Poble Espanyol (Barcelona)

Advantages: Spanish architecture
Disadvantages: Touristy

..."A Picture of Spain", the Poble Espanyol brings together in one setting the unique styles of architecture from all over the country. The "Spanish Village" was built between 1926 and 1929 for the Barcelona Universal Exposition. Situated at the foot of Mount Montjuïc, this was the picturesque site of the 1992 Olympic Games, within the large patch of green known as "Parc del Migdia" in the southwest of the city. Travelling there is not the simplest ...
...be poorly labelled. The Poble (amusingly pronounced to rhyme with "gobble" by our witty group!) proudly claims to be "a watercolour painting which portrays the different peoples and cultures of Spain, represented in the form of streets and squares, monuments and buildings". That statement eloquently sums it up; as you wander through the aesthetically pleasing alleys, admire and absorb the samples of architecture from Zaragoza, Sevilla, Girona, Málaga, ... Read review

Advantages: Great way to get a feel for Spanish life
Disadvantages: Long walk, need to concentrate of the map to find it

...that we were drawn to Poble Espanyol, helped by the brochure's 10 percent discount. We don't even know where we acquired it, but we are really pleased we found it, somewhere. Due to high summer temperatures we decided to have an afternoon siesta and venture out at 5pm and with all the walking ahead of us it was a wise decision. We took the underground and got off at Espanya underground, I think, and what a site to behold when coming up to the ...
...to walk up to the Poble Espanyol. The architecture around this part of town is just superb. Memorable and definitely a photographers paradise. There are plenty of out-door cafes and bars here, sit around under the trees and lap up the Spanish, Barcelona evening before venturing along the road, and up the hill a little to Poble Esnapnyol. We took advantage of our 10 percent discount on the pamphlet, one paid seven euros and the other a little less, ... Read review

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

...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... Read review

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