Plaça d’Espanya – Barcelona
The old bull ring at Plaça d’Espanya in Barcelona is now a shopping mall with a great view up towards the National Art Museum.
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Park Guell, Barcelona, was originally conceived as a real estate sub-division for the wealthy. A few houses were built for those closely involved with the project, but a lack of buyers led to the works being abandoned in 1914.
The land was eventually offered to the City Council who turned the area into a park for the people.
Architect Antoni Gaudi was involved in the design of the sub-division and also lived in one of the houses built on the site. The land sits on the side of a hill and offers good views over the city and out to the sea. It is very popular with locals as a recreation area. Indeed, in certain areas of the park, the number of people allowed in at any one time is restricted – your entry ticket stipulates a time when you can enter the park.
The day we visited was sunny and warm. People strolled around the paths that cross over the hillside, enjoying a picnic or listening to buskers.
There is plenty of evidence of architect Gaudi’s work, including his use of broken ceramic tiles to make mosaics, including a marvelous lizard.
The old bull ring at Plaça d’Espanya in Barcelona is now a shopping mall with a great view up towards the National Art Museum.
In Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia, Barcelona there’s a clock tower. And occassionally other towers spring up in the square – but these are people towers.
The Monastery of Pedralbes in Barcelona, now a museum, housing permanent exhibitions consisting of art collected by the monastery, and visiting exhibitions.
Site of the Dome Church and Napoleon’s grave, Les Invalides has also long functioned as a military hospital.
Burial place of many famous people, the Cimetière de Montmartre is an evocative, indeed atmospheric, place