Dragons of Barcelona

Barcelona is Spain's second city, capital of the beautiful region of Catalunya and one of the most fascinating cities on the Mediterranean Coast we've ever seen. We visited the city several times. During our last visit in September 06, Barcelona celebrated the day of the city's patron saint - the Virgin de la Merce and witnessed again that the fire is the essence of the Mediterranean celebration.

For more than one hundred years the city is on the cutting edge in the architecture, arts, and design. People here work hard but still manage enjoying their lives to the fullest. Almost every month there is a festival in Barcelona where locals and visitors alike join in celebration of a saint, public holiday, or a historic victory (Three Kings Day, Carnival, St George’s Day, to name a few). Barcelona festivals are so full of life that if there is one going on while you are in the city it is well worth going to see. Our favorite? Colorful madness of Festes de la Merce in September when the dragons exhaling fire parade on the ancient Placa de Sant Jaume. Visit one of the Barcelona’s art museums. The city’s bohemian air has offered sanctuary to creative geniuses like Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró and Salvador Dalí, all of whom worked here for some period of time.

Explore labyrinth of narrow cobblestone streets of Ciutat Vella (the Old Town). This part of the city still retains its medieval atmosphere, especially at night. Walking along its streets, one can soak the city’s history and art; enjoy beautiful examples of its Romanesque and Gothic architecture. Visit ancient Placa de Sant Jaume to see the statue of Saint George over the main entrance to the Palau de la Generalitat.

Quick Tips:

Beautiful Placa de Catalunya, decorated with statues and fountains, is the city’s main square. Walk down towards the sea taking the famous Rambla. Awesome shops with Modernist decorations, lovely drinking fountains, painters and street performers, and visitors all over the world create unique atmosphere.

At Placa Reial, my favorite square in Barcelona, you can enjoy looking at the fountain of Tree Graces or simply rest in the shadow of the old palm trees. Antonio Gaudi y Cornet, the Catalan genius of architecture, left many original works in various parts of Spain, but most of his work is concentrated in the city of Barcelona. Visit the Temple of the Sagrada Familia, where parabolic towers look like the pipes of giant stone organ. Of all the works Gaudi left to the Catalan capital, the Güell Park and Palace and Mila House reached the World Heritage List in 1984. Mila House, popularly called "La Pedrera" is the fourth and last of Gaudi's buildings in the Paseo de Gracia of Barcelona.

Best Way To Get Around:

If you come from abroad then you can fly to Barcelona (we took an EasyJet flight). The RENFE train service runs approximately every 30 minutes from Barcelona airport to the city center; you can get off at the train station Barcelona Sants (€ 2.5 per person). The journey takes about 25 minutes. The Barcelona Sants station’s platforms are deep underground.

The Hotel Auto Hogar Barcelona is a nice budget hotel with great service. In September 06 double room cost € 75 (tax and all-you-can-eat breakfast included).

The RENFE train service(€ 2.60) runs approximately every 30 minutes from Barcelona airport to Catalunya station (30 minutes or so); then you have to change for Green Line to metro station Parallel and hotel is 60 yards walk from the metro.

The hotel’s location is good indeed - just 10 minutes walk to La Rambla (take Rambla Nova). Avinguda Parallel where the hotel is located is also a busy street scattered with cafes, restaurants and countless shops; Placa Espanya and Montjuic with its beautiful Palau Nacional and Magic Fountain are 1.5 miles away. The hotel is a short walk away from the Sant Antoni market which is mainly a fresh food market and is wonderful to stroll around. The street leading up to the market, Ronda Sant Pau is home to many cafés as well as some shops and pharmacies.

Our room was cozy and clean; with a telephone, TV, safe box, and a small balcony. Bathroom had all the necessary amenities (shower, bathtub, toilet etc). The rooms at the front of the hotel may experience more noise as Ave Parallel is one of Barcelona’s main roads. There was a buffet style breakfast from 7:30am till 10am with hot and cold food. Be warned that it gets busy in the breakfast room around nine; either an early start or a late one is advised. The staff were really kind and helpful.

They have a luggage room where you can leave your bags after you checkout if your flight is not until later. For the price of the hotel Auto Hogar was very good value.

This historic restaurant was founded in 1897 and designed by Puig Cadafalch in Neo-Gothic style. The restaurant is world famous for its relationship with Picasso when he lived in Barcelona (he designed first menu and came often to the place). Its name means "Four Cats", which is a Spanish expression meaning "a few unimportant persons". More of a cafe than a restaurant, it was a meeting place for famous artists like Pablo Picasso, Miguel Utrillo, and Ramón Casas. The place stills breaths the bohemian atmosphere from the beginning of the 20th century. Make reservations or be prepared to wait awhile. You can choose to sit either downstairs or upstairs with often live music. As one should expect, it is a little expensive (€15 – 20), but the seafood and live entertainment are very good.

The festive spirit is something you feel as you walk around Barcelona. Barcelona celebrates 15 official holidays a year, including all the major Catholic festivals. During numerous "festes" people show welcoming, enthusiastic and generous aspect of Barcelona. The calendar begins in January with the Cavalcada dels Reis Mags d'Orient (Procession of the Three Kings), a celebration full of magic for children and families.

In February there is the Carnival, with its Rua, a celebration of excess and "that everything is possible", organized by the municipal covered markets. Santa Eulàlia, the day of the patroness of Barcelona, is a traditional winter celebration and the occasion of the prize-giving ceremony of the Ciutat de Barcelona Prizes for the arts and science. March offers the Guitar Festival.

April 23 is a wonderful day to be in Barcelona. On this day people have a celebration with three names: the Dia de Sant Jordi (Day of Saint George), also the Day of the Book, also the Lovers Day. First of all it is a local festival celebrating Catalunya's patron saint. The celebration comes from the legend of the Saint himself. As the story goes, Saint George slayed a dragon and a red rose sprouted miraculously from a drop of its blood, which the Saint, of course, gave to a princess. Therefore, men give women a rose (sources estimate that over four million roses are bought on this day alone). What about women? They give their sweethearts a book – hence Day of the Book. Why a book? In tribute to Cervantes who died on this day in 1616. A stroll down Las Ramblas reveals hundreds of stalls, which sell some 400,000 books during the day; I guess not every man gets a book.

In May Barcelona celebrates the Ancient Music Festival. The Berbena de Sant Joan (also known as La Nit del Foc, or Fire Night) takes place the night before Saint John's Day, and during the short nights of the summer solstice. Old furniture is bundled onto bonfires in the villages and towns throughout the region, the fire acting as a purifier and curative element. The most enjoyable part of the Noche de Sant Joan are the verbenas (open-air celebrations with drinking, dancing and fireworks) that last from sunset on 23 June to sunrise on 24 June.

Also in June Barcelona hosts the annual Sonar festival which is a celebration of advanced music and multimedia art. In July the city celebrates the Festival del Grec - the largest music, dance and theatre event. In August locals and visitors alike enjoy Festa Major de Gràcia with numerous street music and events. In September come Catalan National Day and Festes de la Mercè – the most important Barcelona festival. In the late October - November city hosts International Jazz Festival ; and the Fira de Santa Llúcia in December is a preparation for the Christmas celebrations and the winter solstice.

Visit Casa Battló, one of Barcelona's gems, at Passeig de Gracia, 43. Of course it is by Gaudi. The building was designed in 1904 for Josep Batlló, a wealthy aristocrat. The facade, sprinkled with bits of blue and green tile and studded with wave-shaped balconies and window frames, rises to an uneven blue tiled roof with a solitary tower. The fantastic roof represents St. George and the dragon. Locals love the Catalunya's patron saint and celebrate St Georges Daay on April 23. The curved back of dragon, which becomes the blue scale roof, is awesome. The Casa's facade Dali later compared to 'the tranquil waters of a lake’. The downstairs building is the headquarters of an insurance company. Many visitors walk inside for a view of Gaudi's interior, which is basically remains as he designed it. Audio guides are available from the front desk, admission fee €16.50.

Casa Amatller (next door to 43) built in 1906 by Josep Puig I Cadafalch for Antoni Amatler, a Catalon chocolate manufacturer. Casa combines Gothic window frames with a stepped gable borrowed from urban architecture of the Netherlands. Inside, tourists may view the original Neo-Gothic interior; building now is the headquarters of the Institute Amatler d'Art Hispanic.

Casa Milà or La Pedrera at Passeig de Gracia, 92 is one of the Gaudi’s masterpieces. Formally called the Casa Mila after the businessman who commissioned it, the house was built between 1905 and 1910 as a combined apartment and office block. Its rippled facade, with wrought iron balconies, curving around the street corner in one smooth sweep, is said to have been inspired by the mountain of Montserrat, and the apartment themselves resemble eroded cave dwellings, hence the name La Pedrera (the stone quarry or rock pile). You can take a guiding tour through the building and up on to the roof, with its giant surreal chimneys looking like medieval knights. From here visitors can enjoy spectacular views of Barcelona. One floor below the roof is a small museum dedicated to Gaudí's work. Admission fee €8. Casa Mila was included in the World Heritage List in 1984.

The historic Cathedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulalia, a beautiful example of Catalan Gothic art, is a must-see; expect to spend several hours here. In the afternoon, the admission is free.

First church at the site of the current cathedral was built in 343 A.D, yes when the Roman Empire was in power here. In 985 the basilica was destroyed by the Moors and replaced by a Roman cathedral, built between 1046 and 1058. A Roman chapel, the Capella de Santa Llucia, was added between 1257 and 1268. Thirty years later, in 1298, construction of the Gothic cathedral started under King Jaume the 2nd, but facade was not completed until 19th century and the central spire was completed in 1913 (design of both the facade and the spire were based on the original design from 1408).

The cathedral is dedicated to Santa Eulalia, martyred by the Romans for daring to prefer Christianity, and her tomb rests in a crypt beneath the high altar. One story tells that she was exposed naked in the public square and a miraculous snow fall in mid spring covered her nudity. The cathedral’s magnificent 14th-century cloister has magnolias and palm trees growing in the middle and geese waddling around the periphery. If they disturb the tranquility of the scene, they do so for a purpose - the geese have been kept here for over 500 years to reflect the virginity of Santa Eulalia. There are always 13 geese in the cloister; each one represents one year in the life of the young girl tortured to death. The cathedral builders considered geese sacred birds, symbolizing the return of the soul to the eschatological resting places.

The Cathedral square also called Placa de la Seu, is frequently used during Barcelona’s numerous festivals; stop by to watch a singer or the dancers. Visit the square on Sunday when the locals gather to perform La Sardana, the local folk dance.

There is no better time to visit Barcelona than end of September, during famous Festes de la Merce. In 2006 the first celebrations began on September 18th, and the last ones took place during the following weekend.

The festivals are dedicated to the patron Saint of Barcelona: 'la Mare de Deu de la Merce' - the name came from the Catalunian princess La Merced. Live music stages are located around the city (during our visit we found it at Placa Catalunya, Reial, Sant Jaume, Cathedral). Actually, there is more than one festival during this amazing week. The Festival of Fire offers fantastic fireworks display of all types of sparks, from the pyrotechnical music show to the fantastic Correfoc (Devil Fire Run) when Dracs (dragons) exhaling fire parade on the ancient Placa de Sant Jaume dancing to the sound of the tambourines (if you have time then come to the Cathedral square about 5pm to see the Dracs on display prior to the parade). At 9pm we were about 15 yards from Palau de Generalitat gates, on the Sant Jaume square. Sardana dancing just ended (a slow, circular, traditional dance performed by Catalan people). Finally a dragon appeared, with carretillas fixed with clips to various parts of its body, followed by its team of drummers. The Dracs were papier-mâché figures in various sizes (say 5-20 feet long, and 6-10 feet tall, made up of various animal forms, most were dragons, but there were horses too). Some were on wheels; others were worn by the Diablos who made up the Las Colles sponsored by the local neighborhoods. Each of Las Colles team consisted of the Diablos leading the way with drums; followed by a couple of people with flares. The drumming worked the crowd into a frenzy. The Dragons of course issued blue, purple, orange smoke, and the showers of sparks. In 45 minutes all dragons have gone and we moved to the Cathedral Square to watch a Barcelona Musical Action event – a wonderful concert. Barcelona offers opportunity. On of the city squares to watch musical performances and discover new sounds on many city squares (we enjoyed two wonderful concerts, one on the Cathedral Square and another at Placa Reial).

Watching the Festival of Tradition, visitors can see one of the most traditional entertainments in Catalonia - the Castellers (human tower builders). The construction of these human towers began in Tarragona centuries ago. Events also include the parade of the giants when a processions through the streets is made up of gegants (giant wooden figures) and capgrossos (dwarfs with big heads) operated by people.

The Festival in the Sky is another exciting event. You can watch acrobatic gathering including jets, balloons and gliders. There are also sports events and plenty drinking as is the case at just about all festivals nationwide. I would recommend visiting the tourist information office above Plaza Catalunya (opposite Corte Inglés) to get a list of events so that you'll know exactly where and when everything is taking place. 

The pedestrian only boulevard is a 24x7 Barcelona’s carnival. 'Rambla' means 'stream' in Arabic. The Ramblas used to be a drainage ditch along the medieval city wall. The focal point of town is La Rambla, a 1.25km (0.75mi) boulevard running northwest and slightly downhill from Plaça de Catalunya to Port Vell (Old Harbour).

At the beginning of the Rambla, near the corner with Carrer Pelai, visitors stop by famous Canaletes Fountain. As the legend goes, whoever drinks the water from it, will surely return to Barcelona. When Hans Christian Andersen saw this beautiful street he wrote "there's no doubt Barcelona is a great city". Maybe he drank from the fountain too. Colorful Sant Josep market just off the Rambla, definitely worth a detour.

The Ciutat Vella, a warren of narrow streets, centuries-old buildings and budget accommodation, spreads on both sides of La Rambla. Barri Gothic (Gothic Quarter) is at its heart, on the lower half of the eastern section of the boulevard. West is El Raval, ethnically diverse neighborhood is a great place to find a quaint café or a unique shop.

Columbus’s statue Colón marks the point where La Rambla meets the sea, catch a lift to the top for a 360º view of port and city.

Park Güell is our favorite park in Barcelona. To visit the magic place, take metro to stop "Lesseps" (Green Line, L3). On leaving the metro follow the street signposts for the park; walking along busy noisy street than up the steep hill called the Carmel Mountain. Walk from the metro station will take 15 – 20 minutes. Open hours from 10am to 7pm. Entrance fee – free.

Park Güell was commissioned by Eusebi Güell who wanted to create a stylish park for Barcelona aristocracy. Güell Park contains amazing stone structures, stunning tiling and fascinating buildings. At the entrance, there are two towers (which looked like ginger houses to me), you can climb left one (for the views and gift shop inside it).

Gaudi was strongly influenced by natural shapes and used them in his work. From the entrance visitors can see the famous stairway and Gaudi dragon fountain. This dragon (or salamander) is adorned in beautiful multi-colored tiling; there is something magical about the beast. The steps up from the entrance, guarded by the mosaic creature, lead to the Sala Hipostila, a forest of 84 stone columns, some of them are leaning (there was a classic music concert here during our visit). On the top of the Sala Hipostila is a broad open space whose centerpiece is the Blank de Trenadis, a multi-colored tiled bench curving round its entire perimeter. A view of the park and of Barcelona City is breathtaking.

To your right you can see a walkway supported by twisting rock pillars that seem to be growing out of the ground like tree trunks. Although these are rather irregular in shape they do feel strangely natural too. Park Güell also has a small house in the park which Gaudi lived in at one stage. The house has now been converted into a museum and contains interesting furniture also designed by Gaudi. Parc Güell is also included in the World Heritage List.

To find the famous museum, walk down C. Princesa from the metro Jaume I, and turn right on C. Montcada.

The stunning Gothic palaces that house the museum are situated on the Carrer de Montcada 15 - 19, which was, in medieval times, an approach to the port. Frankly, my favorite Picasso’s museum is in Antibes, France, but this one definitely is worth a visit. This palace houses the best collection of Picasso's work in Spain, mainly from his period in Barcelona.

Although born in Malaga, Pablo Ruiz Picasso spent much of his youth in Barcelona - from the age of 14 to 23. The first floor is devoted to Picasso's Blue Period. (1901-04), the second floor displays his impressionist-influenced works, produced in Barcelona and Paris between 1900 and 1904. The haunting Portrait of Señora Canals (1905), from his Rose Period, is also on display.

Nevertheless, some visitors are disappointed: it contains none of his best-known works and a few in the Cubist style.

Allow 1 or 2 hours to explore the exhibitions. Admission fee is €6.

If you only have time for one sightseeing in Barcelona, then visit Templo Expiatiorio de la Sagrada Familia (Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family); convenient Metro station Sagrada Familia is next to the cathedral. The Sagrada Familia, Antoni Gaudi masterpiece, is finest cathedral I have ever seen. There is no other church like that on the surface of the planet. Antoni Gaudi (1852 – 1926) was born in Reus and initially trained in metalwork. He obtained his architecture degree in 1878. Up to 1910 Gaudi worked on numerous buildings in Barcelona. The idea for La Sagrada Familia came from a rich publisher, Josef Maria Bocabella I Verdauger. What decadent Barcelona needed was a great church raised to the Holy Family, where contrite citizens could expiate their sins. The original architect soon quit, and into the breech stepped Antoni Gaudi in 1884 as lead architect at the age of 31.

After finishing La Pedera on the Passeig de Gracia for the Mila family, he began to narrow his efforts (still working on the fantastic Parc Güell though). As Gaudi worked on La Sagrada Familia, he evolved steadily grander and added more original ideas for it. With his characteristic dislike for straight lines (there were none in nature, he said), Gaudi gave his towers swelling outlines inspired by the peaks of the holy mountain Montserrat outside Barcelona. His project comprised three facades of which Gaudi completed only the Nativity Facade. The church inside is awesome. The interior has a central nave supported by a forest of leaning columns. Gaudi lived his last years in a workshop on site, adopting the plans right up to his death. The architect was run over by a tram on the Gran Via in June 1926. His death was treated as a Catalan national disaster, and all of Barcelona turned out for his funeral procession. After Gaudí's death construction slowed dramatically and resumed only in late 50th. You can visit the crypt were Gaudí is buried. A museum tells the story of this great architect and the history of the church. You can also visit the towers. Admission fee to the cathedral and the museum is €8.

Pre-Roman coins found in the area of Barcelona suggest that the Celtic-Iberian Laietani tribe may have settled here. Around 230 BC the Carthaginian conqueror Hamiclar Barca, father of Hannibal, established a settlement here giving the city own name. Archaeologists believe that this town has been built on the hill of Montjuic. The Romans arrived in Spain in 218 BC. The heart of the Roman settlement lies within the Barri Gothic. Remains of city walls, temple pillars and graves all attest to what would become eventually a busy and lovely town. Barcino, as the Romans called it, was not a major center. Tarraco (modern Tarragona) was considerably more important. From the 4th century AD onwards several waves of invaders flooded across the country. The Visigoths arrived in 415 and made a temporary capital in Barcelona. In 711 Muslims landed in Hispania. They made their way through the country into France, where only brought to a halt in 732 by the Franks at Poitiers. Barcelona was taken by the Frankish rule Louis the Pious in 801.

The real history of Barcelona begins at this point. The area was populated by the people who by then could be identified as 'Catalans". Their language was closely related to the lange d’oc, the language of southern France. By the late 10th century the Casa de Barcelona ruled an independent principality covering most of modern Catalunya. This was the only Christian state on the Iberian Peninsula. In the 11th century Catalunya launched its own fleet and the sea trade developed. This was the era of great Catalan Romanesque art. Barcelona’s trading wealth paid for the great Gothic buildings. The cathedral, the Capella Real de Santa Agata and the churches of Santa Maria del Pi and Santa Maria del Mar were built in the late 13th or early 14th century.

A 1462 rebellion against King Joan II ended in a siege in 1473 that devastated the city. The sea wars with Genoa, resistance in Sardinia and the loss of the gold trade all drained the coffers and eventually Catalunya became part of the Castilian state. The Catholic Monarchs banned Catalans from trading directly with newly established American colonies. Disaffected Catalans resorted to arms a number of times, and the last revolt, during the War of the Spanish Succession, saw Catalonia siding with Britain and Austria against Felipe V, the French contender for the Spanish throne. Barcelona fell in 1714 after another shocking siege, and as well as banning the Catalan language, Felipe built a huge fort, the Ciutadella, to watch over his ungrateful subjects.

The big break came only in 1778 when the ban on American trade was lifted, and the region's fortunes gradually turned around. Spain's first industrial revolution, based on cotton, was launched there, and other industries based on wine, cork, and iron also developed. By the 1830s, the European Romantic movement virtually rescued Catalan culture and language.