Plaça d'Espanya (Barcelona) > Reviews > The gate to the Olympic Ring

Author's product rating:   

Prices	Good
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Advantages:	Good starting point for visits
Disadvantages:	Not especially important place

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

The Spain's Square (Plaça d'Espanya in catalan) was built in 1929, the year of the Universal Exhibition held in Barcelona.
It is a quiet big round square with a large fountain, ornamented with sculptures in marble and bronze, designed by a collaborator of the famous Antoni Gaudí.

From the squre you can see two twin towers that overlook the entrance to the Barcelona Trade Fair. Here starts Maria Cristina Avenue, the best way to go up the mountain of Montjuïc, where you can visit the several museums, gardens and at the top of the mountain "the Olimpic City".

The first step is The Magic Fountain, this was the fruit of the inspiration of the engineer Carles Buïgas, who conceived a new type of fountain where the artistic element consists in the changing shapes of the water,.
The project was completed with cascades and smaller fountains installed at various points of Maria Cristina Avenue. The fundamental element, however, was the monumental fountain situated on a platform erected at the end of the avenue, with the perspective of the Palau Nacional as a backdrop.

Here you have two options:

- Go right to the Poble Espanyol
The Poble Espanyol ("Spanish Village") responds to the initial idea of bringing together in the form of a "village",representative samples of the architecture of the various regions of Spain. Nowadays it has become a meeting-place for people who also want to enjoy theatrical shows or concerts or to share a good dinner with friends in one of the Village's restaurants

-Go up to the Olympic Ring
Montjuic mountain contains the sports facilities were remodelled to adapt them to the modern conditions demanded by the holding of the 1992 Olympic Games.
The old Stadium was rebuilt , respecting the façade and the Picornell swimming pools , built in 1969, were modernised.

Two brand-new buildings were also constructed: the Sant Jordi Sports Hall by the japanese Arata Isozaki, and the National Institute of Physical Education of Catalonia.
Also integrated into this area there is a new baseball ground, a circular pond, the acclimatisation garden from the 1929 Universal Exhibition and an extensive park area and a monolith commemorating the Olympic Games by the engineer Santiago Calatrava.

In my opinion it is better to spend the day at the Olympic Ring and the night at Poble Espanyol.
Spain Square is not an attraction as itself but it is a good place to start a visit to the Olympic Ring.

Usually if you go to Barcelona to see a pop concert you will have a lot of chances to go to Sant Jordi Hall (yeah, the Hall is also used as a concert hall most of the time), then it is a good chance to do this route.

I hope this review has helped you.
Ask me if you have any doubt.

See you!