The population of Barcelona is 1,505,325 (city) with over 3,765,994 people in the metropolitan area. It is located at sea level. The climate is temperate, with typical seasonal averages between 50-77F (extremes can be colder or hotter) with many sunny days. Typical rainfall is 40"/yr. There are two official languages in Barcelona: Catalan, the language of the region, and Spanish, the official language of Spain. Catalan's closest linguistic relative today is the langue d'oc, the old language of southern France. Similiar to other parts of Europe, many residents also speak English.

Barcelona has many tourist attractions. These attractions are also of cultural and historical significance. Numerous museums (at least 18) feature the Museu d'Art Modern, Museu d'Art Contemporani, Museu Picasso and Casa Museu Gaudi. Antoni Gaudí i Cornet came from Catalonia in 1852 and did most of his major work in modernist architect in Barcelona. A number of pictures below feature this. Architecture attractions include the Casa Batlló and the Arc de Triomf. It is also famous for churches and cathedrals. One of the most famous of these is Sagrada Familia, a structure started by Gaudi but still not completed. There are many parks such as Parc de la Ciudadella which is the largest park in Barcelona at 321 acres and is on the south side of the city, near the Sea. Parc Güell is another Gaudi design. As a higher education center, Barcelona features the University of Barcelona (1450) and the Autonomous University of Barcelona.

Serviced by a major airport, El Prat de Llobregat is 8 miles south of the city center. Getting around Barcelona is relatively easy. A subway system and numerous other mass transit systems can be found in the city.

Barcelona has a diverse economy as the provence of Barcelona is the leading industrial and commercial city in the country. The products produced include textiles, instrumentation, machinery, paper, glass and plastics. Barcelona is also a major Mediterranean port. It is a financial and publishing center for Spain. The province produces agricultural products such as fruits, cork, vegetables, nuts and olives. Cement is manufactured and lignite and potash are mined. Tourism supplies a great deal of income to this unusual and interesting city.

The recorded history of the city dates back to the founding of a Roman colony on its soil in the second century B.C. Later occupation by the Visigoths and then the Muslims was ended in 801AD by a Frankish invasion. In the 12th century, Catalunya grew rich from the fall of the Muslim caliphate of Córdoba. The Catalans managed prosperity to the 14th century, when Barcelona ruled a mini-empire. By the 15th century, devastated by the plague and other problems, the empire contracted. A 1462 rebellion against King Joan II ended in a siege in 1473 that devastated the city. Barcelona was more or less annexed into the Castilian state, but did not share in the growth that other portions of Spain did during the colonization of the Americas. Later, peasant revolts with armed Catalans led upto the War of the Spanish Succession. This saw Catalunya siding with Britain and Austria against Felipe V, the French contender for the Spanish throne. That was their undoing. Barcelona fell in 1714 after another shocking siege, and as well as banning the Catalan language, Felipe built a huge fort, the Ciutadella, to watch over his subjects in town. Later, trade was opened with the Americas and the industrial revolution came to Spain first in Barcelona based on cotton, wine, cork and iron. The 1830s then saw a cultural Renaissance (Catalan Renaixença). This developed into a strong nationalist movement. The cities population exploded during this century from 115,000 in 1800 to over ¹/₂ million in 1900 and over one million by 1930. Barcelona became a center for Catalan unrest by the turn of the century. It became the seat of the autonomous Catalan government and was a Loyalist stronghold against the facist Franco during the Spanish Civil War. It was heavily bombed in 1938 by Francos Nationalists and was captured in 1939. The summer Olympics were held here in 1992.

Barcelona is a unique city, somewhat encouraged by its location and other historic factors. Located in Spain but near France, it has elements of both countries as seen in its language and culture. There are many interesting sections to this city. Barri Gótic, the old town distric known as the Gothic Quarter for the treasure house of Gothic monuments found here, occupies what was formerly an ancient fortified Roman village. La Rambla is a street that is made up of seven different sections, each with its own name. Many other sections include the waterfront and beach areas.

All pictures on this page are from Barcelona, Spain, using various film and digital cameras. A subsequent page is found directly below. A total of 2 pages make up this Barcelona site.

2nd page of Barcelona pictures from the various churches and cathedrals featuring the Sagrada Familia.

Gaudi architecture.
Enlarge this Picture.

Gaudi architecture featured on the Casa Battlo.
Enlarge this Picture.

City Square.
Enlarge this Picture.

Arc de Triomf.
Enlarge this Picture.

La Rambla, a long street that traverses many sections of the city.
Enlarge this Picture.

A street pupeteer in the La Rambla section.
Enlarge this Picture.

At the Beach, the Olympic Torch in the background. The summer Olympics were held in this city in 1992.
Enlarge this Picture.

This being Easter weekend, a sand statue of Christ on the cross at the beach.
Enlarge this Picture.

Another sand statue of the wise men during the Last Supper.
Enlarge this Picture.

Further information can be found at the About Barcelona page or
Barcelona-Online, a Spanish language site (also in English if you click the Union Jack flag in upper right corner).