My blogs from the former Yahoo 360° and Multiply: THE BEAUTY OF BARCELONA

BARCELONA

as the capital and cultural hub of the autonomous region of Catalonia,

the city has a long and glorious history of its own.

Catalonia was a leading trading power in the Mediterranean during the 14th and 15th centuries, with enterprising merchants and bankers, and no feudal remnants whatsoever. United with the Kingdom of Aragon in the 12th century, the region became part of Spain in 1469 with the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella

. The Barcelona Cathedral, whose original was destroyed in 925 by Al-Mansur. It was then started to be rebuilt in 1046 by Bishop Guislabert and construction has finally been completed at the end of the 19th century

Barcelona now is a beautiful city with beautiful cathedrals and a beautiful boardwalk.
The most memorable places in Barcelona was La Sagrada Familia, Park Guell and La Ramblas...

Sagrada La Familia

The new Cathedral originally designed by Antoni Gaudi (1852 – 1926), who worked on the project for over 40 years, devoting the last 15 years of his life entirely to the endeavor, the project is scheduled to be completed in 2026. On the subject of the extremely long construction period, Gaudí is said to have remarked, "My client is not in a hurry." After Gaudí's death in 1926 work continued

The heart of the city is La Rambla, the wide, main pedestrian-only boulevard stretching from La Placa Catalunya to the harbour.

Street performers, sales people, musicians, foodvendors attract visitors to the city

At the port end of La Rambla is the Monument a Colom, a tribute to Christopher Columbus, an Italian actually, who distinguished himself in the service of Spain discovering the New World

The Magic Fountain, made by Carles Buigas in 1929 on the Universal Exhibition grounds, is a spectacular water ballet with a great play of color , light and music

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acandle wrote on Jun 7, '08

Beautiful, hopefully someday I can visit.

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airforcesgt wrote on Jun 7, '08

I would love to visit there someday.

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michaelmichoo wrote on Jun 3, '08

Barcelona looks beautiful, Viera! Nice variety of pictures of the city with its streets, architecture, people, museums and many other interesting sites! Looks like a lovely city to visit.

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forgetmenot525 wrote on Jun 3, '08

Gaudi Buildings are top of my 'must see before I die' list,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,right up there at the top. I feel a certain affinity with your area of Spain because of the historical movement for 'Independence', this is something you share with Scotland. This is a lovely blog, thank you

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gregzook wrote on Jun 2, '08

thos long construction periods for the cathedrals are fascinating. You'd never see projects like that in my country. These photographs are stunning. Thanks for sharing your travels with us.