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The Sagrada Familia, located in Eixample Derecha , is a Roman Catholic basilica and is the most visited tourist attraction in Barcelona. The formal title of the basilica is the Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia or Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family. This impressive cathedral is the work of Antonio Gaudi. In 1883, a year after they started building it as a neogothic church, Gaudi was asked to finish the construction, and ended up drastically changing the design.

The Sagrada Familia is full of symbols which have been inspired by nature. It is a work of immense proportions and is reserved by the World of Architecture as one of the most original and ambitious modern buildings.

The basilica has three facades, each with three porches. The Facada of the Nativity was completed first. The three porches of this facade are related to the Christian themes of faith, hope and charity. Today eight towers have been completed. At the time of Gaudí his death only four of them were finished. These towers rise to more than 100 meters and symbolize the twelve apostles. The names and the statues of the apostles appear on the towers.

High up on the Nativity facade stands a cypress tree which symbolizes the Tree of Life. At the top of the tree stands the letter T which stands for God. It is red with diagonal bars crossing it, forming an X, representing Christ’s name. A dove on top of the tree represents the Holy Spirit.

The Sagrada Familia was Gaudi’s last work. He spent the last years of his life on this creation. Gaudi lived on-site for 16 years and is buried in the crypt below the cathedral. This master work of Gaudi is not expected to be completed until 2026, the 100th anniversary of Gaudi’s death.

El Raval, which includes barrio Xino, is a district were many different nationalities live together. The bottom part of El Raval, near the port, has changed tremendously over the past decade, coming from a dangerous area where street prostitution was a daily practice, both the local government and the neighborhood residents have worked hard to make El Raval a safer neighborhood.

One of the key changes was the creation of Rambla del Raval, which is a stretched strolling avenue similar to its larger bother Las Ramblas. The Rambla del Raval is surrounded by lots of bars and terraces. In one of the lanes near Ramblas Raval an old school and a library are situated with a beautiful interior courtyard.

Las Ramblas or La Rambla is the best known landmark in Barcelona. It is a 1.2 km long and busy avenue, popular with both tourists and locals. Las Ramblas is going down from Plaza de Catalunya all the way to the Columbus statue.

Walking down Las Ramblas in Barrio Gotico you can visit its many shops or enjoy watching the various street performers, of which some of them have an amazing act or either present a very special creature. Furthermore there are several newspaper kiosks, flower and animal stands. On both sides of Las Ramblas are also many bars and restaurants. Here you can eat or drink something while watching the busy street.

The name Las Ramblas means, in Spanish and Catalan, an intermittent water flow. Back in the day Las Ramblas used to be a river bed that ran from the mountains to the sea.

Even though Las Ramblas is one continuous street, it actually consists of five Ramblas: Rambla de Canaletes, Rambla del Estudis, Rambla del Sant Josep, Rambla del Caputxins and Rambla de Santa Monica.

Rambla de Canaletes is the first Rambla starts at Plaza de Catalunya. This Rambla is named by a fountain. According to a legend, once you drink from the fountain, you will keep coming back to Barcelona. The second Rambla is Rambla del Estudis. It is named after a 16th century university, the Estudis Generals.

The next Rambla is Rambla del Sant Josep named after a convent which was demolished in the mid 1900 and replaced by Mercat de Boqueria. La Mercat de Boqueria is a popular covered food market. Here you can find fresh fish, vegetables, fruit and meat. Note, the stalls near the entrance are the most expensive.

The fourth Rambla is Rambla del Caputxins. This Rambla is also named after a demolished building, Capuchin monastery. A very interesting building, called Gran Theatre del Liceu, is situated at this part of Las Ramblas.

The last Rambla is Rambla de Santa Monica. This Rambla leads to a roundabout with the Columbus Monument. This part of The Rambla is wider then the upper Ramblas and while walking down be sure to look to your left and walk into Plaza Real for a drink to cool off. If you are looking for paintings from locals artists you should find some here, and at the end of Las Ramblas you will find a nice roundabout which has the statue of Colom as a center focus point.

From Las Ramblas you can pass a bridge over the sea and continue your experience by going into the Maremagnum complex.

Renovated and cleaned up for the 1992 Olympic, Barcelona now offers a fantastic beach scene. Barcelona’s beaches offer everything, from access for people with disabilities, water sports equipment rentals, to beachside bars and restaurants. Most of the areas have lifeguards and offer a beautiful place to relax. During the summer, many of the bars and restaurants are open from morning until night.

There are six different beaches to be found in Barcelona: Playa de Sant Sebastià, Playa de la Barceloneta, Playa de la Nova Icaria, Playa del Bogatell, Playa de la Mar Bella, Playa de la Nova Mar Bella.

Playa de Sant Sebastià is located next to the industrial dock and stretches in the direction of Playa de la Barceloneta. It is popular amongst locals and visitors. There is a seafront promenade with many restaurants and retail outlets.

Facilities: sun beds with umbrellas, water sport equipment, toilets, showers, access for people with disabilities, lifeguards and regular police patrols.

Playa de Sant Sebastià: 1100 m

Playa de la Barceloneta is the most popular beach, also here you can find both locals and tourists. Along the beach runs a walkway full of bars and restaurants. This beach can get quite busy during the summer months. In Barcelona you are never far away from some interesting architecture. On Playa de la Barceloneta stands a statue from the artist Rebecca Horn called Homentage a la Barceloneta.

Facilities: sun beds with umbrellas, water sport equipment, toilets, showers, access for people with disabilities, sailing and boat rental, lifeguards and regular police patrols. Also on this beach there is some surfing going on here! During wintermonths (approximately from november through april) this beach is the surf hotspot for those that want to catch a wave!

Playa de la Barceloneta: 1100 m

Playa de la Nova Icaria is close to Port Olympic. This beach has a seafront promenade with many restaurants, cafés and bars. It is quieter than Playa de la Barceloneta and is worth visiting if you want more space.

Facilities: sun beds with umbrellas, water sport equipment, toilets, showers, access for people with disabilities, sailing and boat rental, bike rental, children playground, lifeguards and regular police patrols.

Playa de la Nova Icaria: 400m

Playa del Bogatell is situated next to Port Olimpic and is less commercial. This beach also has a seafront promenade with several restaurants and cafés. Playa del Bogatell is an excellent beach made up of fine golden sand and is very popular amongst the incrowd of Barcelona. At certain summer nights people stay there until late in one of the beach front chiringuitos to enjoy the music and watch the people.

Facilities: sunbeds with umbrellas, toilets, showers, access for people with disabilities, water sports, windsurfing, sailing and boat rental, children’s playground, sports facilities, lifeguards and regular police patrols.

Playa del Bogatell: 640 m

Playa de la Mar Bella is very popular for beach sports. It also offers beachside bars and restaurants. Nearby is a peaceful park perfect for taking a picnic or a siesta under the palm trees.

Facilities: sun beds with umbrellas, toilets, showers, access for people with disabilities, water sport equipment, windsurfing, sailing and boat rental, children playground, sports facilities, lifeguards and regular police patrols.

Playa de la Mar Bella: 500 m

Playa de la Nova Mar Bella in Sant Marti is the final beach of Barcelona’s coast and has good access for people with disabilities. It is located directly in front of the new buildings at Diagonal Mar which also has a big mall. Since this beach is more quite fishermen are often seen here.
Facilities: sun beds with umbrellas, showers, lifeguards, sport facilities, access for people with disabilities, children playground.

Playa de la Nova Mar Bella: 550 m

Casa Milà, better known as La Pedrera, is a building designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí. It is Gaudí’s last great civil work before he dedicated all his time to the construction of the Sagrada Família.

A property owner in Paseo the Gracia called Pere Milà had seen the Batlló house, also one of Gaudí’s creation, and was very enthusiastic about its beauty. He asked Gaudí to construct a large building of rental flats on the Paseo de Gracia avenue in Eixample Derecha. Casa Milà was built in the years 1905 to 1907.

Casa Milà covers an area of more than 1000 square meters. The building does not have any straight lines and is constructed entirely in natural stones.

It looks more like a sculpture than a building. Many various theories have been advanced as to the source of Gaudí’s inspiration. Gaudí also designed much of the furniture, which can be find inside the building. One of the most interesting places of the whole complex is the rooftop, here you can find a large ensemble of surrealistic chimneys and sculptures.

Today Casa Milà is the property of a savings bank called Caixa de Catalunya. The roof and the attic, were you can enjoy Gaudí’s art works, are opened to the public. Some flats in Casa Milà are privately owned and the main floor is dedicated to the exhibition hall of the Centre Cultural Caixa Catalunya.

At summer nights concerts are given on the roof of Casa Milà.

Camp Nou, which means New Field, is the largest football stadium of Europe and is located in the district Les Corts. The stadium is the home ground of FC Barcelona, one of the richest football clubs in the world. The official name of the stadium is Nou Estadi del Futbol Club Barcelona.

Camp Nou has been designed by the architects Lorenzo García Barbón and Josep Soteres Mauri. The impressive stadium was built in 1957. Nowadays it gives seat to more than 100.000 people.

The Barcelona football stadium was opened on the 24th of September 1957. The first match that took place was FC Barcelona against a team from Warsaw.

The stadium consist of facilities such as a memorabilia shop, mini pitches for training matches and a little chapel for players to seek divine assistance before matches. Because of all these facilities, the stadium has a UEFA 5-star rating. The stadium can also host finals of the UEFA Cup.

For visitors and FC Barcelona football fans there is the Barça Museum, where you can see the club’s history. This museum is, together with de Picasso Museum, the best visited museum in Catalonia. Furthermore you can take a tour.

The tour starts with a visit to the changing room and a walk through the tunnel which leads to the ground. There you will be able to walk on the grass and seat down on the team bench. The tour also includes a visit to the Chapel, the TV room, the Press room, the Fundacio Room and the Presidential Box. At the end of the tour you will get the possibility to rise the European Champions Cup with your own hands.

Camp Nou is just located 5 kilometers from Barcelona city and is well connected by all forms of public transport.

The FC Barcelona Camp Nou Stadium
Avinguda Aristides Maillol, s/n
08028 Barcelona

The Zoological Park in Barcelona is located in the city park in Cuitat Vella, Parc de la Ciudatella. It first opened his gates in 1892. The collection of animals came from a private collection kept by Lluís Martí i Codolar.

The Zoological Park is one of the oldest and at the same time most modern in the world. Nowadays the Zoo is set in a magnificent garden, covering 13 hectares of Parc de la Ciudatella. The enclosures are of open construction, which allows you to almost touch the animals.

Recently the entrance has been relocated making access to the Barcelona Zoo much easer with direct entrance from Park Cuitadella.

The Zoo contains a collection of 7.500 individual animals which belong to more than 4.000 species from all over the world. There is a infant zoo where children can be introduced to various types of animals.

Furthermore the Zoological Park contains:

- A group of bottlenose dolphins which give spectacular performances daily.
- An Iberian wolf and big cats, both seriously threatened species.
- A large collection of Mammals.
- A colony of grey herons, which live in the Zoo in complete freedom.
- A Doñana bird centre, where important species are bred to repopulate protected areas in Catalonia.
- An aviary, with a representative collection of parrots.
- A terrarium, with a large diversity of amphibians and reptiles from all over the world.

The star attraction of the Zoological Park used to be the white gorilla, Snowflake. Thought to be the only one of his kind Snowflake, after a good life of 40 years died in the fall of 2003. During the summer, the zoo is opened from 10h00 till 19h00.