Facts About Barcelona

You may have been to Barcelona before, but here's some interesting facts about Barcelona you may not have heard.

#1 Why did Antoni Gaudi only work for private clients?

Actually, Gaudi started working for the city Counsil. He was asked to create a special street lamp in Plaza Reial. But when his masterpiece was finished and he finally recieve his paycheck from the City Council, half of the agreed amount of money. From that moment, Gaudi swear never to work for the public sector again. And he kept his word. Read more facts about Gaudi's Life or about the 1 day Gaudi tour.

#2 More than a street

One of the most famous streets in Barcelona, if not the most famous one is Las Ramblas. The street was originally a sewage filled stream bed and an important drain to lead away the heavy rainwater from the Collserola hills during spring and autumn. Las Ramblas is a merge of 5 different streets Rambla de Canaletes, Rambla dels estudis, Rambla de Sant Josep, Rambla dels Caputxins, Rambla del Mar and it's 1.2 kilometers long. Interesting fact about Barcelona don't you think?

#3 An Eiffel Tower in Barcelona?

All of you know the Eiffel tower in Paris. It attracts millions of people every year. Well actually, this very tower was proposed by Gustave Eiffel during the Universal Exposition of 1888, which took place in Barcelona. However the Catalan Government weren't really impressed by this very expensive metal "thingy" and therefore they refused to have it in Barcelona. Well, that was quite a mistake, wasn't it?

#4 Portal de l'Àngel Avenue: Busiest Street in Spain

This is one of the most famous shopping streets in Barcelona. It hosts about 3500 visitors per hour, it is the busiest street in all of Spain. With it's wide range of fashion and clothing stores, Portal de l'Àngel Avenue is also the perfect place to see some of the gotic architecture in Spain.

#5 Barcelona Beach is a Baby

Everyone loves a trip to the beautiful beaches in Barcelona, but did you know it didn't existied untill 20 years ago? Before that, the seaside were reserved for industrial enterprices. But when Barcelona was chosen to host the Olympics of 1992, they created beaches on the seaside. Now it's one of the top places to be in Barcelona. If you liked this fact about Barcelona you should take a look at our Barcelona Beaches Free Ebook.

#6 Blind Restaurant

The visual impression of food is sooooo overated! The restaurant "Dans le noir" is one of the few Blind Restaurants in the world. Here you'll experience eating without seeing anything which will enable you to enhance 2 of your other senses, your taste and the smell. In the restaurant the guides are blind, so you'll be in the safe hands of professinals at all time. This will help you to completely enjoy and have fin with this unique experience. Check out our Dans le Noir blog here for more info!

#7 The mysterious origins of Barcelona

Nobody really knows, that's the reality. But some say the city was founded 400 years before Rome by Hercules, other say that it was founded by the father of the famous Carthagenian General Hannibal, Hamilcar Barca, who named the city Barcino. All that we know is that the Romans founded a city next to the mount Taber in 100 BC and wall ruins were found in the current Barrio Gotico. If you would like to read more about this fact about Barcelona read this blog how Barcelona got it's name .

#8 Fancy a Mammoth?

Do you like mammoths as much as we do? Have you always wanted to meet Manny from the movie Ice Age? Then check out the Mammoth Museum in Barcelona, a museum as rare as its subject! You'll find real mammoth skeletons but also a life-sized reconstruction that you can touch, photograph or even hug. Everything but bringing one home for your kid(s). I know, some kids (even big ones) are gonna cry here. You'll find the museum located on: Montcada, 1, 08003 Barcelona, Spanien

#9 St. George's day – the Catalán Valentine’s day

It’s a national feast day, and people give presents to their beloved ones, mostly roses and books. UNESCO was inspired of this, and named April 23^rd as the International Day of Books. Check out our other blog to learn all about Dia Sant Jordi Barcelona. Thanks for reading! Hopefully you know a little bit more about Barcelona now and can get to dazzling your friends with your new found facts. Any more to add? Let us know you're favourite fact about Barcelona in the comments! - Erin