Barcelona boasts two millennia of art and history, from the Roman city of Barcino and the age of medieval splendour to the latest in contemporary art and design. It’s the only city in the world with nine UNESCO World Heritage Sites: La Pedrera, Park Güell, Palau Güell, Palau de la Música Catalana, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Sagrada Família, Casa Batlló, Casa Vicens and the crypt of the Colònia Güell. The Gothic Quarter is one of Europe’s best-preserved medieval districts, and Barcelona also features Catalan art nouveau, modernisme, and the work of Antoni Gaudí, and was home to world-renowned local artists including Picasso, Miró and Tàpies. In 1999, the Royal Institute of British Architects awarded the city the Gold Medal for its achievements in urban regeneration.
Barcelona features twenty Michelin-starred restaurants and was designated “Ville Gourmande” in 2002, the only city outside France to receive this culinary accolade. In 1992, Barcelona hosted the Olympics; it remains a centre for sports with an annual calendar of world-class events including the European Athletics Championships 2010. Barcelona is a wonderful place to shop. Visit the Shopping Line, a retail network stretching for more than five kilometres. Or check out the many locations that have been used in countless films by directors as diverse as Woody Allen, Pedro Almodóvar, Peter Greenaway, Alejandro Amenábar, Fernando Trueba, and Michelangelo Antonioni.
Barcelona is a Mediterranean city with beaches and a host of services to guarantee your enjoyment of sun and sea. It’s a city where you can stroll and sample the unique lifestyle day or night, all year round. It’s Europe’s leading and the world’s fourth most important cruise port. Barcelona ranks among the top five city destinations in Europe and holds twelfth place in Euromonitor International’s Top 150 City Destinations – and according to National Geographic, it’s one of the ten unmissable cities in the world!
You still don’t know Barcelona? It’s time to change that!
Turisme de Barcelona makes it easy with the Barcelona Card. You can count on it! Travel free on public transport and enjoy ample discounts and free offers designed to help you to discover the city: museums, entertainments, leisure attractions, nightclubs, shops, restaurants, unique forms of transport, and other services. The card is valid for two, three, four, or five days.
Buy your card at any of the city’s information offices, or buy online at www.barcelonaturisme.com and get a 10% discount.
The Barcelona Card: Barcelona’s best buy!
