially early in the morning, and so you should obey the traffic laws to the letter. The best thing to do is get up early on Sunday and take the metro to Maria Cristina. Bicycles are permitted on the underground at weekends, and during the week you can take your bike on the underground from 5:00 to 6:00, from 9:30 to 16:30 and then from 20:30 till closing time. In July and August you can take your bike on the underground all day, everyday.
From Maria Cristina, the ride down the Diagonal is easy and relaxing. When you get to Passeig de Gràcia, park your bike in one of the racks in front of Palau Robert, which houses the Catalonia Information Centre. You can also stop for a snack while enjoying the gardens at the back of the palace or visit one of the many exhibits held in the building.
From here, we recommend that you cycle back up the Diagonal a short distance to Enric Granados, a quiet street with an excellent bike lane. As you cycle along the street you'll see some of the city's Modernist heritage in buildings such as the one on the corner of the Diagonal, home of the workshop of the well-known clothing designer Manuel Pertegaz. From here, ride down to Consell de Cent and turn left. Go straight on to Plaça de les Glòries. This is now near the end of the route. From here you can see the Torre Agbar (Av. Diagonal and Carrer de Badajoz), designed by the French architect Jean Nouvel.
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