In the west of Barcelona, there is the green heart of the city, that offers tourists and citizens a cool place where you can play sports and picnic away from traffic and smog. Montjuic is one of the most visited areas of the city thanks to the Magic Fountain and his Castle that overlooks the city. But this neighborhood offers much more, are you ready?
PLAZA ESPANYA – MNAC
Espanya is the starting point and first of all, I suggest you go up to the terrace of the Las Arenas shopping center, from the free internal escalators, which is a great view of the neighborhood. If you can do it during a weekend even better, you will see the Magic Fountain in action. If you like terraces have a look at this post.
Apart from being the starting point is also where we celebrate famous events such as Sonar by day, La Mercé, New Year, Oktoberfest, Gay pride etc…
We arrive at the Magic Fountain, the most-watched spectacle of the city, watch the times change depending on the season. In winter you can see it only on Saturday and Sunday, while in summer also on Friday. The best point can be in front of the MNAC or Caixa Forum side. MNAC is the national museum of Catalan art, price and opening hours, but if you want to enjoy the museum for free do not miss this post on the free museums of Barcelona. The museum is worth seeing, especially for the terrace and the architecture.
Before going to the gardens, I recommend that you enter the Poble Espanyol especially if you are traveling with children, price and opening hours. It is a park that represents the different types of Spanish architecture, if you can visit it during one of the events organized it will be a 2×1, inside there are various restaurants and shops. I recommend it to lovers of electronic music, for the famous Brunch in the city and the Invernacle festival.
GARDENS – MONTJUIC CASTLE
Gardens and parks occupy most of the neighborhood. The first garden you’ll find will be the Laribal garden park, its fountains are very photographic. Going into the garden of Joan Maragall, where you will find the Albéniz Palace, it has been consolidated as the official residence of the Spanish Royal Family in their official stays in Catalonia.
TIPS TIME The Joan Maragall park is open only on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 am to 3 pm.
There is also a botanical garden, which includes a large variety of similarities between Californian, Chilean, South African and Australian landscapes. Prices and opening hours.
Now we go towards the Castle, where we find the Miró museum and the Municipal swimming pool, with its spectacular view. If the Castle of Montjuic and seems too far to walk take the bus 150, it leaves you in front of the entrance. The castle cannot be visited inside but the outside and the view are incredible. Open all year, but if you want to enter for free, read here! To go down towards Espanya takes the bus 150 again.
OLYMPIC AREA – THEATERS
Montjuic is also famous for Olympic cities built for the 1992 Olympics. The Stadium and the San Jordi Palace are some of the structures built for the big event.
Going down we find the theater area, including the famous Grec, is an open-air theater, built in 1929, in the style of the ancient Greek theaters as part of the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition. The main use of this theater is at summer festivals.
TIPS TIME Are you hungry? In this area, there is one of Tapas’s best restaurants, the Taps. Read here!
Also in the area, we find the Free Theater and the Flower Market, both theaters used for modern dance performances. Here’s everything, I hope you enjoyed the tour and looking forward to the next take a look at the other post of Barcelona.
