oPalau de la Música Catalana ARCHITECTURE
(MAP GOOGLE MAP; 
%93 295 72 00; www.palaumusica.cat; Carrer de Palau de la Música 4-6; adult/concession/child under 10yr €18/15/free; 
hguided tours 10am-3.30pm, to 6pm Easter, Jul & Aug; 
mUrquinaona)
This concert hall is a high point of Barcelona’s Modernista architecture, a symphony in tile, brick, sculpted stone and stained glass. Built by Domènech i Montaner between 1905 and 1908 for the Orfeo Català musical society, it was conceived as a temple for the Catalan Renaixença (Renaissance).
oBasílica de Santa Maria del Mar CHURCH
(MAP GOOGLE MAP; %93 310 23 90; www.santamariadelmarbarcelona.org; Plaça de Santa Maria del Mar; €8 1-5pm, incl guided tour; h9am-8.30pm Mon-Sat, 10am-8pm Sun; mJaume I)
At the southwest end of Passeig del Born stands the apse of Barcelona’s finest Catalan Gothic church, Santa Maria del Mar (Our Lady of the Sea). Constructed in the 14th century with record-breaking alacrity for the time (it took just 54 years), the church is remarkable for its architectural harmony and simplicity.
Carrer de Montcada STREET
(MAP GOOGLE MAP; mJaume I)
An early example of town planning, this medieval high street was driven towards the sea from the road that in the 12th century led northeast from the city walls. It was the city’s most coveted address for the merchant classes. The great mansions that remain today mostly date from the 14th and 15th centuries.
Museu de Cultures del Món MUSEUM
(MAP GOOGLE MAP; %93 256 23 00; http://museuculturesmon.bcn.cat; Carrer de Montcada 12; adult/concession/under 16yr €5/3.50/free, temporary exhibition €2.20/1.50/free, 3-8pm Sun & 1st Sun of month free; h10am-7pm Tue-Sat, to 8pm Sun; mJaume I)
The Palau Nadal and the Palau Marquès de Llió, which once housed the Museu Barbier-Mueller and the Museu Tèxtil respectively, reopened in 2015 to the public as the site of the new Museum of World Cultures. Exhibits from private and public collections, including many from the Museu Etnològic on Montjuïc, take the visitor on a trip through the ancient cultures of Africa, Asia, the Americas and Oceania. There’s a combined ticket with the Museu Egipci and Museu Etnològic for €12.
Mercat de Santa Caterina MARKET
(MAP GOOGLE MAP; %93 319 57 40; www.mercatsantacaterina.com; Avinguda de Francesc Cambó 16; h7.30am-3.30pm Mon, Wed & Sat, to 8.30pm Tue, Thu & Fri, closed afternoons Jul & Aug; mJaume I)
Come shopping for your tomatoes at this extraordinary-looking produce market, designed by Enric Miralles and Benedetta Tagliabue to replace its 19th-century predecessor. Finished in 2005, it is distinguished by its kaleidoscopic and undulating roof, held up above the bustling produce stands, restaurants, cafes and bars by twisting slender branches of what look like grey steel trees.
Fundació Foto Colectania GALLERY
(MAP GOOGLE MAP; %93 217 16 26; www.colectania.es; Passeig de Picasso 14; adult/concession/child under 14yr €4/3/free, free 1st Sun of month; h11am-8pm Mon-Sat, 11am-3pm Sun; mArc de Triomf, Jaume I)
Photography lovers should swing by here to see the latest exhibition from this nonprofit foundation, which showcases thought-provoking works from across the globe. In 2016 the foundation moved from its base in Gràcia to this 500-sq-metre space in El Born. The exhibits may come from the foundation’s extensive 3000-piece collection of Spanish and Portuguese photographers from the 1950s onwards, but more likely will be temporary exhibitions.
Parc de la Ciutadella PARK
(MAP GOOGLE MAP; Passeig de Picasso; h8am-9pm May-Sep, to 7pm Oct-Apr; 
c; mArc de Triomf)
Come for a stroll, a picnic, a boat ride on the lake or to inspect Catalonia’s parliament, but don’t miss a visit to this, the most central green lung in the city. Parc de la Ciutadella is perfect for winding down.
Born Centre de Cultura i Memòria HISTORIC BUILDING
(MAP GOOGLE MAP; %93 256 68 51; http://elbornculturaimemoria.barcelona.cat; Plaça Comercial 12; centre free, exhibition spaces adult/concession/child under 16yr €4.40/3/free; h10am-8pm Tue-Sun Mar-Oct, 10am-7pm Tue-Sat, to 8pm Sun Nov-Feb; mJaume I)
Launched in 2013, as part of the events held for the tercentenary of the Catalan defeat in the War of the Spanish Succession, this cultural space is housed in the former Mercat del Born, a handsome 19th-century structure of slatted iron and brick. Excavation in 2001 unearthed remains of whole streets flattened to make way for the much-hated ciutadella (citadel) – these are now on show on the exposed subterranean level.
Museu de la Xocolata MUSEUM
(MAP GOOGLE MAP; %93 268 78 78; www.museuxocolata.cat; Carrer del Comerç 36; adult/concession/child under 7yr €6/5/free; h10am-7pm Mon-Sat, 10am-3pm Sun; c; mArc de Triomf)
Chocoholics have a hard time containing themselves in this museum dedicated to the fundamental foodstuff – particularly when faced with tempting displays of cocoa-based treats in the cafe at the exit. The displays trace the origins of chocolate, its arrival in Europe, and the many myths and images associated with it. Among the informative stuff and machinery used in the production of chocolate are large chocolate models of emblematic buildings such as La Sagrada Família, along with various characters, local and international.
Zoo de Barcelona ZOO
(MAP GOOGLE MAP; %902 457545; www.zoobarcelona.cat; Parc de la Ciutadella; adult/concession/child under 3yr €20/12/free; h10am-5.30pm Nov-Mar, 10am-7pm Apr, May, Sep & Oct, 10am-8pm Jun-Aug; c; mBarceloneta)
The zoo is a great day out for kids, with 7500 critters that range from geckos to gorillas, lions and elephants – there are more than 400 species, plus picnic areas dotted all around and a wonderful adventure playground. There are pony rides, a petting zoo and a minitrain meandering through the grounds. Thanks to recent advances in legislation prohibiting the use of animals for performances (including circuses and bullfighting) the zoo called time on its dolphin shows in late 2015.
ART ON THE STREETS
Barcelona hosts an array of street sculpture, from Miró’s 1983 Dona i Ocell (MAP GOOGLE MAP; Carrer de Tarragona; mTarragona) (Woman and Bird), in the park dedicated to the artist, to Peix (Carrer de Ramon Trias Fargas 2; mCiutadella Villa Olímpica) (Fish), Frank Gehry’s shimmering, bronze-coloured headless fish facing Port Olímpic. Halfway along La Rambla, at Plaça de la Boqueria, you can walk all over Miró’s mosaic (Plaça de la Boqueria; mLiceu).
Picasso left an open-air mark with his design on the facade of the Col·legi d’Arquitectes de Catalunya opposite La Catedral in the Barri Gòtic. Other works include the Barcelona Head (MAP GOOGLE MAP; Passeig de Colom; mBarceloneta) by Roy Lichtenstein at the Port Vell end of Via Laietana and Fernando Botero’s rotund El Gat on Rambla del Raval.
Wander down to the Barceloneta seaside for a gander at Rebecca Horn’s 1992 tribute to the old shacks that used to line the waterfront. The precarious stack is called Homenatge a la Barceloneta (MAP GOOGLE MAP; Passeig Marítim; mBarceloneta) (Tribute to La Barceloneta). A little further south is the 2003 Homenatge a la Natació (MAP GOOGLE MAP; Homage to the Swimmers; Plaça del Mar; mBarceloneta), a complex metallic rendition of swimmers and divers in the water by Alfredo Lanz.
Heading a little further back in time, in 1983 Antoni Tàpies constructed Homenatge a Picasso (MAP GOOGLE MAP; Passeig de Picasso; mArc de Triomf, Jaume I) (Tribute to Picasso) on Passeig de Picasso; it’s essentially a glass cube set in a pond and filled with, well, junk. Antoni Llena’s David i Goliat (David and Goliath), a massive sculpture of tubular and sheet iron, in the Parc de les Cascades near Port Olímpic’s two skyscrapers, looks like an untidy kite inspired by Halloween. Beyond this Avinguda d’Icària is lined by architect Enric Miralles’ so-called Pergoles – bizarre, twisted metal contraptions.
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