Barcelona is the capital city of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain, with a population of 1.6 million in 2009. It is the sixth most populous urban area in the European Union, with almost 5 million people living in the Barcelona metropolitan area.
The global credentials of Barcelona are due to its position in finance, commerce, media, entertainment and the arts, as well as the city’s status of being the 12th most visited city in the world and 4th most visited in Europe after London, Paris and Rome. It is also well up there on the list of world’s most livable cities.
Barcelona is one of the earliest to begin industrialization in continental Europe, beginning with textile related works from the mid 1780s but becoming a major centre for the production of textiles in the 19th century. Since then, manufacturing has played a major role in its history, although the sector has naturally been overtaken by the services sector. The region’s leading industries today are textiles, pharmaceuticals, motor, electronic, logistics, publishing, printing, and telecommunications.
In 1998, a quarter of all foreign investment in Spain flowed into Barcelona with around 50 percent of all foreign visitors to Barcelona arriving on business. As with tourism, the coming of the Olympic Games in 1992 was a pivotal event in business terms as it provided the impetus and investment necessary to improve the infrastructure of the city through $8 billion of investment. The Games' massive marketing project successfully promoted the city as an efficient, business-like centre and initiated a massive surge of investment in the hotel and tourism sector. The number of tourists visiting the city rose from 1.7 million in 1990 to over 3 million in 1999.
AWARD WINNING INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
The city is also known for its award winning industrial design. It has several congress halls that host a number of national and international events each year.
Barcelona is governed by a city council formed by 41 city councillors. As one of the two biggest cities in Spain, Barcelona is subject to a special law articulated through the Carta Municipal, which says that Barcelona’s city council is organized into two levels – a political one, with elected city councillors and one executive, which administrates the programs and executes the decisions taken on the political level. This law also gives the local government a special relationship with the central government and also gives the mayor wider prerogatives by the means of municipal executive commissions.
The city has cultural roots that go back 2000 years. Indeed, it is a bilingual city with Catalan and Spanish being the official languages and widely spoken. Barcelona has many venues for live music and theater, including the world-renowned Gran Teatre del Liceu opera theatre, the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya and the Teatre Lliure. Museums are rife, covering many different areas and eras and include the National Museum of Art of Catalonia and the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art.
BED AND BOARD
Hotel options in Barcelona are manifold. The Hotel Rey Juan Carlos I (www.hrjuancarlos.com) is considered as one of the 35 bet hotels in the world for its services, gastronomy, professional facilities and surroundings. The hotel has an auditorium for over 2000 people and a 2050 square meter exhibition room plus multifunctional rooms.
Alternatively, stay at the Fira Palace (www.fira-palace.com) offering some of the most spacious accommodation in the city and conveniently situated in the heart of downtown Barcelona. Just 20 minutes from the International Barcelona Airport and situated between the famous Plaza de España and Gran Via Avenue, the Fira Palace offers all the amenities of a premier luxury hotel and business centre.
Where to eat in Barcelona? For tapas, try the Cal Pep (www.calpep.com) – one of the most well-known and finest tapas venues in the city with a throbbing, vibrant atmosphere and modern, fresh tapas. Try the clams with chorizo, squid in ink and the exquisite garbanzo.
For more upmarket dining, Alkimia (www.alkimia.cat), hidden behind the Sagrada Familia, is highly recommended. The new wave of creativity in cuisine launched by El Bulli chef Ferran Adria continues here with imaginative cuisine. Try the traditional pa amb tomàquet (a slice of white bread rubbed with tomato pulp and olive oil), in which chef Jordi Vilà separates the juice from the tomato before adding the oil, crumbs of toasted bread, and a little pungent lloganissa salami. Other offerings include tuna belly and Majorcan sausage with preserved quinces.
Barcelona is a beautiful, multicultural city oozing history and modernity at once – full of contrasts and surprises.