60 Fun Facts about Barcelona for Curious Minds

(Last Updated On: April 16, 2021)

There is no end of the fun facts about Barcelona, you can reveal many unknowns about this historic city if you wish from all the corners. Established as a Roman city, Barcelona is now the capital city of Spain’s Catalonia.

Facing the Mediterranean Sea, Barcelona’s pristine beaches and world-renowned architecture attract millions of tourists every year. Barcelona will surely admire you with the Mediterranean beaches, faded architecture, and mouth-watering cuisine. Here are some fun facts about Barcelona that will make you want to visit this fascinating city at your quickest.

Fun facts about Barcelona

Barcelona is considered one of the best beach towns in the world. According to the National Geographic and Discovery Channel, the city’s Barcelonaut beach is the best urban beach in the world and the third best beach in the world.

Until 1992, Barcelona’s coastline was completely run by the arts and there were no beaches for leisure. For the 12th Summer Olympics, Barcelona took the stage of renewal and led its industries to transform their waterfront into a great recreation area for tourists and locals alike.

Legend has it that should you throw a coin into the fountain of the Plaça Reial you’ll come back to Barcelona, and ingesting the water from the Canaletas fountain has an identical impact. We’ll depart it to you to strive it and see if it’s true…

King Martí’s watchtower, which reigns over the Plaça del Rei within the Gothic district, was thought-about in Medieval occasions to be the very best construction on this planet. It’s mainly an ancestor to skyscrapers.

Between the Ramblas and the port, there’s a statue of Christopher Columbus. Standing, he factors in direction of the distant horizon, and many individuals marvel at what he’s pointing at so many fun facts about Barcelona.

Many cubes containing 9 or 16 figures are etched on the facade of the Passion of the Sagrada Familia. They aren’t sudokus, however an homage to Christ: The sum of the rows, columns, and diagonals is at all times 33, the age of Christ on the time of the crucifixion.

Tibidabo is a quaint amusement park set on a mountain overlooking Barcelona. Its foremost rollercoaster, Muntanya Russa, advantages from one of many worlds’ most spectacular settings for a journey with many fun facts about Barcelona.

The Wallace fountains, simply recognizable as they’re dotted with girls wearing long tunics, had been created for the streets of Paris. The sculptor designed 50 of them, 12 of which had been donated to Barcelona. Only two stays at this time: one on the Ramblas reverse the wax museum and the opposite on the nook of the Gran Vía and the Passeig de Gràcia.

The Plaça del Fòrum is the second greatest square on this planet, after Tian’anmen square in Beijing. It is roofed by a big photovoltaic cell the scale of a soccer pitch. Impressive, no?

The excellent Casa Milà (also referred to as the Pedrera) was loathed by many when it was first constructed, as they, in contrast, it to a plane hangar or a mona de Pascua (a typical Catalan Easter cake). It appears that George Clemenceau, who got here to Barcelona to present a speech, was dismayed at the sight of Gaudí’s work. Legend even has it that he was obliged to depart without giving his speech.

The oldest fountain in Barcelona is positioned within the Gothic quarter within the Plaça de Sant Just (here you’ll discover the café-restaurant Bliss). It is designed in a purely Gothic style, with three faces of a man and an eagle catching a partridge (homage to the hunt, one of many favorite previous occasions of the commissioner of the fountain).

The Canaletas fountain positioned above the Ramblas is the assembly place for followers to have a good time Barça victories. And it’s no accident: the sports activities newspaper La Rambla, primarily based just some meters from the fountain used to put in writing the up to date rating on a big slate that was seen from the road. It does not exist, however, the post-match custom stays.

Barcelona’s Port Vell aerial tramway first opened in 1931. Today it’s primarily a vacationer attraction that provides wonderful views of the town and its port. The tramway begins at Miramar station midway down the hill of Montjuïc at an altitude of 187 ft, passes by the 351 feet. the peak of Torre Jaume I, and ends on the high of Torre Sant Sebastià at 282 ft., from the place passengers took an elevator right down to the streets of the seaside suburb of Barceloneta.

The oldest home in Barcelona is discovered at quantity 6 Sant Domènec del Call road, within the Gothic space. Inhabited within the 12th Century, the partitions now lean, following an earthquake in 1428.

The twin towers that adorn the Plaça Espanya are nicknamed the “Venitian Towers” because the architect Ramón Reventós was impressed by the campanile of Saint Marc’s basilica when designing them, which is one of the cool facts about Barcelona.

In the Gothic district, it’s potential to see the stone head of girls on the nook of dels Miralles. This head referred to as “carassa” was imagined to remind and inform everybody (together with those that couldn’t learn) {that a} brothel was positioned within the space.

Barcelona cathedral is embellished with quite a few gargoyles within the form of elephants, lioness, and different animals. It is claimed that a few of them are witches who had been too stoned for not having revered the Corpus Christi as a part of fun facts about Barcelona.

Despite their world-class standing at this time, 5 seashores in Barcelona didn’t exist earlier than the 1992 Summer Olympics. The seacoast was coated by industrial firms. In preparation for the Games, the town relocated the factories and introduced the sand to transform the ocean coast right into a leisure space with seashores, accommodations, bars, and eating places.

The god Hermès seems quite a few occasions on town’s buildings: contained in the Basilica of Santa María del Mar, on the publish workplace constructing, Via Laietana, Palau Robert, on the Arc de Triomf… he’s all over the place! This dates from the 19th and 20th centuries in the course of the business shift in Barcelona. Hermes was the patron saint of shopkeepers, who used him to deliver good luck and cash.

We affiliate Gaudí with masterpieces such because the Sagrada Familia and Park Güell however he accomplished many different works for the town of Barcelona, together with 6-branch lanterns that at this time mild up the Plaça Reial.

On this YouTube video above, themeparkjames exhibits easy methods to get to the Tibidabo amusement park, and what it wishes to journey on the Muntanya Russa curler coaster which is one of the cool facts about Barcelona.

The Port Vell area houses Aquarium Barcelona — certainly one of Europe’s largest aquariums with 8,000 fish and 11 sharks housed in additional than one million gallons of seawater.

The Maremagnum shopping center – additionally inside the confines of the Port Vell, is the one business mall in Barcelona that may open on Sundays and public holidays.

The Barcelona Maritime Museum is positioned within the historic Barcelona Royal Shipyard, a former navy constructing relationship to the 13th century, with a Roman graveyard discovered underneath that construction.

The Columbus monument, in-built 1888 for the World Exposition, honors Christopher Columbus’ first voyage to the Americas and serves as a reminder that he reported to Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand V in Barcelona after his first journey to the brand new continent.

While some tour guides could declare that Columbus is pointing in direction of America, he’s really pointing to someplace close to Constantine, Algeria, or most certainly, simply out to sea.

There are two tales concerning the founding of Barcelona. One model claims town was based by Hercules, 400 years earlier than the construction of Rome.

The second model attributes the founding of Barcelona to Carthaginian normal Hamilcar Barca, father of Hannibal, who named town Barcino after his household in the Third century BC.

On the Portal de l’Àngel, a big pedestrian procuring road you’ll be able to see a fountain coated in vibrant tiles. these are previous public washing locations type the medieval period. The tiles had been added later to present the fountains a contact of the artwork nouveau style that was well-liked at the time.

The Plaça Reial is bursting with symmetry. However, this impact was obtained by the architect by creating an optical phantasm. The square will not be rectangular however really trapezoid. Furthermore, the columns should not all the identical top, which paradoxically will increase the symmetrical impact.

Each yr, Eight million vacationers go to Barcelona, making it Europe’s third most-visited metropolis after London and Paris, makes this one of the interesting facts about Barcelona.

A typical Roman grid plan continues to be seen at this time in Barcelona’s Barri Gotic (Gothic Quarter.) Some remaining fragments of the Roman partitions have been included in the Basilica La Seu cathedral based in 343.

The Art Nouveau motion all through Europe between 1880 and 1950 left a necessary legacy in Barcelona, together with the work of architect Antoni Gaudí.

Antoni Gaudi was not the primary architect to work on the Sagrada Família. Architect Francesc del Villar was first commissioned to design the church on that web site. When he resigned a yr into the mission, Gaudi took over and fully revamped the design.

Barcelonans are loopy about soccer (soccer to Americans.) The metropolis is residence to one of many worlds’ largest and richest football golf equipment, FC Barcelona. The membership’s Camp Nou stadium in Europe’s largest, with a capability of 100,000. More than 1.5 million folks go to the connected FC Barcelona Museum annually, making it Barcelona’s most-visited museum.

In 1794, French astronomer Pierre Méchain used the Montjuïc fortress overlooking the Barcelona harbor as one endpoint for his survey offering the official measurement of a meter.

There are two foremost theories: he’s pointing at the sea, which introduced him to the New World (though America is definitely in the other way), or he’s pointing at Genoa in Italy, the place he got here from.

Under the hypostyle room of Parc Güell hides a tank that collects rainwater from the sq. surrounded by the well-known curved and vibrant benches (simply above the hypostyle room), which then runs by little channels hidden within the room’s columns. This rainwater then provides water to the dragon fountains in addition to different areas of the park. It’s an instance of environmental consciousness that’s nicely forward of its time!

Both Catalan and Spanish are official languages in Barcelona. While Spanish is spoken extra often, Catalan is known by 95 % of Barcelona residents.

Flamenco will not be popular in Barcelona as it’s in different components of Spain. There is a powerful modern rock-n-roll scene with some night time golf equipment in Barcelona open till 6 am on weekends.

April 23rd is Saint Georges Day (La Diada de San Jordi), the nationwide pageant day in Barcelona and all through the Catalonia area. On today, Catalonians give their family members roses and books, much like Valentine’s Day. Saint Georges Day celebrations impressed UNESCO to declare April 23 as World Book Day.

Las Ramblas, Barcelona, Spain23. The 1.2 miles long Las Ramblas –a boulevard crammed with strolling vacationers and locals — is definitely a mix of 5 streets: Canaletes, Estudis, Sant Josep, Caputxins, and Santa Mònica. The Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria, usually merely known as La Boqueria, the oldest indoor market in Barcelona is positioned on La Ramblas.

The most crowded road in Spain is Portal de l’Angel, the main shopping road in Barcelona. On average, 3,500 people walk down this road each hour.

The Museu de la Xocolata (Chocolate Museum), Barcelona25. The Museu de la Xocolata (Chocolate Museum) is owned by the Barcelona pastry-makers’ guild and accommodates chocolate sculptures of assorted well-known Barcelona buildings and fun facts about Barcelona.

Spanish artist Pablo Picasso spent his formative adolescence artist apprenticeship years in Barcelona. The Picasso museum positioned the gothic Palau Aguilar homes 4,251 works and focuses on the artist’s work from his adolescence by his Blue Period.

A spectacular dragon sculpture is hidden in one of many facades of the Ramblas. In a method that mixes Chinese and artwork decor influences, it’s holding a lantern and an umbrella. Weird? Not actually. The constructing was formerly an umbrella shop and the dragon was designed to promote the gadgets on the market.

Located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, Barcelona is Spain’s second-largest metropolis with 1.6 million residents.

Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia, an autonomous neighborhood of Spain that consists of 4 provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona.

More than 10 % of Barcelona is parkland, cut up between 68 parks. Montjuïc, positioned on the hill overlooking the harbor, covers greater than 500 acres, making it the most important park in all of Spain.

Barcelona is the largest metropolitan city on the Mediterranean coast and Spain’s second-largest city after Madrid, which is one of the fun facts about Barcelona.

For a fun topic, the source of Barcelona is still unclear. There are two legends about establishing Barcelona. Reportedly, the town was founded by Bertha, the Carthaginian general of Hannibal’s general, Hamilcar, on 29 BCE. He named the city Barsino after his family. However, other legends submitted to the city of Hercules before the founding of Rome.

Every April 23rd, Barcelona celebrates Saint Jordi’s Day which is a festival of love and literacy. A man gives a woman a rose as a mark of love, and in return, the woman gives a book as a mark of eternal love. Inspired by this tradition, UNESCO has declared April 23rd as International Book Day. Thousands of stand roses and book stalls have been set up on this occasion. About 4 million roses and 800,000 books were purchased on this day.

Barcelona StadiumCamp Nu, FC Barcelona Club’s home stadium is the third-largest in the world and the largest stadium in Europe, with a capacity of about 100,000 people. Also, the FC Barcelona Museum is the most visited museum in Catalonia.

Portal de Langel is the shopping paradise of Barcelona. It crosses more than 3500 pedestrians per hour on Spain’s most crowded streets. Portal de l’ngel is the most expensive place in Spain where the average rent per square meter is 265 euros and fun facts about Barcelona.

Las Ramblas is Barcelona’s most touristy avenue. It is a 2 km long boulevard located in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona. More than one and a half thousand people walk down this street every day. The unique feature of the Rambla or the road is that it is divided into 5 different roads that flow freely with each other.

Anthony Gowdy is considered one of the great architects who greatly influenced the city buildings. Casa Mila is one of his greatest creations and is also known as the Alive House because its architecture makes it look like a living organism. In year 4, UNESCO declared it a world insult.

Now for a surprising fact, there are 12 abandoned stations between subway and passenger trains in Barcelona and all of them are ghostly. On the 21st, an extraordinary and intimidating metro journey began. It passed the Lau Pau and Sagrada Familia lines. People swore that they saw shadows and shapes as they walked through the abandoned “Gaudi” station, as one of the interesting things about Barcelona.

One of Gaudi’s most striking works, the La Sagrada Familia, is a large Roman Catholic church in Barcelona. Gaudy has been committed to the project for the last 15 years of his life and is buried under a crypt in the building. Construction of the La Sagrada Familia began in 1882 and is still ongoing. The expected completion date is 2026.

Since 1848, the Royal Institute of British Architecture (RIBA) annually awards a gold medal for the British monarch for his substantial contribution to international architecture. Generally, the medal is given to an individual or a group of architects, but Barcelona becomes the first and only city to receive this honor rather than individual architects.

Flamenco is a very popular dance form in Spain. However, in Barcelona, it is not so popular and people are not as much appreciated as the rest of Spain. They like contemporary rock-n-roll.

Barcelona drivers are considered to be the world’s worst drivers. It is said that every 19 seconds there is an accident on the streets of Barcelona.

About 10% of Barcelona is covered by the park, makes this one of the interesting facts about Barcelona.

Until the end, the Barcelona Eiffel Tower was the first choice to build, but the project was rejected as one of the interesting things about Barcelona.