Barcelona Research Paper

The city of Barcelona is one of the most visited in all of Spain, located in the most popular city known as Catalonia. With 100.4 km2, Catalonia is the second largest city in the Spain and has a population of 1,605,602, which was last checked in the year 2006. Barcelona is known to have some of the best scenery due to the location right on the Mediterranean coast. It is also known to be a massive tourist attraction, mostly for the Mediterranean climate and the outsized amount of parks. (Barcelona, Spain, 2007) The Mediterranean climate is a perfect with the mild, warm, and dry summers. The humid winters are not that bad either. Barcelona only has two cold months, January and February, unlike the United States who has 3 and sometimes 4! Averaging only 10 degrees C (50 degrees F) the winters are semi-decent. Snowfall is so rare and precious to them that when it does snow, it is known as a special event. July and August are known as the hottest months with temperatures as high as 103 degrees F (39.8 degrees C)! (Barcelona Climate and Weather, 2007) There are so many sites to
see that range from zoos to mountains. Due to the large amount of parks, Barcelona has become a massive tourist attraction. This city has 68 community parks with are divided into 45 urban parks, 12 highly historic parks, 6 forest parks, and than 5 thematic parks. Ten percent of the cities area is covered up by all of these parks. These parks grow by about 25 acres every year due to the immense amount of the tourist attraction in the city. The largest park among these is the Montjuic, with is located on the mountain Montjuic. These parks are recognized as the most beautiful parks in Spain and are a definite must see for tourist. (Parks in Barcelona , 2007) Interested in sports? Sports are a huge part of Barcelona. Barcelona has one of the largest stadiums in the world. The Camp Nou Staduim has held many significant sport events happened in the city, such as the 1992 summer Olympics, numerous 1982 Football World Cup (which is now called the FIFA World Cup), the Eurobasket twice, along with the X FINA world Championships. The FC Barcelona football team is one of the greatest in all of Europe, which is a huge sport in Barcelona. Basketball, handball, roller hockey, swimming of all types, and now even skateboarding are all recognized sports in the city Barcelona. Due to the extremely popular sport of skateboarding, a new anti-skateboarding law came into effect in the year 0f 2006. (Barcelona Sporting Goods , 2007) Performing arts is another huge part of Barcelona. Dancing does not only appear in theaters, in can also appear in the streets. A popular event to see is the Sonar Music Festival, which is once a year in June. The Orquestra Simfonica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya, also known as the OBC, is a brand new venue that hosts about 75 concerts in one season. (The Performing Arts, 2007) The architecture in Barcelona is known around the world!
Found in the core of the city is the Barri Gotic standing as the center piece. Most of the sculptures and buildings found in Barcelona were built back in the medieval times and some even as far back as the Romans. The majority of the buildings found in Barcelona are now world historical heritage sites. One of the most popular architect is Antoni Gaudi, which most of his work can be found throughout the city. His best known work is still being built in today. This sculpture is called Sagrada Famila and has been under construction since the year 1882. It has been financed by many private donations and is predicted to be finished in the year 2026. Than in 1999, Barcelona won the RIBA Royal Gold medal for the intense quality of architecture. This is another must see tourist attraction. (Barcelona Gaudi Architecture,
2006) You can't forget the beautiful white sand beaches either. Barcelona has seven amazing beaches that total 2.8 miles long. The Barcelonta and the Sant Sebastia are the largest, most frequent, and oldest in the entire city. The rest of the seven beaches are Nova Icaria, Bogatell, Mar Bella, Nova Mar Bella, and Llevant are separated by the Olympic Port. The beaches were an outcome of the demolishing of buildings to make room for the 1992 summer Olympics. (Exotic Beaches, 2002) Even though Barcelona is owned by Spain they do not speak Spanish. Even though Barcelona is boarded by France the do not speak French either. So you are probably wondering what language they speak? They speak a language called Catalan with a mix of Spanish and French together. Overall, this country is a must see visit. All the citizens are polite and elegant, the city is outstandingly beautiful, and is a time you will never forget. I promise. (Barcelona, Spain, 2007)