Barcelona is an important city of Spain which attracts thousands of tourists every year. Besides the historic monuments, cathedrals and mosques, Barcelona also has plenty of green parks, a lovely coastline dotted with beaches, music and dance and of course, mouthwatering food.

Barcelona is an important economic center and has the second largest airport of Spain which is a hub of activity teeming with thousands of people everyday. Barcelona also has an excellent and busy harbor. There are several world heritage sites in Barcelona which are the main attractions for tourists. The monuments have interesting history, architecture and beauty which are unique and lovely.

Barcelona was founded as a Roman city and it has two stories of its origin. One is that it was founded by Hercules four hundred years before Rome was built. Hamilcar Barca, father of Hannibal is said to have rebuilt it. The second story says that it was Hamilcar Barca who founded it. Whoever built Barcelona did it with love and care. Actually Barcelona, like all other Spanish cities, is a cauldron of many cultures and many people and religions which co exist peacefully. It was besieged by several people and hence has an interesting culture and history.

People from round the world come to see the Roman ruins in Barcelona. It was the Romans who transformed the small town into a military camp in 15 BC and they had their center on a small hill called Mons Taber where Barcelona now stands. The Counts of Barcelona expanded their territory to include all of Catalonia and in the 13th century even Naples, Athens and Sicily came under their territory. They used to mint their own coins and some still exist as collector’s items.

The climate of Barcelona is Mediterranean and hence it has warm summers and mild winters. There is hardly any snowfall and the coldest months are January and February.
Barcelona beaches are long and beautiful. Tourists come here to enjoy the sea and the beaches and also to attend the various cultural programs which go on continuously in Barcelona. The world famous Gran Teatre del Liceu Open Theatre, the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya, the Yeatre Lliure and palau de la Music Catalona concert hall are some of the well known places where cultural extravaganza take place. There is live music and shows round the year as Barcelonans are happy, carefree people who love dancing and music. Like the other Spanish towns, Barcelona also has its own fiestas, bullfights and other attractions which lure people to it.

This is a bilingual city where Spanish and Catalona are both official languages spoken by the people, most of whom are conversant in both the languages. Sports are a favorite pastime. The 1992 Summer Olympics was held here and so also the X FINA World Championships and several other national and international sports. Barcelona houses the seat of the Catalan Government which is known as the Generalitat de Catalunya which has the executive branch and the parliament.