Perfect Perambulation! and other Barcelona, Spain Things to Do Tips

To call La Rambla a street somehow appears a little demeaning, thoroughfare or boulevard seem much more fitting words, however neither really adequately describe the 'slice of life' that is La Rambla.

Running from Placa de Catalunya down to the port area La Rambla is a place for people to stroll, meet, pass through, trade, eat, drink and be entertained. My first thought as I meandered down its length was how much I would love to own one of the flats overlooking it, I'd throw open my windows in the morning sit by the balcony and just people watch all day! Mind you I dare say you'd need to be okay with hustle and bustle - if you think it's busy wandering down it's length at midday return at midnight when it's even livelier!

Entertainment comes in the form of buskers and street performers of the 'living statue' type - give them some coins and they'll perform for you or just admire them as they stand immobile. Our favourite was the headless torso with the 'detached' head alive and chatting on a plate of vegetables next to him! There are also stalls selling wonderful flowers, sketch artists offering to draw your likeness and booths selling a variety of birds and small animals. Indeed it was quite incongruous seeing pigeons hoping around the ground in front of a booth where others were on sale!

Inevitably in such a busy place there will be pickpockets so be careful with your purse, camera and other valuables. However don't let that put you off, whether it's a morning, afternoon or evening stroll La Rambla is the place, plunge in and start perambulating! Now if I can only win the lottery that balcony could be mine!

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Address: La Rambla

Designed by Gaudi, begun in 1883 and still being constructed the Sagrada Familia radiates a compelling presence in the city, even before you visit it. Maybe it is the fact that it is unfinished, maybe it?s the unusual architecture and decoration - which includes broken bottles and ceramics - but there is something so creative about the building that it?ll work on your imagination.

From a distance the facade looks like someone has taken a lump of clay, kneaded and moulded it into a mass of spikes, icicles, holes and ridges. Closer up and you begin to pick out elements, even closer and you become overwhelmed by the intricate details. Inside the lines of the stone are clean, elegant, tactile.

The structure and composition of the building is very organic - photographs show how some of the columns were inspired by trees - and it is almost as if the building has developed on its own burgeoning from the earth, expending and blossoming as it grows. I particularly sensed this inside the structure and when climbing around inside the thin towers, the building has such a strong sense of identity, its own identity, separate from the person who designed it and the people building it. Maybe that is in part what makes this a remarkable structure, the way that is both representative of Gaudi's vision but is also somehow independent. This is not just a building it's a work of art.

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Phone: 93 207 30 31
Address: Carrer de Mallorca 401
Directions: Metro: Line 2 or 5 Station: SagradaFamilia
Website: http://www.sagradafamilia.org

One of the entrances to the Cathedral is through the cloistered courtyard. It’s a wonderful space, stone flagged floors, arched recesses, gothic columns and lush green foliage. One can easily imagine walking slowly around the cloisters in quiet contemplation. Ah, except for the interruptions of the geese which share the space.

There are 13 geese, each representing one-year of the life of the martyred Santa Eulalia, the patron Saint of Barcelona. One does get the sense that the geese feel they are the real owners of the courtyard; everyone else is just an interloper! And they are probably right!

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Phone: 933151554
Address: Plaça de la Seu
Directions: Barri Gotic. Metro: Lines 1 and 3 (Catalunya Station) and Lines 2 and 4 (Urquinaona Station.)
Website: http://www.catedralbcn.org

Inside the beautifully cool interior of Barcelona Cathedral are some wonderfully ornate side chapels, paintings and gilding. The high ceiling has carved round plagues at each axis and the patches of weathering on the roof rather than detracting from the decoration actually add to the feel of the place, giving a sense of history and continuity.

The choir stalls are handsomely decorated with coats of arms and all through the cathedral are wonderfully rich colours and decorative flourishes. It is an incredibly impressive building, a focal point for the area and community, imposing yet also welcoming and peaceful. Well worth a visit.

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Phone: 933151554
Address: Plaça de la Seu
Directions: Barri Gotic. Metro: Lines 1 and 3 (Catalunya Station) and Lines 2 and 4 (Urquinaona Station.)
Website: http://www.catedralbcn.org

A lift takes you to the roof of Barcelona Cathedral and a walk along the bouncy steel walkway not only gives you fantastic views over the city but also allows you to see up close the architecture of the cathedral itself.

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Phone: 933151554
Address: Plaça de la Seu
Directions: Barri Gotic. Metro: Lines 1 and 3 (Catalunya Station) and Lines 2 and 4 (Urquinaona Station.)
Website: http://www.catedralbcn.org