Barcelona

The Christopher Columbus Monument stands on the edge of the Barcelona harbour at the lower end of Las Ramblas. It is a 60 m (197 ft) tall. The monument serves as a reminder that Christopher Columbus reported to Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand V in Barcelona after his first trip to the new continent. Las Ramblas is a street in central Barcelona, popular with tourists and locals alike. A tree-lined pedestrian mall, it stretches for 1.2 kilometres connecting Plaza de Catalunya in the centre with the Christopher Columbus Monument at Port Vell. It is one of the most famous streets in the world as it cuts through the Gothic areas of the old city. The Spanish poet Federico García Lorca once said, “It is the only street in the world, which I wish would never end.”

Las Ramblas is crowded with tourists and locals That Barcelona is one of the great cities on Earth is something on which most people can agree. But, Barcelona has a big problem – tourists. This city of 2 million annually attracts 9 million visitors and like Venice has become more like a theme park. It sits fourth in Europe in the number of visitors after Paris, London & Rome but those cities have tourist attractions spread across a large city while Barcelona has the harbour in close proximity to the beaches, the must-see Gaudi sites and those fabulous Gothic barios with the narrow streets on both sides of Las Ramblas. Aside from the taxi drivers and souvenir shop owners, the residents and some politicians are revolting. Barcelona revolding against the undesirables

Raining in the narrow streets of the Gothic Quarter The Gothic Quarter was the center of the Roman city. There are still remnants of the Roman temple of Augustus. The original center of Roman and medieval Barcelona still forms the core of 21st-century Barcelona. Its maze of narrow streets and squares is steeped in the city’s past and present.

1 One of the myriad of secret streets in the old barrio

1 Back Ally passages have attracted tourists from all over Europe La Sagrada Familia is a large Roman Catholic church in Barcelona, designed by Spanish (Catalan) architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926). Construction of Sagrada Família commenced in 1882 by architect Francisco Paula de Villar with Gaudí becoming involved in 1883 after Francisco resigned. Taking over the project, Gaudí transformed it with his architectural and engineering style, combining Gothic and curvilinear Art Nouveau forms. Gaudí devoted his last years to the project, and at the time of his death at age 73 in 1926, less than a quarter of the project was complete. I last saw it in 1968 when construction on it had terminated because of lack of money. After Spain’s dictator,Franco, died the city decided it would be a good idea to try to complete it.

1 Sagrada Familia — Construction began in 1898 and will be completed (officially opened)May 4th, 2026 – the 100th anniversary of Gaudi’s death (struck by a tram)