The whirling roundabout of Plaza de España is distinguished by its so-called Venetian
towers because they are vaguely reminiscent of the bell tower in Venice's St. Mark's
Square.
The fountain in the center was designed by Jose Maria Juho, a collaborator of Antoni
Gatti while Miguel Blay designed the statues, the Museum of National Arts of Catalonia.
In vantage points across the city, a bombastic Neil Baroque silhouette of the so-called National
Palace can be seen halfway up the slopes of Montjuic.
Built for the 1929 World Exhibition and restored in 2005, it houses a vast collection of Catalan
art.
It was designed by Jose Amargos.
The arenas de Barcelona is a former bullring turned commercial complex near the Plaza de
España.
From the public accessible rooftop, visitors have amazing views over the city.
Okay, moving on up the hill to Montjuic.
Mount Juic you can get to by going to the subway parallel L'Al, from there you'll take another
train about 50 minutes up and there you'll see the castle in Montjuic.
We're on our way to Castel de Montjuic.
We're taking a little traffic.
And what I read is that the reach is heights up to 70 meters, so you look around.
Pretty high up.
The oldest site of the Montjuic is the Castel de Montjuic, a large 18th century fortress.
It was built by the Bourbons and the remains of a fort dating back to 1640, originally
built for the defense of Barcelona, but only used against the city at the foot of the hill.
The Fortress Longhouse, the military museum, the museum closed in 2009 and after renovation
it would be used for cultural activities.
The Barcelona definitely want to hit up the beaches there.
They have about eight kilometers of beaches that run from Port Vell to Port Olímpic.
They have some spectacular restaurants, pubs, bars, all along the beach, portions of the
beach.
You don't have to wear clothing, it's optional.
It's a great place to relax, the weather is perfect, it's Mediterranean weather, that
the sand is impeccable rather.
It's a great place to hang out and chill, especially later on in the day after you finish
touring the city a little bit.
Santa Maria del Mar, of the Church of St. Mary of the Sea, was built in the 14th century
during the medieval heyday of Catalonia when Barcelona was the capital of the Mediterranean
empire.
The church is considered the most impressive example of Catalan Gothic architecture.
Getting to the Ramblas, so keep your wallets and your iPhones and everything in your pocket.
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La Rambla is the most famous street in Barcelona.
The wide boulevard connects the Columbus Monument and the city's waterfront with Plaza de
Catalunya, a busy square where locals tend to meet before heading out.
The often crowded street is popular with tourists and locals like.
The middle part of the Rambla is pedestrianized and bordered by trees, kiosks, flower stalls,
street artists, and pickpock artists are in abundance.
Traffic passes on either side of the pedestrian area.
There's no better way to end this day than a visit to La Boqueria.
The Marqueta de la Boqueria is the most popular of many food markets in Barcelona.
The market hall at the Rambla, the St. Joset, often attracts large crowds, both locals and
tourists.
The name of the market presumably stems from the word book, which means goat, since goat
meat was sold here as early as the 13th century.
The market hall's official name is Marqueta de St. Joset, a reference to the St. Joset
convent that was built at this site in 1593 for the Carmelites.
Okay, so we made it to the other end of La Rambla.
This is Plaza Catalunya, a large plaza surrounded by monumental buildings and its bars as busy
as square.
It is located between the Old City and the 19th century example district.
When we come back, we'll leave the hustle and bustle of bars and head 50 kilometers
northwest to Montserrat Mountain.
