Barcelona is the first city of Catalunya, 1 of the richest and largely intensely self-regulating districts in Spain. Catalan people speak their own language and many do not believe themselves to be Spanish. The golden age of Catalunya was approximately the twelfth to fourteenth centuries, when Barcelona was the center of the great seafaring empire of Aragon. Besides to Barcelona, Catalunya is made up of the cities of Lleida, Girona and Tarragona, and the extensive Costa Brava, stretching from the French border to Valencia.

Barcelona has become a real tourist trap for the fantastic combination of activities on offer there. Its coastal position attracts sun worshipers who take pleasure in the beach front resorts next to the coast, as well as the brilliant nightlife of the city centre. The cultural and historical delights of the town grab the holidaymaker, visiting for a long weekend, and the more enthusiastic will like hiking in the nearby mountains, where skiing can be found in winter.

As far as European cities go, Barcelona is a quite trouble-free city to navigate. Its natural mountains and seafront means that it has a gradual incline, and also is very compact. This does however mean that some of the city’s sights are missed, as it’s sometimes tiring walking uphill for half of the day, and downhill for the other half. The city’s underground system is a fantastic means to get around instantly, but you miss out on truly seeing the city, and frequently are disoriented when you get back up to street level (everyone does the same in rotating the map about a few times to double-check wherever you are!).

The Barcelona Tourist Bus has 3 routes, but I would say only 2 are worthwhile - the red and the blue route (North and South routes). The 3rd green route only takes you to the forum building. So if you concentrate on the red and blue routes, you can pay a visit all of the city’s sights, and have the added bonus of being above-ground as you do it, so you actually look at the whole of Barcelona, too. Clearly during the spring and summer months it’s great to be on the top with no roof and a pleasant breeze running through your hair whilst you soak up the stunning buildings of Gaudi, the stunning Camp Nou football stadium, the magic dancing fountains at Placa Espa?a, and many, many more attractions.

The most famed icon of Barcelona and one sight that all holidaymakers want to visit is Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia. Even persons that have not visited the city will be customary with the dripping wax picture of the most important fa?ade. The prominent architect commenced work on this church in 1882, however the task took a long time as the building work relied on donations, and it had not been completed in 1926 when Gaudi was knock by a train and died. Work has since recommenced on the church and a great deal has been added since Gaudi’s death, but there is speculation as to whether or not the construction will ever be completely completed, or in truth whether or not it actually should be.

You may pay to go up inside one of the towers, of which there are now eight, each one over one hundred meters high. The initial model was destined to incorporate eighteen towers, one for each of the twelve apostles, four for the Evangelists, and one each for Jesus and the Virgin Mary.

Further example of Gaudi’s work can be viewed throughout the city. You will want to draw the Park Guell, La Pedrera and the Mila dwelling into your itinerary if you possibly can.

If you?re still stuck for idea the Poble Espanyol has become the 4th most popular tourist landmark in the city. The design was copied from Modernist architect Puig i Cadafalch, and the creators visited 1600 villages in and around Spain and its islands to re-create 117 scale models of buildings and characteristic sites from all around Spain.

Culture lovers will be captivated by the Fran Daurel foundation, boasting artwork from Picasso, Dali, Mir?, Tapies and countless others, plus there is a fantastic Sculpture Garden offering photo possibilities in abundance of sprawling Barcelona below. The village also has some great bars and bistros, as well as some great nightclubs in Barcelona on an evening.

Heres 5 inexpensive things to do in Barcelona

1. Walking in Barcelona - is free, painless and fun and what easier means to thoroughly get to know a city. I absolutely adore walking about side streets and alleyways in districts such as Barri Gotic in Barcelona. You stumble upon a number of cafes, old and rare shops.

2. Relaxing on the beach in Barcelona is of course very inexpensive and on a nice sunny day where else would you want to be. If you do not mind spending a tiny bit of money then there are oodles of restaurants and eateries alongside the boardwalk and if you take pleasure in sea-food, you can devour everything from mussels to cod.

3. Museums in Barcelona has a generous amount of museums and scores of of these are very worth checking out in Barcelona. Though several of them often charge for access, they are moderately priced and you can effortlessly waste away a few days of your holiday or break by checking out a a small number of of the numerous Barcelona museums.

4.Spending time around Las Ramblas and enjoying the street entertainers, shops, general character and the inviting weather is a terrific means to loosen up. Get yourself a chair and a thirst-quencher slightly off of Las Ramblas (to avoid tourist charges on the major street) and take pleasure in all that Barcelona has to offer.

5.Hang about in your hotel room. If you are paying a sufficient amount already for your hotel room or vacation apartment then you may aim to get your money’s worth so why not spend a lot of time in the hotel room. If you have a balcony which comes with the room then lounging out on the balcony with a bottle of Spanish wine from the supermarket and people watching can be a wonderful way to really experience a part of Barcelona living.

You can get complete information regarding the sights of Barcelona before you go from your travel agent, the internet, or the tourist information office in Barcelona’s central square when you get there. Be sure you pick up a map showing all the major sights as well as the most important stores, restaurants and hotels. Also think about going on a bus trip of the city. It is a excellent way to get your bearings in a very hectic and crowded city, and give you an indication of the distance between places of interest. Talk to your guide, they may well be able to give you local information about excellent eating places and short-term exhibitions that will not be marked on your map. You will in no way get bored in Barcelona; your only trouble will be how to fit in all you want to visit.