One of the majestic spires of La Sagrada Familia

The capital of the Catalunya region of northeast Spain is rich in Gothic design, one-of-a-kind architecture and stores galore - you' bound to bond with Barcelona. Vanessa Asell takes you on a ramble through one of Europe's most enchanting cities.

Photos by Emma Reilly

With the touch of a wand you find yourself in the center of town. Placa Catalunya, named after the region in the Iberian Peninsula where Barcelona serves as capital, makes a good start for a memorable few days. Walking is a good way to get around, especially when using the mountains and the Mediterranean as coordinates.

Towards the heights of Tibidabo goes Passeig de Gracia, an arterial avenue right through the neighborhood of Eixample. The architect Antonio Gaudi, considered the genius of the Modernista movement, masterminded many Barcelona edifices. Two buildings along this street are his: Casa Batllo and Casa Mila. The latter is nicknamed La Pedrera, the quarry, and has a remarkable facade of curving stone and a rooftop view that definitely makes it up there. On the same side as La Pedrera you will find Vincon, Barcelona's most renowned designer store. Window shop or break your budget.

Unfinished business
Gaudi's incomplete work, La Sagrada Familia, is Barcelona's trademark, and can easily be reached from the Passeig de Gracia metro stop. Work on the church began in 1882 (Gaudi took over the project in 1883) but there is still scaffolding on sight, a manana attitude that has upset some taxpayers who might not see it finished during their lifetime.

Another choice is to head down Las Ramblas, a mile-long pedestrian paved old riverbed. It hosts entertaining street performers, and one can find newspapers, caged animals, flowers and portrait painters all the way down to the Columbus statue, erected for the 1888 Universal Exhibition. Strolling down towards the Mediterranean, Carrer [street] Bon Succes on your right takes you past Placa Vicence Martorell, where the open-air Bar Kasparo makes a fine stop for a meal. Close by is the contemporary art museum MACBA, which rejuvenated this once seedy neighborhood when it was built in the mid-nineties.

Another gem of the Ramblas area is the Gran Teatre de Liceu. Inaugurated in 1848, destroyed by a fire in 1994, and reopened in 1999, this opera venue has acquired world-class recognition. Cafe de l' Opera across the street is the perfect excuse for a coffee, but make sure you get a table on the ground floor. This is where the atmosphere brews with all walks of life - even the live statues posing on Ramblas!

Inside the church you can see the construction site and how work is being done on La Sagrada Familia - through the intricate patterns of an internal stone window

Historic promenade
Carrer Portferrisa branches off to the left, and taking your first right you find a narrow street with art shops, galleries, and cafes. At the end you find Placa del Pi, where painters exhibit their work on weekends. The Cafe del Pi has excellent bocadillos. Get one with queso manchego and you'll be served a baguette cut in half, squeezed with tomato, and topped with sheep's cheese. As good as it gets.

The Catedral de Barcelona, begun in 1298 and marking the border of the Barri Gotic, the gothic quarter, is a stone's throw away. On Sunday mornings, Barcelonites and the odd tourist meet for traditional sardanas dancing. Behind the cathedral is the beautiful Placa del Rei. Order a clara - beer with lemonade - and if lucky, you'll catch a guitarist playing Concierto de Aranjuez on the steps where the Catholic monarch received Columbus after his return from the Americas.

A short promenade and you enter the Born neighborhood and arrive at Museu Picasso. Originally based in two fifteenth-century palaces, the collection was expanded last October with the inauguration of an adjacent building. Picasso's first ever paid commission, the menu cover of Els Quatre Gats (a turn-of-the-century rendezvous for young modernists where cubism is believed to have been born) is on display among childhood sketches, Blue Period, and cubist paintings.

This area boasts the cathedral Santa Maria del Mar, constructed in the fourteenth century and described as the greatest of all Catalan buildings. The two bars in front mark the starting line of a tapas round - appetizer bar-hopping - and then try out Xampanyet, just around the corner. This family-owned bar serves cider and cava (sparkling white wine), which goes down quite nicely with cheese, croquettes, Serrano ham, mussels, potato omelets and so on.

Crossing down towards the sea you have Barceloneta on your left, what used to be the core fishing port. It paid a high price to accommodate the 1992 Olympics as many restaurants were demolished in an area facelift. The seaside boardwalk of Passeig de Borbo leads past luxurious yachts and the modern shopping-and-tropical-bar complex of Maremagnum.

One of the hundreds of mini mosaics at Banc Trenadis, snaking tiled seats with spectacular views of Barcelona inside Gaudi's Parc Guell

Dazes, mazes and hazes
Walking on you reach a slightly intimidating cable car; don't let the rust scare you away as the view is well worth the fright! It takes you across the port to the mountain of Montjuic, which hosts the Palau Sant Jordi stadium by Japanese architect Arata Isozaki.

More spectacular architecture is found in Parc Guell, on the other side of town. Designed by Gaudi, the park is a maze of mosaic dragons, twisted pillars, curving benches, and Hansel and Gretel-like houses.

Going there is as essential a part of a visit to Barcelona as stopping at Bar Tomas for some patatas bravas. Even the Spanish king Juan Carlos was spotted at this noisy local bar when his son-in-law took him to eat these deep-fried potatoes with spicy garlic-powered alioli sauce. Located in what was a summer resort for downtowners in the beginning of the 1900s, Sarria, like most other neighborhoods, now has its own food market and subway station.

As for the night, it is always young in Barcelona. Placa Reial, a nineteenth century arcaded square, is the pumping heart with Ramblas acting as the main artery and smaller side streets serving as veins. Another nightly must-go is Placa del Sol in the neighborhood of Gracia. It hosts a generational blend that's a perfect stopover after a superb pizza at La Govina (the Angel Bar) around the corner. Make sure you also pass by Casa Quimet (the Guitar Bar) where 200 guitars hanging from the ceiling have many a time given rise to jam sessions.

Go to Barcelona - you're bound to bond.

For more information on holidays in Barcelona and other places in Spain contact the Spanish Tourist Office at 03-3432-6142, fax 03-3432-6144, or visit their office: Daini Toranomon Denki Bldg 6F, 3-1-10 Toranomon, Minato-ku.