Barcelona in Catalonia is a city on the Mediterranean coast which means you can combine beach holiday and city break and have the best of both worlds. To the north of the city the beaches start at the Platja de Sant Sebastia in the Barceloneta district. Relatively cheap accommodation can be found here too in the accommodation that was built for the Barcelona Olympics and public transport into the heart of the city is easy and frequent.
Lovely as the old quarter is it is for Eixample that Barcelona is most famous. Eixample contains the highest concentration of Art Nouveau buildings anywhere in Europe, chief amongst these are the buildings by Antoni Gaudi. The Casa Mila is interesting inside but it is up on the roof with the very surreal chimney pots and a view over Barcelona that it is most impressive.
The Sagrada Familia in Eixample is GaudiBs masterpiece. A wonderful creation full of spires and quirky details. It is absolutely not to be missed in a visit to Barcelona. Indeed you get glimpses of it from many parts of the city so it would be very hard to ignore.
A little further from the centre of Barcelona, the hill of Montjuic is home to yet another set of magnificent buildings. Site of BarcelonaBs 1929 International Fair many buildings were created for this prestigious event. It is also home to the Olympic Stadium built for the 1992 Olympic Games.
All in all the mix of beaches, architecture, great shopping, lots of good restaurants and tapas bars and some great shops make Barcelona a top holiday destination.
