Paula, my aunt, showed me photos of those ‘swirly searching buildings’ and they are obviously the work of the planet well-known architect Antoni Gaudi. Within the pictures I could see the beautiful brightly colored buildings with their unusually rounded contours.

Of particular interest to my relatives was the Sagrada Familia church, or the Basilica and Expiatory Church with the Holy Family in English. It is an enormous cathedral sized building with 8 huge spires, even though Gaudi intended for there to be eighteen. Paula, my aunt, was especially impressed using the interior with the church though.

She really liked the columns, which are a unique Gaudi design. Parc Güell is an additional stunning part of Barcelona that I keep in mind nicely. It’s a park with architectural structures created by Gaudi. He also created the entrance to the park and also the buildings surrounding it. Right here you are able to see stunning rounded structures and brightly coloured mosaic place together to produce a distinctive fairytale landscape. Gaudi had 4 passions in life, architecture, nature, religion and his homeland Catalonia. The Sagrada Familia exhibits his enthusiasm for religion but Parc Güell is obviously inspired by nature. Inspired by my family’s holiday I am now preparing a city break in Barcelona.

While preparing my trip I’ve discovered the Barcelona Travel Guide web page around the Planet Travel Manual website incredibly useful. All the Gaudi attractions are listed and there’s even more on the ‘Things to do’ web page.

Shopping
Barcelona has plenty of shopping opportunity. If you are more into shopping malls then head into El Corte Ingles.

Dining and Drinking
Barcelona is famous for its nightlife and social events. Las Ramblas is the area you should be heading for. It is a late night city where the main bars remain quiet until around midnight when the city really livens up. City Attractions and Sightseeing
A must see in Barcelona is to head for the Port Vell marina complex at the waterfront. Don’t forget to venture to the Cathedral de la Santa Creu and the grand Placa de Catalunya. Everybody who visits Barcelona must go and see the Sagrada Familia. This is the unfinished beautiful cathedral by the legend Gaudi. As well as the attractions mentioned there are also many museums scattere about the city. Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, Salvadore Dali Museum and Joan Miro Exhibition are well worth a check.

Yes it almost goes without saying that Barcelona is crammed full of some of the most breathtaking architecture in the world, just take a look at the Sagrada Familia Cathedral and see what a masterpiece it is and it is one of hundreds if not thousands of beautiful buildings in Barcelona, but there is so much more to Barcelona; the beach, FC Barcelona Museum, Picasso Museum, Las Ramblas and so on.

Now here is what you might think is an odd entry into a City holiday guide especially if you are like me and hate football – The FC Barcelona Museum.

Considered by far the best football museum in the world ? The FC Barcelona Museum seems to be open all the time and costs twice as much to get into than the Picasso Museum, but then here you get a guided tour.