Barcelona
Barcelona
+ The City of Barcelona
Sights
* L'Anella Olímpica
* LA Barceloneta and Port Olímpic
* Casa Amatller
* Casa Batlló
* Casa Lleó-Morera
* Casa Milà
* Ciutat Vella
* Drassanes and Museu Marítim
* L'Eixample
* Fundació Antoni Tàpies
* Gràcia
* Hospital De La Santa Creu I Sant Pau
* Mercat De La Boqueria
* Monestir De Pedralbes and Collecció Thyssen-Bornemisza
* Monument A Colom
* Museu D'art Contemporani De Barcelona (Macba)
* Museu D'art Modern - Mnac
* Museu Frederic Marès
* Museu del futbol club Barcelona
* Museu D'Història De La Ciutat
* Museu Tauri De La Monumental
* Museu Tèxtil I D'Indumentària
* Palau Güell
* Palau De Mar
* Palau De La Música Catalana
* Palau Reial De Pedralbes
* Parc De La Ciutadella
* Parc Del Clot
* Parc De La Creueta Del Coll
* Parc De L'Espanya Industrial
* Parc De Joan Miró
* Parc Del Laberint
* Pavelló Barcelona
* Plaça De Catalunya
* Plaça Del Rei
* Plaça Reial
* Plaça Sant Jaume
* Port Vell
* Tibidabo and Serra De Collserola
* Vila Olímpica
* Barcelona's Metro
Vicinity
+ Vicinity
Walk/Drive
Food&Drink
In The Know
Did You Know?
( Highly Recommended )
In 1992, Montjuïc mountain was temporarily renamed 'Mount Olympus' and became Barcelona's main venue for the Olympic Games. Atop its western crest lies the Anella Olímpica (Olympic Ring), a monumental complex of concrete and marble that contains some of the city's most celebrated new buildings: Ricardo Bofills' neo-classical sports university; the Institut Nacional de Educació Fisica de Catalunya (INEFC); the Complex Esportiu Bernat Picornell swimming-pool complex; Santiago Calatrava's space-age communications tower, which dominates the skyline; and the remarkable black steel and glass domed Palau de Sant Jordi, designed by Japanese architect Arata Isozaki, which looks more like a UFO than a covered sports stadium.
Barcelona had bid for the games three times previously and had built Europe's biggest stadium for the 1929 World Exhibition with the clear intention of using it for the 1936 'People's Olympics' (organised as an alternative to the Nazi's infamous Berlin Games). These never took place due to the outbreak of Spanish Civil War the day before the official opening. For the 1992 games, local architects managed to preserve the stadium's original façade, while increasing the seating capacity from 25,000 to 70,000 by excavating deep into the interior. Today, highlights of the 1992 games can be relived through video clippings and souvenir showcases in the Galería Olímpica, located beneath the stadium.
Address: Avinguda de l'Estadi/Passeig Olímpic, Montjuïc
Phone: Estadi Olímpic: 93 426 20 89; Palau Sant Jordi: 93 481 01 92
Bus: 50
Metro: Espanya, or Paral.lel, then Funicular de Montjuïc
Accessible: Very good
Admission: Free
Other: Montjuïc; Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya
Galeria Olímpica
Phone: 93 426 06 60Open: Apr-Sep Mon-Sat 10-2, 4-8; Sun and hols 10-2; Oct-Mar Mon-Fri 10-1, 4-6
Bus: 50
Accessible: Good
Admission: Cheap
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