Barcelona

1. LOCATION

Barcelona is the capital and the most populous city of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain. Barcelona is recognised as a global city because of its importance in finance, commerce, media, entertainment, arts and international trade. Situated on a plateau with a width of 5 km on the Collserola mountain range, the city of Barcelona spreads over an area of 10.096 ha. Less than two hundred kilometres from the French border, Barcelona is on the Mediterranean coast, which is the reason for the pleasant climate in the Catalan capital. Many tourists are drawn to the city because of its rich culture and it is very easy find cheap flights to Barcelona from all bigger European cities and most capitals worldwide. There is also the draw that it is situated 160 km south of the Pyrenees and the French-Spanish border, plus, Barcelona revels in its 4.5 km of coastline, with seven beaches.

As well as the sea, mountains are also part of Barcelona's landscape. The city, is surrounded by the Collserola hills to the west and by the hill of Montjuïc, which climbs up from the coast. A lot of small hills, like Monterols, Putget, Carmel, Rovira and Peira, rise above the Barcelona plain, which is bordered by two rivers, the Llobregat to the south and the Besòs to the north.

There are two official languages spoken in Barcelona: Catalan, generally spoken in all of Catalonia, and Castillian Spanish. The city of Barcelona has a population of 1.510.000, but this number spirals to more than 4.000.000 if the outlying areas are also included.

Barcelona was the home to several impressive works done by the world renowned architects, Antoni Gaudi and Lluis Domenech and Montaner. The city also has a wide range of parks, several walking streets in the old part of the city, and numerous attractions to visit.

Barcelona is ranked just after Madrid as the country's main source of economy. It is also home to one of the most major Mediterranean...