The Modernista Trail has made its mark on the Passeig de Gràcia, in buildings such as the Casa Lleó Morera, by the architect Domènech i Montaner, and Antoni Gaudí’s Casa Batlló and Casa Milà, popularly known as La Pedrera.

The city of a thousand faces, Barcelona is a melting pot of colours, tastes and aromas which offers a whole host of services. Within 15 minutes walking distance of the hotel is the Plaça de Catalunya, which marks the boundary between the Eixample district and the old town, or Ciutat Vella, and leads to Les Rambles and down to Barcelona’s opera house, the Gran Teatre del Liceu, where lovers of opera, dance and classical music can enjoy good music during their stay in the city.

Les Rambles is also home to Barcelona’s most famous food market, the Mercat de la Boqueria, which features a world of contrasts: on the one hand, traditional garden produce and, on the other, exotic foods from other countries. Across Les Rambles, through the Plaça Reial, is the Gothic Quarter, the city’s oldest neighbourhood, brimming with narrow streets and small squares with a unique charm, which lead to the imposing Cathedral, and the churches of La Mercè and Santa Maria del Mar.

Barcelona is a complete city. It has the sea and over 4 kilometres of beaches, such as Sant Sebastià, La Barceloneta, Nova Icària, Bogatell and Mar Bella. It also has mountains: Tibidabo, which rises 512 metres above sea level, and forms the highest peak on the Collserola Massif together with Norman Foster’s Collserola Tower and, finally, Montjuïc with the Olympic Stadium, the Calatrava Tower, which are part of the legacy of the 1992 Olympic Games, and the Poble Espanyol, or Spanish Village.

Barcelona’s football teams, which are one of its defining elements, are another attraction of this cosmopolitan city. Barça, who play in a blue and red strip, and RCD Espanyol, who play in blue and white. Fans of Futbol Club Barcelona can also visit the Camp Nou stadium and the Museu del Barça. The city offers many more museums, such as the Museu Picasso, the Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA), the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC) and the Fundació Joan Miró.

At the intersection of the Diagonal, the Gran Vía and the Meridiana, three of Barcelona’s main arteries, Jean Nouvel’s Agbar Tower rises up. Designed as a business centre, it stands 142 metres tall and was inspired by the mountains of Montserrat and Gaudí’s architectural legacy.

Barcelona is also a city for night owls and offers everything you could need to enjoy a night on the town. Restaurants with typical dishes from many countries and Mediterranean cuisine will captivate the most demanding palates. Barcelona is full of champagne bars such as Selmos and Saint-Germain, cocktail bars such as Boadas; discotheques such as Danzatoria, Bikini, Fellini, Up&Down, Ribelino’s Club, Sutton, City Hall, Razzmatazz, Luz de Gas, Otto Zutz, Catwalk, and La Terrazza, and music bars such as Espai Barroc, Pastís, Quilombo, Bikini, Club Ommsession and Jamboree. Barcelona also has an extensive range of theatres (including the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya, Espai Brossa and Sala Beckett), concert halls and a large number of cinemas. Barcelona’s Passeig de Gràcia is also the place to find the shops selling the world’s top names in fashion.

Shopping in Barcelona is more than an activity, it is another way of gaining an insight into the city’s charms and idiosyncrasies.