Barcelona has a culture and history unrivalled in Spain, as well as a modern cosmopolitan attitude that makes it a special place to be.

It's perhaps because the Bourbons of Spain absorbed the independent kingdom in the eighteenth century that the locals of this city stubbornly hold on to traditions the way they do. They refuse to stop speaking the Catalan language despite pressure from the rest of Spain, they hold raucous festivals to the patron saints of the city year 'round and they take care that the monuments and remains from all the different stages in the city's history still stand.

Barcelona is particularly proud of the Modernist architectural genius Antonia Gaudi, whose buildings have been designated as sites in the World Heritage List. Güell Park and Palace and the the Mila Home are particularly revered in Barcelona, as is the unfinished but stunning Church of La Sagrada Familia.

The oldest region in Barcelona is the Gothic Quarter, an oval-shaped region loaded with Gothic style buildings like its Gothic cathedral, old City Hall Building, the Episcopal Palace and the splendid Palace of the Generalitat, home of the Catalan government. La Rambla, on the other hand, is the most famous and typical street in Barcelona, and therefore one of the places that is most frequented by visitors.

The best way to introduce yourself to Barcelona is to stroll along the boulevard night or day and soak up the sights of the meeting-plazas, the open-air markets, the florist stalls, the historical buildings. Or you could just watch the world go by from any one of the green plazas filled with locals and guests.