Not least of the attractions is The Alhambra, one of the most often visited sites in all Europe.
Built chiefly from 1338 to 1390, it served as the royal residence for many generations afterward. From the 740 meter (2400 feet) high terrace one gains a view of Granada which is matched only by the Mirador de San Nicolas at the other end of the city.
Though it carries the same name as its French cousin, the Arc de Triomf in Barcelona is quite different, both architecturally and historically.
Barcelona Zoo receives over a million visitors per year. It isn't hard to see why, once you know about all the things it has to offer animal lovers. Built in 1892 these 13 hectares located in Ciutadella Park house thousands of animals from 400 different species, many of whom are not typically found at other conservation facilities.
Barcelona is a city by the sea, the Mediterranean Sea to be exact. Like most coastal towns its history and ambiance are affected by that fact. For centuries the harbor was the scene of seafarers and townspeople bustling about on the traditional business that takes place at any port.
At the base of Montjuic in Barcelona, while standing in the Placa d'Espanya, visitors see before them two majestic towers. Constructed in 1929 as part of the Palau Nacional for the World Exhibition, they form the entrance to this Spanish city's magnificent hilltop park.
Once exclusively a flower market, the bustling Las Ramblas area of Barcelona is the perfect place for shopping and people watching. Once lined with convents and churches, the streets are now thronged with performers, magazine vendors and a hundred other things. The convents and monasteries were all closed by 1830.
In the ultra-fashionable neighborhood along Passeig de Gràcia stands one of the most unusual examples of Barcelona architecture - or anywhere else in the world: Casa Milà, otherwise known as La Pedrera.
Between Las Ramblas and the Passeig de Picasso lies one of Barcelona's most famous areas: Barri Gotic, the Gothic Quarter. Its fame is well deserved. For, here, visitors can find streets and buildings from the Middle Ages that will provide hours of fascinating exploration. There are small winding alleyways where tourists can find all manner of Gothic-era buildings, shops housed in centuries-old structures, cafes and much more.
In the center of Barri Gotic, Barcelona's Gothic Quarter, is one of the most outstanding examples of medieval architecture in Europe, the Cathedral of Barcelona: La Seu. Officially known as Cathedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulalia
Antonio Gaudi is Barcelona's patron architect. Much of the city bears his stamp. Nowhere is this more evident than in his unfinished masterpiece, The Temple of the Holy Family. Work began in 1883 but halted after the architect's untimely death from a tram accident in 1926