Barcelona’s oldest garden.

Montjuïc Castle in Barcelona is an old military fortress, located at the top of Montjuic Mountain, more than 170 meters high. It was built between 1640 and 1779, first being a small fort and later transforming into the castle we know today, thanks to enormous expansions carried out in those years.

It occupies land where Philip V had a large military citadel built in 1715 to control the city, following its surrender on 11 September 1714. The walls on the city’s north-west side and 1,262 houses in the Rivera neighbourhood had to be pulled down to make way for it.

If we had to choose an icon of Passeig de Gràcia, one of the main candidates would be one of the 32 lamp-post benches inaugurated on December 21, 1906, and specifically designed for this location by the then municipal architect of Barcelona, Pere Falqués i Urpí.

A place for joy and suffering, Camp Nou is Futbol Club Barcelona’s stadium. Whenever there is a match, the normally quiet neighbourhood fills up with fans who live football. It goes so much further than sport. Considered to be one of the most impressive pitches in Europe, Camp Nou has become another tourist attraction and its museum is now the third most visited in Spain.

Almost one kilometre long, Barceloneta is one of the oldest beaches in Barcelona and witnessed the changes and transformations the city underwent in the course of the 20th century. Initially it was considered indecent to bathe in public and bathing spots were reserved for the upper classes, but soon afterwards the beach was opened to everyone.

Bàrcino, a colony founded in the time of Augustus, became the hub of a stable community and at the end of the 3rd century, Emperor Claudius decided to strengthen the primitive wall. This second wall followed the outline of the earlier one but was thicker and considerably taller. Around 75 watchtowers were also built.

In the heart of the Gòtic neighborhood is Plaza Sant Felip Neri, where there is also the baroque church that gives it its name and which was affected by the bombings of 1938.

Built for the Universal Exposition in 1888, the Arc de Triomf stood at the head of the avenue that led to the main entrance of the fair, in Parc de la Ciutadella, which had just been opened. The redbrick monument, built in the Neo-Mudéjar style, reflected the eclectic, decorative taste so typical of Catalan Art Nouveau in vogue at that time.

Uniting the Casa dels Canonges and the Palau de la Generalitat, the Pont del Bisbe is a large marble structure with lovely Gothic-style columns. It’s also covered in interesting designs that help add to the overall feel.

The opening of the Gran Teatre del Liceu in 1847 was a decisive factor in the construction, the following year, of a square mainly for the wealthy bourgeois families living in the area. It was designed by the architect Francesc Daniel Molina on the site previously occupied by the old Capuchin convent and is one of very few porticoed squares in Barcelona.

The bunkers of Carmel is a viewpoint from which you can see the whole city of Barcelona (360º city view). It is located at the top of Turó de la Rovira in the Carmel neighborhood with a height of 262 meters.

This lively square is the heart of Barcelona and it's beating strongly. A favourite meeting point, it's also the geographical space that separates the districts of Ciutat Vella and the Eixample. Steeped in history, the Plaça de Catalunya is the nerve centre of the Catalan capital.

There is no-one in the world who is not fascinated by life on La Rambla. In little over a kilometre you have the entire essence of the city. From Plaça de Catalunya to the Columbus monument, La Rambla changes at every step. Drink water at the Canaletes fountain, buy flowers, cross yourself in front of the Capuchins, eat in La Boqueria, be thrilled in the Liceu and end up right by the sea. And then back up La Rambla again. An unstoppable river of life that never sleeps, a city within the city itself that feels Barcelona’s pulse.