As you can see this garden holds reviews in multiple languages. Why? Because no matter where you're…read morefrom, it's impossible to view this masterpiece sitting atop the first cove of Costa Brava as anything less than impressive! First and foremost, you can spend hours, and hours exploring and still not experience everything this space has to offer. We attended a wedding on one end of the grounds (a beautiful area boasting a grand staircase leading to a gazebo with unparalleled views of Costa Brava waters. It was a waves slashing against stone as you state your vows, costal winds brushing your face, and gently wiping the happy tears of an emotional ceremony type of spot), and I couldn't envision a better introduction to the grounds. This is a spot where man meets nature; a true gem on the Mediterranean. When retuning I will certainly do so with a significant other, a family member, a kiddo or a best friend, someone I truly care to make memories with as these special spots are certainly for those special moments.

This is one of Europe's newest botanical gardens, and makes for a very pleasant summer afternoon…read moreescape from the frenetic bustle of Barcelona. The original botanic garden on Montjuïc opened in 1930 is still accessible in parts, but the remodelling of the area for the 1992 Olympics prompted the city to move most of collection to a new garden, which opened in 1999. Focussing on Mediterranean-climactic flora, it features collections from Australia, South Africa, Chile, the Canaries and the eastern and western Mediterranean. The garden's design is deliberately and strikingly modern. With its angular concrete paths, sheet-steel screening and rhomboid planting beds, it's the antithesis of traditional English parks and gardens. Whether this works for you is a matter of taste, but there's no denying that the result is innovative and dramatic. The plant collections themselves are the highlight, of course, and the Australian and Canarian zones are particularly impressive, with tall palms, succulents, cacti, banksias and other exotics, and some delightful ponds. The Mediterranean zones are (oddly) less appealing, largely because the planting seems to be a bit hit-and-miss, and because many of the plants are not yet properly established. One notable omission is the absence of glasshouses, as the collection is designed for the local climate. But there's plenty to occupy you for a couple of hours, and you get stunning views of the Olympic Park from various points as you walk around. Practicalities: The site has lots of car-parking and is on the TMB Montjuïc Park circular bus route (every 25 minutes). It's quite a walk from either the cable-car stations or the metro. The site is on a steep slope, and although the paths themselves are gentle, be prepared for quite a lot of walking once inside. Also bear in mind that the garden offers less shade than more established sites, although the frequent water-fountains and seats are very welcome. A map and guide leaflet is available in different languages. The site is suitable for wheelchairs, with a powered one available from the entrance office. Finally, there is no shop or café, but there are several beverage vending machines at the entrance.

The Barcelona Botanic Garden is a botanist's wet dream. I was expecting a lush garden type setting…read morelike the Huntington Garden in San Marino, CA or the large parks found in Melbourne, AU. Instead, I encountered an array of plants planted into 14 hectares of sloping terrain. It happens to be the city's largest green space but I daresay, it's not one of the prettiest. Maybe because after trekking to the Mount Montjuic castle, my feet were less than thrilled to be hiking around a botanical garden with minimal shade. Instead of walking like we did, try taking the bus up. The nice thing is that you have a great view of the 1992 Olympic stadium in the distance as well as the National Art museum. Admission is €3,50 for adults. Free the last Sunday of each month or every Sunday after 3pm. Free with the Barcelona card.

In 1983 Barcelona built its monument to Picasso in Passeig de Picasso, beside the Parc de la…read moreCiutadella. It was designed by Antoni Tapies as a glass box in a pool of water containing some old chairs and an old hall-stand, old ropes and sheets with indecipherable messages written on them. All the furniture is cut through with iron grids. It is an astonishing piece of work. It stands there as a monument the mind's ability to create images, to our freedom to imagine. While Tóibín has obviously failed to convert me to surrealist art, I'm sure I'll be referring back to his book, not only when I revisit Barcelona to visit the places I missed this time round, but as I'm reading my way through the Spanish literature TBR that had amassed prior to my visit. I had to abandon Manuel Rivas's Books Burn Badly because there were too many unrecognised cultural references. I think that Homage to Barcelona may have resolved many of those difficulties for me.

I was expecting a beautiful labyrinth, or flowers...or something…read more What I got was a desolate strip of a few trees and a couple of hedges and some lonely statues enduring the shit of many-a-pigeon. Yay.

Beautiful park of a variety of cacti. Free to walk through and definitely worth the beautiful views.read more

A high up yet simple castle. We came for the free admission every Sunday at 3pm. Get the free…read moretickets in advance online so you can bypass the long line that forms for the walk-ins. It's also free every first Sunday of the month. There's some great views, videos, and history displayed. You could get up here via cable car, cab, or walking, which we did, and it was exhausting.

My family spent a pretty fun day here we walked both in and out, which is definitely a hike. Bring…read moreyour stroller if you have a baby thank goodness we had ours, but it's really a pretty walk-in and there's places in the park to look at the flowers and the ponds and little play areas for the kids so honestly, I wouldn't do it any other way. The castle itself is pretty cool. We had a nice time exploring. We did not get on one of the guided tours just because of when we visited and stuff like that but those can be a little tough with young kids anyway we ended up eating in the restaurant on site and I walked away with terrible terrible food poisoning from the croquettes. It happens but definitely made the rest of our trip not quite as fun.

From the owner: L'eau, l'air, le vert Au début du vallon Saint-Pons, le parc s'engage dans le massif de la…read moreSainte-Baume. Erables, hêtres, pins entourent Chapelle de Saint-Martin, les ruines et la cascade. 328 espèces de plantes composent cette aire de verdure. L'espace est traversé d'aires de pique-nique,

After visiting the botanic gardens, we headed over to the Olympic stadium since we didn't plan and…read moremissed the MNAC's hours. Why are art museums only open until 2:30 pm on Sundays?! I don't know either. We walked to the stadium took some photos and headed to the museum. It was grand and majestic. Since I don't have ties to the city, I'll just say it was just ok.

This is a nice Olympic site although I think when it took place, it must have been quite chaotic in…read moreterms of traffic and commute because subway doesn't come here directly, You would need to transfer to a bus or drive up the hill. Nonetheless, the view was great and it is free to visit. You can see the stadium is not used too frequently unfortunately. Given the economy, they should probably do something with it!