About Barcellona
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About Barcelona
Almost 4.5 million people live in the Barcelona metropolitan area. The city enjoys a prime location, bathed by the sea and has excellent transport links with the rest of Europe. The Mediterranean and Europe are the defining characteristics of Catalonia. Barcelona is a modern, cosmopolitan city, but has inherited many centuries of history. |
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Its geographic location and the open character of its inhabitants are the reasons why the city is being culturally enriched all the time. It has a valuable architectural and monumental heritage, the most splendid exponents of which are its Gothic and modernista buildings. Five of its buildings have been designated World Heritage Sites. |
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Barcelona enjoys a Mediterranean climate, with mild winters and warm summers. It is a coastal city and has over four kilometres of urban beaches and large areas of nearby forest. Although it is a large city, it is easy to get around on public transport and on foot. You can reach any point in the city by metro, bus and taxi. Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia. |
| For the official Barcelona Tourist information website, please click here. |
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A little bit of History
An open Mediterranean city since its foundation, over two thousand years ago, Barcelona has developed its vocation as a great metropolis. Its coastal location and proximity to France have contributed to their situation. Furthermore, Barcelona has experienced continuous cultural enriching with the passage of the Romans , Arabs, Christians. |
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| Barcelona has managed to make use of the great historical events it has led to project itself on the future: the Universal Exhibition of 1888, the International Exhibition of 1929, the Olympic Games of 1992, all transformations that have created new districts and structures, new communications networks and better services in a city that maintains unaltered its traditional hospitality. | |
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| Located in the Mediterranean coast of the European Union, Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain and the economic and administrative capital of Catalonia. Throughout history the city has always been an important industrial, commercial and service centre. | |
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 La Sagrade Familia, by Gaudi |
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Barcelona is known throughout the world as a cultural city with considerable heritage and a permanent, dynamic offer, a rich architectural and monumental heritage with works that have been declared part of the world heritage by the UNESCO. It is the city of Gaudi and Modernism; the Eixample is the largest open air museum of Modernism in the world, and to celebrate its 150th birthday, in 2002 Barcelona is preparing a year dedicated to the personality and work of Gaudi, with an extensive program of exhibitions, studies, seminars and visits to certain buildings which will be open to the public during the year.
Barcelona offers innumerable possibilities for free time activities. The city’s cultural agenda offers a large variety of shows, popular festivals, theatre, dance, music, opera, flamenco and exhibitions. Over 40 museums : collections, single artist exhibitions such as the Museu Picasso, the Fundacio Joan Miro and the Fundació Antoni Tà pies, the largest collection of Roman art in the world, periodical contemporary art exhibitions and a large number of art galleries. |
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Barcelona faces the sea, and as a Mediterranean city by antonomasia, it presents visitors with a renovated sea front full of activity. The Port Vell and the Olympic Harbor bring together a broad offer of gastronomy and leisure, from the early morning to the daybreak. The 4 km. of beaches provide for all kinds of marine sports, or simply allow the visitor to enjoy the sun and the most complete seaside offer. |
| Finding your way about in Barcelona is not very difficult, but you should bear in mind some important references: The centre of the city is of course Pl. de Catalunya, to the south of which you can find the old town and most of the museums and other historical places of interest of the city. The famous Rambla meanders from the Plaça de Catalunya down to the Columbus statue, just before the port. To the east of the Rambla you can find the beautiful and romantic Barri Gòtic and to the west, the Barri del Raval |
| Ciutat Vella is the heart of the city. Until the end of the 19th century, the ciutat Vella district was the city of Barcelona. It is famous for its historic monuments, narrow streets and vaguely bohemian atmosphere. The Gothic Quarter is the heart of the medieval part of the city which, until the mid-19th century, was contained within the city walls. A walk through its maze of streets brings us to the Cathedral, the origins of which date back to the 13th century. Nearby, the Pl. del Rei is the historic centre of the district, with gothic buildings which were an integral part of the Palau Major, the residence of the Catalan monarchs. In the Pl. Sant Jaume we find the city hall and the Palau de la Generalitat, seat of the catalan Government. |
| La Ribera is a maze of medieval streets, such as the Carrer Montcada, with its succession of palaces which reveals Barcelona’s commercial prosperity between the 13th and 15th centuries. At the end of the Carrer Montcada is Santa Maria del Mar, Barcelona’s most beautiful gothic church. This church appears in the popular historical novel “The Cathedral of the sea, by Ildefonso Falcones. Another outstanding building in the district is the Palau de la Musica Catalana, a spectacular modernism (catalan Art Nouveau) building. | |
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La Rambla is a lively and entertainment spectacle, justly renowned throughout the world. It begins in Pl. Catalunya and continues down to the Mirador of Colón, in the harbour, past long-established shops, cafes, the Boqueria -the city’s finest market-, the Gran Teatre del Liceu-the opera house. |
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Information on Barcelona in Japanese
Our Japanese colleagues can find out more about Barcelona through this link:
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