Three Must See Sights in Barcelonas Port Vell Area
Barcelona underwent something of a major transformation in the run up to the 1992 Olympics – and one of the key areas for development was the port area of Port Vell. It’s easy to spend a day in this part of town, since there is everything a visitor could ask for – including shady boulevards, a beautiful working marina, Museums, great restaurants and eateries, and a major new complex containing shops, cinemas and the outstanding Aquarium. Barcelona is just a few hours flight time from the UK, making it a great place for a weekend break! There are lots of flight operators including Easyjet for a speedy start to your holiday.
The Aquarium
The Barcelona Aquarium is the best in Europe with 21 tanks and a spectacular underground system, so that fish swim all around you, will you walk through a glass tunnel. The first section focusses on sea creatures from the Mediterranean, so it’s quite dark, but as you move into the Caribbean section the fish colours develop into bright yellows and blues of familiar scuba diving trips! But the big thrill has got to be seeing the sharks via the tunnel walkway in the Oceanarium. Marble rays and sharks glide past each other in the deep blue water – this place is such a treat, and children will be fascinated by such a close encounter! Just imagine how they’ll react in the Artic and Antartic rooms where they’ll see a colony of penguins….this is a terrific treat for youngsters who might need a breather from the very hot mid summer sun.
The Museum of Catalan History
Housed in a restored red brick warehouse, this Museum allows you plenty of opportunity to take a walk through Catalan history. It’s big, so wear comfortable shoes, since there are four floors of interactive displays and photography exhibitions – the exhibits are shown off well in this magnificent building and some of them are very complex – for instance, you can sit in a replication medieval chapel, and listen to monks chanting! Catalan history has been at times, violent and bloody and every aspect of what it has gone through to achieve its current status is represented here. It’s a first class Museum – and when you leave it, you can walk straight out, into the Port Side restaurant area.
The Marina Walkway
This is a fabulous spot – whether you get there in the day time or evening. All along the Marina is a wide walkway with seating, and trees and giant artwork pieces such as Roy Lichtensteins enormous abstract piece entitled “Head”. On the bridge over to the Cinema and shopping complex, you’ll notice there are always hawkers and sellers, with colourful displays of beadwork and bags for sale. But when a big boat comes into dock, you’ll notice that part of the bridge walk way is cordoned off and that the walk way is moving to allow the boat to come into the Marina. Obviously, until the boat is through, you cannot get back onto the keyside, but its incredible to see such a huge amount of wooden walkway move so smoothly! In the water you see full size floating sculpture of footballers – a great artwork installation. This is a fun place to come in the evening too, since round the back of the cinema and shopping complex are smaller river-barge restaurants serving fresh fish of the day. From the marina you can see the towering Colombus Monument, and the Cable Car Tower, with cars travelling to the Castle on the outskirts of town.
Barcelona has so much to see and explore – and if you love the heat, head there in summer and enjoy all the cosmopolitan delights of the city. You’ll have no problem in finding flights online for a great deal on getting to this marvellous city.