Barcelona by Santiago Guarín M.

CITY OF BARCELONA

BY SANTIAGO GUARÍN MONTOYA

Barcelona is a coastal city located in the NorthEast of Spain, bathed by the Mediterranean Sea. They are above the Equator so they have seasons but they are not too tough, because of the influence of the sea and the North of Africa. This city is the capital of the province of Barcelona, and the Catalan Community.

They have two official languages Spanish and Catalan, they belong to the European Community, therefore, they use the Euro.

Barcelona is the second most important city of Spain after Madrid which is the capital of the country, but for some things like arts, sports and tourism there is a rivality. The Catalans feel that their traditions and culture are different to the rest of the country, they even have their own language, and they are always thinking about independence.

Barcelona is a cosmopolitan city, it has museums, universities, ports, parks, churches among other that’s why is very attractive to tourists. The city is rich in architecture, is the place where Gaudi lived and where he developed famous projects like Park Güell, Milá and Batlló houses, and his master piece the Churche of Holy Family which he can´t finish. Some other touristic places are Gotic Quarter, The Ramblas, The Barceloneta and its beautiful beach.

Some other nice places to visit and enjoy the view of the city are Montjuic and Mount Tibidabo.

One practical fun and cheap way discover all the great things to do and see in Barcelona are the Hop- On and Hop-Off buses, because you can visit the most important touristic spots and get information about them, in this buses you can go down in the different places, stay all the time that you want, and take the bus as many time as you want.

Otherwise you can use the Metro which is fast and cheap and you can see different types of people, it´s fun.

Food is great, you can´t leave without try traditional dishes like paella, tapas, seafood, hams and olives with a glass of wine.

La Boquería and Santa Caterina markets are interesting places to visit, you can see local vegetables and fruits, butcheries, fisheries, all kind of chesses, nuts, olives, candies, and spices and they show it so clean, neat and beautiful that looks like a colorful painting. It´s amazing!