Barcelona’s population within its administrative boundaries is 1.7 million. The metro-wide population of the autonomous region of Catalonia ranges from 4.6 million to 5.5 million depending on which exurban population clusters are included. The nation of Spain has forty-seven million people.
Our Hotel Avenida, located on Avenida Bouqueria, was only a ten-minute stroll down the nearby and bustling La Rambla walking street to Barceloneta Beach’s main plaza.
This stretch of the main plaza with the huge iron statue looks southward.
The giant wooden shrimp welcomes strollers on the walkway heading northward.
Historical markers identify important people, events and historical influences that have shaped Barcelona.
Barcelona’s most famous public market is the Mercado de la Bouqueria located on the festive La Rambla and it is jammed all day long. The choices of excellent produce and colorful flowers under one roof are staggering.
Barcelona’s Old Town with it’s cool vibe is a living link to the city’s long history. Directional signs point visitors to main local places of interest and importance such as museums, castles, palaces and cathedrals.
I took this picture from the roof of the Hotel Avenida located on the Gran Via de Les Corts Catalanes, one of two great boulevards, the Diagonal being the other. The below wide street is the Gran Via known as a fashionable retail shopping mecca.
Montjuic, home to Barcelona’s most famous fountain and art museum, was also a center of the 1992 Olympic Games.
Few architects in history have so indelibly stamped their visions for their cities as much as Gaudi has on Barcelona. His legacy includes the first modernist cathedral and the Park Guel creations, perhaps his two most famous designs.
I approached the cathedral by means of a darling walking street and beholding the massive church was breathtaking. Half of the sprires had been cleaned, note the crane. The craftsmanship of the cathedral’s front base was extraordinary in detail and beauty.
The base and front had been fully cleaned.
Gaudi’s other great creation was Park Guel, Barcelona’s oldest amusement park, that was originally in 1892 to be a wealthy residential reserve. Below is the road leading up to the park located in west central Barcelona.
The view of sea and city below from Park Guel heights is spectacular.
The tasteful park structures are located near the entrance. Observe the Gaudi design in the use of natural materials such as local rocks.
This church was one of Gaudi’s smaller projects.
The Museum of Architecture of Barcelona attempts to incorporate all of the city’s urban design influences into an integrated neighborhood of sorts.
Paths in Barcelona seem to lead back to the beach. This stretch of walkway faces south.
Barceloneta Beach was part of the 1992 Olympic waterfront redevelopment that transformed crumbling wharves and warehouses into a dynamic public space and recreational area.
The colorful people of Barcelona naturally love flowers and plants and florist shops dot the city’s landscape.
Architects traditionally incorporate greenery into the infrastructure; for example, this courtyard.
This building’s interior design / stone wall mural captured my eye.
