"Catalonia Capital" Barcelona by chagi1

Barcelona overlooks the Mediterranean and it enjoys a Mediterranean climate, with mild winters and warm summers. It is a coastal city and has over four kilometers of urban beaches.

Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia and it is the second largest city in Spain with a population of 1,673,075.
Its inhabitants are open and welcoming. The people of Barcelona are bilingual, speaking Catalan, their own language, and Spanish, the National language.

The Sagrada Família church

Gaudí is the city’s most internationally renowned and emblematic architect. His buildings are a must-see attraction which leave everyone who sees them speechless with wonder.

Gaudi was born in 1852 in Reus (Baix Camp, Tarragona), From childhood, Gaudí was an attentive observer of nature. He watched his father and grandfather working, as they beat the copper with skill. He felt attracted to colours and geometry.

When Gaudí was 17, his family sent him to Barcelona to study architecture. He had a good grasp of calculus and was an imaginative student of great dexterity. However, his teachers soon voiced misgivings about his approach to architecture, which was unorthodox in its treatment of structural forms.

His early works attracted the interest of the Catalan bourgeoisie, who immediately entrusted him with the execution of creative and unique buildings. The industrialist Eusebi Güell hired him to build a mansion, a church for a model industrial village and a series of gatehouses for his summer home. Güell also commissioned him to draw up the project for the garden city which was to bear his name.

Gaudí was a religious man and the church was one of his regular clients. The Association of Devotees of Saint Joseph commissioned him to build the Sagrada Família Church of Atonement (the cathedral of modern Barcelona). Gaudí devoted himself tirelessly to this monument until the end of his days.

At Park Guell

Barcelona has several UNESCO World Heritage sites which are worth a visit, here they are:

* Works of Lluís Domènech i Montaner, Palau de la Música Catalana and Hospital de Sant Pau, included in the list in 1997.

* Works of Antoni Gaudí, including Park Güell, Palau Güell, Casa Milà, Casa Vicens, Sagrada Família (Nativity façade and crypt), Casa Batlló, Crypt in Colonia Güell.

Another great place to visit is Montjuïc hill. At the top, you will find the facilities of the Olympic Ring and major museums such as the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC), Caixa Forum, the Fundació Joan Miró and the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion.