Barcelona, in eastern Spain is the capital of Catalonia and one of the world's great cities.
It is a modern, vibrant and sophisticated city surrounded by sloping hills and a Mediterranean coastline.
Catalan pride and passion reached a peak with Barcelona hosting the 1992 Summer Olympics and the citywide investment these Games generated hasestablished a truly world class destination.
Given all its attributes it is not surprising that Barcelona is the fourth most popular European destination (after Paris, London, and Rome) and has devotees worldwide.
For the visitor, Barcelona has just about everything one could want from a year-round, city break destination.
It a thriving, throbbing, modern city with a swathe of stunning art deco architecture sitting alongside a medieval old town which, in turn leads through the marina to the beach.
The city also offers world class arts, culture and entertainment and has tree lined boulevards and parakeet nesting parks and gardens.
To this add Barcelona's fine beaches, which are located via an easy stroll through the marina. Beyond Barcelona itself, southern France, the Pyrenees and the northern Costa Brava are within easy reach.
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Barcelona's Catalan roots go deep
Barcelona is not a Spanish city but the capital of Catalonia, a region of Spain.
That Barcelona citizens should feel a loyalty to Catalonian first and Spain second in not surprising given the regions relatively recent history.
During the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) the Catalans had supported the Republic, against General Francisco Franco's Nationalist forces.
With the defeat of the Republic, Franco, as self-imposed dictator of Spain, suppressed all public association with Catalan nationalism.
The use of the Catalan language was banned in government-run institutions, the media and during public events.
Catalan schools could not teach their native tongue and Catalonians were left in no doubt as to Franco's disregard for them.
After the death of the dictator, in 1975, Spain adopted a democratic system of government and reintroduced a royal head of state.
The city prospers
Catalonia, in turn, prospered being granted political autonomy and enjoying re-emergence of a flourishing cultural identity.
The Catalan Capital
Barcelona was officially recognised as the Catalan Capital.
In the later part of the 20th Century and now into the 21st, Barcelona has become an international city and a major tourist destination.
The granting of the 1992 Summer Olympic Games brought with it the investment needed for a citywide regeneration with the event itself putting the city into the global spotlight.
Barcelona has not looked back.
Go to the beach
The frantic sometime manic pace of life on a city break can sometimes get a bit much.
This is not a problem in Barcelona, with its Mediterranean coastline. Take a stroll to the beach.
Barcelona has 4.5km of beach front with the most popular tending to be Barceloneta beach with its proximity to the city centre.
It is an easy and very attractive stroll from the Gothic Quarter through the marina.
The beach is a great place to start the day with a coffee, to break up the city sightseeing with a lunch or to unwind with a sundowner.
For sand and sea lovers there is the chance to stay there all day.
Walk Las Ramblas - with care
The famous, some would say infamous, Las Ramblas starts at Plaza Catalunya and ends at the Monument of Columbus and the harbour.
This boulevard was laid out in 1766 and has been a magnet for visitors to the city ever since.
Today, you will find it packed with tourists and those looking to make money off them in almost equal measure.
Flower sellers, food stalls and portrait artists, compete with buskers, human statues and trinket traders all looking to entice the tourists Euro.
And, unfortunately, there are those who see the opportunity to pick a pocket – particularly in the late evening.
The bars and cafes along Las Ramblas provide the opportunity to relax and watch the tourist procession.
But for a more exciting experience step off Las Ramblas into the Mercat de la Boqueria.
The Mercat de la Boqueria
The Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria, often simply referred to as La Boqueria is a large indoor public market that has been operating on the site since 1217.
With its warren of stalls selling meat, fish, fruit and vegetables it is an explosion of colour and as much a tourist attraction as a produce market.
This is also the place to jostle with the locals for lunch.
The Palau Nacional
The Palau Nacional at the end of Avinguda de la Reina Maria Cristina, was built for the 1929 World's Fair and renovated for the Olympics.
It now houses the National Art Museum of Catalonia which includes a gallery featuring work by Picasso.
Font Màgica, the fountains in front of the Museum, sees the water jets synchronized to classical music during summer evenings.
Poble Espanyol
Designed by the Catalan Architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch, the Poble Espanyol de Barcelona, was also built for the 1929 Exhibition.
This open-air, themed viilage of replica Spanish streets, squares and buildings is scattered with restaurants and shops.
The Barri Gòtic
The Barri Gòtic or Gothic Quarter, the heart of the old city and Jewish quarter, takes visitors through a cobblestone maze of centuries old churches and grand renaissance buildings.
In the Plaça Nova is Barcelona Cathedral with its Gothic cloister.
There are a number of museums and a string of restaurants, bars and cafes.
Be safe feel safe
Barcelona has a reputation as the destination for 'pickpockets' and with some justification.
However, visitors to any destination need to be aware of unscrupulous individuals.
All that is needed is extra vigilance, particularly on public transport and at the main tourist areas – particularly along Las Ramblas.
Leave valuables, including passports, in the hotel safe, use bags that can be zipped up (and worn in front of you), and hold cameras in a way that can not be snatched.
More information on Barcelona
The one guide to get
The Barcelona the 'city, map by map practical guide' free from Barcelona Turisme is full of information, maps and photographs and all you will need.
Tourist information
Located in the city centre at Plaça de Catalunya, the tourist information centre has all the information you will need from milti-lingual staff speaking.
The centre also provides hotel information and bookings at over 300 hotels in the city and the chance to buy the Barcelona card, travel tickets, guided tours and tourist publications.
Other clearly signed information points are located throughout the city.
A place to stay
The Núñez i Navarro group of hotels offers visitors a choice of nine places to stay in locations throughout Barcelona.
Each has its own character although all offer excellent quality and standard of service. Prices range according to star rating (three to five) and location.
The U232 Hotel
The U232 Hotel in Comte d'Urgell is an elegant and stylish hotel suited for business and pleasure travellers.
It is located next to the Comte d'Urgell metro station and is within walking distance of the all the city's visitor attractions.
Other hotels in the group include:
Hotel 1898 : www.hotel1898.com
B-Hotel Barcelona : www.b-hotel.com
Hotel Jazz : www.hoteljazz.com
Hotel Soho Barcelona : www.hotelsohobarcelona.com
Hotel Barcelona Universal : www.hotelbarcelonauniversal.com
Hotel Europark: www.hoteleuropark.com
While in Barcelona
Get a Barcelona city card
The Barcelona city card gives free travel on public transport, discounts and free offers at museums, cultural venues, leisure facilities, night-clubs, shops, restaurants and entertainment venues.
The card is available at tourist information centres in the city or online from the official tourist website.
Eat and drink at the bar
In the tourist hotspots a stool at the bar has more atmosphere than sitting outside (you will get enough of the sun) and is often 15% cheaper.
To get the best of Barcelona , stroll it.
While the manic pace of the main thoroughfares can soon drain the energy, head off into the side streets and you will discover a serenity amid these majestic buildings.
And one is never far from a pavement café or bar to sit and watch the world go by.
So much to take in
Barcelona offers the visitor so much to take in and a strategic approach to a first visit is highly recommended.
Luckily, most of Barcelona's visitor 'lure' is within a relatively small area, and this makes touring on foot or by the city's excellent public transport network by far the best way to get around.
Getting one's bearings
A good way to start a visit to Barcelona is by purchasing a two-day pass for one of the open top tours.
Barcelona Bus Turístic
We opted for the Barcelona Bus Turístic and it was an ideal way to discover Barcelona's most interesting and attractive sights.
The hop-on-hop-off service combines three routes and 44 tour stops.
This allowed us to take a complete two-and-a-half hour guided tour, which put Barcelona in perspective, and enabled the formulation of a 'wish-list' of what to do and see and, perhaps equally important, in what order.
From then on the pass acted as an excellent transport service to all major tourist areas of the city.
The third day onwards we changed to the city's metro when necessary.
Barcelona City Tours is the other bus tour company :
To Marvel at Gaudí is a must
First time visitors to Barcelona will be stunned by the Catalan Modernism architecture of Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926).
Gaudí is un doubtedly Barcelona's favourite son and the large legacy of his work that remains shows why this status is so well deserved.
Three of Gaudí's best
Three wonderful examples of his work, and three of the most popular tourist attractions, are the Casa Batlló, the Sagrada Família and La Pedrera.
Casa Batlló
Casa Batlló, on Passeig de Gràcia, is a truly striking example of Art Nouveau architecture - inside and out.
The local name for the building is Casa del ossos or House of Bones, because of its skeletal quality.
Originally designed for a wealthy middle-class family on Barcelona's most fashionable thoroughfare, it is now open to the public with proceeds use for the ongoing restoration.
The Sagrada Família
Gaudí's best known work is the immense, and magnificent, but still unfinished church of the Sagrada Família.
Gaudí first started on the design and initial construction of the church in 1882, aged 31, and devoted the rest of his life to the work.
Work to complete his project, some thirty years away, is financed, as it always has been, by private donations.
La Pedrera
La Pedrera, another in the Gaudí portfolio, is the second most visited Barcelona museum after the Sagrada Familia.
It also houses renaissance drawings and a collection of modern art paintings.
In addition to these three there are other Gaudi buildings scattered throughout Barcelona with information and guided tours available from the tourist centre
The facts
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