Spain Day 20 Barcelona 14 October 2025

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We met our guide Laura outside the Lamaro Hotel at a bit after 9am, it took us a little longer than we thought (and what Apple maps & google maps thought).
After we got to know each other a little bit, Laura began to give us an abridged history of Barcelona. Barcelona has been inhabited since about 2500bc, Iberian tribes inhabited the area until the arrival of the Romans in the 1st Century, it became a strategic outpost. The Romans built it into a walled town with fresh water via an aqueduct. After the fall of Rome the Visigoths took control of the region until the 8th century, when the Muslims took control. Their reign lasted a little over 1 century when Charlemagne’s son Louis the Pious captured the city, and established the County of Barcelona. Catalan Identity: By the 12th century, Barcelona was under the control the of the Crown of Aragon, and had influence across the Mediterranean. During the 1714 War of Spanish Succession, Barcelona fell to Bourbon forces, which lead to the suppression of Catalan institutions. As the 19th century arrived the Industrial Revolution brought rapid industrialization, urban expansion, and the birth of Modernisme, with iconic architecture by Antoni Gaudí. During the Spanish Civil War, Barcelona was a Republican stronghold and suffered greatly under Franco’s dictatorship. The Catalan Identity remains strong and the city remains a focal point in the ongoing debate over Catalan independence. After Franco’s death in 1975, Barcelona re-emerged as a vibrant cultural capital. The 1992 Olympics was a turning point that modernized infrastructure and boosted global recognition.
Where we stood it was easy to see clear evidence of the Roman settlement of the area, with remnants of the old city walls and an aqueduct were clearly visible. The old town walls existed up until the mid 19th century, when they gave way to the expansion of the city.
The city as we know it now was built in the late 19th, early 20th century. With the grand Avenue and the building of the grand buildings throughout the city. It was at this time that Gaudi left his mark on the city (but more about that tomorrow).
Looking at a map of Barcelona today, it is very easy to see the new (19th/20th century) sections of the city and the old 18th century and earlier sections. The new city has wide open planning and a structured grid street pattern, where the old sections retain their roots as old villages, with narrow streets and a very random looking layout. On our walk through the Borne neighbourhood we came across what is the narrowest street in the city, Carter de la Mosques (Street of the flies). We also walked down Carrer Montcada the widest street in the old town, it was home to wealthy merchants, where they built their palaces. The Port is at far end of the street allowed the merchants to have direct access from port to city.
It is in five, yes 5, of these palaces that today you find the Picasso Museum. Picasso was born in Malaga, just down the coast from Barcelona, in 1881. His father was an art teacher and artist, he very early recognised his son’s talent and had him schooled in the arts from a young age in Barcelona. Prior to his death in1983, Picasso donated a huge collection of his works to the City of Barcelona. It is this collection that is on show. It traces his whole life through his artwork. There are pieces from when he was 5 or 6 years old and then through every stage of his life. You can vividly see his works improve and change through his life, he was always at the forefront of emerging art styles but could never be categorised as being of 1 style. He lived in Barcelona at the height of Modernisme and socialised extensively at Els Quatre Gats, the café that was a hub for the movement. But he quickly evolved beyond Modernisme. He pioneered Cubism, explored Surrealism and Neoclassicism, and all the avant-garde forms that were defining modern art. He is credited with revolutionizing modern art.
There were so many pieces that grabbed me in the museum, some of my favourites were “Cliper, the Artist’s Dog”, “Science and Charity” (it is very different depending on where you view it from), Joseph Cardona i Furro”, all of his sketch books and preliminary sketches, “La Chata”, “Gored Horse”, “ Fruit Bowl”, “Las Meninas” ( his B&W take on Diego Velazquez’s painting, and the whole Picasso Las Meninas collection), “Vase” and finally “Owl with Chair on Ochre Background”. His ceramic works gave him another dimension to work in. It was a very enjoyable couple of hours.
After we left the museum we walked the old streets a bit more, we came across Capella d’en Marcus, a small 1166 Romanesque chapel, a great small piece of history. We next came to Mercat Santa Caterina, the oldest (1848) undercover market in Barcelona. The produce here looked as good as any market we have seen in Europe this trip. On we went to the Palau de la Musica Catalana, (unfortunately there was an event on inside and we couldn’t go in), but its facade was amazing. It is an UNESCO World Heritage site for its architecture. A little way down the street we came to a social phenomenon shop, “Caganer”. This shop sells Caganers, these originated as small figurines placed in Catalan nativity scenes, they are characters depicted in the act of defecation. The name literally means “the pooper” in Catalan. The pieces have evolved, and the shop now sells figurines of globally famous people from politicians, to actors, sports stars, comic characters, etc all in the act of pooping.
It was here we said good by to Laura for today, we have her as our guide tomorrow.
Deb and I walked back to the market and had lunch, a fresh salad and ham & chicken croquettes. The salad was great.
We then took the Ingress way back to our hotel, along the way we saw many really interesting building and parks in the city, including a couple of buildings by Gaudi.
We had a great day out exploring, for some reason Barcelona reminds us of Buenos Aires, the same rich feel.