| Page Views: 463 Last Visit to Barcelona: August, 2000 | Mediterranean feeelings! by alemir82 - last update: Feb 11, 2006 |
Barcelona is a city in northeastern Spain located right on the coast of the Mediterranean. It is located at nearly the same latitude as Chicago (less than one degree difference - people always ask). It has a population of about 1.5 million people, with over 10% being from other countries, primarily Central and South America and North Africa. |
|  | Barcelona is located right in between the mountains and the sea and maps are almost always drawn with the mountains being the top part of the map and the bottom being the sea instead of with north and south. Directions are also given this way and you may be told to "go up" along a certain street, turn left and look for a building on the "mountain side" or the "sea side" of the street. The city is built on a slope that rises towards the mountains and falls towards the sea, so oftentimes, even if you don't know where you are, you can figure out which way is up and which way is down by which way the ground slopes. Careful, though, because this does not always hold true. |
Barcelona is located in Catalonia, one of Spain's autonomous communities, and is home to much Catalan culture. One of the most obvious ways in which this culture manifests itself is in the language. Barcelona is a bilingual city, both Spanish and Catalan being official languages. You will often see other incarnations of Catalan culture, such as people dancing the Sardanes, a traditional Catalan dance, or Castellers, human tower builders. There is an independentist movement that wants to be completely separated from the rest of Spain, but fortunately, it doesn't protest violently like happens from time to time in the Basque Country. | | |
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| Pros: | "hot city and hot rocking people!" | | Cons: | "a little bad smell walking down by the street" |
alemir82's Barcelona Travel Tips
| Overview | Things to Do
Tips: 3 - Photos: 15 | | | | Restaurants | Hotels & Accommodations | | | | Nightlife | Off The Beaten Path | | | | Tourist Traps | Warnings Or Dangers | | | | Transportation | Local Customs
Tips: 2 | | | | Packing Lists | Shopping | | | | Sports Travel | General Tips
Tips: 1 - Photos: 4 |
 Comments for alemir82 about Barcelona | | | | |
Alex-Perth Thu Mar 16, 2006 04:46 UTC
Thanks Alex for the insight into Barcelona. My next trip I plan to go to Spain. I have a friend who lives here and her family have recently returned there to live. Loved the picture of the Cathedral. Beautiful... |
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