Places to go in Barcelona

Barcelona Cathedral

Barcelona's cathedral, often called La Seu by locals, is dedicated to St. Eulalia, one of the city's patron saints, martyred in AD 304 at the age of 14. It's an excellent example of Catalan Gothic architecture, begun in 1298 on the site of two earlier cathedrals. Though most of the present-day cathedral was completed by the mid-15th century, the facade and spired cupola that rises over it were added between 1887 and 1913, although they follow the original plans.

The interior is laid out in classic Catalan Gothic form, with three aisles neatly engineered to produce an overall effect of grandeur. The church is comparatively bright inside, thanks to the flickering of thousands of votive candles and the shafts of light pouring through the stained glass windows.

In the enclosed choir are 14th- and 15th-century wooden stalls bearing the coats of arms of the Knights of the Golden Fleece. Also worthy of note is the 16th-century choir screen depicting scenes from St. Eulalia's life. The saint is interred in a marble crypt in front of the Altar Major (High Altar). The Capella de Sant Benedicte (Chapel of St. Benedict), the third one beyond the caskets, is among the most notable of the many in the cathedral; it contains the nine-panel Altarpiece of the Transfiguration by the 15th-century Catalan artist Bernat Martorell. Another of the cathedral's treasures is the 15th-century polychrome tomb of St. Ramon of Penyafort. The cathedral museum has an assortment of reliquaries, altarpieces, and the gold throne of Marti I, a benevolent 15th-century Count of Barcelona who ruled Catalonia and Aragon.

The adjoining cloister is a homey surprise. Reached from within the cathedral through the Capella de Santa Lucia (St. Lucy's Chapel) or through doors from the street, it is an oasis of greenery, full of palm trees and inhabited by numerous pigeons and a gaggle of white geese who reside beside a fountain and a pool. The cathedral is open daily. There are separate admission charges to the enclosed choir and to the museum.

The Palace of the Catalan Governmrcent Barcelona

This 15th­century Gothic structure was the seat of the ancient Catalan parliament and now houses the executive branch of Catalonia's autonomous government. Among the notable rooms are a 15th-century Flamboyant Gothic chapel; the Capella de Sant Jordi (Chapel of St. George), with splendid 17th­century vaulting; and the 16th-century Sala de Sant Jordi (St. George Hall), in which the most important decisions of state have been handed down over the centuries.
Like the Palau de la Generalitat across the square, the city hall is a fine example of Gothic civil architecture. The facade on the square is 19th-century neoclassical, however. Walk along the Carrer de la Ciutat side to see the building's original
14th-century Flamboyant Gothic facade.



The Great Royal Palace Barcelona

This is the former palace of the Counts of Barcelona, who ruled the Catalan-Aragonese Confederation­and through it much of the Mediterranean world-from the 12th through the 15th centuries. Actually a complex of buildings, dating mostly from the 14th century but built on 12th-century foundations, it is most notable for its magnificent dining hall, which is over 50 feet high and 110 feet long, and is defined by six immense arches spanned by wooden beams. The Catalan Parliament met here for several years in the 1370s, and it is popularly believed that Columbus was presented to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella here to report on his voyage to the Americas. The room is closed to the public unless there is a concert or exhibition; then it is worth the price of admission just to see it and the stylized painting of the "Catholic Monarchs" sitting on the palace's great steps, surrounded by the heroic Columbus and the American Indians he brought home on his return voyage.

The palace is entered from the Plaça del Rei, a small and beautiful square almost completely surrounded by buildings, with a flight of shallow rounded stairs in one corner. The acoustics are excellent here, and the landing atop the stairs is sometimes used as a stage for jazz or chamber concerts.

The Museum of City History Barcelona

The city's history museum, on Plaça del Rei, is housed in the Casa Clariana-Padellas, a 16th­century Gothic merchant's house. Begin a tour in the basement, where pathways thread through an actual excavated section of Roman Barcelona, past remains of houses, storerooms, columns, walls, and bits of mosaic pavement. Upstairs rooms contain paintings, furniture, and municipal memorabilia, including the 16th-century Gran Rellotge, one of the six clocks that have occupied the cathedral bell tower. The museum also incorporates part of the Palau Reial Major (see above).


The Museum of Frederic Mare


Part of the Palau Reial Major, this is an important collection of medieval art, particularly sculpture, which was donated to the city by Frederic Mares, a prominent local sculptor. The painted wooden religious statues, peculiar to this part of Spain, are outstanding. On the upper floors, a display of artefacts ranging from costumes and combs to pipes and purses invites visitors to discover what everyday life was like in la Catalunya Vella (old Catalonia).



The Picasso Museum Barcelona

Although Malaga-born Pablo Picasso lived in France for 69 years, Barcelona was where he spent his student days, and it occupied a warm place in his heart throughout his life and served as artistic inspiration (in one of his better-known paintings, the Demoiselles d'Avignon, the damsels are actually prostitutes from a brothel in Barcelona. This museum was founded in 1963 when Jaime Sabartes, a native of Barcelona and friend of Picasso's, presented his collection of the master's work to the city. Picasso himself donated 58 paintings.

Housed in the beautiful 15th-century Palau Aguilar, which is nearly as interesting as the artist's works, the museum is not strictly within the Barri Gotic, although it's quite near. A lovely Gothic-Renaissance courtyard opens to the roof, surrounded by tiers of arcaded galleries with pointed arches and slender columns. Lithographs and early works from the artist's years in Malaga and Barcelona constitute most of the collection, but there are a few special pieces. One is the large exhibition of 44 variations on Las Meninas, the famous Velazquez painting in Madrid's Prado. Also notice examples of Picasso's warm and unpretentious ceramic work.