Fodor's Essential Spain 2019 by Fodor's Travel Guides

Author:Fodor's Travel Guides
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fodor's Travel
Published: 2018-12-03T16:00:00+00:00

EXPLORING

Barcelona has several main areas to explore. Between Plaça de Catalunya and the port lies the Ciutat Vella, or Old City, including El Barri Gòtic (the Gothic Quarter); the shop-, bar-, and tapas-rich Ribera (the waterfront, also known as Born-Ribera); the populous central promenade of La Rambla; and El Raval, the former slums or outskirts southwest of La Rambla. Above Plaça de Catalunya is the grid-pattern expansion known as the Eixample (literally, the “Expansion”), built after the city’s third series of defensive walls were torn down in 1860; this area contains most of Barcelona’s Moderniste architecture. Farther north and west, Upper Barcelona includes the former outlying towns of Gràcia and Sarrià, Pedralbes, and, rising up behind the city, Tibidabo and the green hills of the Collserola nature preserve.

Though built in the mid-18th century, Barceloneta is generally considered part of the Ciutat Vella. The Port Olímpic, a series of vast terrace restaurants and discos, is just beyond the Frank Gehry goldfish and the Hotel Arts. The Ciutadella park, once a fortress built not to protect but to dominate Barcelona, is just inland.

Don’t overlook the Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes, site of a major urban renewal project that embraces the DHUB design museum complex, the reconfigured Encants Vells flea market, the Auditori music venue, and the Torre Agbar. A few minutes’ walk along the Diagonal from here brings you to the top of the Rambla de Poblenou, a former industrial area reborn after the 1992 Olympics as a leafy avenue running down to the ocean, lined with trendy bars and restaurants, quirky shops, and some of the city’s most beautiful smaller-scale Moderniste architecture.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.