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The Basílica Expiatòria de la Sagrada Família (Basilica and Expiatory Church of the Sagrada Familia) is one of the most remarkable examples of Catalan ‘modernisme’ (Art Nouveau) and has become a symbol of Barcelona. Undoubtedly it is the unfinished monument that attracts most visitors in the world. Moreover, Antoni Gaudí poured all his efforts and knowledge into the project right up until his death, although he only saw completion of the crypt, the apse and the façade of the Nativity with one of the bell towers. Together, these areas were declared World Heritage Site in 2005.

Construction of the Sagrada Familia began in 1882 with the crypt located under the apse, according to a preliminary neo-Gothic design. When the commission was handed over to Gaudí, he completely changed the design and adapted the project to his naturalist ideals. One of the treasures of the crypt is the Roman-style mosaics on the floor. Another feature that cannot be missed is the framed altarpiece dedicated to the Holy Family by the sculptor Josep Llimona. And it is precisely in this intimate and mystic setting that Antoni Gaudí is buried, specifically in the chapel of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

Once the crypt and apse were finished, Gaudí started on a more ambitious and complex project based on detailed symbolism and great formal construction innovations based on the parabolic arch. This led to the Nativity façade. According to Gaudí: "If instead of creating this decorated, ornate and bombastic façade, I had begun with the Passion, hard, bare and bone-like; people would have expressed disapproval". Thus he turned the façade into a detailed stone book relating the episodes of Jesus’s childhood.

After Gaudí’s death, the building went through decades of slow evolution. With the revival of interest in the work of Gaudí, the number of visitors has greatly increased in recent years and construction work on the temple has advanced quickly, following the models and notes left by the master. The interior of the nave of the church is a new attraction and it is hoped that in 2026 the building of Gaudí’s dreams will be completed.

Located in the heart of the city of Barcelona, the Parc de la Ciutadella is not only a reference point as a green space in the city: its great diversity of elements (museums, lake, waterfall, century-old vegetation, sculptures, etc.) make it especially valued by residents and visitors to the city. Built in the second half of the 19th century on the occasion of the Universal Exposition of 1888, the current park occupies the grounds of the citadel which Felip V ordered to be built in 1714 after the War of Succession.

Of the pavilions built for the Universal Exposition, the Castell dels Tres Dragons (headquarters of the Museum of Zoology of Barcelona), the Umbracle (the plant house), and the Hivernacle (greenhouse) survive. But where all eyes are focused is on the lake and the monumental waterfall. A young Antoni Gaudí took part in the construction of the fountain, topped by a wrought iron sculpture.

In the old Plaza de Armas of the fortress is the seat of the Parliament of Catalonia and very close by, you can see a copy of El desconsol (Desolation), by Josep Llimona. This replica is the most prominent of the hundreds of sculptures that the visitor can see in the Park.

The main entrance to la Ciutadella along the Passeig de Lluís Companys, which is headed by the imposing modernista Triumphal Arch and which forms one of the most beautiful urban postcards of the city.

For many years, the Ciutadella was the only park in the city, and the first of those currently existing which was designed specifically as a public space. Its versatility turns the green lung of Barcelona into a stage for leisure and cultural activities.

The Exile Memorial Museum (MUME) is the first museum facility dedicated to preserving the memory and legacy of Republican exiles caused by the Spanish Civil War.

Located at la Jonquera, the border crossing where most of the exiles escaped, the MUME is defined as a space for memory, history and critical reflection. A project that is not only limited to the task of exhibition but which promotes historical research and educational outreach.

Its permanent exhibition presents the phenomenon of exile throughout history, placing the emphasis on the Civil War and the subsequent republican defeat and withdrawal. The dispersion of refugees through the Pyrenees on the path to France and the fate of several thousand refugees who crossed the border is one of the points of interest of the exhibition. The experiences of the exiles and their cultural legacy from testimonies and documentary heritage complete the exhibition.

Santa Caterina, opened in 1848, was the first covered market in Barcelona. Since 2005, the roof has become its stand-out element. It is this last alteration which has made the market a benchmark for contemporary architecture and a point of interest for tourists. The undulating and colourful roof has already become a new symbol of Barcelona.

In 1997, the architects Enric Miralles and Benedetta Tagliabue reformed the market that was originally designed by Josep Mas i Vila. The project maintained 3 out of the 4 original facades and raises up a skeleton of iron, steel and concrete, to the interior of the building, standing between the structure of wooden arches that form the ceiling.

But certainly the starring role of the new market goes to the roof: a huge wavy structure covered by 200,000 ceramic hexagons in 67 different colours. The work of ceramicist Toni Cumella, it represents the fruit and vegetables sold from the market stalls and fills the area with light and colour.

The launch of the market has helped to re-energise the neighbourhood. Now, brought together under the same roof as the stalls of fresh produce, is a supermarket, restaurants and the display of the remains of the old Dominican convent.

One must touch science. It was with this premise that the Museu de la Ciència of the "la Caixa" Foundation was born in 1981, the first interactive Science Museum in Spain. And this goal continues to be valid with the remodelling that took place at CosmoCaixa, and which was inaugurated in 2004.

With an area four times larger than the first, the CosmoCaixa Science Museum is divided into several areas to spread scientific knowledge through experimentation. For example, the geological wall shows several geological structures; the sala de la material (matter room) offers a tour from the Big Bang to the present time; the children's rooms are home to educational and recreational spaces such as the Planetari Bombolla (Bubble Planetarium), the Flash and Click room or the Touch! touch! room.

The CosmoCaixa even exactly replicates a section of a flooded Amazonian forest of more than 1,000 m². You can see the flooded section as well as terra firma, and the underground section, with the tropical rain included.

The CosmoCaixa is one of the most modern science museums in the world. Even so, it remains true to its origins. And it retains part of the modernist building where the first Museum was located: an old asylum for the blind by the architect Josep Domènech i Estapà built in 1904 at the foot of Tibidabo mountain.

In the old building of the Casa de la Caritat in Barcelona, in a totally modern facility, there is a cultural centre of European renown. It is the Centre of Contemporary Culture (CCCB), which since 1994 has been working on creative research and the production of knowledge. It has, as its central focus, the city and urban culture and aims to link the academic world with creativity and citizenship.

It does this through its own projects. The most significant are the thematic exhibitions, which generate debate and awareness around the issues that shape the present. At the same time, it has also instituted forms of cultural exchange such as international discussions, the CCCB Lab, the Kosmopolis literature platform and the Xcèntric project in experimental cinema. All of these are projects which deal with the culture of the 21st century and the great transformations of the digital age in an integrated manner.

The CCCB has a collection (CCCB Archive and Xcentric Archive) where the documentation related to all the projects that have been realised since its inauguration is stored. This archive has been available to everyone since 2008.

Visiting the Centre of Contemporary Culture is to enter a space for reflection about what urban culture is. The same building, remodelled by Helio Piñón and Albert Viaplana, structured around the Pati de les Dones, brings one in. It is advisable to go up to the observation deck before the end of the visit.

The Seu Vella is formed by a set of buildings strategically located on Turó de Lleida(Lleida Hill), which dominates the city and the surrounding plain. It is one of the most important cathedrals of Catalonia, especially noted for its sculptural work and for the cloister, one of the largest and most spectacular in Europe.

As is usual in these types of works, the Seu Vella was built and extended over the centuries, combining different architectural styles. The first Christian Cathedral began to be built in 1193 with the aim of catering for the growing population of the city. Of the Romanesque construction, the portals currently stand out.

At the end of the 13th century elements of new Gothic style were introduced. During this period the most important works of the church were completed and the chapels, the cloister, the bell-tower and the Portal of the Apostles, were built, which carried on during the 14th and 15th centuries.

The cloister is right in front of the main façade of the Church; an unusual position in Christian constructions, which recalls the entrance courtyards of Arabic mosques. The richly ornamented capitals deserve special attention, as do the splendid views over the city of Lleida which can be had from there.

When she was just a little over 30 years old, the Queen Elisenda de Montcada withdrew from the world, remaining a widow. And she did it in the Monastery of Pedralbes, which she had founded in 1326 in the mountains of Sant Pere Màrtir (Barcelona). She lived there 37 years, with only the claretian nuns and the Gothic architecture for company.

The Monastery of Santa Maria de Pedralbes was built in just 13 months and is noted for its great architectural homogeneity in the Gothic style. The white stones (petras albas), used to build the complex, gave their name to the area: Pedralbes.

Among the jewels of the monastery there is the small chapel of Sant Miquel, which is noted for the fresco and oil paintings (14th century), an exceptional testimony of the Catalan Gothic painting; the Gothic stained-glass windows of the interior of the church (considered the most important in Catalonia both for their antiquity and their good state of preservation) and the cloister. This is one of the largest and most impressive in the world.

Also noteworthy is the tomb of Queen Elisenda. Located between the Church and the cloister, it is a bi-frontal tomb representing her two sides: from the Church she is seen dressed and crowned as a Queen and, from the cloister, she appears as a widow and nun, with the simple Franciscan habit.

Right next to Vic Cathedral, the Episcopal Museum is a reference point for medieval Catalan art and exhibits masterpieces of painting and sculpture from the Romanesque to the Gothic (between the 12th and 15th centuries). The centre, with a collection of more than 29,000 pieces, specialises in liturgical art.

The large Romanesque collection allows one to follow the precise stylistic and iconographic evolution of the Catalan Romanesque. One of the star exhibits in the Museum is the sculpture group of the Descent from the Cross from Erill la Vall. Discovered on an expedition by the Institute of Catalan Studies to Vall de Boí in 1907, this work of the Master of Erill is considered to be one of the most important sculptural groups of the 12th-century Romanesque in Europe.

Just as notable is the Baldachin from the parish church of Ribes, one of the masterpieces the Museum holds. Other items to consider are the altar frontal from Sant Andreu de Sagàs, the frontal from Sant Pere de Ripoll and the Mother of God from Santa Maria de Lluçà.

Aside from its collection, the Museum is also noted for its modern and innovative museum project. For this, in 2001 it was awarded the National Prize for Cultural Heritage for its contribution to the dissemination of medieval Catalan art.

The ‘cradle’ of Catalonia. This is how the monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll is known and no wonder. Founded by Comte Guifré el Pelós (Count Wilfred the Hairy) in the year 879, under the direction of the Abbot Oliba, it became a major religious and cultural centre, with a large and majestic Romanesque church and a scriptorium with great literary production, on a level with other abbeys in Europe during this period

The monastery’s 12th century portalada is the most outstanding feature of the complex. This doorway that welcomed the faithful and curious, is one of the great sculptures of European Romanesque. It is completely sculpted with scenes from the Old Testament and allegories. This is why it became known as "the Bible of stone". Its monumentality bears witness to Ripoll’s years of splendor. It is with good reason that for many years the monastery was also the pantheon of the counts of Besalú and Girona.

The building underwent several stages of enlargement and reconstruction due to the lack of space, fires, an earthquake and plunder.In 1886, the Bishop of Vic, Josep Morgades, commissioned the reconstruction of the monastery to the architect Elies Rogent. Ripoll recovered the church and the cloister of the 11th century monastery with a Romanesque Revival interpretation.

Today, you can visit Santa Maria de Ripoll and a Visitors’ Information Centre has been opened as well as a permanent exhibition focusing on the scriptorium, in which its importance is explained.