Barcelona beach, Spain by David Spender

How to reach the destination?

Barcelona is well connected trough airways, railways, and waterways. The Barcelona EI pray airport is at a distance of about 17 kilometers from the city center. This second largest airport of Spain connects major parts of world to the city. Sabadell airport is another major airport near the city.

Popular tourist attractions of the city:

Barcelona is the best place to spend summer vacations. Some of the popular locations including the giant temple, Barcelona aquarium, Columbus monument, Tibidabo, monastery of pedaled, Santa Maria del mar, and many other exotic locations, add to the beauty of the city.

• Tibidabo: It is 512 meters above the sea level, and it surrounds the city and used to protect it from enemies from the north. The view from the top of the mountain is simply spectacular. Large Ocean, valleys and greenery adds to the scenic beauty of the mountain.

• Amusement park: A beautiful amusement park is established at the slope of mountains few years earlier. This amusement park has been extended up to 70,000 square meters.

National palace of Barcelona is one among the popular historical monuments of the town. Many other attractions like magic fountain, Mies Van De Rohe pavilion, and many others are located near the monument.

Popular hotels and resorts located in the city

Many five star and four star hotels have been established in the town for providing an unforgettable experience to the visitors. Easy access to metro and other facilities has increased the demands for these hotels.

Some popular hotels of the city include Casa Fuster Hotel, Arts Hotel Barcelona, Euro Stars Grand Marina Hotels Barcelona, Claris hotel Barcelona, Le Meridian, Grand Florida Hotel, Melia Hotel, Majestic Hotel and Spa, and many others.

The luxurious facilities offered by these hotels attract a lot of tourists every year. It is better to book a room for two or family well in advance, in order to avoid any kind of inconvenience.

• Casa fuster hotel: It is a 100 years old building providing five star services to their customers. The exterior, infrastructure and every other little thing is designed in an artistic way. The floors of the hotel are designed with shiny black mosaic. Common facilities offered by the hotel include sauna, terrace area, spa, modern gym, Galaxo restaurant, and many others.

Tibidabo, Barcelona, Spain by Leonora Enking

How to plan a travel to Barcelona:

Many tour agencies provide all paid vacation packages to this magnificent city. They help you plan your trip within your budgets. They make all the arrangements for you, from your stay to your food, and for visiting the popular attractions. They also arrange your air tickets.

Author’s Bio: Wilson has been blogging about various travel destinations from across the world. If you are planning on holidays to Portugal, then you might want to check out his posts on cheap flights to Portugal with Jet2.com.

The post A Brief Guide on Barcelona Holidays and Vacations appeared first on Europe Explored.

Sagrada Familia Cathedral, Barcelona, Spain by Ramon Llorensi

Barcelona is also Europe’s largest metropolis on the Mediterranean coast and a home to one of Europe’s principal Mediterranean ports. Barcelona international airport handles approx. 30 million passengers every year.

Barcelona was the 12th-most-visited city in the world and 4th most visited in Europe after London, Paris and Rome. It is in addition the most popular tourist destination in Spain (receiving above 5 million tourists every year). Barcelona is the 4th richest city by GDP in the European Union (after London, Paris and Madrid).

Barcelona was probably founded by the Carthaginians and later became a Roman colony of Barcino. The city became famous mainly for its remarkable architecture, but Summer Olympic Games in 1992 promoted the city much more. The popularity and the huge attendance certainly also contributes to the fact that it lies at sea. A lot of people are coming here from nearby France.

Palau de la Música Catalana, Barcelona, Spain by WikiMapa

Most remarkable symbol of the city is the cathedral Sagrada Familia designed by the famous architect Antonio Gaudí. Its construction began in 1884 and is still not finished. Meanwhile Gaudí died in 1926 and the following construction is already not according to his original plan. The huge building with twelve towers became the most admired place of Barcelona. Construction is funded by donations and is progressing quite slowly. It is planned that could be completed in 2026, the 100th anniversary of the death of Antonio Gaudí. But whether it actually happens, it is not entirely certain.

But the cathedral is not the only signature of Gaudí in Barcelona. Among his other major works are the Park Güell with Gaudi Museum, the Palau Güell palace, quite controversial building La Pedrera (or Casa Milà) and Casa Batlló. Many of Gaudí’s work at the time of its inception, were considered ugly, but today, however, they are most popular sights of Barcelona. They are also registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List (some of them since 1984, but more were added later in 2005).

The city gave to the world and especially to itself yet another famous architect – Lluís Domenech i Montaner. In Barcelona he designed a building of Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, that was constructed between 1901 and 1930, and the Palau de la Música Catalana (Palace of Catalan Music) from 1905 – 1908. Both buildings have also been added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1997.

Gothic Quarter, Barcelona, Spain by Alberto Carrasco Casado

But Barcelona does not offer only modern architecture. The city boasts plenty of Gothic monuments, and even has a Gothic Quarter (Barri Gotic), forming the basis of the Old Town. The area also contains the walls from Roman times or other non-gothic buildings. Walking through the old streets is really a great experience. Gothic Quarter is dominated by the Cathedral of Santa Eulalia.

In addition there is a huge variety of museums, galleries and cultural booths in Barcelona. There are many sports facilities, some of which hosted major sporting events (e.g. Olympic Games), two large football stadiums, or racing circuit for MotoGP World Championship and Formula I.

Barcelona is a live city at all (in terms of traffic intensity sometimes even too live…), full of culture, art and all sorts of activities.

Santa Maria del Mar Cathedral, Barcelona, Spain by Ferran Pestaña

Top sights to see in Barcelona

• Sagrada Família, the international symbol of Barcelona – still unfinished church
• Palau de la Música Catalana and Hospital de Sant Pau
• Park Güell
• Palau Güell
• Casa Milà
• Casa Vicens
• Casa Batlló
• Crypt in Colonia Güell
• The Cathedral of St. Eulalia
• Church of Santa Maria del Mar
• Gothic church of Santa Maria del Pi
• Church of Sant Pau del Camp
• Palau Reial Major
• The Columbus Monument
• Forum Building
• The Arc de Triomf, a triumphal arch built in 1888

The post Top sights to see in Barcelona – most visited city in Spain appeared first on Europe Explored.