Barcelona

Barcelona is simultaneously practical, nonconformist, artistic, hedonistic, historical, and up-and-coming

One of the Mediterranean’s busiest and most bustling ports, lively Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia in northeastern Spain. The city’s got wild nightlife, nude beaches, whimsical and daring modernista architecture, and the work of Surrealistic painters such as Dalí or Joan Miró. Needless to say, Barcelona, which was revitalized in 1992 when it hosted the Olympic Games, is one of Europe’s hottest tourist destinations.

Before wandering the narrow, labyrinthine streets of old Barcelona, consider a panoramic view of it first to get your bearings. That’s possible from Tibidabo Mountain, just north of the port, and reached by a funicular taking you up 1,600 feet (487m). After that, don’t miss Catedral de Barcelona—the most acclaimed example of Catalán architecture and one of the great Gothic cathedrals of Europe—nor Museu Picasso, nor La Rambla, Spain’s most famous promenade and Barcelona’s most active street.

© 2009, Wiley Publishing, Inc.