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What is Barcelona known for and famous for – Top 11 things in Barcelona
Barcelona is the capital of the Catalunya region of Spain and an important port city.
It is a great city specially for people with fondness for architecture, arts and medieval streets.
It is vibrant, old, new and full of friendly people and warm weather.
Located in the Mediterranean Sea, Barcelona, is known for great cuisine, architecture, scenery, arts and cultural attractions such as Art museums and landmarks.
Probably, the most famous person in Barcelona is Antoni Gaudi. Gaudi was an architect who designed the City’s major cultural buildings.
As you wander thru the city, you’ll have the suspicion that Barcelona is Gaudi and Gaudi is Barcelona.
Some of his works include the Sagrada Familia, Park Güell and Casa Batlló, among others. If you visit Barcelona it will be impossible to miss Gaudis works.
The two main languages spoken in the city are Spanish and Catalan, English is also widely spoken.
Barcelona houses 9 Unesco World Heritage sites, all influenced by the region’s unique culture.
It is strongly recommended to purchase your tickets in advanced for any of Barcelona’s cultural attractions you’re planning to visit. This can be done online for most visits.
Anything to do with Gaudi’s Art in the city you’ll want to buy tickets in advanced of your visit to the city or to the landmarks.
In this post you can find 11 top places to visit in in Barcelona, some of the city’s best foods and some famous Barcelona’s quotes.
University of Barcelona
University of Barcelona, UB, is one of the top educational institution in Spain. It is ranked in the top 200 worldwide universities.
The UB offers a wide variety of studies, financial aid and grants to its students.
Barcelona is one of the top 25 best cities to study in Europe.
Park Güell
Beautiful Park Guel was designed by Gaudi and sits on top Carmen hill in Barcelona in the Gracia district.
This park is part forest and part monument. From the forest side you can appreciate the panoramic view of the city down below.
The monuments part of the park is paid and you’ll find Gaudi’s works such as make believe gingerbread houses and colorful mosaics.
This park is great for kids as they can play around and touch the structures.
La Sagrada Familia
This is Barcelona’s most famous cathedral and it was designed by Gaudi in the 1880s. However, it has not been completed and construction continues on La Sagrada Familia.
This landmark is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is recommended to purchase tickets in advanced for La Sagrada Familia as lines tend to be long and visits are timed.
In 2020 this was the most visited landmark in all of Barcelona.
FC Barcelona Soccer Club
Barcelona soccer team’s, FC Barcelona, home stadium is Camp Nou.
Its famous motto is “More Than a Club” and it holds close to 100,000 people. Some of the top players that have played for Barcelona include Messi and Neymar.
You can try to watch a Soccer match, but if there aren’t any scheduled you can always enjoy a tour of the stadium,
Gothic Quarter – El Gótic
The Gothic Quarter is the central neighborhood of the Old city.
It is known by this name because of its old Gothic style architecture dating back to the Medieval and Romans periods.
Many landmarks are located in this neighborhood and some have gone thru major restorations.
The Picasso Museum and the Barcelona Cathedral are two of Barcelonas landmarks located here. There are also some remains of old Roman temples.
Las Ramblas
This is one of the most visited streets in Barcelona, so be mindful that it is very busy at any time.
Along Las Ramblas, you will find street performers, shopping, restaurants, street arts, famous statues and the popular food market La Boqueria.
This boulevard is vey touristy, therefore expect to pay higher prices than in other parts of the city.
Casa Mila – La Pedrera
This is another one of Gaudi’s work and commissioned by the Mila family. When originally built this building was occupied by the Mila family who rented part of the house to others.
The building has many characteristics resembling nature, Casa Mila is one of the most popular landmarks in Barcelona.
The Picasso Museum – Museu Picasso
This museum offers a feast of Pablo Picasso’s works. It has over 4,000 of his artworks, displayed in permanent and special exhibitions.
This artist had a close relationship with the city of Barcelona since his adolescence years.
Some of the Picasso’s paintings displayed on the permanent exhibitions include; Man in The Beret, Portrait of Aunt Pepa, Woman with Bonnet and Self portraits.
La Boqueria
This is one of the Regions’s largest food market, where you can eat lunch and shop for ingredients.
Dried hams, eggs, fruits and vegetables are some of the foods sold here.
Fresh fruit juices are sold thru out the market.
Casa Batlló
This is another one of Gaudi’s iconic building. Here, Gaudi built a house with magical nature like the Sea, animals, the princess and Saint George.
Casa Batllo is also a UNESCO World Heritage site.
This landmark has been featured in digital art like NFTs. Casa Batllo inspired NFT sold for over 1 million dollar,
Hill of Montjuïc
This is a great place for kids and their imagination. Beautiful gardens and a castle can be roamed about by all.
In addition to its natural beauty, this park offers cable cars ride to view the entire city from the top. The views are really awesome.
You can also enjoy Moutjuic’s famous magic fountains show.
Barcelona Food
These are some of the food Barcelona is known for and you can find in many of the restaurants along your visit.
- Paella
- Potato Crockets
- Jamón Iberico – cured ham
- Fideua – similar to a Paella, but cooked with noodles instead
- Fried Squid
- Fish
- Tapas
- Beers
- Wine
- Olives
- Bomba
In addition to food that are typical to Barcelona, you can find international foods like pizza, burgers and pancakes in many restaurants.
Barcelona Quotes
These are some of Barcelonas famous quotes and captions from visitors and residents;
«Man makes art for man and hence it must be rational.» – Antoni Gaudi
“Barcelona is my life, and I do not plan to leave.” – Gerard Pique
“Barcelona is one of my favourite cities in the world. The fashion and people are just so effortlessly cool.” Leigh Lezark
“I don’t want to leave Barcelona, but unfortunately, I Gaudi.” – Instagram quote
‘Barcelona didn’t try to live at the same pace as other global cities. It moved to the ticking of its own clock and everyone accepted it.’ – Sarah Dayan
“Matisse makes a drawing, then he makes a copy of it. He copies it five times, ten times, always clarifying the line. He’s convinced that the last, the most stripped down, is the best, the purest, the definitive one; and in fact, most of the time, it was the first. In drawing, nothing is better than the first attempt”. – Pablo Picasso
Final Thoughts
These are 11 of the best places to enjoy in Barcelona. There is a lot more than these, so you should explore depending on how many days you’ll spend in the city.
Barcelona is a city that can be enjoyed by kids, teenagers and adults, there is something for everyone. It’s very easy to get around the city by Public buses, Metro, walking or Taxi.
This city most famous resident was Antoni Gaudi, so you’ll be seeing a lot of his work thru out.
If you’re looking for good food, art, architecture and beaches, Barcelona won’t disappoint.
Dress in light weight clothes and comfortable shoes, as the temperatures can get high and there will be some walking involved.
This is one of the most visited cities in Europe, therefore it is recommended to book your tickets to attractions in advanced.
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