There are as many as 9 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Barcelona. Seven of them were created by Gaudi. 1)
La Rambla, undoubtedly the most famous street in Barcelona, stretches from Mirador de Colom on the coast to the magnificent Plaça Catalunya. Often referred to as “La Rambla” in the singular, it is made up of five different streets: the Rambla de Canaletes, the Rambla dels Estudis, the Rambla de Sant Josep, the Rambla dels Caputxins, and the Rambla de Santa Mònica, all of which flow seamlessly together. 2)
In 1936, the People's Olympics were to be held in Barcelona in protest of the 11th Summer Olympics in Berlin. The day before the scheduled start, General Franco staged a coup in Spain. 3)
One version of the founding of Barcelona says that the city was founded by Hercules, 400 years before Rome was built. 4)
Another story attributes the founding of Barcelona to the Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca, father of Hannibal, who named the city of Barcino for his family in the 3rd century BC. 5)
The monument, erected in 1888 for the World Exposition, commemorates Christopher Columbus' first voyage to the Americas and recalls that he reported to Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand V in Barcelona after his first trip to the new continent. 6)
Both Catalan and Spanish are the official languages of Barcelona. While Spanish is spoken more frequently, Catalan is understood by 95 percent of Barcelona residents. 7)
Every year 8 million tourists visit Barcelona, making it the third most visited city in Europe after London and Paris. 8)
The Port of Barcelona is the largest cruise port in Europe, and its location on the Mediterranean Sea means that around 3.6 million cruise ships pass through the port each year. 9)
The Maritime Museum of Barcelona is located in the historic Royal Shipyard of Barcelona, a former military building from the 13th century, with a Roman cemetery underneath. 10)
In 1794, French astronomer Pierre Méchain used Montjuïc Castle overlooking Barcelona harbor as one of the endpoints for his research, which included an official measurement. 11)
Gaudi was not the first architect to work on the Sagrada Família. Architect Francisco del Villar was first asked to design a church on the site. When he abandoned the project within a year, Gaudi took over the task and completely revamped the design. 12)
Barcelona is home to one of the largest and richest soccer clubs in the world, FC Barcelona. The Camp Nou stadium in the largest in Europe, with a capacity of almost 100,000 people. More than 1.5 million people visit the FC Barcelona Museum each year, making it one of the most visited museums. 13)
Five beaches in Barcelona did not exist before the 1992 Summer Olympics. 14)
Flamenco is not popular in Barcelona like in other parts of Spain. 15)
Barcelona has nightclubs open until 6 am on weekends. 16)