Showing posts with label Joan Miró. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joan Miró. Show all posts

Thursday, 14 February 2008

Montjuïc



Montjuic is a hill that overlooks Barcelona from the southwest. The low-lying area around Plaça de Espanya just below Montjuïc is Poble Sec. Poble Sec is easily accessible at the metro stops Espanya and Poble Sec.

Getting to Montjuic is a little more complicated than arriving at other parts of the city. Due to its elevation, the metro does not run there. One option – by foot - is to use the series of escalators that run from the Palau Nacional at Plaça Espanya up the hill. A hike up to the top of Montjuic would take about an hour on a so-so trail.

Bus lines 50, 61 and 55 will also take you there.

Alternatively, at the metro stop Parallel, you can take the funicular railway to Estació Parc Montjuic.

When the "Teleférico de Montjuic" is running (it has been temporarly closed or working with limited schedules), you can take this cable car from the Torre de Sant Sebastià in the Barceloneta over the sea and up to Montjuic.

Montjuic (“Jewish Mountain”) is a must-see area of Barcelona. With beautiful views of the city, 2 of the city’s best museums and a vast park, this hill is definitely worth the hike. Northwest Montjuic is also home to the “Poble Espanyol,” a touristy, slightly cheesy but nonetheless attractive rendering of a “Spanish Village.”

Plaça de Espanya, at the foothills of Montjuic, is one of Barcelona's most emblematic sites and a logical starting point if exploring the area by foot. From the rotund Plaza extends Avingunda de la Reina Maria Cristina, leading to the slopes of Montjuic. This avenue is flanked by a beautiful series of fountains, its largest and first being la Font Magica. Nightly music and light shows during the summer bring these fountains to life, a free spectacle no seasonal visitor should miss.

Before ascending Montjuic, you might want to take a detour to Caixa Forum, a cultural center with its own contemporary art collection. Even further west, at about a 5 minute walk from here, is - Poble Espanyol ("Spanish Village"), one of the area's many vestiges from the 1929 World Exhibition. Poble Espanyol represents styles and buildings from all over Spain in an eclectic artificial rendering.

Now back at the fountains, glance up at the hill of Montjuic: you can't miss the Palau Nacional. A neobaroque palace also built for the 1929 World Exhibition, this stately edifice houses one of Barcelona's finest museums, the MNAC (Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalyuna) Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya. After marveling at the MNAC's amazing collection of Romanesque art, simply hop on the series of outdoor escalators connecting the Palau to the Avinguda de l'Estadi at the top of the mountain. And voila, you've made it up to Montjuic, Barcelona.

The escalators drop you in a great position to see the Montjuic Park with its Jardi Botanic ("Botanical Garden") and Olympic Stadium. Also inland, but futher east, is an excellent museum, the Fundació Joan Miró. Its spacious halls and sculpture garden house the most exhaustive singular collection of this Catalan master's works.

For great views of the Mediterranean, head southeast to the Castell de Montjüic, a 17th/18th century fortress.


Find an accommodation in this area of Barcelona.

Monday, 11 February 2008

Walking tour - Montjuïc


A vehicle or public transport (cable car, tram or bus) is recommended for a tour of the entire mountain. Partial tours might be made on foot. Approximate duration: 2 to 5 hours. Our itinerary begins in the Plaça de Espanya.

1- Torres de Exposició
47-meter high, these towers line the Avenue María Cristina.
2- Fira de Barcelona (Barcelona Fair)
The exhibition area covers 250,000 m2.

3- Illuminated fountains
The masterpiece of the engineer Carles Buhígas. Water and coloured lights are combined in 50 different formations.

4- Pavello Mies van der Rohe
Reconstruction of the German lodge which Ludwing Mies van der Rohe built for the Internacional Exhibition in 1929.

5- Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC)
Collections of Romanesque art (unique of their kind for their range of mural paintings), Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque and Modern Art, including important collections of drawings, engravings, posters, numismatics and photography. Temporary exhibitions.

6- Poble Espanyol (Spanish Village)
The most characteristics aspects of spanish achitecture from all over Spain are shown in this magnificient replica village. Craft workshops in glass, ceramics, etc.

7- Caixa Forum
Multipurpose Cultural Center, located in the ancient Casaramona, awork of art of Industrial Modernism.

8- Piscinas "Picornell"
Swimming pool

9- Institut i jardí Botànic

10- Palauet Albéniz
It is a royal residence and the Town Hall Holds gala receptions here.

11- Joan Maragall Gardens
"Palauet Albéniz" gardens. Open to the public on Sundays.

12- Olympic Circle
Olimpic Stadium; inaugurated in 1929, Palau Sant Jordi; its designer, the architect Arata Isozaki. Galeria Olímpica; Permanent exhibition on the Games of Barcelona 92.

13- Fundació Miró
The artist's permanent collection is exhibited in this building.Museu EtnològicTeatre GrecReproduction of an ancient Greek theatre which can hold up to 2,000 people.

14- Museu Arqueològic

15- Mercat de les Flors
Former Agricultural House of the 1929 Exhibition. The vault of the hallway is the work of Miquel Barceló.
You can rent an apartment from walking distance of all these points of interest.

Walking tour - The Ramblas


On foot. Approximate duration: 3 hours.



The Rambla, which runs from the Plaça Catalunya to the Port; has been the heart of the city down through the centuries and today continues to be the most typical, popular and cosmopolitan of the city's streets. Our itinerary begins at the top of the Rambla where it opens into the Plaça Catalunya.



We list below all the points of interest that you find while wlaking down the Ramblas from Plaça Catalunya:


1- "Font de Canaletes"
Iron fountain dating from the 19th Century. One of the city´s landmarks.

2- Iglesia de Belén

At the junction with Carme street. Ancien Jesuit church. Catalan Gothic style interior.


3- Palau Moja

Located Opposite the Betlem church. Important house at the beginning of the 18th Century.

4- Palau de la Virreina
In Rambla nº 99, One of the most sumptuous buildings of the Rambla. There is an information office on the ground floor.


5- The Sant Josep or "Boquería" Market
Wrought iron building which houses one of the most popular and traditional of the city's food market

6- "Pla de la Boquería"
This is that part which lies between Hospital street and Boquería street. There is a mosaic by Joan Miró on the pavement.

7- Palau Güell
Carrer Nou de la Rambla, 3. The work of Antoni Gaudí. Built as the Barcelona residence of the Count Güell. The building houses the Museu de les Arts del Espectacle.

8- Plaça Reial
Square formed by unifrom buildings. Iron fountain in center. lamps-posts are the work of Gaudí.

9- Wax Museum
The building built in 1867 is part of the National Architectural in the exhibition of its figures, protagonists of the history and fantasy of mankind, justifies wordlwide acknowledgment.

10- "Reials Drassanes"
The most important and most complete medieval dockyards in existence are to be found at the end of the Rambla. The Maritim Museum is housed inside.



You can rent an apartment on the Ramblas from walking distance of all these points of interest.