The Plaza de Espanya from the stairs of National Art Museum of Catalonia:
Showing posts with label attraction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label attraction. Show all posts
Montjuic Communications Tower
The tower was desinged by the spanish architect Santiago Calatrava Valls, and built to transmit television coverage of the Olympic Games in 1992.
It's 136m high, and represent an athlete holding the olympic flame.
Columbus Monument
The 60m high monument was designed by Gaietà Buigas i Monravà for the Universal exhibition of 1888. At the Plaça de la Porta de Pau - Square of the Gate of Peace - stands the monumental column topped by a statue of Christoffel Columbus. This is the place where He arrived in 1493 after his discovery of America the year before.
The 7m high statue shows a standing Columbus pointing towards the sea. Oddly enough, he is not pointing in the direction of the new world he discovered.
The column can be visited, a lift brings you to a platform from where you have a perfect view over Port Vell and the Rambla.
The Barceloneta neighborhood
Barceloneta is the place where the fishermans lived long ago. Now there are many restaurants, bars, and of course the long sandy beach.
The Market in Barcelona - Mercat de la Boquería
There are a lot of very impressive markets in the city. The Mercat de la Boquería is next to the La Rambla, and maybe it is the most tourist friendly market in Barcelona.
The Plaza Real
The square opens via an arcaded passageway from the Ramblas. It is an important and lovely tryst especially at night, generally filled with people from the city and tourists. There are a lot of palms trees, and on the center there is a fountain with a sculpture of the Three Graces and next to the fountain there are 4 nice street lamps designed by Antoni Gaudí in his early years.
Sagrada Familia (Holy Family Church)
The Sagrada Familia (Holy Family) is a massive Roman Catholic temple. Construction began in 1882. Antoni Gaudí worked on the basilica for over 40 years, devoting the last 15 years of his life entirely to this project. On the subject of the extremely long construction period, Gaudí is said to have joked, "My client is not in a hurry." :) After Gaudí's death in 1926, work continued, but parts of the unfinished building and Gaudí's models and workshop were destroyed during the war by Catalan anarchists. The design, as now being constructed, is based both on reconstructed versions of the lost plans and on modern adaptations.
According to the media, 2,26 million people visited the partially built temple in 2004, making it one of the most popular attractions in Spain. It has 12 bell towers between 90 m and 112 m high represent the apostles. The main central bell tower will be 170 m high and with a huge cross on their top, but it will follow in the future.
Sagrada Familia - Inside
The entrance fee is 8 Euros. An elevator takes up one of the towers. From this level bird's-eye view on the works, and a wonderful panorama of the city can be seen. Unfortunately usually we have to wait a lot of time in a very long queue before we can go up. We've haven't got enough time, so now we don't have any pictures from the tower. :(
The Güell Park
The park built in the years 1900 to 1914 and designed by Antoni Gaudí. The park is a fantasy land that combines the natural and the man-made. It was originally conceived as a residential garden city and built for Gaudí’s patron, Eusebi Güell Bacigalupi, a textile manufacturer who had a keen interest in the arts and helped develop the architect’s career. But the project was too radical for its time and, as a real estate project, was a great failure. Only 2 houses were built against the planned 60. The property was sold to the city of Barcelona in 1922, and today it remains an amazing public park and World Heritage monument. Don't miss it when You visit Barcelona, Gaudí's creativity is unbelievable!
Güell Park - On the main teracce
Sorry, Gaudí's mosaic work on the teracce bench isn't visible because the resting tourists... So You must go to Barcelona to see it closely! ;)
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