Barcelona nautical activities Nautical Venues in Barcelona

For years, we have provided stunning nautical venues for unique events and nautical activities in Barcelona in the Mediterranean sea:

Enjoy a panoramic view of Barcelona from the sea as you sail along the Barcelona's coastline on a sailing boat or on a power boats. From the sea you will be able to spot landmarks such as the skyscrapers of the Olympic Marina, the Sagrada Familia, the Cathedral, Tibidabo Hill, the Collserola communications tower and the Agbar Tower.

Barcelona coastline sailing

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During the sailing tour you will be taught basic techniques and sail on different routes, taking advantage of the power of the wind and enjoying the unique sensation of moving on water.

Any visitor to Barcelona has a wide range of possibilities to choose from as far as sightseeing goes. With the city's ancient history, since its time as a Roman colony at the beginning of the 1 st Century BC, on an even older Iberian settlement, Barcelona has gradually accumulated vestiges and conserved the buildings which are indicative of a lengthy succession of periods, and whose wealth is evident to the eyes of the discerning visitor, together with the work of the modernist, modern and contemporary avant-garde architects.

Unique spaces and places are gradually swelling a long list of monuments, and the truth is that a good few days would really be needed to follow up the suggestions proposed herein. Nevertheless, the list here is by necessity brief, with a selection which will help the reader to glean an overall vision. In the port area, the visitor's attention will focus on a newly-built centre called Maremagnum, whose wide offer includes a fabulous Aquarium, one of the largest in Europe of its kind. The mobile Rambla de Mar links up with the Portal de la Pau, in the centre of which rises the emblematic monument to Columbus.

The so-called Moll de la Fusta, now a promenade, leads to the remodelled Port Veil, where the Palau de Mar, adapted to house the Museum of History of Catalonia, and whose porches harbour restaurants offering interesting varieties of cooking. In this regard, the main restaurants which attract the visitor's attention are the ones on the quay of the Port Olympic.

Barcelona is a major economic centre with one of Europe's principal Mediterranean ports, and Barcelona International Airport is the second largest in Spain.

Barcelona has a Mediterranean climate, with mild, humid winters and warm, dry summers. January and February are the coldest months, averaging temperatures of 10 °C (50 °F). Snowfalls are so rare that they are remembered as special events. July and August are the hottest months, averaging temperatures of 30 °C (86 °F). The highest recorded maximum temperature in the city itself is 38.6 °C. At the Fabra Observatory, situated on the Tibidabo hill, the record summer temperature is 39.8 °C (103.6 °F). However, it should be noted that the observatory is situated in the hills above the city near Collserola park - an area where the impact of the "heat island" effect is likely to be diminished.

Cityscape

Parks

Barcelona contains 68 municipal parks, divided into 12 historic parks, 5 thematic (botanical) parks, 45 urban parks and 6 forest parks.They range from vest-pocket parks to large recreation areas. The parks cover 10% of the city (549.7 ha/1,358.3 acres), growing about 10 ha (25 acres) per year, with a proportion of 18.1 square metres (195 sq ft) of park area per inhabitant.

Beaches

Barceloneta beachBarcelona has seven beaches, totalling 4.5 km (2.8 mi) of coastline. Sant Sebastià and Barceloneta beaches, both 1,100 m (3,610 ft) in length, are the largest, oldest and the most frequented beaches in Barcelona. The Olympic port separates them from the other city beaches: Nova Icària, Bogatell, Mar Bella, Nova Mar Bella and Llevant. These beaches (ranging from 400 to 640 m/1,300 to 2,100 ft) were opened as a result of the city restructuring to host the 1992 Summer Olympics, when a great number of industrial buildings were demolished. At present, the beach sand is replenished from quarries given that storms regularly remove large quantities of material. Greenpeace has criticized the beaches as environmentally unsustainable and as prejudicial to sea bed flora and fauna. The 2004 Universal Forum of Cultures left the city a large concrete bathing zone sited near the municipal incinerator and a sewage treatment plant.

Other

The area around the Plaça Catalunya makes up the city's historical centre and, alongside the upper half of Avinguda Diagonal, is the main commercial area of the city. Barcelona has several commercial complexes, like L'Illa in the higher part of the Diagonal avenue and Diagonal Mar in the lowest, La Maquinista, Glòries in the place of the same name and the Maremagnum by the port. 

Entertainment and performing arts

Barcelona has many venues for live music and theatre, including the world-renowned Gran Teatre del Liceu opera theatre, the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya, the Teatre Lliure and the Palau de la Música Catalana concert hall.

Museums

Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA)Main article: List of museums in Barcelona Barcelona houses a great number of museums, which cover different areas and eras. The National Museum of Art of Catalonia possesses a well-known collection of Romanesque art while the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art focuses on post-1945 Catalan and Spanish art. The Fundació Joan Miró, Picasso Museum and Fundació Antoni Tàpies hold important collections of these world-renowned artists.

Architecture

The Sagrada Família church, Gaudi's masterpieceThe Barri Gòtic ("Gothic Quarter" in Catalan) is the centre of the old city of Barcelona. Many of the buildings date from medieval times, some from as far back as the Roman settlement of Barcelona. Catalan modernisme architecture (often known as Art Nouveau in the rest of Europe), developed between 1885 and 1950 and left an important legacy in Barcelona. A great number of these buildings are World Heritage Sites. Especially remarkable is the work of architect Antoni Gaudí, which can be seen throughout the city. His best known work is the immense but still unfinished church of the Sagrada Família, which has been under construction since 1882, and is still financed by private donations. As of 2007, completion is planned for 2026.

Transportation and infrastructures

Airports

Barcelona is served by Barcelona International Airport in the town of El Prat de Llobregat, about 3 km (2 mi) from Barcelona. It is the second-largest airport in Spain, and the largest on the Mediterranean coast. It is a main hub for Vueling Airlines and Clickair, and also a focus for Spanair, Air Europa and Iberia. The airport mainly serves domestic and European destinations, but some airlines offer destinations in Asia and the United States. The airport is connected to the city by highway, commuter train and scheduled bus service.

Seaport

The footbridge that connects the Port Vell to the Maremagnum. The Port of Barcelona building, in the Port Vell area.The Port of Barcelona has a 2000-year history and a great contemporary commercial importance. It is Europe's ninth largest container port, with a trade volume of 2.3 million TEU's in 2006. The port is managed by the Port Authority of Barcelona. Its 7.86 km² (3 sq mi) are divided into three zones: Port Vell (the Old Port), the commercial port and the logistics port (Barcelona Free Port). The port is undergoing an enlargement that will double its size thanks to diverting the mouth of the Llobregat river 2 km (1¼ mi) to the south.

The Port Vell area also houses the Maremagnum (a commercial mall), a multiplex cinema, the IMAX Port Vell and an aquarium.