A city that has it all, a traveler's dream. Known for its vibrant culture, sun-drenched seaside, mouth-watering food, and quirky architecture and history. There is so much to discover in Barcelona, and even more! Spain's most visited city, the largest Mediterranean city, and the capital of Catalonia. With about 1.6 million inhabitants, the number of visitors to the city far outnumbers the number of people living in it.

Out of nine UNESCO World Heritage Sites, seven are the work of Antoni Gaudí, who comes to mind to many people in association with the city. Together with Gaudí, more important men and women have contributed their works and presence to the city. Picasso considered the city his muse and even though born in Malaga, he spent his formative years in Barcelona and studied at its School of Fine Arts. There’s an entire Picasso Museum in the center of town. You might as well admire the art of surrealist Joan Miró spread all over the city.

It wasn't always the sunny beach town as we know it today. Before the Olympic Games in 1992 many factories were located on the shore. The Games motivated representatives of the city to clean up and beautify the seaside. Today you can find 7 beaches along the city's coastline.

The city has two official languages - Spain and Catalan. You will see both languages on transportation signs, and menus, in public places, and in museums all around the city.

Theoretically, based on the theories and legends it might have been founded in the 1st century BC by Hercules and the Romans, who set up a colony there, 400 years before Rome was built. The second legend says that Hamilcar Barca, a historical general, founded the city while traveling across the Mediterranean searching for the Golden Fleece.

The city is far from the stereotypical image of Spain. Popular Spanish bullfighting has been banned for years now in Catalonia. Even though you can see flamenco dancers around town, this traditional Spanish art form is not so much appreciated by Catalans, who have their native dance – the Sardana.

If everything had gone according to Gustave Eiffel’s initial plan, Paris’ most famous landmark would now be in Barcelona. Unfortunately, Spain rejected the architect’s project, deciding that it was too “radical” and did not fit the city’s aesthetics. They knew what they were doing as in 1999 Barcelona became the first and only city, to this date, to receive the prestigious Gold Medal for Architecture – instead of an individual architect.

The city is covered by 68 urban parks (more than 10% of the city), 55 museums, galleries, designer shops, and more, and is also home to the largest football stadium in Europe. FC Barcelona's home stadium has a capacity of almost 100 000 people.

Did you know that the city's popular Parc de Collserola is the biggest metropolitan park in the world? In case you are wondering how big are we talking about, it is 22 times larger than Central Park in NYC.