The sublime public life of a great city
Barcelona—once dismissed as a grimy, dull city—is now mentioned in the same breath as Paris, London and Rome as a must-see destination for anyone seeking to experience Europe at its best. What happened?
The city sports gorgeous architecture, both in the charming tangle of medieval streets and in turn-of-the-19th-Century masterpieces by Antonin Gaudi and other geniuses of the Modernisme movement. The Mediterranean Sea splashes right at its doorstep, creating a vibrant downtown waterfront where you can stroll past a harbor full of tall-mast sailboats and broad beaches crowded with stunningly well-toned sunbathers. Barcelona is ringed with mountains, laced with Parisian-style boulevards and dotted with lively nightspots.
