tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69946769461547022432023-06-20T21:13:45.151-07:00mohammad ikramuhammad ikrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06314979923752166953noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6994676946154702243.post-56987926496897794642011-12-01T17:46:00.000-08:002011-12-01T17:46:47.339-08:00barcelona<div id="B11_Donate_Brandon_Default_EN"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#" id="variable_lp"><div id="cn-bold-blue-text">Please read:<br />
A personal appeal from<br />
Wikipedia programmer Brandon Harris </div><div class="cn-bottom-right-float"><div id="notice-button-2011-start"></div><div id="notice-button-2011-label">Read now</div><div id="notice-button-2011-end"></div></div></a><div id="cn-toggle-box"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#" onclick="hideBanner();return false;"><img alt="Close" border="0" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.17/common/images/closewindow.png" /></a> </div></div><!-- centralNotice loads here --><!-- /sitenotice --><!-- firstHeading --><h1 class="firstHeading" id="firstHeading">Barcelona</h1><!-- /firstHeading --><!-- bodyContent --><div id="bodyContent" sizcache="5" sizset="1"><!-- tagline --><div id="siteSub">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div><!-- /tagline --><!-- subtitle --><div id="contentSub"></div><!-- /subtitle --><!-- jumpto --><div id="jump-to-nav">Jump to: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#mw-head">navigation</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#p-search">search</a> </div><!-- /jumpto --><!-- bodycontent --><div class="mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr" lang="en" sizcache="5" sizset="1"><div class="dablink">This article is about the capital of Catalonia. For the football club, see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Barcelona" title="FC Barcelona">FC Barcelona</a>. For other uses, see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona_(disambiguation)" title="Barcelona (disambiguation)">Barcelona (disambiguation)</a>.</div><table class="infobox geography vcard" style="text-align: left; width: 23em;"><tbody>
<tr><th colspan="2" style="font-size: 1.25em; text-align: center; white-space: nowrap; width: 100%;"><span class="fn org">Barcelona</span></th></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2" style="padding-bottom: 0.7em; padding-left: 0.8em; padding-right: 0.8em; padding-top: 0.7em; text-align: center;"><div class="floatnone"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Barcelona_intro.jpg" title="from top, left to right: Barcelona skyline, Castell dels Tres Dragons, Port of Barcelona, Sagrada Família, Camp Nou, Mar Bella beach"><img alt="" height="448px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Barcelona_intro.jpg/250px-Barcelona_intro.jpg" width="250px" /></a></div><small>from top, left to right: Barcelona skyline, Castell dels Tres Dragons, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_of_Barcelona" title="Port of Barcelona">Port of Barcelona</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagrada_FamÃlia" title="Sagrada Família">Sagrada Família</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Nou" title="Camp Nou">Camp Nou</a>, Mar Bella beach</small></td></tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow"><td class="maptable" colspan="2" style="padding-bottom: 0.4em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.4em; text-align: center;"><table style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; width: 100%;"><tbody>
<tr><td align="center" style="vertical-align: middle;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Barcelona.svg" title="Flag of Barcelona"><img alt="" class="thumbborder" height="67px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f8/Flag_of_Barcelona.svg/100px-Flag_of_Barcelona.svg.png" width="100px" /></a><br />
<small><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Barcelona" title="Flag of Barcelona">Flag</a></b></small></td><td align="center" style="vertical-align: middle;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Escut_de_Barcelona.svg" title="Coat of arms of Barcelona"><img alt="" height="161px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/01/Escut_de_Barcelona.svg/100px-Escut_de_Barcelona.svg.png" width="100px" /></a><br />
<small><b>Coat of arms</b></small></td></tr>
</tbody></table></td></tr>
<tr class="mergedrow"><td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;">Nickname(s): <span class="nickname">Ciudad Condal, Ciutat Comtal (City of Counts),<br />
Barna,<br />
BCN</span></td></tr>
<tr class="mergedrow"><td align="center" colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"><center><div style="clear: none; float: none; width: 250px;"><div><div style="position: relative;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Spain_location_map.svg" title="Barcelona is located in Spain"><img alt="Barcelona is located in Spain" height="215px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/Spain_location_map.svg/250px-Spain_location_map.svg.png" width="250px" /></a> <div style="height: 0px; left: 82.2%; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: absolute; top: 31.1%; width: 0px; z-index: 2;"><div style="font-size: 6px; left: -3px; position: relative; text-align: center; top: -3px; width: 6px;"><img alt="" height="6px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/6px-Red_pog.svg.png" width="6px" /></div><div style="left: -6.5em; line-height: 110%; position: relative; text-align: right; top: -1.5em; width: 6em; z-index: 90;"><span style="padding-bottom: 1px; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px;">Barcelona</span></div></div></div><div style="font-size: 90%; padding-top: 3px;"></div></div></div><small>Location of Barcelona within Spain</small></center></td></tr>
<tr class="mergedrow"><td align="center" colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"><center><div style="clear: none; float: none; width: 250px;"><div><div style="position: relative;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Catalonia_location_map.svg" title="Barcelona is located in Catalonia"><img alt="Barcelona is located in Catalonia" height="189px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a3/Catalonia_location_map.svg/250px-Catalonia_location_map.svg.png" width="250px" /></a> <div style="height: 0px; left: 59.7%; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: absolute; top: 62.3%; width: 0px; z-index: 2;"><div style="font-size: 6px; left: -3px; position: relative; text-align: center; top: -3px; width: 6px;"><img alt="" height="6px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/6px-Red_pog.svg.png" width="6px" /></div><div style="left: 0.5em; line-height: 110%; position: relative; text-align: left; top: -1.5em; width: 6em; z-index: 90;"><span style="padding-bottom: 1px; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px;">Barcelona</span></div></div></div><div style="font-size: 90%; padding-top: 3px;"></div></div></div><small>Location of Barcelona within Catalonia</small></center></td></tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow"><td colspan="2" style="padding-bottom: 0.7em; text-align: center;">Coordinates: <span style="white-space: nowrap;"><span class="plainlinks nourlexpansion"><span style="white-space: nowrap;"><img alt="" class="noprint" jquery16407718869655008789="9" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/WMA_button2b.png/17px-WMA_button2b.png" style="cursor: pointer; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Show location on an interactive map" /><a class="external text" href="http://toolserver.org/~geohack/geohack.php?pagename=Barcelona&params=41_23_N_2_11_E_type:city(1,582,738)_region:ES" rel="nofollow" style="white-space: nowrap;"><span class="geo-default"><span class="geo-dms" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location"><span class="latitude">41°23′N</span> <span class="longitude">2°11′E</span></span></span><span class="geo-multi-punct"> / </span><span class="geo-nondefault"><span class="geo-dec" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location">41.383°N 2.183°E</span><span style="display: none;"> / <span class="geo">41.383; 2.183</span></span></span></a></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span id="coordinates"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographic_coordinate_system" title="Geographic coordinate system">Coordinates</a>: <span class="plainlinks nourlexpansion"><span style="white-space: nowrap;"><img alt="" class="noprint" jquery16407718869655008789="10" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/WMA_button2b.png/17px-WMA_button2b.png" style="cursor: pointer; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Show location on an interactive map" /><a class="external text" href="http://toolserver.org/~geohack/geohack.php?pagename=Barcelona&params=41_23_N_2_11_E_type:city(1,582,738)_region:ES" rel="nofollow" style="white-space: nowrap;"><span class="geo-default"><span class="geo-dms" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location"><span class="latitude">41°23′N</span> <span class="longitude">2°11′E</span></span></span><span class="geo-multi-punct"> / </span><span class="geo-nondefault"><span class="geo-dec" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location">41.383°N 2.183°E</span><span style="display: none;"> / <span class="geo">41.383; 2.183</span></span></span></a></span></span></span></span></span></td></tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow"><th><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states" title="List of sovereign states">Country</a></th><td><span class="flagicon"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain" title="Spain"><img alt="Spain" class="thumbborder" height="15px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9a/Flag_of_Spain.svg/22px-Flag_of_Spain.svg.png" width="22px" /></a></span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain" title="Spain">Spain</a></td></tr>
<tr class="mergedrow"><th><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomous_communities_of_Spain" title="Autonomous communities of Spain">Autonomous Community</a></th><td><span class="flagicon"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalonia" title="Catalonia"><img alt="Catalonia" class="thumbborder" height="15px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ce/Flag_of_Catalonia.svg/22px-Flag_of_Catalonia.svg.png" width="22px" /></a></span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalonia" title="Catalonia">Catalonia</a></td></tr>
<tr class="mergedrow"><th><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provinces_of_Spain" title="Provinces of Spain">Province</a></th><td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Province_of_Barcelona" title="Province of Barcelona">Barcelona</a></td></tr>
<tr class="mergedrow"><th><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comarques_of_Catalonia" title="Comarques of Catalonia">Comarca</a></th><td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelonès" title="Barcelonès">Barcelonès</a></td></tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow"><th><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Districts_of_Barcelona" title="Districts of Barcelona">Districts</a></th><td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciutat_Vella" title="Ciutat Vella">Ciutat Vella</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eixample" title="Eixample">Eixample</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grà cia" title="Gràcia">Gràcia</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horta-Guinardó" title="Horta-Guinardó">Horta-Guinardó</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Corts,_Barcelona" title="Les Corts, Barcelona">Les Corts</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nou_Barris" title="Nou Barris">Nou Barris</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sant_Andreu" title="Sant Andreu">Sant Andreu</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sants" title="Sants">Sants</a>–<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montjuïc" title="Montjuïc">Montjuïc</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarrià -Sant_Gervasi" title="Sarrià-Sant Gervasi">Sarrià-Sant Gervasi</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sant_MartÃ" title="Sant Martí">Sant Martí</a></td></tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow"><td colspan="2"><b>Government</b></td></tr>
<tr class="mergedrow"><th> • Type</th><td><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayor-council_government" title="Mayor-council government">Mayor-council</a></td></tr>
<tr class="mergedrow"><th> • Body</th><td class="agent">Ajuntament de Barcelona</td></tr>
<tr class="mergedrow"><th> • <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayor" title="Mayor">Mayor</a></th><td><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xavier_Trias_i_Vidal_de_Llobatera" title="Xavier Trias i Vidal de Llobatera">Xavier Trias i Vidal de Llobatera</a> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convergence_and_Union" title="Convergence and Union">CiU</a>)</td></tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow"><td colspan="2"><b>Area</b></td></tr>
<tr class="mergedrow"><th> • City</th><td>101.9 km<sup>2</sup> (39.3 sq mi)</td></tr>
<tr class="mergedrow"><th> • Urban</th><td>803 km<sup>2</sup> (310 sq mi)</td></tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow"><td><b>Elevation</b>(<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Above_mean_sea_level" title="Above mean sea level">AMSL</a>)</td><td>12 m (39 ft)</td></tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow"><td colspan="2"><b>Population</b> (2009)</td></tr>
<tr class="mergedrow"><th> • City</th><td>1,621,537<br />
3,218,071 <small>(<i>Greater Barcelona</i>)</small></td></tr>
<tr class="mergedrow"><td> <b>• Density</b></td><td>15,991/km<sup>2</sup> (41,416.5/sq mi)</td></tr>
<tr class="mergedrow"><td> <b>• <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_area" title="Urban area">Urban</a></b></td><td>4,210,000 <img alt="increase" height="11px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Increase2.svg/11px-Increase2.svg.png" width="11px" /></td></tr>
<tr class="mergedrow"><th> • <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larger_Urban_Zones" title="Larger Urban Zones">Urban zone</a></th><td>4,440,629 <img alt="increase" height="11px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Increase2.svg/11px-Increase2.svg.png" width="11px" /></td></tr>
<tr class="mergedrow"><th> • <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_area" title="Metropolitan area">Metropolitan</a></th><td>5,083,000 <img alt="increase" height="11px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Increase2.svg/11px-Increase2.svg.png" width="11px" /></td></tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow"><td><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demonym" title="Demonym">Demonym</a></b></td><td>Barcelonan<br />
<i>barceloní</i>, <i>barcelonina</i><br />
<i>barcelonés</i>, <i>barcelonesa</i></td></tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow"><th><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_zone" title="Time zone">Time zone</a></th><td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_European_Time" title="Central European Time">CET</a> (<a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTC+1" title="UTC+1">UTC+1</a>)</td></tr>
<tr class="mergedrow"><th style="white-space: nowrap;"> • Summer (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_saving_time" title="Daylight saving time">DST</a>)</th><td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_European_Summer_Time" title="Central European Summer Time">CEST</a> (<a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTC+2" title="UTC+2">UTC+2</a>)</td></tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow"><th><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_postal_codes_in_Spain" title="List of postal codes in Spain">Postal code</a></th><td class="adr"><span class="postal-code">08001–08080</span></td></tr>
<tr class="mergedrow"><th><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone_numbers_in_Spain" title="Telephone numbers in Spain">Area code</a></th><td>+34 (Spain) 93 (City)</td></tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow"><th>Website</th><td><a class="external text" href="http://www.bcn.cat/" rel="nofollow">http://www.bcn.cat/</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><b>Barcelona</b> (<small>Catalan: </small><span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_Catalan" title="Wikipedia:IPA for Catalan">[bərsəˈɫonə]</a></span>, <small>Spanish: </small><span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_Spanish" title="Wikipedia:IPA for Spanish">[barθeˈlona]</a></span>) is the second largest city in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain" title="Spain">Spain</a> after <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madrid" title="Madrid">Madrid</a>, and the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_(political)" title="Capital (political)">capital</a> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalonia" title="Catalonia">Catalonia</a>, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of 101.4 km<sup>2</sup> (39 sq mi). The urban area of Barcelona extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of between 4,200,000<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-World_Urban_Areas_0-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-World_Urban_Areas-0"><span>[</span>1<span>]</span></a></sup> and 4,500,000<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-1"><span>[</span>2<span>]</span></a></sup> on an area of 803 km<sup>2</sup> (310 sq mi),<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-World_Urban_Areas_0-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-World_Urban_Areas-0"><span>[</span>1<span>]</span></a></sup> being the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Largest_urban_areas_of_the_European_Union" title="Largest urban areas of the European Union">sixth-most populous urban area</a> in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union" title="European Union">European Union</a> after <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris" title="Paris">Paris</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London" title="London">London</a>, <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruhr_area" title="Ruhr area">Ruhr area</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madrid" title="Madrid">Madrid</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milan" title="Milan">Milan</a>. About five million<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-2"><span>[</span>3<span>]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-3"><span>[</span>4<span>]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-metropolit1_4-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-metropolit1-4"><span>[</span>5<span>]</span></a></sup> people live in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona_metropolitan_area" title="Barcelona metropolitan area">Barcelona metropolitan area</a>. It is also <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe" title="Europe">Europe</a>'s largest metropolis on the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_coast" title="Mediterranean coast">Mediterranean coast</a>. It is the main component of an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ãrea_Metropolitana_de_Barcelona" title="Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona">administrative area of Greater Barcelona</a>, with a population of 3,218,071 in an area of 636 km² (density 5,060 hab/km²). It is located on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_Sea" title="Mediterranean Sea">Mediterranean</a> coast between the mouths of the rivers <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llobregat" title="Llobregat">Llobregat</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Besòs_(river)" title="Besòs (river)">Besòs</a> and is bounded to the west by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serra_de_Collserola" title="Serra de Collserola">Serra de Collserola</a> ridge (512 m/1,680 ft).<br />
Barcelona is today one of the world's leading <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism" title="Tourism">tourist</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy" title="Economy">economic</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_fair" title="Trade fair">trade fair</a>/<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exhibition" title="Exhibition">exhibitions</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture" title="Culture">cultural</a>-<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport" title="Sport">sports</a> centres, and its influences in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commerce" title="Commerce">commerce</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education" title="Education">education</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entertainment" title="Entertainment">entertainment</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_media" title="Mass media">media</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fashion" title="Fashion">fashion</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science" title="Science">science</a>, and the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arts" title="Arts">arts</a> all contribute to its status as one of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_city" title="Global city">world's major global cities</a>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-GAWC_5-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-GAWC-5"><span>[</span>6<span>]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-6"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-6"><span>[</span>7<span>]</span></a></sup> Indeed, it is a major economic centre and a growing financial centre (<a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diagonal_Mar" title="Diagonal Mar">Diagonal Mar</a> area and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gran_Via_(Barcelona)" title="Gran Via (Barcelona)">Gran Via</a>); one of Europe's principal <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_Sea" title="Mediterranean Sea">Mediterranean</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port" title="Port">ports</a>, can be found here as well as <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona_Airport" title="Barcelona Airport">Barcelona international airport</a>, which handles about 30 million passengers per year. It also boasts an extensive motorway network and is a hub of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-speed_rail" title="High-speed rail">high-speed rail</a>, particularly that which will link <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France" title="France">France</a> with Spain. Barcelona is the 16th-most-visited city in the world and 4th most visited in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe" title="Europe">Europe</a> after Paris, London, and Rome, with several million tourists every year.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-7"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-7"><span>[</span>8<span>]</span></a></sup> Barcelona is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World's_most_livable_cities#Most_Liveable_Cities_Index" title="World's most livable cities">16th most "livable city" in the world</a> according to lifestyle magazine <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monocle_(2007_magazine)" title="Monocle (2007 magazine)">Monocle</a>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-8"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-8"><span>[</span>9<span>]</span></a></sup> Similarly, according to Innovation Analysts 2thinknow, Barcelona occupies 13th place in the world on <i>Innovation Cities™ Global Index</i>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-9"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-9"><span>[</span>10<span>]</span></a></sup> It is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_by_GDP#Top_10_cities_in_the_European_Union" title="List of cities by GDP">4th richest city by GDP</a> in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union" title="European Union">European Union</a> and 35th in the world with an output amounting to €177 billion, a figure nonetheless smaller than alternative estimates.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-pricewater_10-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-pricewater-10"><span>[</span>11<span>]</span></a></sup> Consequently, its GDP per capita output stands at €39,859 – some 44% higher than the European Union average and GDP per head is €80,894 according to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurostat" title="Eurostat">Eurostat</a>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-11"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-11"><span>[</span>12<span>]</span></a></sup> Similarly, the city of Barcelona stands in 29th place in a list of net personal earnings headed by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zurich" title="Zurich">Zurich</a>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-12"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-12"><span>[</span>13<span>]</span></a></sup> The city is Europe's 3rd and one of the world's most successful as a city brand, both in terms of reputation and assets.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-13"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-13"><span>[</span>14<span>]</span></a></sup> Barcelona is 7th most important <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fashion_capital" title="Fashion capital">fashion capital</a> in the world. Also, the city is Europe's 4th best business city and fastest improving European city, with growing improved by 17% per year.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-14"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-14"><span>[</span>15<span>]</span></a></sup><br />
Founded as a Roman city, Barcelona became the capital of the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counts_of_Barcelona" title="Counts of Barcelona">Counts of Barcelona</a>. After merging with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Aragon" title="Kingdom of Aragon">Kingdom of Aragon</a>, Barcelona became one of the most important cities of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_of_Aragon" title="Crown of Aragon">Crown of Aragon</a>. Besieged several times during its history, Barcelona is today an important cultural centre and a major <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourist_destination" title="Tourist destination">tourist destination</a> and has a rich <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_heritage" title="Cultural heritage">cultural heritage</a>. Particularly renowned are architectural works of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoni_GaudÃ" title="Antoni Gaudí">Antoni Gaudí</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LluÃs_Domènech_i_Montaner" title="Lluís Domènech i Montaner">Lluís Domènech i Montaner</a> that have been designated <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNESCO" title="UNESCO">UNESCO</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Heritage_Site" title="World Heritage Site">World Heritage Sites</a>. The city is well known in recent times for the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_Summer_Olympics" title="1992 Summer Olympics">1992 Summer Olympics</a>. The headquarters of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_for_the_Mediterranean" title="Union for the Mediterranean">Union for the Mediterranean</a> is located in Barcelona.<br />
As the capital of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalonia" title="Catalonia">Catalonia</a>, Barcelona houses the seat of the Catalan government, known as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generalitat_of_Catalonia" title="Generalitat of Catalonia">Generalitat de Catalunya</a>; of particular note are the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Catalonia" title="Government of Catalonia">executive branch</a>, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_of_Catalonia" title="Parliament of Catalonia">parliament</a>, and the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court" title="Supreme Court">Supreme Court</a> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalonia" title="Catalonia">Catalonia</a>. The city is also the capital of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Province_of_Barcelona" title="Province of Barcelona">Province of Barcelona</a> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelonès" title="Barcelonès">Barcelonès</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comarques_of_Catalonia" title="Comarques of Catalonia">comarca</a> (shire).<br />
<table class="toc" id="toc" sizcache="5" sizset="1"><tbody sizcache="5" sizset="1">
<tr sizcache="5" sizset="1"><td sizcache="5" sizset="1"><div id="toctitle"><h2>Contents</h2><span class="toctoggle"> [<a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#" id="togglelink" jquery16407718869655008789="2">hide</a>] </span></div><ul sizcache="5" sizset="5"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#Names"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Names</span></a> </li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#History"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">History</span></a> </li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3" sizcache="4" sizset="1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#Geography"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">Geography</span></a> <ul><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-4"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#Climate"><span class="tocnumber">3.1</span> <span class="toctext">Climate</span></a> </li>
</ul></li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5" sizcache="4" sizset="2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#Main_sights"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">Main sights</span></a> <ul><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-6"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#Heritage"><span class="tocnumber">4.1</span> <span class="toctext">Heritage</span></a> </li>
<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-7"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#Historic_buildings_and_monuments"><span class="tocnumber">4.2</span> <span class="toctext">Historic buildings and monuments</span></a> </li>
<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-8"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#Museums"><span class="tocnumber">4.3</span> <span class="toctext">Museums</span></a> </li>
<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-9"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#Parks"><span class="tocnumber">4.4</span> <span class="toctext">Parks</span></a> </li>
<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-10"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#Beaches"><span class="tocnumber">4.5</span> <span class="toctext">Beaches</span></a> </li>
<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-11"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#Other"><span class="tocnumber">4.6</span> <span class="toctext">Other</span></a> </li>
</ul></li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-12" sizcache="4" sizset="3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#Demographics"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">Demographics</span></a> <ul><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-13"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#Population_density"><span class="tocnumber">5.1</span> <span class="toctext">Population density</span></a> </li>
</ul></li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-14" sizcache="5" sizset="5"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#Economy"><span class="tocnumber">6</span> <span class="toctext">Economy</span></a> <ul sizcache="4" sizset="5"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-15" sizcache="4" sizset="5"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#Infrastructures_impact_on_the_economy"><span class="tocnumber">6.1</span> <span class="toctext">Infrastructures impact on the economy</span></a> <ul><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-16"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#Fira_de_Barcelona"><span class="tocnumber">6.1.1</span> <span class="toctext">Fira de Barcelona</span></a> </li>
<li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-17"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#Port_of_Barcelona"><span class="tocnumber">6.1.2</span> <span class="toctext">Port of Barcelona</span></a> </li>
</ul></li>
</ul></li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-18" sizcache="4" sizset="6"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#Government_and_administrative_divisions"><span class="tocnumber">7</span> <span class="toctext">Government and administrative divisions</span></a> <ul><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-19"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#Districts"><span class="tocnumber">7.1</span> <span class="toctext">Districts</span></a> </li>
</ul></li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-20"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#Education"><span class="tocnumber">8</span> <span class="toctext">Education</span></a> </li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-21" sizcache="4" sizset="7"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#Culture"><span class="tocnumber">9</span> <span class="toctext">Culture</span></a> <ul><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-22"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#Entertainment_and_performing_arts"><span class="tocnumber">9.1</span> <span class="toctext">Entertainment and performing arts</span></a> </li>
<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-23"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#Media"><span class="tocnumber">9.2</span> <span class="toctext">Media</span></a> </li>
<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-24"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#Sports"><span class="tocnumber">9.3</span> <span class="toctext">Sports</span></a> </li>
</ul></li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-25" sizcache="4" sizset="8"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#Transport"><span class="tocnumber">10</span> <span class="toctext">Transport</span></a> <ul><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-26"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#Airports"><span class="tocnumber">10.1</span> <span class="toctext">Airports</span></a> </li>
<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-27"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#Seaport"><span class="tocnumber">10.2</span> <span class="toctext">Seaport</span></a> </li>
<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-28"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#Public_transport"><span class="tocnumber">10.3</span> <span class="toctext">Public transport</span></a> </li>
<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-29"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#Railway"><span class="tocnumber">10.4</span> <span class="toctext">Railway</span></a> </li>
<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-30"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#Roads_and_highways"><span class="tocnumber">10.5</span> <span class="toctext">Roads and highways</span></a> </li>
</ul></li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-31" sizcache="4" sizset="9"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#International_relations"><span class="tocnumber">11</span> <span class="toctext">International relations</span></a> <ul><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-32"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#Twin_towns_and_sister_cities"><span class="tocnumber">11.1</span> <span class="toctext">Twin towns and sister cities</span></a> </li>
</ul></li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-33"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#Other_sights"><span class="tocnumber">12</span> <span class="toctext">Other sights</span></a> </li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-34"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#See_also"><span class="tocnumber">13</span> <span class="toctext">See also</span></a> </li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-35" sizcache="4" sizset="10"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#References"><span class="tocnumber">14</span> <span class="toctext">References</span></a> <ul><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-36"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#Bibliography"><span class="tocnumber">14.1</span> <span class="toctext">Bibliography</span></a> </li>
<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-37"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#Notes"><span class="tocnumber">14.2</span> <span class="toctext">Notes</span></a> </li>
</ul></li>
<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-38"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#External_links"><span class="tocnumber">15</span> <span class="toctext">External links</span></a> </li>
</ul></td></tr>
</tbody></table><h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barcelona&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Names">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Names">Names</span></h2>The name <i>Barcelona</i> comes from the ancient Iberian <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenician_language" title="Phoenician language">Phoenician</a> <i>Barkeno</i>, attested in an ancient coin inscription in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iberian_scripts" title="Iberian scripts">Iberian script</a> as <a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Barkeno.png" title="Barkeno in Levantine Iberian script"><img alt="Barkeno in Levantine Iberian script" height="12px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/15/Barkeno.png/34px-Barkeno.png" width="34px" /></a>,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-15"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-15"><span>[</span>16<span>]</span></a></sup> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek" title="Ancient Greek">Ancient Greek</a> sources as <span lang="grc" xml:lang="grc">Βαρκινών</span>, <i>Barkinṓn</i>;<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-16"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-16"><span>[</span>17<span>]</span></a></sup> and in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin" title="Latin">Latin</a> as <i>Barcino</i><sup class="Template-Fact" style="white-space: nowrap;">[<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources from May 2010">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup>, <i>Barcilonum</i><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-17"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-17"><span>[</span>18<span>]</span></a></sup> and <i>Barceno</i>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-18"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-18"><span>[</span>19<span>]</span></a></sup><sup class="Template-Fact" style="white-space: nowrap;">[<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources from May 2010">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup><br />
During <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Ages" title="Middle Ages">the Middle Ages</a>, the city was variously known as <i>Barchinona, Barçalona, Barchelona</i>, and <i>Barchenona</i>.<br />
Some sources say that the city could have been named after the Carthaginian general <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilcar_Barca" title="Hamilcar Barca">Hamilcar Barca</a>, who was supposed to have founded the city in the 3rd century BC.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-19"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-19"><span>[</span>20<span>]</span></a></sup><br />
<h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barcelona&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: History">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline" id="History">History</span></h2><div class="rellink relarticle mainarticle">Main article: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Barcelona" title="History of Barcelona">History of Barcelona</a></div>The founding of Barcelona is the subject of two different legends. The first attributes the founding of the city to the mythological <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercules" title="Hercules">Hercules</a> 400 years before the building of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome" title="Rome">Rome</a>. The second legend attributes the foundation of the city directly to the historical <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carthage" title="Carthage">Carthaginian</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilcar_Barca" title="Hamilcar Barca">Hamilcar Barca</a>, father of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannibal" title="Hannibal">Hannibal</a>, who named the city <i>Barcino</i> after his family in the 3rd century BC.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-20"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-20"><span>[</span>21<span>]</span></a></sup><br />
About <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/15_BC" title="15 BC">15 BC</a>, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Empire" title="Roman Empire">Romans</a> redrew the town as a <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castra" title="Castra">castrum</a></i> (Roman military camp) centred on the "<i>Mons Taber</i>", a little hill near the contemporary city hall (<a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaça_de_Sant_Jaume" title="Plaça de Sant Jaume">Plaça de Sant Jaume</a>). Under the Romans, it was a colony with the surname of <i>Faventia</i>,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-21"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-21"><span>[</span>22<span>]</span></a></sup> or, in full, <i>Colonia Faventia Julia Augusta Pia Barcino</i><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-22"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-22"><span>[</span>23<span>]</span></a></sup> or <i>Colonia Julia Augusta Faventia Paterna Barcino</i>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mela" title="Mela">Mela</a><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-23"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-23"><span>[</span>24<span>]</span></a></sup> mentions it among the small towns of the district, probably as it was eclipsed by its neighbour <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarragona" title="Tarragona">Tarraco</a></i> (modern <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarragona" title="Tarragona">Tarragona</a>), but it may be gathered from later writers that it gradually grew in wealth and consequence, favoured as it was with a beautiful situation and an excellent harbour.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-24"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-24"><span>[</span>25<span>]</span></a></sup> It enjoyed immunity from imperial burdens.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-25"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-25"><span>[</span>26<span>]</span></a></sup> The city minted its own coins; some from the era of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galba" title="Galba">Galba</a> survive.<br />
<div class="thumb tleft"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 222px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BasÃlica_de_la_Mercè_es_del_carrer_d'en_Carabassa.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="325px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Bas%C3%ADlica_de_la_Merc%C3%A8_es_del_carrer_d%27en_Carabassa.jpg/220px-Bas%C3%ADlica_de_la_Merc%C3%A8_es_del_carrer_d%27en_Carabassa.jpg" width="220px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BasÃlica_de_la_Mercè_es_del_carrer_d'en_Carabassa.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>Basilic of la Mercè</div></div></div>Some important Roman ruins are exposed under the <a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pla%C3%A7a_del_Rei&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Plaça del Rei (page does not exist)"><span style="color: #ba0000;">Plaça del Rei</span></a>, entrance by the city museum (<a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Museu_d%27Hist%C3%B2ria_de_la_Ciutat&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Museu d'Història de la Ciutat (page does not exist)"><span style="color: #ba0000;">Museu d'Història de la Ciutat</span></a>), and the typically Roman grid-planning is still visible today in the layout of the historical centre, the <i><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Gòtic" title="El Gòtic">Barri Gòtic</a></i> ("Gothic Quarter"). Some remaining fragments of the Roman walls have been incorporated into the cathedral.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-26"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-26"><span>[</span>27<span>]</span></a></sup> The cathedral, also known as basilica <i>La Seu</i>, is said to have been founded in 343. The city was conquered by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visigoths" title="Visigoths">Visigoths</a> in the early 5th century, becoming for a few years the capital of the whole <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispania" title="Hispania">Hispania</a>. After being conquered by the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabs" title="Arabs">Arabs</a> in the early 8th century, it was reconquered in 801 by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlemagne" title="Charlemagne">Charlemagne</a>'s son <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_the_Pious" title="Louis the Pious">Louis</a>, who made Barcelona the seat of Carolingian "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marca_Hispanica" title="Marca Hispanica">Spanish Marches</a>" (<i>Marca Hispanica</i>), a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffer_zone" title="Buffer zone">buffer zone</a> ruled by the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counts_of_Barcelona" title="Counts of Barcelona">Count of Barcelona</a>.<br />
The Counts of Barcelona became increasingly independent and expanded their territory to include all of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalonia" title="Catalonia">Catalonia</a>. In 1137, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Aragon" title="Kingdom of Aragon">Aragon</a> and the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counts_of_Barcelona" title="Counts of Barcelona">County of Barcelona</a> merged by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynastic_union" title="Dynastic union">dynastic union</a><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-bisson_31_27-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-bisson_31-27"><span>[</span>28<span>]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-28"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-28"><span>[</span>29<span>]</span></a></sup> by the marriage of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramon_Berenguer_IV,_Count_of_Barcelona" title="Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona">Ramon Berenguer IV</a> and <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petronila_of_Aragon" title="Petronila of Aragon">Petronilla of Aragon</a>, and their titles were finally borne by only one person when their son <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfonso_II_of_Aragon" title="Alfonso II of Aragon">Alfonso II of Aragon</a> ascended to the throne in 1162. His territories were later to be known as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_of_Aragon" title="Crown of Aragon">Crown of Aragon</a>, which conquered many overseas possessions, ruling the western <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_Sea" title="Mediterranean Sea">Mediterranean Sea</a> with outlying territories <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naples" title="Naples">in Naples</a> and Sicily and as far as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duchy_of_Athens" title="Duchy of Athens">Athens</a> in the 13th century. The forging of a dynastic link between the Crowns of Aragon and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_of_Castile" title="Crown of Castile">Castile</a> marked the beginning of Barcelona's decline.<br />
<div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 302px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Monjuic's_castle_in_Barcelona.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="224px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Monjuic%27s_castle_in_Barcelona.jpg/300px-Monjuic%27s_castle_in_Barcelona.jpg" width="300px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Monjuic's_castle_in_Barcelona.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>The fortress at Montjuïc that was the most southerly point from which measurements were made when constructing the prototype metre</div></div></div>The marriage of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_II_of_Aragon" title="Ferdinand II of Aragon">Ferdinand II of Aragon</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_I_of_Castile" title="Isabella I of Castile">Isabella I of Castile</a> in 1469 united the two royal lines. The centre of political power became <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madrid" title="Madrid">Madrid</a> and the colonisation of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americas" title="Americas">Americas</a> reduced the financial importance (at least in relative terms) of Mediterranean trade. Barcelona was always the stronghold of Catalan separatism and was the center of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_Revolt" title="Catalan Revolt">Catalan Revolt</a> (1640–52) against <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_IV_of_Spain" title="Philip IV of Spain">Philip IV of Spain</a>. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Death" title="Black Death">great plague</a> of 1650–1654 halved the city's population.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-29"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-29"><span>[</span>30<span>]</span></a></sup> The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peninsular_War" title="Peninsular War">Napoleonic wars</a> left the province ravaged, but the postwar period saw the start of industrialization.<br />
In the eighteenth century a fortress was built at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montjuïc" title="Montjuïc">Montjuïc</a> that overlooked the harbour. In 1794, this fortress was used by the French astronomer <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Méchain" title="Pierre Méchain">Pierre François André Méchain</a> for observations relating to a survey stretching to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunkirk" title="Dunkirk">Dunkirk</a> that provided the basis of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metre" title="Metre">metre</a>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-30"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-30"><span>[</span>31<span>]</span></a></sup> The definitive metre bar, manufactured from platinum, was presented to the French legislative assembly on 22 June 1799.<br />
The resistance of Barcelona to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Franco" title="Francisco Franco">Franco</a>'s coup d'état was to have lasting effects after the defeat of the Republican government. The autonomous institutions of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalonia" title="Catalonia">Catalonia</a> were abolished,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-31"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-31"><span>[</span>32<span>]</span></a></sup> and the use of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_language" title="Catalan language">Catalan language</a> in public life was suppressed. Barcelona remained the second largest city in Spain, at the heart of a region which was relatively industrialised and prosperous, despite the devastation of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Civil_War" title="Spanish Civil War">civil war</a>. The result was a large-scale immigration from poorer regions of Spain (particularly <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andalucia" title="Andalucia">Andalucia</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murcia" title="Murcia">Murcia</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galicia_(Spain)" title="Galicia (Spain)">Galicia</a>), which in turn led to rapid urbanisation. Barcelona hosted the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Games" title="Olympic Games">Olympic Games</a> in 1992, which helped revitalize the city.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-32"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-32"><span>[</span>33<span>]</span></a></sup><br />
<div class="thumb tnone" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 808px; width: 99%;"><div class="thumbinner"><div class="overflowbugx" style="overflow: auto;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Barcelona._View_from_Tibidabo.jpg" title="A panoramic view of Barcelona (click to enlarge)"><img alt="" height="216px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c5/Barcelona._View_from_Tibidabo.jpg/800px-Barcelona._View_from_Tibidabo.jpg" width="800px" /></a></div><div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Barcelona._View_from_Tibidabo.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>A panoramic view of Barcelona (click to enlarge)</div></div></div><h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barcelona&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Geography">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Geography">Geography</span></h2><div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 222px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Barcelona_ISS009-E-9987.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="146px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/74/Barcelona_ISS009-E-9987.jpg/220px-Barcelona_ISS009-E-9987.jpg" width="220px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Barcelona_ISS009-E-9987.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>Barcelona from space</div></div></div>Barcelona is located on the northeast coast of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iberian_Peninsula" title="Iberian Peninsula">Iberian Peninsula</a>, facing the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_Sea" title="Mediterranean Sea">Mediterranean Sea</a>, on a plateau approximately 5 km (3 mi) wide limited by the mountain range of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serra_de_Collserola" title="Serra de Collserola">Collserola</a>, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llobregat" title="Llobregat">Llobregat</a> river to the southwest and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Besòs_(river)" title="Besòs (river)">Besòs</a> river to the north.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-gec_3_33-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-gec_3-33"><span>[</span>34<span>]</span></a></sup> This plateau has 170 km<sup>2</sup> (66 sq mi),<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-gec_3_33-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-gec_3-33"><span>[</span>34<span>]</span></a></sup> of which 101 km² (38.9 sq mi)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-guies_estadistiques_34-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-guies_estadistiques-34"><span>[</span>35<span>]</span></a></sup> are occupied by the city itself. It is 120 km (75 mi) south of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrenees" title="Pyrenees">Pyrenees</a> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalonia" title="Catalonia">Catalonian</a> border with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France" title="France">France</a>.<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibidabo" title="Tibidabo">Tibidabo</a>, 512 m (1,680 ft) high, offers striking views over the city<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-35"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-35"><span>[</span>36<span>]</span></a></sup> and is topped by the 288.4 m (946.2 ft) <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torre_de_Collserola" title="Torre de Collserola">Torre de Collserola</a>, a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_masts_and_towers" title="Radio masts and towers">telecommunications tower</a> that is visible from most of the city. Barcelona is peppered with small hills, most of them urbanized and that gave their name to the neighbourhoods built upon them, such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Carmel" title="El Carmel">Carmel</a> (267 m), <a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Putxet&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Putxet (page does not exist)"><span style="color: #ba0000;">Putxet</span></a> (181 m) and Rovira (261 m). The escarpment of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montjuïc" title="Montjuïc">Montjuïc</a> (173 m), situated to the southeast, overlooks the harbour and is topped by <a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Montju%C3%AFc_castle&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Montjuïc castle (page does not exist)"><span style="color: #ba0000;">Montjuïc castle</span></a>, a fortress built in the 17–18th centuries to control the city as a replacement for the Ciutadella. Today, the fortress is a museum and Montjuïc is home to several sporting and cultural venues, as well as Barcelona's biggest park and gardens.<br />
The city borders are the municipalities of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Coloma_de_Gramenet" title="Santa Coloma de Gramenet">Santa Coloma de Gramenet</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sant_Adrià _de_Besòs" title="Sant Adrià de Besòs">Sant Adrià de Besòs</a> to the north; the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_Sea" title="Mediterranean Sea">Mediterranean Sea</a> to the east; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Prat_de_Llobregat" title="El Prat de Llobregat">El Prat de Llobregat</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L'Hospitalet_de_Llobregat" title="L'Hospitalet de Llobregat">L'Hospitalet de Llobregat</a> to the south; and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sant_Feliu_de_Llobregat" title="Sant Feliu de Llobregat">Sant Feliu de Llobregat</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sant_Just_Desvern" title="Sant Just Desvern">Sant Just Desvern</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esplugues_de_Llobregat" title="Esplugues de Llobregat">Esplugues de Llobregat</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sant_Cugat_del_Vallès" title="Sant Cugat del Vallès">Sant Cugat del Vallès</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montcada_i_Reixac" title="Montcada i Reixac">Montcada i Reixac</a> to the west.<br />
<h3><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barcelona&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Climate">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Climate">Climate</span></h3><div class="rellink relarticle mainarticle">Main article: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Barcelona" title="Climate of Barcelona">Climate of Barcelona</a></div>Barcelona has a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_climate" title="Mediterranean climate">Mediterranean climate</a><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-36"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-36"><span>[</span>37<span>]</span></a></sup> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Köppen_climate_classification" title="Köppen climate classification">Köppen climate classification</a>: <i>Csa</i>),<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-37"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-37"><span>[</span>38<span>]</span></a></sup> with mild, humid winters and warm, dry summers.<br />
Its average annual temperature is <span style="white-space: nowrap;">20 °C</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap;">(68 °F)</span> during the day and <span style="white-space: nowrap;">11 °C</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap;">(52 °F)</span> at night. Average annual temperature of sea is about <span style="white-space: nowrap;">18 °C</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap;">(64 °F)</span>. In the coldest month – January, typically the temperature ranges from 8 to 17 °C (46 to 63 °F) during the day, 2 to 10 °C (36 to 50 °F) at night and the average sea temperature is <span style="white-space: nowrap;">13 °C</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap;">(55 °F)</span>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-weather2travel_38-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-weather2travel-38"><span>[</span>39<span>]</span></a></sup> In the warmest month – August, the typically temperature ranges from 25 to 31 °C (77 to 88 °F) during the day, about <span style="white-space: nowrap;">20 °C</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap;">(68 °F)</span> at night and the average sea temperature is <span style="white-space: nowrap;">25 °C</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap;">(77 °F)</span>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-weather2travel_38-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-weather2travel-38"><span>[</span>39<span>]</span></a></sup> Generally – "summer's" / "holiday" season lasts about six months, from May to October. Two months – April and November – are transitional, sometimes temperature exceeds <span style="white-space: nowrap;">20 °C</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap;">(68 °F)</span>, with average temperature of 17–18 °C (63–64 °F) during the day and 8–9 °C (46–48 °F) at night. December, January and February are the coldest months, with average temperatures around <span style="white-space: nowrap;">14 °C</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap;">(57 °F)</span> during the day and <span style="white-space: nowrap;">5 °C</span> <span style="white-space: nowrap;">(41 °F)</span> at night. Large fluctuations in temperature are rare, particularly in summer months. Sunshine duration is 2,524 hours per year, from 138 (average 4.5 hours of sunshine at day) in December to 310 (average 10 hours of sunshine at day) in July.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Meteorolog.C3.ADa_39-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-Meteorolog.C3.ADa-39"><span>[</span>40<span>]</span></a></sup><br />
<table class="wikitable collapsible" id="collapsibleTable0" style="font-size: 90%; line-height: 1.1em; margin: auto; text-align: center; width: 90%;"><tbody>
<tr><th colspan="14"><span class="collapseButton">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#" id="collapseButton0">hide</a>]</span>Climate data for Barcelona</th></tr>
<tr><th>Month</th><th>Jan</th><th>Feb</th><th>Mar</th><th>Apr</th><th>May</th><th>Jun</th><th>Jul</th><th>Aug</th><th>Sep</th><th>Oct</th><th>Nov</th><th>Dec</th><th style="border-left-width: medium;">Year</th></tr>
<tr><th height="16">Average high °C (°F)</th><td style="background: #ffc184; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">13.4<br />
(56.1)</td><td style="background: #ffb973; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">14.6<br />
(58.3)</td><td style="background: #ffb061; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">15.9<br />
(60.6)</td><td style="background: #ffa44a; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">17.6<br />
(63.7)</td><td style="background: #ff9022; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">20.5<br />
(68.9)</td><td style="background: #ff7700; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">24.2<br />
(75.6)</td><td style="background: #ff6000; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">27.5<br />
(81.5)</td><td style="background: #ff5d00; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">28.0<br />
(82.4)</td><td style="background: #ff6e00; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">25.5<br />
(77.9)</td><td style="background: #ff8914; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">21.5<br />
(70.7)</td><td style="background: #ffa852; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">17.0<br />
(62.6)</td><td style="background: #ffbb77; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">14.3<br />
(57.7)</td><td style="background: #ff9429; border-left-width: medium; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">20.0</td></tr>
<tr><th height="16">Daily mean °C (°F)</th><td style="background: #ffe0c2; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">8.9<br />
(48.0)</td><td style="background: #ffd9b3; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">10.0<br />
(50.0)</td><td style="background: #ffd0a1; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">11.3<br />
(52.3)</td><td style="background: #ffc388; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">13.1<br />
(55.6)</td><td style="background: #ffad5c; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">16.3<br />
(61.3)</td><td style="background: #ff9429; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">20.0<br />
(68.0)</td><td style="background: #ff7e00; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">23.1<br />
(73.6)</td><td style="background: #ff7a00; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">23.7<br />
(74.7)</td><td style="background: #ff8c1a; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">21.1<br />
(70.0)</td><td style="background: #ffa851; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">17.1<br />
(62.8)</td><td style="background: #ffc78f; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">12.6<br />
(54.7)</td><td style="background: #ffd9b3; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">10.0<br />
(50.0)</td><td style="background: #ffb265; border-left-width: medium; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">15.6</td></tr>
<tr><th height="16">Average low °C (°F)</th><td style="background: #fefeff; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">4.4<br />
(39.9)</td><td style="background: #fff9f3; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">5.3<br />
(41.5)</td><td style="background: #ffefe0; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">6.7<br />
(44.1)</td><td style="background: #ffe3c7; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">8.5<br />
(47.3)</td><td style="background: #ffcb97; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">12.0<br />
(53.6)</td><td style="background: #ffb164; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">15.7<br />
(60.3)</td><td style="background: #ff9d3c; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">18.6<br />
(65.5)</td><td style="background: #ff9832; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">19.3<br />
(66.7)</td><td style="background: #ffaa56; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">16.7<br />
(62.1)</td><td style="background: #ffc78f; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">12.6<br />
(54.7)</td><td style="background: #ffe6cd; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">8.1<br />
(46.6)</td><td style="background: #fff6ee; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">5.7<br />
(42.3)</td><td style="background: #ffd1a3; border-left-width: medium; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">11.1</td></tr>
<tr><th height="16"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precipitation_(meteorology)" title="Precipitation (meteorology)">Precipitation</a> mm (inches)</th><td style="background: #c1c1ff; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">41<br />
(1.61)</td><td style="background: #bfbfff; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">39<br />
(1.54)</td><td style="background: #c0c0ff; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">42<br />
(1.65)</td><td style="background: #b3b3ff; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">49<br />
(1.93)</td><td style="background: #a7a7ff; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">59<br />
(2.32)</td><td style="background: #bebeff; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">42<br />
(1.65)</td><td style="background: #e1e1ff; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">20<br />
(0.79)</td><td style="background: #a4a4ff; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">61<br />
(2.4)</td><td style="background: #7c7cff; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">85<br />
(3.35)</td><td style="background: #7777ff; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">91<br />
(3.58)</td><td style="background: #a5a5ff; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">58<br />
(2.28)</td><td style="background: #b3b3ff; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">51<br />
(2.01)</td><td style="background: #aeaeff; border-left-width: medium; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">640<br />
(25.2)</td></tr>
<tr><th height="16" style="font-size: 90%;">Avg. precipitation days <span style="font-size: 80%;"><span class="nowrap">(≥ 1 mm)</span></span></th><td style="background: #c1c1ff; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">5</td><td style="background: #c8c8ff; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">4</td><td style="background: #c1c1ff; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">5</td><td style="background: #bfbfff; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">5</td><td style="background: #c1c1ff; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">5</td><td style="background: #ccccff; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">4</td><td style="background: #e6e6ff; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">2</td><td style="background: #cdcdff; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">4</td><td style="background: #bfbfff; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">5</td><td style="background: #b4b4ff; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">6</td><td style="background: #bfbfff; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">5</td><td style="background: #c1c1ff; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">5</td><td style="background: #c5c5ff; border-left-width: medium; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">55</td></tr>
<tr><th height="16" style="font-size: 90%;">Sunshine hours</th><td style="background: #c3c310; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">149</td><td style="background: #d1d100; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">163</td><td style="background: #d7d700; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">200</td><td style="background: #dddd00; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">220</td><td style="background: #e1e100; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">244</td><td style="background: #e7e700; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">262</td><td style="background: #f0f011; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">310</td><td style="background: #eaea01; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">282</td><td style="background: #dddd00; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">219</td><td style="background: #d1d100; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">180</td><td style="background: #c4c40b; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">146</td><td style="background: #bebe2f; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">138</td><td style="background: #dada00; border-left-width: medium; color: black; font-size: 85%; text-align: center;">2,524</td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="14" style="font-size: 85%; text-align: center;"><em>Source: </em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Meteorological_Organization" title="World Meteorological Organization"><em>World Meteorological Organization</em></a><em> (</em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations" title="United Nations"><em>UN</em></a><em>),</em><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-40"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-40"><span>[</span>41<span>]</span></a></sup><em> </em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agencia_Estatal_de_MeteorologÃa" title="Agencia Estatal de Meteorología"><em>Agencia Estatal de Meteorología</em></a><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Meteorolog.C3.ADa_39-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-Meteorolog.C3.ADa-39"><span>[</span>40<span>]</span></a></sup></td></tr>
</tbody></table><h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barcelona&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Main sights">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Main_sights">Main sights</span></h2><div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 185px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Escola_de_Llotja_a_la_plaça_de_la_Verònica.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="244px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/63/Escola_de_Llotja_a_la_pla%C3%A7a_de_la_Ver%C3%B2nica.jpg/183px-Escola_de_Llotja_a_la_pla%C3%A7a_de_la_Ver%C3%B2nica.jpg" width="183px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Escola_de_Llotja_a_la_plaça_de_la_Verònica.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>Former headquarters of the Llotja in the Plaza of Veronica of Barcelona ubicated in the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Gòtic" title="El Gòtic">Barri Gòtic</a></div></div></div>The <i><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Gòtic" title="El Gòtic">Barri Gòtic</a></i> ("Gothic Quarter" in Catalan) is the centre of the old city of Barcelona. Many of the buildings date from medieval times, some from as far back as the Roman settlement of Barcelona.<br />
<div class="thumb tleft"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 222px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cathedral_of_Santa_Eulalia_Barcelona.JPG"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="146px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b5/Cathedral_of_Santa_Eulalia_Barcelona.JPG/220px-Cathedral_of_Santa_Eulalia_Barcelona.JPG" width="220px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cathedral_of_Santa_Eulalia_Barcelona.JPG" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>View of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_Santa_Eulà lia" title="Cathedral of Santa Eulàlia">Cathedral of St. Eulalia</a> interior</div></div></div>Catalan <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modernisme" title="Modernisme">modernisme</a></i> architecture (often known as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Nouveau" title="Art Nouveau">Art Nouveau</a> in the rest of Europe), developed between 1885 and 1950 and left an important legacy in Barcelona. A great number of these buildings are <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Heritage_Site" title="World Heritage Site">World Heritage Sites</a>. Especially remarkable is the work of architect <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoni_GaudÃ" title="Antoni Gaudí">Antoni Gaudí</a>, which can be seen throughout the city. His best known work is the immense but still unfinished church of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagrada_FamÃlia" title="Sagrada Família">Sagrada Família</a>, which has been under construction since 1882, and is still financed by private donations. As of 2007, completion is planned for 2026.<br />
Barcelona was also home to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Mies_van_der_Rohe" title="Ludwig Mies van der Rohe">Mies van der Rohe</a>'s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona_Pavilion" title="Barcelona Pavilion">Barcelona Pavilion</a>. Designed in 1929 for the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1929_Barcelona_International_Exposition" title="1929 Barcelona International Exposition">International Exposition</a> for Germany, it is an iconic building that came to symbolize modern architecture as the embodiment of van der Rohe's aphorisms "less is more" and "God is in the details." The Barcelona pavilion was intended as a temporary structure, and was torn down in 1930 less than a year after it was constructed. A modern re-creation by Spanish architects now stands in Barcelona, however, constructed in 1986.<br />
Barcelona won the 1999 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Institute_of_British_Architects" title="Royal Institute of British Architects">RIBA</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Gold_Medal" title="Royal Gold Medal">Royal Gold Medal</a> for its architecture,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-41"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-41"><span>[</span>42<span>]</span></a></sup> the first (and as of 2009, only) time that the winner has been a city, and not an individual architect.<br />
<div class="center"><div class="thumb tnone"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 702px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Barcelona_-_Plaça_Reial.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="193px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Barcelona_-_Pla%C3%A7a_Reial.jpg/700px-Barcelona_-_Pla%C3%A7a_Reial.jpg" width="700px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Barcelona_-_Plaça_Reial.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaça_Reial" title="Plaça Reial">Plaça Reial</a></div></div></div></div><h3><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barcelona&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Heritage">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Heritage">Heritage</span></h3>In Barcelona there are several points of interest declared <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Heritage" title="World Heritage">World Heritage</a> by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNESCO" title="UNESCO">UNESCO</a>: <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-42"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-42"><span>[</span>43<span>]</span></a></sup><br />
<center><table class="wikitable" style="width: 60%;"><tbody>
<tr><th>Code</th><th>Name</th><th>Year</th><th>Coordinates</th><th>Image</th></tr>
<tr><td>320-001</td><td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_Güell" title="Park Güell">Park Güell</a></td><td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984" title="1984">1984</a></td><td><span class="plainlinks nourlexpansion"><span style="white-space: nowrap;"><img alt="" class="noprint" jquery16407718869655008789="11" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/WMA_button2b.png/17px-WMA_button2b.png" style="cursor: pointer; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Show location on an interactive map" /><a class="external text" href="http://toolserver.org/~geohack/geohack.php?pagename=Barcelona&params=41_24_59.6_N_2_09_07.9_E_&title=Parque+G%C3%BCell" rel="nofollow" style="white-space: normal;"><span class="geo-default"><span class="geo-dms" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location"><span class="latitude">41°24′59.6″N</span> <span class="longitude">2°09′07.9″E</span></span></span><span class="geo-multi-punct"> / </span><span class="geo-nondefault"><span class="vcard"><span class="geo-dec" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location">41.416556°N 2.152194°E</span><span style="display: none;"> / <span class="geo">41.416556; 2.152194</span></span><span style="display: none;"> (<span class="fn org">Parque Güell</span>)</span></span></span></a></span></span></td><td><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Park_Güell02.jpg"><img alt="Park Güell02.jpg" height="113px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/Park_G%C3%BCell02.jpg/150px-Park_G%C3%BCell02.jpg" width="150px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td>320-002</td><td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palau_Güell" title="Palau Güell">Palau Güell</a></td><td>1984</td><td><span class="plainlinks nourlexpansion"><span style="white-space: nowrap;"><img alt="" class="noprint" jquery16407718869655008789="12" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/WMA_button2b.png/17px-WMA_button2b.png" style="cursor: pointer; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Show location on an interactive map" /><a class="external text" href="http://toolserver.org/~geohack/geohack.php?pagename=Barcelona&params=41.379183_N_2.174445_E_&title=Palacio+G%C3%BCell" rel="nofollow" style="white-space: normal;"><span class="geo-nondefault"><span class="geo-dms" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location"><span class="latitude">41°22′45″N</span> <span class="longitude">2°10′28″E</span></span></span><span class="geo-multi-punct"> / </span><span class="geo-default"><span class="vcard"><span class="geo-dec" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location">41.379183°N 2.174445°E</span><span style="display: none;"> / <span class="geo">41.379183; 2.174445</span></span><span style="display: none;"> (<span class="fn org">Palacio Güell</span>)</span></span></span></a></span></span></td><td><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PalauGuell1.jpg"><img alt="PalauGuell1.jpg" height="113px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d1/PalauGuell1.jpg/150px-PalauGuell1.jpg" width="150px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td>320-003</td><td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casa_Milà " title="Casa Milà">Casa Milà</a></td><td>1984</td><td><span class="plainlinks nourlexpansion"><span style="white-space: nowrap;"><img alt="" class="noprint" jquery16407718869655008789="13" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/WMA_button2b.png/17px-WMA_button2b.png" style="cursor: pointer; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Show location on an interactive map" /><a class="external text" href="http://toolserver.org/~geohack/geohack.php?pagename=Barcelona&params=41_23_51.3_N_2_09_46.9_E_&title=Casa+Mil%C3%A0" rel="nofollow" style="white-space: normal;"><span class="geo-default"><span class="geo-dms" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location"><span class="latitude">41°23′51.3″N</span> <span class="longitude">2°09′46.9″E</span></span></span><span class="geo-multi-punct"> / </span><span class="geo-nondefault"><span class="vcard"><span class="geo-dec" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location">41.397583°N 2.163028°E</span><span style="display: none;"> / <span class="geo">41.397583; 2.163028</span></span><span style="display: none;"> (<span class="fn org">Casa Milà</span>)</span></span></span></a></span></span></td><td><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Spain.Barcelona.Casa.Mila.jpg"><img alt="Spain.Barcelona.Casa.Mila.jpg" height="113px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/57/Spain.Barcelona.Casa.Mila.jpg/150px-Spain.Barcelona.Casa.Mila.jpg" width="150px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td>320-004</td><td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casa_Vicens" title="Casa Vicens">Casa Vicens</a></td><td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005" title="2005">2005</a></td><td><span class="plainlinks nourlexpansion"><span style="white-space: nowrap;"><img alt="" class="noprint" jquery16407718869655008789="14" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/WMA_button2b.png/17px-WMA_button2b.png" style="cursor: pointer; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Show location on an interactive map" /><a class="external text" href="http://toolserver.org/~geohack/geohack.php?pagename=Barcelona&params=41_22_50.5_N_2_10_30.6_E_&title=Casa+Vicens" rel="nofollow" style="white-space: normal;"><span class="geo-default"><span class="geo-dms" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location"><span class="latitude">41°22′50.5″N</span> <span class="longitude">2°10′30.6″E</span></span></span><span class="geo-multi-punct"> / </span><span class="geo-nondefault"><span class="vcard"><span class="geo-dec" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location">41.380694°N 2.175167°E</span><span style="display: none;"> / <span class="geo">41.380694; 2.175167</span></span><span style="display: none;"> (<span class="fn org">Casa Vicens</span>)</span></span></span></a></span></span></td><td><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vicens03.jpg"><img alt="Vicens03.jpg" height="113px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/59/Vicens03.jpg/150px-Vicens03.jpg" width="150px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td>320-005</td><td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagrada_FamÃlia" title="Sagrada Família">Facade of the Nativity and crypt of the Sagrada Familia</a></td><td>2005</td><td><span class="plainlinks nourlexpansion"><span style="white-space: nowrap;"><img alt="" class="noprint" jquery16407718869655008789="15" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/WMA_button2b.png/17px-WMA_button2b.png" style="cursor: pointer; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Show location on an interactive map" /><a class="external text" href="http://toolserver.org/~geohack/geohack.php?pagename=Barcelona&params=41_24_19.8_N_2_10_30.2_E_&title=Templo+Expiatorio+de+la+Sagrada+Familia" rel="nofollow" style="white-space: normal;"><span class="geo-default"><span class="geo-dms" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location"><span class="latitude">41°24′19.8″N</span> <span class="longitude">2°10′30.2″E</span></span></span><span class="geo-multi-punct"> / </span><span class="geo-nondefault"><span class="vcard"><span class="geo-dec" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location">41.4055°N 2.175056°E</span><span style="display: none;"> / <span class="geo">41.4055; 2.175056</span></span><span style="display: none;"> (<span class="fn org">Templo Expiatorio de la Sagrada Familia</span>)</span></span></span></a></span></span></td><td><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sagradafamilia-overview.jpg"><img alt="Sagradafamilia-overview.jpg" height="180px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c0/Sagradafamilia-overview.jpg/150px-Sagradafamilia-overview.jpg" width="150px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td>320-006</td><td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casa_Batlló" title="Casa Batlló">Casa Batlló</a></td><td>2005</td><td><span class="plainlinks nourlexpansion"><span style="white-space: nowrap;"><img alt="" class="noprint" jquery16407718869655008789="16" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/WMA_button2b.png/17px-WMA_button2b.png" style="cursor: pointer; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Show location on an interactive map" /><a class="external text" href="http://toolserver.org/~geohack/geohack.php?pagename=Barcelona&params=41_22_00.3_N_2_09_59.0_E_&title=Casa+Batll%C3%B3" rel="nofollow" style="white-space: normal;"><span class="geo-default"><span class="geo-dms" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location"><span class="latitude">41°22′00.3″N</span> <span class="longitude">2°09′59.0″E</span></span></span><span class="geo-multi-punct"> / </span><span class="geo-nondefault"><span class="vcard"><span class="geo-dec" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location">41.36675°N 2.16639°E</span><span style="display: none;"> / <span class="geo">41.36675; 2.16639</span></span><span style="display: none;"> (<span class="fn org">Casa Batlló</span>)</span></span></span></a></span></span></td><td><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CasaBatllo_0170.JPG"><img alt="CasaBatllo 0170.JPG" height="226px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6b/CasaBatllo_0170.JPG/150px-CasaBatllo_0170.JPG" width="150px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td>804-001</td><td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palau_de_la_Música_Catalana" title="Palau de la Música Catalana">Palau de la Música Catalana</a></td><td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997" title="1997">1997</a></td><td><span class="plainlinks nourlexpansion"><span style="white-space: nowrap;"><img alt="" class="noprint" jquery16407718869655008789="17" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/WMA_button2b.png/17px-WMA_button2b.png" style="cursor: pointer; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Show location on an interactive map" /><a class="external text" href="http://toolserver.org/~geohack/geohack.php?pagename=Barcelona&params=41_23_16_N_2_10_30_E_" rel="nofollow" style="white-space: normal;"><span class="geo-default"><span class="geo-dms" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location"><span class="latitude">41°23′16″N</span> <span class="longitude">2°10′30″E</span></span></span><span class="geo-multi-punct"> / </span><span class="geo-nondefault"><span class="geo-dec" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location">41.38778°N 2.175°E</span><span style="display: none;"> / <span class="geo">41.38778; 2.175</span></span></span></a></span></span></td><td><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Palau_de_la_Música_-_Interior_general_(2).JPG"><img alt="Palau de la Música - Interior general (2).JPG" height="100px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Palau_de_la_M%C3%BAsica_-_Interior_general_%282%29.JPG/150px-Palau_de_la_M%C3%BAsica_-_Interior_general_%282%29.JPG" width="150px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td>804-002</td><td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hospital_de_Sant_Pau" title="Hospital de Sant Pau">Hospital de Sant Pau</a></td><td>1997</td><td><span class="plainlinks nourlexpansion"><span style="white-space: nowrap;"><img alt="" class="noprint" jquery16407718869655008789="18" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/WMA_button2b.png/17px-WMA_button2b.png" style="cursor: pointer; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Show location on an interactive map" /><a class="external text" href="http://toolserver.org/~geohack/geohack.php?pagename=Barcelona&params=41_24_50_N_2_10_30_E_&title=Hospital+de+la+Santa+Cruz+y+San+Pablo" rel="nofollow" style="white-space: normal;"><span class="geo-default"><span class="geo-dms" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location"><span class="latitude">41°24′50″N</span> <span class="longitude">2°10′30″E</span></span></span><span class="geo-multi-punct"> / </span><span class="geo-nondefault"><span class="vcard"><span class="geo-dec" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location">41.41389°N 2.175°E</span><span style="display: none;"> / <span class="geo">41.41389; 2.175</span></span><span style="display: none;"> (<span class="fn org">Hospital de la Santa Cruz y San Pablo</span>)</span></span></span></a></span></span></td><td><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:StPau-Administracio-façana-7179sh.jpg"><img alt="StPau-Administracio-façana-7179sh.jpg" height="195px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8c/StPau-Administracio-fa%C3%A7ana-7179sh.jpg/130px-StPau-Administracio-fa%C3%A7ana-7179sh.jpg" width="130px" /></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table></center><h3><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barcelona&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Historic buildings and monuments">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Historic_buildings_and_monuments">Historic buildings and monuments</span></h3><div class="rellink">Further information: <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Modernisme_buildings_in_Barcelona" title="List of Modernisme buildings in Barcelona">List of Modernisme buildings in Barcelona</a></div><div class="rellink">See also Category: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Buildings_and_structures_in_Barcelona" title="Category:Buildings and structures in Barcelona">Buildings and structures in Barcelona</a></div><div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 262px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pgracia.JPG"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="195px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/07/Pgracia.JPG/260px-Pgracia.JPG" width="260px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pgracia.JPG" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passeig_de_Grà cia" title="Passeig de Gràcia">Passeig de Gràcia</a>.</div></div></div><div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 222px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sta-eulalia.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="296px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6f/Sta-eulalia.jpg/220px-Sta-eulalia.jpg" width="220px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sta-eulalia.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_Santa_Eulalia" title="Cathedral of Santa Eulalia">Barcelona Cathedral</a></div></div></div><div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 222px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Barcelona_209.JPG"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="165px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/eb/Barcelona_209.JPG/220px-Barcelona_209.JPG" width="220px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Barcelona_209.JPG" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>View of Barcelona from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_Güell" title="Park Güell">Parc Güell</a>.</div></div></div><ul><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagrada_FamÃlia" title="Sagrada Família">Sagrada Família</a>, the international symbol of Barcelona </li>
<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palau_de_la_Música_Catalana" title="Palau de la Música Catalana">Palau de la Música Catalana</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hospital_de_Sant_Pau" title="Hospital de Sant Pau">Hospital de Sant Pau</a>, designed by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LluÃs_Domènech_i_Montaner" title="Lluís Domènech i Montaner">Lluís Domènech i Montaner</a>, included in the UNESCO Heritage List list in 1997. </li>
<li>Works by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoni_GaudÃ" title="Antoni Gaudí">Antoni Gaudí</a>, including <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_Güell" title="Park Güell">Park Güell</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palau_Güell" title="Palau Güell">Palau Güell</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casa_Milà " title="Casa Milà">Casa Milà</a> (<a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Pedrera" title="La Pedrera">La Pedrera</a>), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casa_Vicens" title="Casa Vicens">Casa Vicens</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagrada_FamÃlia" title="Sagrada Família">Sagrada Família</a> (Nativity façade and crypt), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casa_Batlló" title="Casa Batlló">Casa Batlló</a>, Crypt in Colonia Güell. The first three works were inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1984. The other four were added as extensions to the site in 2005. </li>
<li><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona_Cathedral" title="Barcelona Cathedral">The Cathedral of St. Eulalia</a> </li>
<li>Church of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Maria_del_Mar,_Barcelona" title="Santa Maria del Mar, Barcelona">Santa Maria del Mar</a> (Gothic) </li>
<li>Gothic church of <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Maria_del_Pi" title="Santa Maria del Pi">Santa Maria del Pi</a> </li>
<li>Church of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sant_Pau_del_Camp" title="Sant Pau del Camp">Sant Pau del Camp</a> </li>
<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palau_Reial_Major" title="Palau Reial Major">Palau Reial Major</a>, medieval residence of the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counts_of_Barcelona" title="Counts of Barcelona">counts of Barcelona</a> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Aragon" title="Kingdom of Aragon">Kings of Aragon</a> </li>
<li>The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus_Monument,_Barcelona" title="Columbus Monument, Barcelona">Columbus Monument</a> </li>
<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forum_Building" title="Forum Building">Forum Building</a>, an example of contemporary architecture </li>
<li>The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arc_de_Triomf" title="Arc de Triomf">Arc de Triomf</a>, a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triumphal_arch" title="Triumphal arch">triumphal arch</a> built in 1888 </li>
<li>Medieval church of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sant_Pau_del_Camp" title="Sant Pau del Camp">Sant Pau del Camp</a> </li>
</ul><h3><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barcelona&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Museums">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Museums">Museums</span></h3><div class="rellink relarticle mainarticle">Main article: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_museums_in_Barcelona" title="List of museums in Barcelona">List of museums in Barcelona</a></div>Barcelona has a great number of museums, which cover different areas and eras. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museu_Nacional_d'Art_de_Catalunya" title="Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya">National Museum of Art of Catalonia</a> possesses a well-known collection of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanesque_art" title="Romanesque art">Romanesque art</a> while the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona_Museum_of_Contemporary_Art" title="Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art">Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art</a> focuses on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-war" title="Post-war">post-1945</a> Catalan and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_art" title="Spanish art">Spanish art</a>. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundació_Joan_Miró" title="Fundació Joan Miró">Fundació Joan Miró</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museu_Picasso" title="Museu Picasso">Picasso Museum</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundació_Antoni_Tà pies" title="Fundació Antoni Tàpies">Fundació Antoni Tàpies</a> hold important collections of these world-renowned artists.<br />
Several museums cover the fields of history and archeology, like the City History Museum, the Museum of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Catalonia" title="History of Catalonia">History of Catalonia</a>, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaeology_Museum_of_Catalonia" title="Archaeology Museum of Catalonia">Archeology Museum of Catalonia</a>, the Barcelona <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maritime_museum" title="Maritime museum">Maritime Museum</a> and the private-owned Egyptian Museum. The Erotic museum of Barcelona is among the most peculiar ones, while Cosmocaixa is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_museum" title="Science museum">science museum</a> that received the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Museum_of_the_Year_Award" title="European Museum of the Year Award">European Museum of the Year Award</a> in 2006.<br />
<div class="thumb tleft"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 302px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:050529_Barcelona_135.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="193px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/050529_Barcelona_135.jpg/300px-050529_Barcelona_135.jpg" width="300px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:050529_Barcelona_135.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museu_Nacional_d'Art_de_Catalunya" title="Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya">National Museum of Art of Catalonia</a>.</div></div></div><h3><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barcelona&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Parks">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Parks">Parks</span></h3>Barcelona contains 68 municipal parks, divided into 12 historic parks, 5 thematic (botanical) parks, 45 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_park" title="Urban park">urban parks</a> and 6 forest parks.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-43"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-43"><span>[</span>44<span>]</span></a></sup> They range from vest-pocket parks to large recreation areas. The urban parks alone cover 10% of the city (549.7 ha/1,358.3 acres).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-guies_estadistiques_34-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-guies_estadistiques-34"><span>[</span>35<span>]</span></a></sup> The total park surface grows about 10 ha (25 acres) per year,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-44"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-44"><span>[</span>45<span>]</span></a></sup> with a proportion of 18.1 square metres (195 sq ft) of park area per inhabitant.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-45"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-45"><span>[</span>46<span>]</span></a></sup><br />
Of Barcelona's parks, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montjuïc" title="Montjuïc">Montjuïc</a> is the largest, with 203 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hectare" title="Hectare">ha</a> located on the mountain of the same name.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-guies_estadistiques_34-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-guies_estadistiques-34"><span>[</span>35<span>]</span></a></sup> It is followed by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parc_de_la_Ciutadella" title="Parc de la Ciutadella">Parc de la Ciutadella</a> (situated in the place of the old military <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citadel" title="Citadel">citadel</a> and which houses the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_of_Catalonia" title="Parliament of Catalonia">Parliament</a> building, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona_Zoo" title="Barcelona Zoo">Barcelona Zoo</a> and several museums; 31 ha/76.6 acres including the zoo), the <a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Guinard%C3%B3_Park&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Guinardó Park (page does not exist)"><span style="color: #ba0000;">Guinardó Park</span></a> (19 ha/47.0 acres), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_Güell" title="Park Güell">Park Güell</a> (designed by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoni_GaudÃ" title="Antoni Gaudí">Antoni Gaudí</a>; 17.2 ha/42.5 acres), <a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oreneta_Castle_Park&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Oreneta Castle Park (page does not exist)"><span style="color: #ba0000;">Oreneta Castle Park</span></a> (also 17.2 ha/42.5 acres), <a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Diagonal_Mar_Park&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Diagonal Mar Park (page does not exist)"><span style="color: #ba0000;">Diagonal Mar Park</span></a> (13.3 ha/32.9 acres, inaugurated in 2002), <a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nou_Barris_Central_Park&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Nou Barris Central Park (page does not exist)"><span style="color: #ba0000;">Nou Barris Central Park</span></a> (13.2 ha/32.6 acres), <a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Can_Drag%C3%B3_Sports_Park&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Can Dragó Sports Park (page does not exist)"><span style="color: #ba0000;">Can Dragó Sports Park</span></a> and <a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Poblenou_Park&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Poblenou Park (page does not exist)"><span style="color: #ba0000;">Poblenou Park</span></a> (both 11.9 ha/29.4 acres) and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parc_del_Laberint_d'Horta" title="Parc del Laberint d'Horta">Labyrinth Park</a> (9.10 ha/22.5 acres), named after the garden maze it contains.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-guies_estadistiques_34-3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-guies_estadistiques-34"><span>[</span>35<span>]</span></a></sup> A part of the Collserolla Park is also within the city limits.<br />
<h3><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barcelona&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Beaches">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Beaches">Beaches</span></h3><div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 222px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:050529_Barcelona_060.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="165px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e1/050529_Barcelona_060.jpg/220px-050529_Barcelona_060.jpg" width="220px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:050529_Barcelona_060.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Barceloneta" title="La Barceloneta">The Barceloneta</a> beach</div></div></div>Beach in Barcelona gained status as the best urban beach in the World according to <i><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Geographic" title="National Geographic">National Geographic</a></i><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-46"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-46"><span>[</span>47<span>]</span></a></sup> and <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discovery_Channel" title="Discovery Channel">Discovery Channel</a></i>, with total third best beach in the World.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-47"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-47"><span>[</span>48<span>]</span></a></sup> Barcelona contains seven beaches, totalling 4.5 km (2.8 mi) of coastline. <a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sant_Sebasti%C3%A0&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Sant Sebastià (page does not exist)"><span style="color: #ba0000;">Sant Sebastià</span></a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Barceloneta,_Barcelona" title="La Barceloneta, Barcelona">Barceloneta</a> beaches, both 1,100 m (3,610 ft) in length,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-guies_estadistiques_34-4"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-guies_estadistiques-34"><span>[</span>35<span>]</span></a></sup> are the largest, oldest and the most frequented beaches in Barcelona. The <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Port" title="Olympic Port">Olympic Port</a> separates them from the other city beaches: <a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nova_Ic%C3%A0ria&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Nova Icària (page does not exist)"><span style="color: #ba0000;">Nova Icària</span></a>, <a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bogatell&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Bogatell (page does not exist)"><span style="color: #ba0000;">Bogatell</span></a>, <a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mar_Bella&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Mar Bella (page does not exist)"><span style="color: #ba0000;">Mar Bella</span></a>, <a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nova_Mar_Bella&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Nova Mar Bella (page does not exist)"><span style="color: #ba0000;">Nova Mar Bella</span></a> and <a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Llevant&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Llevant (page does not exist)"><span style="color: #ba0000;">Llevant</span></a>. These beaches (ranging from 400 to 640 m/1,300 to 2,100 ft) were opened as a result of the city restructuring to host the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_Summer_Olympics" title="1992 Summer Olympics">1992 Summer Olympics</a>, when a great number of industrial buildings were demolished. At present, the beach sand is replenished from quarries given that storms regularly remove large quantities of material. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Universal_Forum_of_Cultures" title="2004 Universal Forum of Cultures">2004 Universal Forum of Cultures</a> left the city a large concrete bathing zone on the eastmost part of the city's coastline.<br />
<div class="center"><div class="thumb tnone"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 502px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Platges_de_Barcelona.svg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="128px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/47/Platges_de_Barcelona.svg/500px-Platges_de_Barcelona.svg.png" width="500px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Platges_de_Barcelona.svg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>Beach in Barcelona</div></div></div></div><div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 222px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Plaça_Catalunya_Barcelona.JPG"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="165px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Pla%C3%A7a_Catalunya_Barcelona.JPG/220px-Pla%C3%A7a_Catalunya_Barcelona.JPG" width="220px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Plaça_Catalunya_Barcelona.JPG" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>Plaça Catalunya</div></div></div><h3><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barcelona&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Other">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Other">Other</span></h3>The area around the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaça_de_Catalunya,_Barcelona" title="Plaça de Catalunya, Barcelona">Plaça Catalunya</a> makes up the city's historical centre and, alongside the upper half of <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avinguda_Diagonal,_Barcelona" title="Avinguda Diagonal, Barcelona">Avinguda Diagonal</a>, is the main commercial area of the city. Barcelona has several commercial complexes, like <a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=L%27Illa&action=edit&redlink=1" title="L'Illa (page does not exist)"><span style="color: #ba0000;">L'Illa</span></a> in the higher part of the Diagonal avenue and <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diagonal_Mar_i_Front_MarÃtim_del_Poblenou" title="Diagonal Mar i Front Marítim del Poblenou">Diagonal Mar</a> in the lowest, <a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=La_Maquinista&action=edit&redlink=1" title="La Maquinista (page does not exist)"><span style="color: #ba0000;">La Maquinista</span></a>, <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaça_de_les_Glòries_Catalanes,_Barcelona" title="Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes, Barcelona">Glòries</a> in the place of the same name and the <a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maremagnum&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Maremagnum (page does not exist)"><span style="color: #ba0000;">Maremagnum</span></a> by the port.<br />
Barcelona has several skyscrapers, the tallest being the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_Arts" title="Hotel Arts">Hotel Arts</a> and its twin the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torre_Mapfre" title="Torre Mapfre">Torre Mapfre</a>, both 154 m (505 ft) high, followed by the, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torre_Agbar" title="Torre Agbar">Torre Agbar</a> 144 m (472 ft) and the newest <a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=W_Barcelona_Hotel&action=edit&redlink=1" title="W Barcelona Hotel (page does not exist)"><span style="color: #ba0000;">W Barcelona Hotel</span></a>. Barcelona is situated 125 km from the ski resorts of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrenees" title="Pyrenees">Pyrenées</a>. The skyline of the city is decorated in winter by the summit (1,712 m (5,616.80 ft) high) of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montseny" title="Montseny">Montseny</a> massif, normally covered by snow.<br />
<h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barcelona&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: Demographics">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Demographics">Demographics</span></h2><div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 302px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DemografÃa_Barcelona_(España).PNG"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="198px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f5/Demograf%C3%ADa_Barcelona_%28Espa%C3%B1a%29.PNG/300px-Demograf%C3%ADa_Barcelona_%28Espa%C3%B1a%29.PNG" width="300px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DemografÃa_Barcelona_(España).PNG" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>Demographic evolution, 1900–2007, according to the Spanish Instituto Nacional de Estadística</div></div></div>According to Barcelona's City Council, Barcelona's population as of 1 June 2006 was 1,673,075 people,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-48"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-48"><span>[</span>49<span>]</span></a></sup> while the population of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_area" title="Urban area">urban area</a> was 4,210,000. It is the central nucleus of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona_metropolitan_area" title="Barcelona metropolitan area">Barcelona metropolitan area</a>, which relies on a population of 5,083,000.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-49"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-49"><span>[</span>50<span>]</span></a></sup><br />
The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_density" title="Population density">population density</a> of Barcelona was 15,779 inhabitants per square kilometre (40,870 /sq mi),<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-50"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-50"><span>[</span>51<span>]</span></a></sup> with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eixample" title="Eixample">Eixample</a> being the most populated district. 62% of the inhabitants were born in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalonia" title="Catalonia">Catalonia</a>, with a 23.5% coming from the rest of Spain. Of the 13.9% from other countries, a proportion which has more than tripled since 2001 when it was 3.9%,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-guies_estadistiques_34-5"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-guies_estadistiques-34"><span>[</span>35<span>]</span></a></sup> the majority come from (in order) <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecuador" title="Ecuador">Ecuador</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peru" title="Peru">Peru</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morocco" title="Morocco">Morocco</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colombia" title="Colombia">Colombia</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentina" title="Argentina">Argentina</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan" title="Pakistan">Pakistan</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China" title="China">China</a>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-51"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-51"><span>[</span>52<span>]</span></a></sup><br />
As the national language, Spanish is understood almost universally in Barcelona. 95% of the population understand Catalonia's native <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_language" title="Catalan language">Catalan language</a>, while 74.6% can speak it, 75% can read it, and 47.1% can write it,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-52"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-52"><span>[</span>53<span>]</span></a></sup> thanks to the linguistic immersion <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education" title="Education">educational system</a>. While most of the population state they are <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church" title="Catholic Church">Roman Catholic</a> (208 churches), there are also a number of other groups, including <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelicalism" title="Evangelicalism">Evangelical</a> (71 locations, mostly professed by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_people_in_Spain" title="Romani people in Spain">Roma</a>), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovah's_Witnesses" title="Jehovah's Witnesses">Jehovah's Witnesses</a> (21 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_Hall" title="Kingdom Hall">Kingdom Halls</a>) and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism" title="Buddhism">Buddhists</a> (13 locations),<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-53"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-53"><span>[</span>54<span>]</span></a></sup> and a number of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim" title="Muslim">Muslims</a> due to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration" title="Immigration">immigration</a>.<br />
In 1900, Barcelona had a population of 533,000 people,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-gec_3_33-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-gec_3-33"><span>[</span>34<span>]</span></a></sup> which grew steadily but slowly until 1950, when it<br />
<div class="thumb tleft"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 222px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BCN-ParcForum-4923.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="147px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/90/BCN-ParcForum-4923.jpg/220px-BCN-ParcForum-4923.jpg" width="220px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BCN-ParcForum-4923.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>Forum Park in Barcelona</div></div></div>started absorbing a high number of people from other less-industrialized parts of Spain. Barcelona's population peaked in 1979 with 1,906,998 people, and fell throughout the 1980s and 1990s as more people sought a higher <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quality_of_life" title="Quality of life">quality of life</a> in outlying cities in the Barcelona Metropolitan Area. After bottoming out in 2000 with 1,496,266 people, the city's population began to rise again as younger people started to return, causing a great increase in housing prices.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-54"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-54"><span>[</span>55<span>]</span></a></sup><br />
<h3><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barcelona&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: Population density">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Population_density">Population density</span></h3><div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 222px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Eixample_aire.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="165px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/Eixample_aire.jpg/220px-Eixample_aire.jpg" width="220px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Eixample_aire.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>Aerial wiew of Barcelona</div></div></div>Note: <i>This text is entirely based on the municipal statistical database provided by the city council.</i><br />
Barcelona is one of the most densely populated cities in Europe. For the year 2008 the city council calculated the population to 1,628,090 living in the 102.2 km<sup>2</sup> sized municipality, giving the city an average population density of 15,926 inhabitants per square kilometre.<br />
In the case of Barcelona though, the land distribution is extremely uneven. Half of the municipality or 50.2 km<sup>2</sup>, all of it located on the municipal edge is made up of the ten least densely populated neighbourhoods containing less than 10% of the city's population, the uninhabited <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zona_Franca_(Barcelona)" title="Zona Franca (Barcelona)">Zona Franca</a> industrial area and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montjuïc" title="Montjuïc">Montjuïc</a> forest park. Leaving the remaining 90% or slightly below 1.5 million inhabitants living on the remaining 52 square kilometres at an average density close to 28,500 inhabitants per square kilometre.<br />
Of the 73 neighbourhoods in the city, 45 had a population density above 20,000 inhabitants per square kilometre with a combined population of 1,313,424 inhabitants living on 38.6 km<sup>2</sup> at an average density of 33,987 inhabitants per square km. The 30 most densely populated neighbourhoods accounted for 57.5% of the city population occupying only 22,7% of the municipality, or in other words, 936,406 people living at an average density of 40,322 inhabitants per square kilometre. The city's highest density is found at and around the neighbourhood of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagrada_FamÃlia,_Barcelona" title="Sagrada Família, Barcelona">la Sagrada Família</a> where four of the city's most densely populated neighbourhoods are located side by side, all with a population density above 50,000 inhabitants per square kilometre.<br />
<h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barcelona&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: Economy">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Economy">Economy</span></h2><div class="center"><div class="thumb tnone"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 752px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Skyscrapers_in_Diagonal_Mar,_Barcelona.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="146px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3c/Skyscrapers_in_Diagonal_Mar%2C_Barcelona.jpg/750px-Skyscrapers_in_Diagonal_Mar%2C_Barcelona.jpg" width="750px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Skyscrapers_in_Diagonal_Mar,_Barcelona.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>Barcelona Business Centre.</div></div></div></div><div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 227px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Centro_de_Convenciones_Internacional_de_Barcelona.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="169px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/49/Centro_de_Convenciones_Internacional_de_Barcelona.jpg/225px-Centro_de_Convenciones_Internacional_de_Barcelona.jpg" width="225px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Centro_de_Convenciones_Internacional_de_Barcelona.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>Fórum Convention Center.</div></div></div>The Barcelona metropolitan area comprises over 66% of the people in one of the richest regions in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Europe" title="Southern Europe">Southern Europe</a> – Catalonia, with a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_domestic_product" title="Gross domestic product">GDP</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purchasing_power_parity" title="Purchasing power parity">PPP</a> per capita amounting to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro" title="Euro">€</a>30,700 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_European_Union#Richest_.26_Poorest_NUTS_Regions_.28GDP_PPP_2007.29" title="Economy of the European Union">European Union's GDP PPP per capita</a>). Furthermore, the Barcelona metropolitan area has a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_by_GDP" title="List of cities by GDP">GDP amounting €177 billion</a> what is equivalent to €35,975 in per capita terms.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-pricewater_10-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-pricewater-10"><span>[</span>11<span>]</span></a></sup><br />
Barcelona has a long-standing mercantile tradition. Less well known is that the region was one of the earliest to begin industrialization in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Europe" title="Continental Europe">continental Europe</a>, beginning with textile related works from the mid 1780s but really gathering momentum in the mid 19th century, when it became a major centre for the production of textiles and machinery.<sup class="Template-Fact" style="white-space: nowrap;">[<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources from December 2010">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> Since then, manufacturing has played a large role in its history. The traditional importance in textiles is reflected in Barcelona's repeated attempts to become a major fashion centre. In summer 2000, the city became a host for the prestigious <a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bread_%26_Butter&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Bread & Butter (page does not exist)"><span style="color: #ba0000;">Bread & Butter</span></a> urban fashion fair until 2009 when it was announced that it would be held again on Berlin.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-bread_55-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-bread-55"><span>[</span>56<span>]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-56"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-56"><span>[</span>57<span>]</span></a></sup> This was a hard blow for the city as the fair brought €100 m to the city in just three days.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-57"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-57"><span>[</span>58<span>]</span></a></sup> There have been many attempts to launch Barcelona as a fashion capital, notably <i>Gaudi Home</i>. <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brandery" title="The Brandery">The Brandery</a></i>, an urban fashion show, is held in Barcelona twice a year.<br />
<div class="thumb tleft"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 222px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Montjuic_Placa_Espanya_Barcelona.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="165px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4f/Montjuic_Placa_Espanya_Barcelona.jpg/220px-Montjuic_Placa_Espanya_Barcelona.jpg" width="220px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Montjuic_Placa_Espanya_Barcelona.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>Plaça Espanya from Montjuïc</div></div></div><div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 222px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Granvia_L'H,_Barcelona_in_2010.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="63px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/Granvia_L%27H%2C_Barcelona_in_2010.jpg/220px-Granvia_L%27H%2C_Barcelona_in_2010.jpg" width="220px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Granvia_L'H,_Barcelona_in_2010.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gran_Via_(Barcelona)" title="Gran Via (Barcelona)">Gran Via</a> center, part of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fira_de_Barcelona" title="Fira de Barcelona">Fira de Barcelona</a>.</div></div></div>As in other modern cities, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secondary_sector_of_the_economy" title="Secondary sector of the economy">manufacturing sector</a> has long since been overtaken by the services sector, though it remains very important. The region's leading industries today are textiles, chemical, pharmaceutical, motor, electronic, printing, logistics, publishing, telecommunications and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_technology" title="Information technology">information technology</a> services.<sup class="Template-Fact" style="white-space: nowrap;">[<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources from December 2010">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup><br />
Drawing upon its tradition of creative art and craftsmanship, Barcelona is nowadays also known for its award-winning <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_design" title="Industrial design">industrial design</a>. It also has several congress halls, notably <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fira_de_Barcelona" title="Fira de Barcelona">Fira de Barcelona</a> (Trade Fair) - second largest trade fair and exhibition centres in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe" title="Europe">Europe</a>,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-58"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-58"><span>[</span>59<span>]</span></a></sup> that host a quickly growing number of national and international events each year, which had also meant the opening of new hotels each year. However, the economic crisis and deep cuts in business travel are affecting the Council's positioning of the city as a convention centre.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-59"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-59"><span>[</span>60<span>]</span></a></sup><br />
An important business centre in Barcelona, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Center_Barcelona" title="World Trade Center Barcelona">World Trade Center Barcelona</a>, is located in Barcelona's harbour <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Vell" title="Port Vell">Port Vell</a>.<br />
<h3><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barcelona&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: Infrastructures impact on the economy">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Infrastructures_impact_on_the_economy">Infrastructures impact on the economy</span></h3><div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 222px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gran_Via_venue_of_Fira_de_Barcelona_01.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="124px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e3/Gran_Via_venue_of_Fira_de_Barcelona_01.jpg/220px-Gran_Via_venue_of_Fira_de_Barcelona_01.jpg" width="220px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gran_Via_venue_of_Fira_de_Barcelona_01.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>Fira de Barcelona in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gran_Via_(Barcelona)" title="Gran Via (Barcelona)">Gran Via</a></div></div></div><h4><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barcelona&action=edit&section=16" title="Edit section: Fira de Barcelona">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Fira_de_Barcelona">Fira de Barcelona</span></h4>The <b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fira_de_Barcelona" title="Fira de Barcelona">Fira de Barcelona</a></b>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fira_de_Barcelona" title="Fira de Barcelona">Barcelona trade show</a>, organized numerous exhibitions, shows, congresses and fairs for professionals, some of which are among the first in the world, as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_World_Congress" title="Mobile World Congress">Mobile World Congress</a>, which is the largest in the world in its sector, the urban fashion fair <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brandery" title="The Brandery">The Brandery</a>, or the fair construction <a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Construmat&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Construmat (page does not exist)"><span style="color: #ba0000;">Construmat</span></a> on a biannual basis. These and other shows makes it one of the most important fairs of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe" title="Europe">Europe</a> and former <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain" title="Spain">Spain</a> with over 3.5 million annual visitors, <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-60"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-60"><span>[</span>61<span>]</span></a></sup><br />
<b>Fira de Barcelona</b> is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_fair" title="Trade fair">trade fair</a> ground and organizer that was officially constituted in 1932 in <strong class="selflink">Barcelona</strong>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalonia" title="Catalonia">Catalonia</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain" title="Spain">Spain</a>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Fira_61-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-Fira-61"><span>[</span>62<span>]</span></a></sup> It is publicly owned company with autonomous management, organizing more than 80 trade shows, bringing together 40,000 companies and receiving three and a half million visitors.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Fira_61-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-Fira-61"><span>[</span>62<span>]</span></a></sup><br />
Fira de Barcelona has 365,000 m2 of exhibition floor space, one of the largest areas in Europe, divided into two exhibition centres, the initial one at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montjuïc" title="Montjuïc">Montjuïc</a> (165,000m2 of exhibition floor space, 50,000 outdoor) and the new one at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gran_Via_(Barcelona)" title="Gran Via (Barcelona)">Gran Via</a> business district, opened in 2007 close to <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hospitalet_de_Llobregat" title="Hospitalet de Llobregat">Hospitalet de Llobregat</a> (200,000m2 exhibition floor space).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Fira_61-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-Fira-61"><span>[</span>62<span>]</span></a></sup><br />
<br />
<div class="center"><div class="thumb tnone"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 802px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BarcelonaExpositionPanorama.1929.ws.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="181px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/BarcelonaExpositionPanorama.1929.ws.jpg/800px-BarcelonaExpositionPanorama.1929.ws.jpg" width="800px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BarcelonaExpositionPanorama.1929.ws.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>In 1929 Barcelona hosted the Universal Exhibition and turned around the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaça_d'Espanya" title="Plaça d'Espanya">Plaça d'Espanya</a> where now is the main entrance of the Fira de Barcelona in Montjuic.</div></div></div></div><h4><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barcelona&action=edit&section=17" title="Edit section: Port of Barcelona">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Port_of_Barcelona">Port of Barcelona</span></h4>Even today, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_of_Barcelona" title="Port of Barcelona">Port of Barcelona</a> is an economic engine of the city. It has become in recent years one of the largest ports in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_Sea" title="Mediterranean Sea">Mediterranean</a> in freight tonnage and number of Freight traffic from the port of Barcelona and fishing canneries where they settle in Spain, like <a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Port_of_Isla_Cristina&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Port of Isla Cristina (page does not exist)"><span style="color: #ba0000;">USIS</span></a> (based on over a thousand miles away in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isla_Cristina" title="Isla Cristina">Isla Cristina</a>), and can export and import industrial production or semi-processed raw materials. It is also the first Mediterranean port and fifth in the world on cruise ships, carrying up to two million passengers Barcelona annual port.<br />
<div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 227px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Agencia_t._colon..JPG"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="169px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6b/Agencia_t._colon..JPG/225px-Agencia_t._colon..JPG" width="225px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Agencia_t._colon..JPG" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>Tax Agency of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_of_Barcelona" title="Port of Barcelona">Port of Barcelona</a>.</div></div></div>The port of Barcelona was born while the city of Barcelona as a natural port located on a beach that was among a small peninsula that formed the mountain <a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Montjuic_(Barcelona)&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Montjuic (Barcelona) (page does not exist)"><span style="color: #ba0000;">Montjuic</span></a>, and the old mouth of the river <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llobregat" title="Llobregat">Llobregat</a>. This was the only point that could be used minimally protected ancient mariners for many miles of coastline. Over the centuries, the city and its port were gaining in importance, to become the maritime capital of the kings of Aragon.<br />
<div class="thumb tleft"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 222px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Barcelona_Docks_Panorama.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="56px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/Barcelona_Docks_Panorama.jpg/220px-Barcelona_Docks_Panorama.jpg" width="220px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Barcelona_Docks_Panorama.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>Panorama of the Port Vell with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Center_Barcelona" title="World Trade Center Barcelona">World Trade Center</a> building and the monument of Colon.</div></div></div>Despite that the port remained south of the mountain <a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Montjuic_(Barcelona)&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Montjuic (Barcelona) (page does not exist)"><span style="color: #ba0000;">Montjuic</span></a> until the year 1378 the city authorities asked the Pedro IV of Aragon to continue the work that began on Pedro port III of Aragon, who had ordered the building of Barcelona Drassanes ("yards" in Catalan), which even today still stand forming the Barcelona Maritime Museum and the construction of a port north of the mountain Montjuic, because the old site had lost depth by the accumulation of sand. Permission to build the new artificial harbor opposite the town came the December 8, 1438, by order of Alfonso V the Magnanimous. Unfortunately, a decade after the storms had destroyed all the work, and it was not until 1477, under the reign of Juan II of Aragon, which was placed what would be the cornerstone of the doors permanently. He joined the former island to the mainland by Maians a breakwater. With the successive enlargements of the port, and the accumulation of sand, the island has been joined to the mainland to form the land where now stands the district of <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barceloneta,_Barcelona" title="Barceloneta, Barcelona">Barceloneta</a>.<br />
Some tourist sites of the port are:<br />
<div class="thumb tright" style="width: 566px;"><div class="thumbinner"><div style="float: left; margin: 1px; width: 221px;"><div class="thumbimage"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:W_Barcelona_by_Ricardo_Bofill.jpg" title="Hotel Vela"><img alt="" height="309px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/W_Barcelona_by_Ricardo_Bofill.jpg/219px-W_Barcelona_by_Ricardo_Bofill.jpg" width="219px" /></a></div><div class="thumbcaption" style="clear: left;"><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_Vela" title="Hotel Vela">Hotel Vela</a></div></div><div style="float: left; margin: 1px; width: 98px;"><div class="thumbimage"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Monument_a_Colom,_Barcelona,_Spain_-_Jan_07.jpg" title="Columbus Monument, Barcelona"><img alt="" height="308px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d8/Monument_a_Colom%2C_Barcelona%2C_Spain_-_Jan_07.jpg/96px-Monument_a_Colom%2C_Barcelona%2C_Spain_-_Jan_07.jpg" width="96px" /></a></div><div class="thumbcaption" style="clear: left;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus_Monument,_Barcelona" title="Columbus Monument, Barcelona">Columbus Monument, Barcelona</a></div></div><div style="float: left; margin: 1px; width: 233px;"><div class="thumbimage"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fale_-_Barcellona_-_36.jpg" title="Torre del Rellotge"><img alt="" height="308px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6f/Fale_-_Barcellona_-_36.jpg/231px-Fale_-_Barcellona_-_36.jpg" width="231px" /></a></div><div class="thumbcaption" style="clear: left;">Torre del Rellotge</div></div></div></div><ul><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torre_Jaume_I" title="Torre Jaume I">Torre Jaume I</a>. </li>
<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torre_Sant_Sebastià " title="Torre Sant Sebastià">Torre Sant Sebastià</a>. </li>
<li>Torre Colom. </li>
<li><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_Vela" title="Hotel Vela">Hotel Vela</a>. </li>
<li>Plaça de la Carbonera. </li>
<li>Plaça del Portal de la Pau. </li>
<li>La Rambla del Mar. </li>
<li>Passeig d'Ithaca. </li>
<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Center_Barcelona" title="World Trade Center Barcelona">World Trade Center Barcelona</a>. </li>
<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus_Monument,_Barcelona" title="Columbus Monument, Barcelona">Monument to Columbus</a>. </li>
<li>Drassanes Reials de Barcelona. </li>
<li>Museu d'Història de Catalunya. </li>
<li>Museu de les Belles Arts. </li>
<li>Museu de Cera de Barcelona. </li>
<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquarium_Barcelona" title="Aquarium Barcelona">Aquarium of Barcelona</a>. </li>
<li>Las Golondrinas. </li>
<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Captaincy" title="General Captaincy">General Captaincy</a>. </li>
<li>Military Command. </li>
<li>Torre del Rellotge </li>
<li>Porta d'Europa. </li>
</ul><h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barcelona&action=edit&section=18" title="Edit section: Government and administrative divisions">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Government_and_administrative_divisions">Government and administrative divisions</span></h2><div class="rellink boilerplate seealso">See also: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipal_elections_in_Barcelona" title="Municipal elections in Barcelona">Municipal elections in Barcelona</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mayors_of_Barcelona" title="List of mayors of Barcelona">List of mayors of Barcelona</a></div><div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 222px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PiC-Serra-rb.catalunya-1340-01.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="146px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/34/PiC-Serra-rb.catalunya-1340-01.jpg/220px-PiC-Serra-rb.catalunya-1340-01.jpg" width="220px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PiC-Serra-rb.catalunya-1340-01.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>La Casa Serra, headquarters of the Provincial Council of Barcelona</div></div></div><div class="thumb tleft"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 222px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Casa_generalitat_web.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="147px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/12/Casa_generalitat_web.jpg/220px-Casa_generalitat_web.jpg" width="220px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Casa_generalitat_web.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>The Palau de la Generalitat of Barcelona</div></div></div>Barcelona is governed by a city council formed by 41 city councilors, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipal_elections_in_Barcelona" title="Municipal elections in Barcelona">elected</a> for a four-year term by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_suffrage" title="Universal suffrage">universal suffrage</a>. As one of the two biggest cities in Spain, Barcelona is subject to a special law articulated through the <i>Carta Municipal</i> (Municipal Law). A first version of this law was passed in 1960 and amended later, but the current version was approved in March 2006.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ley_1.2F2006_62-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-ley_1.2F2006-62"><span>[</span>63<span>]</span></a></sup> According to this law, Barcelona's city council is organized in two levels: a political one, with elected city councilors, and one executive, which administrates the programs and executes the decisions taken on the political level.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-63"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-63"><span>[</span>64<span>]</span></a></sup> This law also gives the local government a special relationship with the central government and it also gives the mayor wider prerogatives by the means of municipal executive commissions.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-64"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-64"><span>[</span>65<span>]</span></a></sup> It expands the powers of the city council in areas like telecommunications, city traffic, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_traffic_safety" title="Road traffic safety">road safety</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_safety" title="Public safety">public safety</a>. It also gives a special economic regime to the city's treasury and it gives the council a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veto" title="Veto">veto</a> in matters that will be decided by the central government, but that will need a favourable report from the council.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ley_1.2F2006_62-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-ley_1.2F2006-62"><span>[</span>63<span>]</span></a></sup><br />
<div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 222px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:GeneralitatPatiGotic_0022-01.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="147px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5f/GeneralitatPatiGotic_0022-01.jpg/220px-GeneralitatPatiGotic_0022-01.jpg" width="220px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:GeneralitatPatiGotic_0022-01.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>Into the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palau_de_la_Generalitat_de_Catalunya" title="Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya">Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya</a>.</div></div></div>The <i>Comissió de Govern</i> (Government Commission) is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_(government)" title="Executive (government)">executive</a> branch, formed by 24 councilors, led by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mayors_of_Barcelona" title="List of mayors of Barcelona">Mayor</a>, with 5 lieutenant-mayors and 17 city councilors, each in charge of an area of government, and 5 non-elected councilors.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-65"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-65"><span>[</span>66<span>]</span></a></sup> The plenary, formed by the 41 city councilors, has advisory, planning, regulatory, and fiscal executive functions.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-66"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-66"><span>[</span>67<span>]</span></a></sup> The six <i>Commissions del Consell Municipal</i> (City council commissions) have executive and controlling functions in the field of their jurisdiction. They are composed by a number of councilors proportional to the<br />
<div class="thumb tleft"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 222px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BIG_278502812040411.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="146px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a1/BIG_278502812040411.jpg/220px-BIG_278502812040411.jpg" width="220px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BIG_278502812040411.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>Gotic Gallery into the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palau_de_la_Generalitat_de_Catalunya" title="Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya">Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya</a>.</div></div></div>number of councilors each political party has in the plenary.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-67"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-67"><span>[</span>68<span>]</span></a></sup> The city council has jurisdiction in the fields of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_planning" title="Urban planning">city planning</a>, transportation, municipal taxes, public highways security through the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guà rdia_Urbana_de_Barcelona" title="Guàrdia Urbana de Barcelona">Guàrdia Urbana</a></i> (the municipal police), city maintenance, gardens, parks and environment, facilities (like schools, nurseries, sports centres, libraries, and so on.), culture, sports, youth and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welfare" title="Welfare">social welfare</a>. Some of these competencies are not exclusive, but shared with the Generalitat de Catalunya or the central <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Spain" title="Government of Spain">Spanish government</a>.<br />
The executive branch is led by a Chief Municipal Executive Officer which answers to the Mayor. It is made up of departments which are legally part of the city council and by separate legal entities of two tipes: autonomous public departments and public enterprises.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-68"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-68"><span>[</span>69<span>]</span></a></sup><br />
The seat of the city council is on the Plaça de Sant Jaume, opposite the seat of Generalitat de Catalunya. Since the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_transition_to_democracy" title="Spanish transition to democracy">coming of the Spanish democracy</a>, Barcelona <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipal_elections_in_Barcelona" title="Municipal elections in Barcelona">had been governed</a> by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialists'_Party_of_Catalonia" title="Socialists' Party of Catalonia">PSC</a>, first with an <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_majority" title="Absolute majority">absolute majority</a> and later in coalition with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Left_of_Catalonia" title="Republican Left of Catalonia">ERC</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Initiative_for_Catalonia_Greens" title="Initiative for Catalonia Greens">ICV</a>. After the May 2007 election, the ERC did not renew the coalition agreement and the PSC governed in a minority coalition with ICV as the junior partner.<br />
After 32 years, on 22 May 2011, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convergence_and_Union" title="Convergence and Union">CiU</a> gained a plurality of seats at the municipal election, gaining 15 seats to the PSC's 11. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People's_Party_(Spain)" title="People's Party (Spain)">PP</a> hold 8 seats, ICV 5 and ERC 2.<br />
<div class="center"><div class="thumb tnone"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 702px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Panorà mica_del_Salo_de_Cent_(Ajuntament_de_Barcelona).jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="238px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/Panor%C3%A0mica_del_Salo_de_Cent_%28Ajuntament_de_Barcelona%29.jpg/700px-Panor%C3%A0mica_del_Salo_de_Cent_%28Ajuntament_de_Barcelona%29.jpg" width="700px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Panorà mica_del_Salo_de_Cent_(Ajuntament_de_Barcelona).jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>Panoramic of the Saló de Cent, into the town hall of Barcelona.</div></div></div></div><h3><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barcelona&action=edit&section=19" title="Edit section: Districts">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Districts">Districts</span></h3><div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 222px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MapaBCN_Distritos01.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="164px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3d/MapaBCN_Distritos01.jpg/220px-MapaBCN_Distritos01.jpg" width="220px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MapaBCN_Distritos01.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>Districts of Barcelona</div></div></div><div class="rellink relarticle mainarticle">Main article: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Districts_of_Barcelona" title="Districts of Barcelona">Districts of Barcelona</a></div>Since 1987, the city has been divided into 10 administrative <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Districts_of_Barcelona" title="Districts of Barcelona">districts</a> (<i>districtes</i> in Catalan, <i>distritos</i> in Spanish), each one with its own council led by a city councillor. The composition of each district council depends on the number of votes each political party had in that district, so a district can be led by a councillor from a different party than the executive council.<br />
The districts are based mostly on historical divisions. Several of the city's districts are former towns annexed by the city of Barcelona in the 18th and 19th centuries that still maintain their own distinct character. The official names of these districts are in the Catalan language.<br />
<h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barcelona&action=edit&section=20" title="Edit section: Education">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Education">Education</span></h2><div class="rellink relarticle mainarticle">Main article: <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Catalonia" title="Education in Catalonia">Education in Catalonia</a></div><div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 222px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Paranimf_de_la_Universitat_de_Barcelona.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="217px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2f/Paranimf_de_la_Universitat_de_Barcelona.jpg/220px-Paranimf_de_la_Universitat_de_Barcelona.jpg" width="220px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Paranimf_de_la_Universitat_de_Barcelona.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>Paranymph of the Historic building of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Barcelona" title="University of Barcelona">UB</a></div></div></div>Barcelona has a well-developed <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higher_education" title="Higher education">higher education</a> system of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_university" title="Public university">public universities</a>. Most prominent among these is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Barcelona" title="University of Barcelona">University of Barcelona</a>, a world-renowned research and teaching institution with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campus" title="Campus">campuses</a> around the city. Barcelona is also home to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytechnic_University_of_Catalonia" title="Polytechnic University of Catalonia">Polytechnic University of Catalonia</a>, and the newer <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pompeu_Fabra_University" title="Pompeu Fabra University">Pompeu Fabra University</a>,and, in the private sector the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IESE" title="IESE">IESE Business School</a>, as well as the largest private educational institution, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramon_Llull_University" title="Ramon Llull University">Ramon Llull University</a>, which encompasses internationally-prestigious schools and institutes such as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESADE" title="ESADE">ESADE</a> Business School. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomous_University_of_Barcelona" title="Autonomous University of Barcelona">Autonomous University of Barcelona</a>, another public university, is located in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellaterra" title="Bellaterra">Bellaterra</a>, a town in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ãmbit_metropolità _de_Barcelona" title="Àmbit metropolità de Barcelona">Metropolitan Area</a>. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_University_of_Catalonia" title="Open University of Catalonia">Open University of Catalonia</a>, a private Internet-centered <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_university" title="Open university">open university</a>, is also based in Barcelona.<br />
<div class="thumb tleft"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 222px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:VestÃbul_Universitat_de_Barcelona.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="165px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6f/Vest%C3%ADbul_Universitat_de_Barcelona.jpg/220px-Vest%C3%ADbul_Universitat_de_Barcelona.jpg" width="220px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:VestÃbul_Universitat_de_Barcelona.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>Historic building of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Barcelona" title="University of Barcelona">University of Barcelona</a>, entrance vestibule</div></div></div>The city has a network of public schools, from nurseries to high schools, under the responsibility of a consortium led by city council (though the curriculum is the responsibility of the Generalitat de Catalunya). There are also many private schools, some of them <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church" title="Catholic Church">Roman Catholic</a>. Most such schools receive a public subsidy on a per-student basis, are subject to inspection by the public authorities, and are required to follow the same curricular guidelines as public schools, though they charge tuition. Known as <i>escoles concertades</i>, they are distinct from schools whose funding is entirely private (<i>escoles privades</i>).<br />
The language of instruction at public schools and <i>escoles concertades</i> is Catalan, as stipulated by the 2009 Catalan Education Act. Spanish may be used as a language of instruction by teachers of Spanish literature or language, and foreign languages by teachers of those languages. An experimental partial immersion programme adopted by some schools allows for the teaching of a foreign language (English, generally) across the curriculum, though this is limited to a maximum of 30% of the school day. No public school or <i>escola concertada</i> in Barcelona may offer 50% or full immersion programmes in a foreign language, nor does any public school or <i>escola concertada</i> offer International Baccalaureate programmes.<br />
<h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barcelona&action=edit&section=21" title="Edit section: Culture">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Culture">Culture</span></h2><div class="rellink relarticle mainarticle">Main article: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Barcelona" title="Culture of Barcelona">Culture of Barcelona</a></div><div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 302px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Palau_de_la_Música_-_Interior_general_(2).JPG"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="199px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Palau_de_la_M%C3%BAsica_-_Interior_general_%282%29.JPG/300px-Palau_de_la_M%C3%BAsica_-_Interior_general_%282%29.JPG" width="300px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Palau_de_la_Música_-_Interior_general_(2).JPG" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>Inside of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palau_de_la_Música_Catalana" title="Palau de la Música Catalana">Palau de la Música Catalana</a></div></div></div>Barcelona's cultural roots go back 2000 years. To a greater extent than the rest of Catalonia, where Catalonia's native <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_language" title="Catalan language">Catalan</a> is more dominant, Barcelona is a bilingual city: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_language" title="Catalan language">Catalan</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_language" title="Spanish language">Spanish</a> are both <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Official_language" title="Official language">official languages</a> and widely spoken. The Catalan spoken in Barcelona, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Catalan" title="Central Catalan">Central Catalan</a>, is the one closest to standard Catalan. Since the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_transition_to_democracy" title="Spanish transition to democracy">arrival of democracy</a>, the Catalan culture (very much repressed during the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_State" title="Spanish State">dictatorship of Franco</a>) has been promoted, both by recovering works<br />
<div class="thumb tleft"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 222px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Liceu_-_Interior.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="147px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/Liceu_-_Interior.jpg/220px-Liceu_-_Interior.jpg" width="220px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Liceu_-_Interior.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>Inside of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liceu" title="Liceu">Liceu</a></div></div></div>from the past and by stimulating the creation of new works. Barcelona is designated as a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_city" title="Global city">world-class city</a> by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-69"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-69"><span>[</span>70<span>]</span></a></sup><br />
<h3><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barcelona&action=edit&section=22" title="Edit section: Entertainment and performing arts">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Entertainment_and_performing_arts">Entertainment and performing arts</span></h3><div class="rellink relarticle mainarticle">Main article: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_theatres_and_concert_halls_in_Barcelona" title="List of theatres and concert halls in Barcelona">List of theatres and concert halls in Barcelona</a></div>Barcelona has many venues for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concert" title="Concert">live music</a> and theatre, including the world-renowned <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liceu" title="Liceu">Gran Teatre del Liceu</a> opera theatre, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teatre_Nacional_de_Catalunya" title="Teatre Nacional de Catalunya">Teatre Nacional de Catalunya</a>, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teatre_Lliure" title="Teatre Lliure">Teatre Lliure</a> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palau_de_la_Música_Catalana" title="Palau de la Música Catalana">Palau de la Música Catalana</a> concert hall. Barcelona also is home to the Barcelona and Catalonia National <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchestra" title="Orchestra">Symphonic Orchestra</a> (Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya, usually known as OBC), the largest symphonic orchestra in Catalonia. In 1999, the OBC inaugurated its new venue in the brand-new Auditorium (<i>l'Auditori</i>). It performs around 75 concerts per season and its current director is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eiji_Oue" title="Eiji Oue">Eiji Oue</a>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-70"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-70"><span>[</span>71<span>]</span></a></sup><br />
<div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 172px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Barceramblassrsteel.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="227px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/12/Barceramblassrsteel.jpg/170px-Barceramblassrsteel.jpg" width="170px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Barceramblassrsteel.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>View over the Rambla, famous for its living statues</div></div></div>Yearly two major pop <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_festival" title="Music festival">music festivals</a> take place in the city, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sónar" title="Sónar">Sónar Festival</a> and the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primavera_Sound_Festival" title="Primavera Sound Festival">Primavera Sound Festival</a>. The city also has a thriving <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_rock" title="Alternative rock">alternative music</a> scene, with groups such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pinker_Tones" title="The Pinker Tones">The Pinker Tones</a> receiving international attention.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-71"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-71"><span>[</span>72<span>]</span></a></sup><br />
<h3><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barcelona&action=edit&section=23" title="Edit section: Media">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Media">Media</span></h3><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Periódico_de_Catalunya" title="El Periódico de Catalunya">El Periódico de Catalunya</a></i> and <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Vanguardia" title="La Vanguardia">La Vanguardia</a></i> are Barcelona's two major daily newspapers (both with Catalan and Spanish editions) while <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport_(newspaper)" title="Sport (newspaper)">Sport</a></i> and <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Mundo_Deportivo_(newspaper)" title="El Mundo Deportivo (newspaper)">El Mundo Deportivo</a></i> (both in Spanish) are the city's two major sports daily newspapers, published by the same companies. The city is also served by a number of smaller publications such as <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ara_(newspaper)" title="Ara (newspaper)">Ara</a></i>, <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avui" title="Avui">Avui</a></i> and <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Punt" title="El Punt">El Punt</a></i> (in Catalan), by nation-wide newspapers with special Barcelona editions like <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_PaÃs" title="El País">El Pais</a></i> and <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Mundo_(Spain)" title="El Mundo (Spain)">El Mundo</a></i> (both in Spanish), and by several free newspapers like <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20_minutos" title="20 minutos">20 minutos</a></i>, <i>ADN</i> and <i>Què</i> (all bilingual).<br />
Several major FM stations include <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalunya_Rà dio" title="Catalunya Ràdio">Catalunya Ràdio</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAC_1" title="RAC 1">RAC 1</a>, <a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=RAC_105&action=edit&redlink=1" title="RAC 105 (page does not exist)"><span style="color: #ba0000;">RAC 105</span></a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadena_SER" title="Cadena SER">Cadena SER</a>. Barcelona also has several local <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_channel" title="Television channel">TV stations</a>, among them <a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barcelona_Televisi%C3%B3&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Barcelona Televisió (page does not exist)"><span style="color: #ba0000;">BTV</span></a> (owned by city council) and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8TV_(Catalonia)" title="8TV (Catalonia)">8TV</a> (owned by the Godó group, that also owns <i>La Vanguardia</i>). The headquarters of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Televisió_de_Catalunya" title="Televisió de Catalunya">Televisió de Catalunya</a>, Catalonia's public network, are located in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sant_Joan_DespÃ" title="Sant Joan Despí">Sant Joan Despí</a>, in Barcelona's metropolitan area.<br />
<h3><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barcelona&action=edit&section=24" title="Edit section: Sports">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Sports">Sports</span></h3>Barcelona has a long sporting tradition and hosted the highly successful <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_Summer_Olympics" title="1992 Summer Olympics">1992 Summer Olympics</a> as well as several matches during the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982_FIFA_World_Cup" title="1982 FIFA World Cup">1982 FIFA World Cup</a> (on the two stadiums). It has also hosted, among others, the final of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Champions_League" title="UEFA Champions League">European Champions League</a> (1989, 1999), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EuroBasket" title="EuroBasket">Eurobasket</a> (1973, 1997), <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euroleague" title="Euroleague">Euroleague</a> (1969, 1998, 2003, 2011), 2003 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EuroHockey_Nations_Championship" title="EuroHockey Nations Championship">EuroHockey Nations Championship</a> and the 1951, 1954, 1957, 1979 <a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=CERH_European_Roller_Hockey&action=edit&redlink=1" title="CERH European Roller Hockey (page does not exist)"><span style="color: #ba0000;">CERH European Roller Hockey</span></a><br />
<div class="thumb tleft"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 222px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Barcelona_stadium.JPG"><span style="color: #ba0000;"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="165px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/Barcelona_stadium.JPG/220px-Barcelona_stadium.JPG" width="220px" /></span></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Barcelona_stadium.JPG" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estadi_OlÃmpic_de_Montjuïc" title="Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc">Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc</a></div></div></div><div class="thumb tleft"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 222px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Palau_San_Jordi_Torre_Calatrava_Barcelona.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="165px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4f/Palau_San_Jordi_Torre_Calatrava_Barcelona.jpg/220px-Palau_San_Jordi_Torre_Calatrava_Barcelona.jpg" width="220px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Palau_San_Jordi_Torre_Calatrava_Barcelona.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palau_Sant_Jordi" title="Palau Sant Jordi">Palau Sant Jordi</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montjuïc_Communications_Tower" title="Montjuïc Communications Tower">Montjuïc Communications Tower</a></div></div></div><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Championship" title="Championship">European Roller Hockey Championship</a>, 1958 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Judo_Championships" title="European Judo Championships">European Judo Championships</a>, 1970 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Water_Polo_Championship" title="European Water Polo Championship">European Water Polo Championship</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1970_European_Aquatics_Championships" title="1970 European Aquatics Championships">1970 European Aquatics Championships</a>, 1976 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Taekwondo_Championships" title="European Taekwondo Championships">European Taekwondo Championships</a>, 1980 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Karate_Championships" title="European Karate Championships">European Karate Championships</a>, 1987 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Wushu_Championships" title="European Wushu Championships">European Wushu Championships</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1995_IAAF_World_Indoor_Championships" title="1995 IAAF World Indoor Championships">1995 IAAF World Indoor Championships</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Euro_Beach_Soccer_Cup" title="2002 Euro Beach Soccer Cup">2002 Euro Beach Soccer Cup</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_World_Aquatics_Championships" title="2003 World Aquatics Championships">2003 World Aquatics Championships</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_European_Baseball_Championship" title="2007 European Baseball Championship">2007 European Baseball Championship</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_European_Athletics_Championships" title="2010 European Athletics Championships">2010 European Athletics Championships</a> and some other. Also, the city aspires to organize the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Winter_Olympics" title="2022 Winter Olympics">2022 Winter Olympics</a>. The opening, closing, medal ceremonies and indoor sports would be held in Barcelona, while outdoor sports would be held in ski resorts in the Pyrenees, mainly <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Molina_(ski_resort)" title="La Molina (ski resort)">La Molina</a>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-72"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-72"><span>[</span>73<span>]</span></a></sup><br />
<div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 222px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Campnoumatch.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="165px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/Campnoumatch.jpg/220px-Campnoumatch.jpg" width="220px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Campnoumatch.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Nou" title="Camp Nou">Camp Nou</a></div></div></div><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Barcelona" title="FC Barcelona">FC Barcelona</a> is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_club" title="Sports club">sports club</a> best known worldwide for its <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_football" title="Association football">football</a> team, one of the largest in Europe, four-time winner (last one in 2011) of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Champions_League" title="UEFA Champions League">UEFA Champions League</a> and the only men's club in the world to accomplish <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sextuple" title="The Sextuple">a sextuple</a>. FC Barcelona also has teams in the Spanish <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basketball" title="Basketball">basketball</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liga_ACB" title="Liga ACB">ACB</a> league (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Barcelona_BÃ squet" title="FC Barcelona Bàsquet">Regal FC Barcelona</a>), the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Team_handball" title="Team handball">handball</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liga_ASOBAL" title="Liga ASOBAL">ASOBAL</a> league (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Barcelona_Handbol" title="FC Barcelona Handbol">FC Barcelona Handbol</a>), and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roller_hockey" title="Roller hockey">roller hockey</a> league (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Barcelona_Hoquei" title="FC Barcelona Hoquei">FC Barcelona Hoquei</a>), all of them winners of the highest European competitions. The club's museum is the second most visited in Catalonia. Twice a season, FC Barcelona and cross-town rivals <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RCD_Espanyol" title="RCD Espanyol">RCD Espanyol</a> contest in the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_derbi_barcelonÃ" title="El derbi barceloní">local derby</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Liga" title="La Liga">La Liga</a>, while its basketball section has its own local derby in Liga ACB with nearby <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joventut_Badalona" title="Joventut Badalona">Joventut Badalona</a>. Barcelona also has other clubs in lower categories, like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CE_Europa" title="CE Europa">CE Europa</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UE_Sant_Andreu" title="UE Sant Andreu">UE Sant Andreu</a>.<br />
Barcelona has two <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_elite_stadium" title="UEFA elite stadium">UEFA elite stadiums</a> (<a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nuvola_apps_mozilla.svg"><img alt="Nuvola apps mozilla.svg" height="12px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Nuvola_apps_mozilla.svg/12px-Nuvola_apps_mozilla.svg.png" width="12px" /></a><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nuvola_apps_mozilla.svg"><img alt="Nuvola apps mozilla.svg" height="12px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Nuvola_apps_mozilla.svg/12px-Nuvola_apps_mozilla.svg.png" width="12px" /></a><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nuvola_apps_mozilla.svg"><img alt="Nuvola apps mozilla.svg" height="12px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Nuvola_apps_mozilla.svg/12px-Nuvola_apps_mozilla.svg.png" width="12px" /></a><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nuvola_apps_mozilla.svg"><img alt="Nuvola apps mozilla.svg" height="12px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Nuvola_apps_mozilla.svg/12px-Nuvola_apps_mozilla.svg.png" width="12px" /></a><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nuvola_apps_mozilla.svg"><img alt="Nuvola apps mozilla.svg" height="12px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Nuvola_apps_mozilla.svg/12px-Nuvola_apps_mozilla.svg.png" width="12px" /></a>): FC Barcelona's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Nou" title="Camp Nou">Camp Nou</a>, the largest stadium in Europe with a capacity of 100,000 and the publicly owned <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estadi_OlÃmpic_LluÃs_Companys" title="Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys">Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys</a>, with a capacity of 55,000; used for the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_Summer_Olympics" title="1992 Summer Olympics">1992 Olympics</a>. Also, the city has several smaller stadiums such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini_Estadi" title="Mini Estadi">Mini Estadi</a>, <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estadio_NarcÃs_Sala" title="Estadio Narcís Sala">Estadio Narcís Sala</a> with a capacity of 15,000 and <a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nou_Sardenya&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Nou Sardenya (page does not exist)"><span style="color: #ba0000;">Nou Sardenya</span></a> with a capacity of 7,000. In the suburbs of Barcelona there is a third UEFA elite stadium (<a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nuvola_apps_mozilla.svg"><img alt="Nuvola apps mozilla.svg" height="12px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Nuvola_apps_mozilla.svg/12px-Nuvola_apps_mozilla.svg.png" width="12px" /></a><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nuvola_apps_mozilla.svg"><img alt="Nuvola apps mozilla.svg" height="12px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Nuvola_apps_mozilla.svg/12px-Nuvola_apps_mozilla.svg.png" width="12px" /></a><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nuvola_apps_mozilla.svg"><img alt="Nuvola apps mozilla.svg" height="12px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Nuvola_apps_mozilla.svg/12px-Nuvola_apps_mozilla.svg.png" width="12px" /></a><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nuvola_apps_mozilla.svg"><img alt="Nuvola apps mozilla.svg" height="12px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Nuvola_apps_mozilla.svg/12px-Nuvola_apps_mozilla.svg.png" width="12px" /></a>) - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estadi_Cornellà -El_Prat" title="Estadi Cornellà-El Prat">Estadi Cornellà-El Prat</a>, with a capacity of 40,000.<br />
Several major <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_running" title="Road running">road running</a> competitions are organized year-round in Barcelona: the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona_Marathon" title="Barcelona Marathon">Barcelona Marathon</a> every March with a participants of over 10,000 in 2010, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cursa_de_Bombers" title="Cursa de Bombers">Cursa de Bombers</a> in April, the Cursa de El Corte Inglés in May (with about 60,000 participants each year)<sup class="Template-Fact" style="white-space: nowrap;">[<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources from July 2007">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup>, the Cursa de la Mercè, the Cursa Jean Bouin, the Milla Sagrada Família and the San Silvestre.<br />
The <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torneo_Godó" title="Torneo Godó">Open Seat Godó</a>, a 50-year-old <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_Tennis_Professionals" title="Association of Tennis Professionals">ATP World Tour</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATP_World_Tour_500_series" title="ATP World Tour 500 series">500 Series tennis tournament</a>, is held annually in the facilities of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Club_de_Tenis_Barcelona" title="Real Club de Tenis Barcelona">Real Club de Tenis Barcelona</a> (Barcelona Royal Tennis Club). Also, each Christmas, a swimming race across the port is organized. Near Barcelona, in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montmeló" title="Montmeló">Montmeló</a>, the 131,000 capacity <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circuit_de_Catalunya" title="Circuit de Catalunya">Circuit de Catalunya / Circuit de Barcelona</a> racetrack hosts the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula_One" title="Formula One">Formula One World Championship</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Grand_Prix" title="Spanish Grand Prix">Formula One Spanish Grand Prix</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_motorcycle_Grand_Prix" title="Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix">Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_GT_Championship" title="Spanish GT Championship">Spanish GT Championship</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GP2_Series" title="GP2 Series">GP2 Series</a>. In Barcelona very popular is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skateboarding" title="Skateboarding">skateboarding</a> and <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycling" title="Bicycling">bicycling</a>. In the city and the metropolitan area is tens of kilometers of bicycle paths.<br />
<center><b>Top sport clubs in Barcelona:</b> <table class="wikitable"><tbody>
<tr><th scope="col">Club</th><th scope="col">Primary league</th><th scope="col">Sport</th><th scope="col">Venue</th><th scope="col">Established</th><th scope="col">Capacity</th></tr>
<tr><th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Barcelona" title="FC Barcelona">FC Barcelona</a></th><td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Liga" title="La Liga">La Liga</a></td><td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_football" title="Association football">Football</a></td><th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Nou" title="Camp Nou">Camp Nou</a></th><td>1899</td><th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;">100,000</th></tr>
<tr><th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RCD_Espanyol" title="RCD Espanyol">RCD Espanyol</a><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-73"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-73"><span>[</span>74<span>]</span></a></sup></th><td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Liga" title="La Liga">La Liga</a></td><td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_football" title="Association football">Football</a></td><th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estadi_Cornellà -El_Prat" title="Estadi Cornellà-El Prat">Estadi Cornellà-El Prat</a></th><td>1900</td><th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;">40,500</th></tr>
<tr><th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Barcelona_BÃ squet" title="FC Barcelona Bàsquet">FC Barcelona Bàsquet</a></th><td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liga_ACB" title="Liga ACB">ACB</a></td><td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basketball" title="Basketball">Basketball</a></td><th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palau_Blaugrana" title="Palau Blaugrana">Palau Blaugrana</a></th><td>1926</td><th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;">7,585</th></tr>
<tr><th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Barcelona_Handbol" title="FC Barcelona Handbol">FC Barcelona Handbol</a></th><td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liga_ASOBAL" title="Liga ASOBAL">Asobal</a></td><td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Team_handball" title="Team handball">Handball</a></td><th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palau_Blaugrana" title="Palau Blaugrana">Palau Blaugrana</a></th><td>1942</td><th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;">7,585</th></tr>
<tr><th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Barcelona_Ice_Hockey" title="FC Barcelona Ice Hockey">FC Barcelona Ice Hockey</a></th><td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superliga_Española_de_Hockey_Hielo" title="Superliga Española de Hockey Hielo">SEdHH</a></td><td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_hockey" title="Ice hockey">Ice hockey</a></td><th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;"><a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Palau_de_Gel&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Palau de Gel (page does not exist)"><span style="color: #ba0000;">Palau de Gel</span></a></th><td>1972</td><th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;">1,256</th></tr>
<tr><th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Barcelona_Hoquei" title="FC Barcelona Hoquei">FC Barcelona Hoquei</a></th><td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OK_Liga" title="OK Liga">OK Liga</a></td><td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roller_hockey" title="Roller hockey">Roller hockey</a></td><th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palau_Blaugrana" title="Palau Blaugrana">Palau Blaugrana</a></th><td>1942</td><th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;">7,585</th></tr>
<tr><th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Barcelona_Futsal" title="FC Barcelona Futsal">FC Barcelona Futsal</a></th><td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primera_División_de_Futsal" title="Primera División de Futsal">Primera División de Futsal</a></td><td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futsal" title="Futsal">Futsal</a></td><th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palau_Blaugrana" title="Palau Blaugrana">Palau Blaugrana</a></th><td>1986</td><th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;">7,585</th></tr>
<tr><th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Barcelona_Rugby" title="FC Barcelona Rugby">FC Barcelona Rugby</a></th><td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/División_de_Honor_de_Rugby" title="División de Honor de Rugby">División de Honor de Rugby</a></td><td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union" title="Rugby union">Rugby union</a></td><th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;"><a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ciudad_Deportiva_Municipal_Valle_de_Hebr%C3%B3n-Teixonera&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Ciudad Deportiva Municipal Valle de Hebrón-Teixonera (page does not exist)"><span style="color: #ba0000;">CDMVdHT</span></a></th><td>1924</td><th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;">no data</th></tr>
<tr><th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona_Dragons" title="Barcelona Dragons">Barcelona Dragons</a></th><td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_League_of_American_Football" title="World League of American Football">World League</a></td><td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_football" title="American football">American football</a></td><th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estadi_OlÃmpic_LluÃs_Companys" title="Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys">Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys</a></th><td>1991 <small>(withheld)</small></td><th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;">56,000</th></tr>
<tr><th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona_Búfals" title="Barcelona Búfals">Barcelona Búfals</a></th><td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LNFA" title="LNFA">LNFA</a></td><td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_football" title="American football">American football</a></td><th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;"><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estadio_NarcÃs_Sala" title="Estadio Narcís Sala">Estadio Narcís Sala</a></th><td>1987</td><th scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;">15,000</th></tr>
</tbody></table></center><h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barcelona&action=edit&section=25" title="Edit section: Transport">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Transport">Transport</span></h2><div class="rellink relarticle mainarticle">Main article: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_in_Barcelona" title="Transport in Barcelona">Transport in Barcelona</a></div><h3><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barcelona&action=edit&section=26" title="Edit section: Airports">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Airports">Airports</span></h3><div class="rellink relarticle mainarticle">Main article: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona_El_Prat_Airport" title="Barcelona El Prat Airport">Barcelona El Prat Airport</a></div><div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 222px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:T1_Prat_Aitor_Agirregabiria.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="165px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2a/T1_Prat_Aitor_Agirregabiria.jpg/220px-T1_Prat_Aitor_Agirregabiria.jpg" width="220px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:T1_Prat_Aitor_Agirregabiria.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>View of the T1 Barcelona Airport.</div></div></div>Barcelona is served by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona_El_Prat_Airport" title="Barcelona El Prat Airport">Barcelona El Prat Airport</a>, about 17 km (11 mi) from the centre of Barcelona. It is the second-largest airport in Spain, and the largest on the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_coast" title="Mediterranean coast">Mediterranean coast</a>. It is a main hub for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vueling_Airlines" title="Vueling Airlines">Vueling Airlines</a>, and also a focus for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iberia_(airline)" title="Iberia (airline)">Iberia</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanair" title="Spanair">Spanair</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Europa" title="Air Europa">Air Europa</a>. The airport mainly serves domestic and European destinations, but some airlines offer destinations in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_America" title="Latin America">Latin America</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia" title="Asia">Asia</a> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a>. The airport is connected to the city by highway, commuter train (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeroport_railway_station_(el_Prat)" title="Aeroport railway station (el Prat)">Barcelona Airport railway station</a>) and scheduled bus service. A new terminal (T1) has been built, and entered service on 17 June 2009.<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabadell_Airport" title="Sabadell Airport">Sabadell Airport</a> is a smaller airport in the nearby town of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabadell" title="Sabadell">Sabadell</a>, devoted to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_training" title="Flight training">pilot training</a>, aerotaxi and private flights. Some low-cost airlines, such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transavia.com" title="Transavia.com">Transavia.com</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryanair" title="Ryanair">Ryanair</a>, prefer to use <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girona-Costa_Brava_Airport" title="Girona-Costa Brava Airport">Girona-Costa Brava Airport</a>, situated about 90 km (56 mi) to the north of Barcelona and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reus_Airport" title="Reus Airport">Reus Airport</a>, situated 77 km (48 mi) to the south, though they offer some flights from Barcelona El Prat Airport<br />
<h3><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barcelona&action=edit&section=27" title="Edit section: Seaport">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Seaport">Seaport</span></h3><div class="rellink relarticle mainarticle">Main article: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_of_Barcelona" title="Port of Barcelona">Port of Barcelona</a></div><div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 222px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BarcelonaHarbour.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="102px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b6/BarcelonaHarbour.jpg/220px-BarcelonaHarbour.jpg" width="220px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BarcelonaHarbour.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_of_Barcelona" title="Port of Barcelona">Port of Barcelona</a></div></div></div>The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_of_Barcelona" title="Port of Barcelona">Port of Barcelona</a> has a 2000-year old history and a great contemporary commercial importance. It is Europe's ninth largest <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Containerization" title="Containerization">container</a> port, with a trade volume of 2.57 million TEU's in 2008.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-74"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-74"><span>[</span>75<span>]</span></a></sup> The port is managed by the Port Authority of Barcelona. Its 7.86 km<sup>2</sup> (3 sq mi) are divided into three zones: Port Vell (the Old Port), the commercial port and the logistics port (<a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona_Free_Port" title="Barcelona Free Port">Barcelona Free Port</a>). The port is undergoing an enlargement that will double its size thanks to diverting the mouth of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llobregat" title="Llobregat">Llobregat</a> river 2 km (1¼ mi) to the south.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-75"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-75"><span>[</span>76<span>]</span></a></sup><br />
The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Vell" title="Port Vell">Port Vell</a> area also houses the Maremagnum (a commercial mall), a multiplex cinema, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMAX" title="IMAX">IMAX</a> Port Vell and Europe's largest <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquarium" title="Aquarium">aquarium</a> - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquarium_Barcelona" title="Aquarium Barcelona">Aquarium Barcelona</a>, containing 8,000 fish and 11 sharks contained in 22 basins filled with 6 million litres of sea water. The Maremagnum, due to being situated a designated tourist zone, is the only commercial mall in the city that can open on Sundays and public holidays.<br />
<div class="center"><div class="thumb tnone"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 602px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Port_Vell,_Barcelona,_Spain_-_Jan_2007.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="177px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/Port_Vell%2C_Barcelona%2C_Spain_-_Jan_2007.jpg/600px-Port_Vell%2C_Barcelona%2C_Spain_-_Jan_2007.jpg" width="600px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Port_Vell,_Barcelona,_Spain_-_Jan_2007.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Vell" title="Port Vell">Port Vell</a>.</div></div></div></div><h3><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barcelona&action=edit&section=28" title="Edit section: Public transport">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Public_transport">Public transport</span></h3><div class="rellink relarticle mainarticle">Main article: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autoritat_del_Transport_Metropolità " title="Autoritat del Transport Metropolità">Autoritat del Transport Metropolità</a></div><div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 222px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Llefià L10.JPG"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="165px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Llefi%C3%A0L10.JPG/220px-Llefi%C3%A0L10.JPG" width="220px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Llefià L10.JPG" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>Metro in Barcelona.</div></div></div><div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 222px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Unitat_Trambesos.JPG"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="187px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Unitat_Trambesos.JPG/220px-Unitat_Trambesos.JPG" width="220px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Unitat_Trambesos.JPG" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>Tram in Barcelona.</div></div></div>Barcelona is served by a comprehensive local <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_transport" title="Public transport">public transport</a> network that includes a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapid_transit" title="Rapid transit">metro</a>, a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bus" title="Bus">bus</a> network, two separate modern <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tram" title="Tram">tram</a> networks, a separate historic tram line, and several funiculars and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerial_tramway" title="Aerial tramway">aerial cable cars</a>. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona_Metro" title="Barcelona Metro">Barcelona Metro</a> network comprises eleven lines, identified by an "L" followed by the line number as well as by individual colours. Most of the network (nine lines) is operated by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transports_Metropolitans_de_Barcelona" title="Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona">Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona</a> (TMB), but three lines are FGC commuter lines that run through the city. When finished, the L9 will be the second longest underground metro line in Europe with 42.6 km; only shorter than London's 76 km Central Line.<br />
The <a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Estaci%C3%B3_del_Nord&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Estació del Nord (page does not exist)"><span style="color: #ba0000;">Estació del Nord</span></a> (Northern Station), a former <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Train_station" title="Train station">railway station</a> that was renovated for the 1992 Olympic Games, now serves as the terminus for long-distance and regional bus services.<br />
<div class="thumb tleft"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 222px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2007-02-05-barcelona-by-RalfR-26.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="149px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/66/2007-02-05-barcelona-by-RalfR-26.jpg/220px-2007-02-05-barcelona-by-RalfR-26.jpg" width="220px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2007-02-05-barcelona-by-RalfR-26.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>Barcelona taxi in front of the famous market of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Boqueria" title="La Boqueria">la Boqueria</a></div></div></div>Another company, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRAMMET" title="TRAMMET">TRAMMET</a>, operates the city's two modern tram networks, known as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trambaix" title="Trambaix">Trambaix</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trambesòs" title="Trambesòs">Trambesòs</a>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-76"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-76"><span>[</span>77<span>]</span></a></sup> The historic tram line, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tramvia_Blau" title="Tramvia Blau">Tramvia Blau</a>,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-77"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-77"><span>[</span>78<span>]</span></a></sup> connects the metro to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funicular_del_Tibidabo" title="Funicular del Tibidabo">Funicular del Tibidabo</a> (both operated by TMB). The Funicular de Tibidabo climbs the Tibidabo hill, as does the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funicular_de_Vallvidrera" title="Funicular de Vallvidrera">Funicular de Vallvidrera</a> (FGC). The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funicular_de_Montjuïc" title="Funicular de Montjuïc">Funicular de Montjuïc</a> (TMB) climbs the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montjuïc" title="Montjuïc">Montjuïc</a> hill. The city has two <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerial_tramway" title="Aerial tramway">aerial cable cars</a>: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montjuïc_Aerial_Tramway" title="Montjuïc Aerial Tramway">Montjuïc Aerial Tramway</a> (to the Montjuïc castle) and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Vell_Aerial_Tramway" title="Port Vell Aerial Tramway">Port Vell Aerial Tramway</a> that runs via <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torre_Jaume_I" title="Torre Jaume I">Torre Jaume I</a> and <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torre_Sant_Sebastia" title="Torre Sant Sebastia">Torre Sant Sebastià</a> over the port.<br />
Barcelona has a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxicab" title="Taxicab">metered taxi</a> fleet governed by the Institut Metropolità del Taxi (Metropolitan Taxi Institute), composed of more than 10,000 cars. Most of the licences are in the hands of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-employment" title="Self-employment">self-employed</a> drivers.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-78"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-78"><span>[</span>79<span>]</span></a></sup> With their black and yellow livery, Barcelona's taxis are easily spotted.<br />
On 22 March 2007,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-79"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-79"><span>[</span>80<span>]</span></a></sup> Barcelona's City Council started the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicing" title="Bicing">Bicing</a> service, a bicycle service understood as a public transport. Once the user has their user card, they can take a bicycle from any of the 100 stations spread around the city and use it anywhere the urban area of the city, and then leave it at another station.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-80"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-80"><span>[</span>81<span>]</span></a></sup> The service has been a success, with 50,000 subscribed users in three months.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-81"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-81"><span>[</span>82<span>]</span></a></sup><br />
<h3><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barcelona&action=edit&section=29" title="Edit section: Railway">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Railway">Railway</span></h3><div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 222px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Estació_de_França_Barcelona_Catalonia.JPG"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="165px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Estaci%C3%B3_de_Fran%C3%A7a_Barcelona_Catalonia.JPG/220px-Estaci%C3%B3_de_Fran%C3%A7a_Barcelona_Catalonia.JPG" width="220px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Estació_de_França_Barcelona_Catalonia.JPG" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>Inside of the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estació_de_França" title="Estació de França">Estació de França</a></div></div></div>Barcelona is a major hub for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RENFE" title="RENFE">RENFE</a>, the Spanish state railway network, and its main <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inter-city_rail" title="Inter-city rail">intercity train</a> station is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona_Sants_railway_station" title="Barcelona Sants railway station">Barcelona-Sants</a> station. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AVE" title="AVE">AVE</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-speed_rail" title="High-speed rail">high-speed rail</a> system – designed for speeds of 300 km/h (186 mph) – was extended from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madrid" title="Madrid">Madrid</a> to Barcelona (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MadridâBarcelona_high-speed_rail_line" title="Madrid–Barcelona high-speed rail line">Madrid–Barcelona high-speed rail line</a>) in 2008.<br />
<div class="thumb tleft"><div class="thumbinner" style="width: 222px;"><a class="image" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Siemens_Velaro_high_speed.jpg"><img alt="" class="thumbimage" height="165px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Siemens_Velaro_high_speed.jpg/220px-Siemens_Velaro_high_speed.jpg" width="220px" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a class="internal" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Siemens_Velaro_high_speed.jpg" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11px" src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.18/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15px" /></a></div>Siemens Velaro at Barcelona-Sants AVE station.</div></div></div><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-82"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-82"><span>[</span>83<span>]</span></a></sup> Generally, Barcelona has high-speed rail links with major cities of Spain. A high-speed rail connecting Barcelona and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France" title="France">France</a> – <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGV_PerpignanâFigueres" title="LGV Perpignan–Figueres">LGV Perpignan–Figueres</a> will be launched in 2012. <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodalies" title="Rodalies">Rodalies</a> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrocarrils_de_la_Generalitat_de_Catalunya" title="Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya">Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya</a> (FGC) run Barcelona's widespread <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commuter_rail" title="Commuter rail">commuter train</a> service.<br />
<h3><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barcelona&action=edit&section=30" title="Edit section: Roads and highways">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Roads_and_highways">Roads and highways</span></h3>City cuts three international routes, including <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_route_E15" title="European route E15">European route E15</a> (north-south), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_route_E90" title="European route E90">European route E90</a> (west-east) and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_route_E09" title="European route E09">European route E09</a>. Also, Barcelona has a comprehensive network of <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorway" title="Motorway">motorways</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway" title="Highway">highways</a> throughout the city and metropolitan area, including <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AutovÃa_A-2" title="Autovía A-2">A-2</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AutovÃa_A-7" title="Autovía A-7">A-7</a>/<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autopista_AP-7" title="Autopista AP-7">AP-7</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C-16_highway_(Spain)" title="C-16 highway (Spain)">C-16</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C-17_highway_(Spain)" title="C-17 highway (Spain)">C-17</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C-31_highway_(Spain)" title="C-31 highway (Spain)">C-31</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C-32_highway_(Spain)" title="C-32 highway (Spain)">C-32</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autopista_C-33" title="Autopista C-33">C-33</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autovia_C-60" title="Autovia C-60">C-60</a>. City is circled by three half <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beltway" title="Beltway">ring roads</a> or bypasses, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B20_motorway_(Spain)" title="B20 motorway (Spain)">Ronda de Dalt</a> (on the mountain side), <a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ronda_del_Litoral&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Ronda del Litoral (page does not exist)"><span style="color: #ba0000;">Ronda del Litoral</span></a> (along the coast) and <a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ronda_del_Mig&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Ronda del Mig (page does not exist)"><span style="color: #ba0000;">Ronda del Mig</span></a> (separated into two parts: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travessera_de_Dalt" title="Travessera de Dalt">Travessera de Dalt</a> in the north and the <a class="new" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gran_Via_de_Carles_III&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Gran Via de Carles III (page does not exist)"><span style="color: #ba0000;">Gran Via de Carles III</span></a>), two partially covered<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-83"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-83"><span>[</span>84<span>]</span></a></sup> fast highways with several exits that bypass the city.<br />
The city's main arteries include <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avinguda_Diagonal,_Barcelona" title="Avinguda Diagonal, Barcelona">Diagonal Avenue</a>, which crosses the city diagonally, <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avinguda_Meridiana,_Barcelona" title="Avinguda Meridiana, Barcelona">Meridiana Avenue</a> which leads to <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaça_de_les_Glòries_Catalanes,_Barcelona" title="Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes, Barcelona">Glòries</a> and connects with Diagonal Avenue and <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gran_Via_de_les_Corts_Catalanes,_Barcelona" title="Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, Barcelona">Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes</a>, which crosses the city from east to west, passing through the centre of the city.<br />
<h2><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barcelona&action=edit&section=31" title="Edit section: International relations">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline" id="International_relations">International relations</span></h2><div class="rellink boilerplate seealso">See also: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_twin_towns_and_sister_cities_in_Spain" title="List of twin towns and sister cities in Spain">List of twin towns and sister cities in Spain</a></div><h3><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barcelona&action=edit&section=32" title="Edit section: Twin towns and sister cities">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Twin_towns_and_sister_cities">Twin towns and sister cities</span></h3>Barcelona is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin_towns_and_sister_cities" title="Twin towns and sister cities">twinned</a> with the following cities:<sup>(in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronology" title="Chronology">chronological</a> order)</sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Barcelona_84-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-Barcelona-84"><span>[</span>85<span>]</span></a></sup><br />
<table class="wikitable" sizcache="4" sizset="13"><tbody sizcache="4" sizset="13">
<tr sizcache="4" sizset="13" valign="top"><td sizcache="4" sizset="13"><ul><li><span class="flagicon"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France" title="France"><img alt="France" class="thumbborder" height="15px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c3/Flag_of_France.svg/22px-Flag_of_France.svg.png" width="22px" /></a></span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montpellier" title="Montpellier">Montpellier</a>, France, 1963 </li>
<li><span class="flagicon"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil" title="Brazil"><img alt="Brazil" class="thumbborder" height="15px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/05/Flag_of_Brazil.svg/22px-Flag_of_Brazil.svg.png" width="22px" /></a></span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rio_de_Janeiro" title="Rio de Janeiro">Rio de Janeiro</a>, Brazil, 1972 </li>
<li><span class="flagicon"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico" title="Mexico"><img alt="Mexico" class="thumbborder" height="13px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fc/Flag_of_Mexico.svg/22px-Flag_of_Mexico.svg.png" width="22px" /></a></span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monterrey" title="Monterrey">Monterrey</a>, Mexico, 1977 </li>
<li><span class="flagicon"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States" title="United States"><img alt="United States" class="thumbborder" height="12px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png" width="22px" /></a></span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston" title="Boston">Boston</a>, United States, 1983 </li>
<li><span class="flagicon"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Korea" title="South Korea"><img alt="South Korea" class="thumbborder" height="15px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Flag_of_South_Korea.svg/22px-Flag_of_South_Korea.svg.png" width="22px" /></a></span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Busan" title="Busan">Busan</a>, South Korea, 1983<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-85"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-85"><span>[</span>86<span>]</span></a></sup> </li>
<li><span class="flagicon"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany" title="Germany"><img alt="Germany" class="thumbborder" height="13px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/ba/Flag_of_Germany.svg/22px-Flag_of_Germany.svg.png" width="22px" /></a></span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cologne" title="Cologne">Cologne</a>, Germany, 1984 </li>
<li><span class="flagicon"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil" title="Brazil"><img alt="Brazil" class="thumbborder" height="15px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/05/Flag_of_Brazil.svg/22px-Flag_of_Brazil.svg.png" width="22px" /></a></span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/São_Paulo" title="São Paulo">São Paulo</a>, Brazil, 1985 <small><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-S.C3.A3o_Paulo_86-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-S.C3.A3o_Paulo-86"><span>[</span>87<span>]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-autogenerated1_87-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-autogenerated1-87"><span>[</span>88<span>]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-S.C3.A3o_Paulo2_88-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-S.C3.A3o_Paulo2-88"><span>[</span>89<span>]</span></a></sup></small> </li>
<li><span class="flagicon"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uruguay" title="Uruguay"><img alt="Uruguay" class="thumbborder" height="15px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fe/Flag_of_Uruguay.svg/22px-Flag_of_Uruguay.svg.png" width="22px" /></a></span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montevideo" title="Montevideo">Montevideo</a>, Uruguay, 1985 </li>
<li><span class="flagicon"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain" title="Spain"><img alt="Spain" class="thumbborder" height="15px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9a/Flag_of_Spain.svg/22px-Flag_of_Spain.svg.png" width="22px" /></a></span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seville" title="Seville">Seville</a>, Spain<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-89"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-89"><span>[</span>90<span>]</span></a></sup> </li>
<li><span class="flagicon"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States" title="United States"><img alt="United States" class="thumbborder" height="12px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png" width="22px" /></a></span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco" title="San Francisco">San Francisco</a>, United States, 2010<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-90"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-90"><span>[</span>91<span>]</span></a></sup> </li>
</ul></td><td sizcache="4" sizset="14"><ul><li><span class="flagicon"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poland" title="Poland"><img alt="Poland" class="thumbborder" height="14px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/12/Flag_of_Poland.svg/22px-Flag_of_Poland.svg.png" width="22px" /></a></span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GdaÅsk" title="Gdańsk">Gdańsk</a>, Poland, 1990<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Gdansk_91-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-Gdansk-91"><span>[</span>92<span>]</span></a></sup> </li>
<li><span class="flagicon"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuba" title="Cuba"><img alt="Cuba" class="thumbborder" height="11px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bd/Flag_of_Cuba.svg/22px-Flag_of_Cuba.svg.png" width="22px" /></a></span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havana" title="Havana">Havana</a>, Cuba, 1993 </li>
<li><span class="flagicon"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecuador" title="Ecuador"><img alt="Ecuador" class="thumbborder" height="15px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/Flag_of_Ecuador.svg/22px-Flag_of_Ecuador.svg.png" width="22px" /></a></span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guayaquil" title="Guayaquil">Guayaquil</a>, Ecuador </li>
<li><span class="flagicon"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan" title="Japan"><img alt="Japan" class="thumbborder" height="15px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9e/Flag_of_Japan.svg/22px-Flag_of_Japan.svg.png" width="22px" /></a></span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobe" title="Kobe">Kobe</a>, Japan, 1993<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Kobe_92-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-Kobe-92"><span>[</span>93<span>]</span></a></sup> </li>
<li><span class="flagicon"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgium" title="Belgium"><img alt="Belgium" class="thumbborder" height="15px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/92/Flag_of_Belgium_%28civil%29.svg/22px-Flag_of_Belgium_%28civil%29.svg.png" width="22px" /></a></span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antwerp" title="Antwerp">Antwerp</a>, Belgium, 1997 </li>
<li><span class="flagicon"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey" title="Turkey"><img alt="Turkey" class="thumbborder" height="15px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b4/Flag_of_Turkey.svg/22px-Flag_of_Turkey.svg.png" width="22px" /></a></span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istanbul" title="Istanbul">Istanbul</a>, Turkey, 1997<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Istanbul1_93-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-Istanbul1-93"><span>[</span>94<span>]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Istanbul2_94-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-Istanbul2-94"><span>[</span>95<span>]</span></a></sup> </li>
<li><span class="flagicon"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel" title="Israel"><img alt="Israel" class="thumbborder" height="16px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/Flag_of_Israel.svg/22px-Flag_of_Israel.svg.png" width="22px" /></a></span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tel_Aviv" title="Tel Aviv">Tel Aviv</a>, Israel, 1998 </li>
<li><span class="flagicon"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_territories" title="Palestinian territories"><img alt="Palestinian territories" class="thumbborder" height="11px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/Flag_of_Palestine.svg/22px-Flag_of_Palestine.svg.png" width="22px" /></a></span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza" title="Gaza">Gaza</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_National_Authority" title="Palestinian National Authority">Palestinian National Authority</a>, 1998 </li>
<li><span class="flagicon"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland" title="Republic of Ireland"><img alt="Republic of Ireland" class="thumbborder" height="11px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Flag_of_Ireland.svg/22px-Flag_of_Ireland.svg.png" width="22px" /></a></span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dublin" title="Dublin">Dublin</a>, Ireland, 1998<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Dublin_95-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-Dublin-95"><span>[</span>96<span>]</span></a></sup> </li>
</ul></td><td sizcache="4" sizset="15"><ul><li><span class="flagicon"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" title="Greece"><img alt="Greece" class="thumbborder" height="15px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5c/Flag_of_Greece.svg/22px-Flag_of_Greece.svg.png" width="22px" /></a></span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athens" title="Athens">Athens</a>, Greece, 1999 </li>
<li><span class="flagicon"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran" title="Iran"><img alt="Iran" class="thumbborder" height="13px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/Flag_of_Iran.svg/22px-Flag_of_Iran.svg.png" width="22px" /></a></span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isfahan" title="Isfahan">Isfahan</a>, Iran, 2000 </li>
<li><span class="flagicon"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosnia_and_Herzegovina" title="Bosnia and Herzegovina"><img alt="Bosnia and Herzegovina" class="thumbborder" height="11px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/Flag_of_Bosnia_and_Herzegovina.svg/22px-Flag_of_Bosnia_and_Herzegovina.svg.png" width="22px" /></a></span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarajevo" title="Sarajevo">Sarajevo</a>, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2000<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Sarajevo_96-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-Sarajevo-96"><span>[</span>97<span>]</span></a></sup> </li>
<li><span class="flagicon"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chile" title="Chile"><img alt="Chile" class="thumbborder" height="15px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/78/Flag_of_Chile.svg/22px-Flag_of_Chile.svg.png" width="22px" /></a></span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ValparaÃso" title="Valparaíso">Valparaíso</a>, Chile, 2001 </li>
<li><span class="flagicon"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China" title="China"><img alt="China" class="thumbborder" height="15px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg.png" width="22px" /></a></span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai" title="Shanghai">Shanghai</a>, People's Republic of China, 2001 </li>
<li><span class="flagicon"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyprus" title="Cyprus"><img alt="Cyprus" class="thumbborder" height="13px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/Flag_of_Cyprus.svg/22px-Flag_of_Cyprus.svg.png" width="22px" /></a></span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicosia" title="Nicosia">Nicosia</a>, Cyprus, 2004 </li>
<li><span class="flagicon"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Arab_Emirates" title="United Arab Emirates"><img alt="United Arab Emirates" class="thumbborder" height="11px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Flag_of_the_United_Arab_Emirates.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_United_Arab_Emirates.svg.png" width="22px" /></a></span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubai" title="Dubai">Dubai</a>, United Arab Emirates, 2006<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-97"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-97"><span>[</span>98<span>]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-98"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-98"><span>[</span>99<span>]</span></a></sup> </li>
<li><span class="flagicon"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolivia" title="Bolivia"><img alt="Bolivia" class="thumbborder" height="15px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/48/Flag_of_Bolivia.svg/22px-Flag_of_Bolivia.svg.png" width="22px" /></a></span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Cruz_de_la_Sierra" title="Santa Cruz de la Sierra">Santa Cruz de la Sierra</a>, Bolivia, 2008<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-99"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-99"><span>[</span>100<span>]</span></a></sup> </li>
<li><span class="flagicon"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippines" title="Philippines"><img alt="Philippines" class="thumbborder" height="11px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Flag_of_the_Philippines.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_Philippines.svg.png" width="22px" /></a></span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cebu_City" title="Cebu City">Cebu City</a>, Philippines, 2009<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Cebu_100-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-Cebu-100"><span>[</span>101<span>]</span></a></sup> </li>
<li><span class="flagicon"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam" title="Vietnam"><img alt="Vietnam" class="thumbborder" height="15px" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Flag_of_Vietnam.svg/22px-Flag_of_Vietnam.svg.png" width="22px" /></a></span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ho_Chi_Minh_City" title="Ho Chi Minh City">Ho Chi Minh City</a>, Vietnam, 2009-05-29.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-101"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona#cite_note-101"><span>[</span>102<span><span style="color: black;">]</span></span></a></sup><span style="color: black;"> </span></li>
</ul></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div></div>muhammad ikrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06314979923752166953noreply@blogger.com0