My experience in Barcelona

Last summer I visited Barcelona and it was the prettiest city that I had visited up to now. Barcelona is the second biggest city in Spain and the capital of Catalonia. The city has everything that you can imagine, from the Gothic Quarter where you can find buildings from the Middle Ages or even before, and throughout the city, you can find examples of all sorts of Modern Art which is my favourite.

The buildings by the best Modern Art architect, Antoni Gaudi, are simply incredible. It s my favourite type of architecture. Many buildings in Barcelona are declared World Heritage sites by UNESCO. I'm going to tell you more about my experience and feelings towards this city, starting with my favourite places, which are also the most important. Even if it is the second largest city, you can still cross most of it on foot and if you are tired, there is the metro.

Sagrada Família

The Sagrada Familia is the first thing you have to see in Barcelona. In Catalan, it is called Basilica i Temple Expiroti de la Sagrada Familia'. It is a huge Roman Catholic church designed by the architect Antoni Gaudi (1852- 1926). Today, the church is still not finished but it has still been declared a national site by UNESCO.

Antoni Gaudi started the church in 1882 and devoted his last years entirely to the building. He lived there, but he was killed in a tragic accident when he was run over by a tram in 1926. Less than a quarter of the church had been built at this point. Despite everything, people wanted to see it completed one day. They hoped that it would be finished by 2026, 100 years after Gaudi's death. So there was a lot of work to be done. Gaudi is buried in the crypte under the church.

When the building is finished it should have 18 towers, 12 dedicated to the disciples, 4 to the gospels, one to the Virgin Mary and finally the largest to Jesus. Today, 8 of them are finished, but more work still has to be done. The largest tower is more than a half taller than the rest of the towers that have already been completed. The final tower should be 170 metres tall, which is one metre smaller than the Montjuic hill because Gaudi doesn't want to build anything taller than a work of God. When the tours are finished, the Sagrada Familia will be the tallest church in the world. It will be possible to climb to the top of the towers and see the views.

The church has three façades, the Nativity façade to the East, the Passion façade to the West, and the Glory façade to the South. All of them are adorned with lavish decorations and sculptures. The inside is also incredible. If you stand and observe it, the columns look like trees and lights are placed especially for further effect. All of it is just unbelievable, how one man was able to create something like this?! Nothing is flat, everything has a unique shape. When I was studying it, I was so impressed that I couldn't even think of any words to describe what I was seeing. The experience is so great. So everyone has to visit the Sagrada Familia because it is just magnificent.

Park Güell

The next place to see in Barcelona is Park Güell. It was built between 1900 and 1914. Before this wonderful park, it was just a rocky hill with a few trees, but Gaudi did something really special here. The entrance to the park is free for everyone.

At the entrance, there are two houses that look just like gingerbread houses. If you continue straight on, there is the famous multicoloured mosaic salamander, popularly known as "el drac". Above this, is the main area of the park, with a platform supported by grand columns. Everything here is covered in tiles and pieces of glass. On the platform, you have a pretty view and the edge looks like a sea serpent which is really cool.

From there, you can find anything that you want to. Behind the ceramic monuments, you can find numerous paths and many different works of Gaudi that are more natural, such as trees, nests or a mix of the two. At the highest point of the park, there is a cross and a platform that offers some amazing views of Barcelona.

You can also hear lots of birds singing and if you are lucky, you could even see some parrots. I saw some green ones. The interesting thing is that they weren't originally from the park, but they escaped from their cages and now they're free.

Casa Batlló and Casa Mila

These buildings both designed by Antoni Gaudi are situated in the Passeig de Gracia in the Eixample neighbourhood. These buildings are also amazing, as is anything that Gaudi designed.

Casa Batlló was built by Gaudi between 1904 and 1906. The locals call it the 'House of Bones' because it looks just like a skeleton. The columns look like bones and the balconies look like skulls. The façade is covered with mosaics. There are no right angles in the house. Gaudi didn't want any straight lines. There are oval windows and the walls are curved.

The roof looks like the arched back of a dragon, with its scale-like quality and turret and cross at the top. The story goes that the dragon represents the one that Saint Geroge killed, who is the patron of Catalonia. The turret represents Geroge's lance, that was stabbed in the dragon's back.

There is lots to see and discover in the building, and it still makes me question how Gaudi had so many different ideas.

The Casa Mila is just as impressive, and was built between 1905 and 1910. It's facade ressembles a wavy sea and the balconies look like seaweed. On the roof there are roofs and vents transformed into soldier's heads. There is also an open apartment for visitors so they can see what life was like for people living in the building in 1910, but it is nothing extrordinary. On the other hand, the roof is incredible. When the queue is long, you know it is worth it. I loved it!

Although Gaudi designed lots of things in Barcelona, these are the most famous and the ones that I had time to visit. I also had to visit other places in Barcelona.

Montjuïc

This is a hill (about 300 metres high) with a grand park and castle on top, which is quite big and also has an armour exposition inside. You have a view of the city from one side and a view of the port from the other. In 1928, the site was chosen to be a universal exposition site. At this time, the Palau National was built which today is an art museum. Opposite the buildings, there is a fountain which turns into a mini spectacle at night, with the water dancing to music and different colours lighting it up. Lots of people gather to watch it.

You can also find other art museums here such as the Joan Miro foundation, or the Miles Van Der Rohes Pavillion, there is also the Olympic stadium and the F1 circuit. If you are tired of walking, you can also use the cable car. So Montjuïc is a great place to walk around and relax.

Las Ramblas

Las Ramblas is the main street in Barcelona, and no matter what time it is, it is always jam-packed. There are street artists, lots of life statues and cafés and restaurants. It is also possible to buy some souvenirs from there.

Tibidabo

Tibidabo is the highest point in Barcelona. You can get there using the old cable car (which was the first one in Spain) and appreciate the view or you can ride the ferris wheel. It is an old attraction park with merry-go-round's dating from the 20th century, the oldest in Barcelona. I would be a little worried to ride one. There is also a large Catholic church at the top of the hill, you can see it from almost everywhere.

Something funny happened once I got home, I was watching Friends and Joey was telling a story about the time here went to Western Europe, to Mount Tibidabo. It was a funny coincidence that I had just been there. But Joey had seen a pretty woman swimming in the lake there and she was crying... You can see the clip here.

Aquarium

Barcelona aquarium is located in the port and has 11, 000 animals representing 450 different species. There is also an underwater tunnel which is 80 metres long. The aquarium really is great, I saw a shark there for the first time in my life. I have since been to Valencia aquarium and it doesn't compare, and it's smaller and more expensive.

Montserrat

If you have a free day, you should head out of the city and go to visit the monastery in the mountains of Montserrat, it's amazing! It's about 40km away and you can get there by train and then a cable car up the mountain. The monastery is intersting but the most intersting is the surrounding mountains. They seem to be made of round stones without any sharp edges. Sometimes you can see faces in the facades, and they look like their watching you. There are paths to facilitate walking and magnificent views everywhere. I went up to 1054 metres, but I was pretty tired after going that far up, but it was worth the effort. If you don't have the energy to walk up, then you can always take the cable car.

Other places to visit

The Poble Espanyol is a village where you can see all different kinds of Spanish architecture. A Picasso museum, the Barcelona and Santa Maria del Bar Cathedrals, which are the two biggest Gothic chirches in old town Barcelona, the Nou Camp which is Barcelona FC football club, Ciutadella park, and obviously the beach with the Meditarranean sea! Barcelonetta (where you can find the beach) was once a small fishing village but now it is a really popular beach that tourists and locals both enjoy alike.