La Fira de la Candelera takes place in Molins de Rei during the first weekend of February. Traditionally this is an important date for farmers and rural communities because it marks the halfway point between the winter solstice and spring equinox. La Candelera (English: Candlemas) is a Roman Catholic holiday celebrated on the 2nd of…
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Monument to Joan Salvat-Papasseit
Joan Salvat i Papasseit was born in Barcelona in 1894. After his father died in 1901 Salvat grew up in a naval orphanage where he received only the most basic education. He left school at the age of twelve to begin an apprenticeship in a perfumery. Inspired by the anarchist revolution which took place in…
The Foundling Wheel at Plaça de Viçenc Martorell
Many of Barcelona’s civic centres and local council offices are located in historic buildings, many of which originally belonged to private individuals or the church. One such building is the Citizen Services Office (Seu del Districte de Ciutat Vella) located at Plaça de Viçenc Martorell in Barcelona’s El Raval neighbourhood. The building dates back to the…
The Cerdà Houses and the Origins of the Eixample District
In the 1850’s Barcelona was booming and the medieval walls which surrounded the Gothic Quarter were torn down to allow the city to grow. The city council asked several architects and city planners to submit plans for a new suburb which would envelope surrounding villages such as Gràcia, Sarría and el Clot. The councillors initially…
Sant Pau Art Nouveau Site: El Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau
A Short walk from the Sagrada Familia, the Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau is one of Barcelona’s most interesting architectural and historical attractions. Built at the beginning of the 20th century, the site comprises twenty-seven Art Nouveau buildings and was still a functioning hospital as recently as 2009. In 2014, after almost five years of…
Monument to US Servicemen
On the night of January 17th 1977, 49 American servicemen lost their lives in a tragic accident in Barcelona harbour. The men, who were serving aboard the USS Guam and USS Trenton, had been enjoying a few hours of shore leave in Barcelona and were returning to their ships when the small boat they were…
Barcelona Central Post Office
Passeig de Colom, the avenue which runs from the Columbus monument towards the Parc de la Ciutadella, is flanked by a series of elegant buildings dating back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. One of the most interesting of them is the Central Post Office which was designed by Josep Goday i Casals and…
Sagrada Familia: Tips for Visiting Gaudi’s Masterpiece
Antoni Gaudi’s unfinished masterpiece, La Sagrada Familia, is one of the world’s most popular tourist attractions. In this post, we answer some common questions and share tips to help you make the most of your visit, including how to avoid the queues. The Sagrada Familia receives approximately 4.5 million visitors each year. The number of…
Stargazers (Miraestels) by Robert Llimós
A few metres from the Rambla del Mar walkway, two pristine white figures float silently in the waters of Barcelona harbour. The 3.55m polyester and fibreglass sculptures, their gaze turned up to the heavens, were designed by Robert Llimós and built by local shipbuilder Marina 92. The Stargazer (Catalan: Miraesteles) statues are 2 of a…
The 10 Most Emblematic Skyscrapers in Barcelona
The earliest skyscrapers were built in Chicago and New York during the second half of the 19th century and were between 10 and 20 storeys high. Technological advances during the 20th century meant that buildings could grow ever taller and modern skyscrapers are usually more than 100m and often reach heights in excess of 150m. The…
Carretera de les Aigües: An Easy Walk with Fantastic Views
Often referred to as the green lung of Barcelona, Collserola National Park is a popular escape from the hustle and bustle of the city centre. Easily reached by public transport, the 8,000 hectare park is crisscrossed by footpaths and cycle tracks. The best known and most accessible footpath is called La Carretera de les Aigües…
La Parella: The Couple by Lautaro Díaz Silva
One of my favourite walking routes in Barcelona is around the historic Port Vell harbour from the Christopher Columbus monument to the Barceloneta beach. Along the way you can enjoy views of the harbour filled with yachts and historic tall ships, take a look at the classic architecture and admire the diverse collection of contemporary sculptures…
Barcelona Rock Fest 2026: Everything You Need To Know!
Since its first edition in 2014, Barcelona Rock Fest has quickly established itself as one of Europe’s top rock and metal music festivals. The lineup gets better each year and includes big-name acts like Aerosmith, Deep Purple, Ozzy Osbourne, ZZ Top, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Alice Cooper. In addition to an extensive lineup of…
The Shark of the Carmel Mural: El Tauró del Carmel
The Tauró del Carmel is a large mural depicting a giant shark made out of hundred dollar bills that was painted in 2009 by Italian street artist Blu as part of the Influencers street art festival. The original shark mural, which was twenty-five metres long, was meant to represent the insatiable appetite of capitalism which was…
The Gothic Arch of Sant Adrià: Gateway to Barcelona
If it wasn’t for the fact that it stands alone beside a busy highway on the outskirts of Barcelona, there would be little to differentiate the Gothic arch of Sant Adrià de Besòs from a myriad of other medieval church doorways. What makes this particular doorway unusual is it’s interesting history which includes bullfights, riots…
From the Cruise Ship Terminals to Barcelona City Centre
Barcelona is Europe’s largest cruise ship port, and the city receives more than two and a half million cruise ship passengers every year. Fortunately, there are plenty of transport options available to get you from your ship to the city centre as quickly as possible. Which mode of transport you choose will depend on which…
Christopher Columbus Monument and Viewpoint
The Columbus Monument Barcelona’s Columbus Monument (Catalan: Mirador de Colom) was erected in 1888 for the Universal Exposition. The 60m high iron column is topped by a bronze statue of the famous Italian explorer who is portrayed holding nautical charts and pointing out to sea. Although the monument is a tribute to the man who discovered…
A Room Where it Always Rains by Juan Muñoz
In preparation for the Olympic Games of 1992, Barcelona’s seafront and port were transformed from a neglected industrial area into one of the most attractive waterfronts in Europe. The whole area was given a facelift and a new marina was built, as well as apartment buildings to house the athletes. The old railway tracks that…
Tarragona: What to See in the Ancient Roman City by the Sea
Located just 100km south of Barcelona on Spain’s Costa Daurada (golden coast) Tarragona is literally bursting with history. The Roman city of Tarraco was capital of Hispania Tarraconensis and was one of the most important cities in the Roman Empire. The most important historical sites are located in the city centre and Tarragona is one…
Homage to swimming by Alfredo Lanz
Spanish artist Alfredo Lanz has two sculptures on display near Barcelona’s waterfront. The better-known and largest of the two is Homage to Swimming (Catalan: Homenatge a la Natació), which is located in Plaça del Mar next to the Barceloneta and Sant Sebastià beaches. The Olympic disciplines of water polo, diving, crawl and synchronised swimming are…
Onades (Waves) by Andreu Alfaro
If you arrived in Barcelona by ferry or cruise ship, you will already be familiar with the Onades (waves) sculpture by Andreu Alfaro Hernández. Likewise, if you took a taxi from the airport to the city centre, depending on which area of the city you are staying in, there’s a good chance that you will have seen…
Cobi – Barcelona’s Olympic Mascot
With it’s heady mix of culture, beaches, history, architecture and night-life Barcelona is one of Europe’s top tourist destinations. The tourist boom started in 1992 when the city hosted the Olympic Games and embraced the opportunity to promote and reinvent itself. Cobi – Barcelona’s 1992 Olympic Mascot No Olympic Games would be complete without an…
Free Commuter Train Tickets When Travelling by AVE
The Spanish AVE high speed train network is a fast comfortable and affordably priced way of travelling around the country. In many cases the AVE is more convenient than flying because you don’t have to transfer between the airport and the city centre and can board the train just minutes before it departs instead of…
Panorama by Jorge Rodríguez-Gerada
Panorama is a 28m high composite portrait which was painted on the facade of the Centre Civic de Sant Martí as part of the 2015 Open Walls Conference. Cuban born artist Jorge Rodríguez-Gerda combined elements of 10 local women to create a portrait that represents the neighbourhood as a whole. The idea behind the composite portrait…
Cardona Castle and Salt Mountain Cultural Park
Perched on a hilltop 95km from Barcelona, Cardona Castle is a popular day-trip for local families who come to explore the medieval castle and visit the nearby salt mine. For thousands of years salt was one of the most valuable commodities and during the Middle Ages Cardona castle was home to one of the wealthiest…
Devil’s Bridge Roman Aqueduct – Tarragona
Devil’s Bridge (Catalan: El Pont del Diable) is a 2000 year old Roman aqueduct built during the reign of Emperor Augustus (27 BC to 14 AD) to supply the city of Tarraco with fresh water from the nearby River Francolí. A testament to Roman engineering, the 249m long aqueduct continued to bring water to Tarragona until as…
The First Building Designed by Antoni Gaudí
No matter how brief your stay in Barcelona, the chances are you will visit at least one building designed by Antoni Gaudí. A mixture of modernisme, surrealism and Gothicism combined with innovative engineering, Gaudi’s unique architectural style has shaped many of the city’s most famous landmarks and influenced generations of architects. Although most of Gaudi’s…
Las Arenas – Bullring Turned Shopping Centre and Viewpoint
The Las Arenas de Barcelona bullring was inaugurated in 1900 and was the second of 3 bullfighting rings built in Barcelona. Designed by Catalan architect August Font i Carreras, the plaza had a capacity for nearly 15,000 spectators. During the 1970s, as bullfighting became less popular, the arena faced declining attendance and finally closed in…
Eat Breakfast Like a Local in Barcelona
If you found this post whilst searching for a list of the best places to eat brunch in Barcelona, you may want to click the back button now! Let’s face it, as much as I enjoy hash browns, French toast, huevos rancheros or broccoli and cheese frittata. The truth is, the majority of Barcelona residents…
La Carbonería – From Urbanistic Innovation To Graffiti Covered Squat
In a city replete with stunning modernista architecture designed by renowned architects such as Antoni Gaudí and Lluís Domènech i Montaner, it may come as a surprise to find that, for many years, one of Barcelona’s most photographed buildings was an abandoned squat whose most notable feature was a huge street art mural. The building…