Plaça de Catalunya in Barcelona

10 November 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

© Tango7174/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Tango7174/cc-by-sa-4.0

Plaça de Catalunya (meaning in English “Catalonia Square”; sometimes referred to as Plaza de Cataluña, its Spanish name) is a large square in central Barcelona that is generally considered to be both its city centre and the place where the old city (Barri Gòtic and Raval, in Ciutat Vella) and the 19th century-built Eixample meet.   read more…

Sagrada Família in Barcelona

1 November 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, House of the Month, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  21 minutes

© Bernard Gagnon/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Bernard Gagnon/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, shortened as the Sagrada Família, is an under construction church in the Eixample district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is the largest unfinished Catholic church in the world. Designed by architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926), his work on Sagrada Família is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. On 7 November 2010, Pope Benedict XVI consecrated the church and proclaimed it a minor basilica.   read more…

Great Synagogue of Barcelona

12 October 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions Reading Time:  7 minutes

Menorah © Nikodem Nijaki/cc-by-sa-3.0

Menorah © Nikodem Nijaki/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Ancient Synagogue of Barcelona (Catalan: Sinagoga Major de Barcelona; Spanish: Sinagoga Mayor de Barcelona) is believed to be an ancient synagogue located in the Jewish quarter of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Medieval rabbi Shlomo ben Adret, leader of Spanish Jewry of his time, was the rabbi of the synagogue for 50 years during the late 13th century.   read more…

Passeig de Gràcia in Barcelona

9 June 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture, Shopping Reading Time:  5 minutes

Casa Amatller and Casa Batlló © Bernard Gagnon/cc-by-sa-3.0

Casa Amatller and Casa Batlló © Bernard Gagnon/cc-by-sa-3.0

Passeig de Gràcia is one of the major avenues in Barcelona (Catalonia) and one of its most important shopping and business areas, containing several of the city’s most celebrated pieces of architecture. It is located in the central part of Eixample, stretching from Plaça Catalunya to Carrer Gran de Gràcia. Passeig de Gràcia is regarded as the most expensive street in Barcelona and in Spain.   read more…

Gothic Quarter in Barcelona

6 May 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture Reading Time:  8 minutes

Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulàlia © Marco Almbauer

Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulàlia © Marco Almbauer

The Gothic Quarter (Catalan: Barri Gòtic) is the historic centre of the old city of Barcelona. It stretches from La Rambla to Via Laietana, and from the Mediterranean seafront to the Ronda de Sant Pere. It is a part of Ciutat Vella district.   read more…

Barcelona Royal Shipyard

29 April 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions Reading Time:  9 minutes

© Lluis Ferrer

© Lluis Ferrer

The Barcelona Royal Shipyard (Catalan: Drassanes Reials de Barcelona, Spanish: Atarazanas Reales de Barcelona) is a shipyard and former military building of Gothic architecture placed at the Port Vell area of the Port of Barcelona. Nowadays it houses the Barcelona Maritime Museum. Construction started during the 13th century under the rule of Peter III of Aragon. During excavations in 2012 it was discovered that in the late 16th century a new building was constructed on top of the old medieval dockyard, giving the building its current structure. This excavations also uncovered a Roman graveyard. The shipyard’s restoration was finished in early 2013. The museum was reopened in 2014. The construction of the dockyards was done in several stages, spanning over four centuries:   read more…

La Rambla in Barcelona

4 December 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Shopping Reading Time:  9 minutes

© Sergi Larripa/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Sergi Larripa/cc-by-sa-3.0

La Rambla is a street in central Barcelona. A tree-lined pedestrian street, it stretches for 1.2 km (0.75 mi) connecting the Plaça de Catalunya in its center with the Christopher Columbus Monument at Port Vell. La Rambla forms the boundary between the neighbourhoods of the Barri Gòtic to the east and the El Raval to the west. La Rambla can be crowded, especially during the height of the tourist season. Its popularity with tourists has affected the character of the street, which has shifted in composition to pavement cafes and souvenir kiosks. It has also suffered from the attention of pickpockets. The Spanish poet Federico García Lorca once said that La Rambla was “the only street in the world which I wish would never end.” La Rambla can be considered a series of shorter streets, each differently named, hence the plural form Les Rambles (the original Catalan form; in Spanish it is Las Ramblas). The street is successively called:   read more…

Sagrada Família in Barcelona

1 September 2021 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, House of the Month, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  8 minutes

© Bernard Gagnon/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Bernard Gagnon/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Basílica de la Sagrada Família (Spanish: Basílica de la Sagrada Familia; ‘Basilica of the Holy Family‘), also known as the Sagrada Família, is a large unfinished Roman Catholic minor basilica in the Eixample district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Designed by the Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926), his work on the building is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. On 7 November 2010, Pope Benedict XVI consecrated the church and proclaimed it a minor basilica.   read more…

European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture

3 August 2018 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Architecture, Design & Products, EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  6 minutes

© europa.eu

© europa.eu

The European Union Prize for Contemporary ArchitectureMies van der Rohe Award is a Prize given biennially by the European Union and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe, Barcelona, “to acknowledge and reward quality architectural production in Europe”.   read more…

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