Barcelona information
Montjuic
Montjuic, the hill overlooking the city centre
from the southwest, is home to some fine art galleries, leisure
attractions, soothing parks and the main group of 1992 Olympic
sites. Approach the area from Plaça d'Espanya (Spain Square)
and on the north side you'll see Plaça de Braus Les Arenes, a
former bullring where the Beatles played in 1966. Behind it lies
Parc Joan Miró, where stands Miró's highly phallic
sculpture Dona i Ocell (Woman and Bird).
Nearby, the Palau Nacional houses the Museu Nacional d'Art de
Catalunya (National Museum of Art of Catalunia), which has an
impressive collection of Romanesque art. Stretching up a series
of terraces below the Palau Nacional (National Palace) are fountains,
including the biggest, La Font Màgica (the Magic Fountain) or
the fountain which dances, which comes alive with a free lights
and music show on summer evenings. In the northwest of Montjuic
is the 'Spanish Village', Poble Espanyol.
At first glance it's a tacky tourist trap, but it also proves
to be an intriguing scrapbook of Spanish architecture, with very
convincing copies of buildings from all of Spain's regions. The
Anella Olímpica (Olympic Ring) is the group of sports installations
where the main events of the 1992 games were held. Down the hill,
visit masterpieces of another kind in the Fundacio Joan Miró,
Barcelona's gallery for the greatest Catalan artist of the 20th
century. This is the largest single collection of the his work.