10 things you should know about Barcelona

Well, Barcelona is a big city, with a lot of unique places and spots, we could say that it's impossible to really get to know the city if you are not living here, and even if you are it's difficult. That's why we have thought of giving you a little help with this list of 10 important things you should know about this charming city.

1. The Montjuïc Communications Tower, built by Santiago Calatrava, is shaped as the body of a sportsman holding a torch, something that fits perfectly with the reasons of its construction, since it was thought for the 1992 Olympic Games. Some others ensure they can see a whale diving in the sea. By the way, what can you see?

2. Bad reviews didn't wait when the Agbar Tower was finished. WTF was doing a tower like that in Barcelona? Apparently a lot for its architect, JeanNouvel, who ensured that Gaudí's architecture and the Montserrat Mountain were part of its spirit.

3. If you have walked through the Gothic Quarters, you would have probably noticed a woman's face decorating a corner, specifically the corner between Carassa and Mirallers street. This face is called La Carassa, and it's medieval publicity. When people didn't know how to write or read, this face had the function to tell the tourists that there was a brothel in the area.

4. There is a lot of stories around the famous church of Santa Maria del Mar. One of these stories happened in 1428, when a huge earthquake hit the city with 8 grades in Richter scale and made one of the rose windows fell onto the parishioners who were at mass that day. Another story says that if nowadays you look carefully to that rosette, you can see the Barça shield, because the famous team helped economically to rebuild the church. But if you want to hear some amazing stories about the church you should for sure read Cathedral of the Sea , by Idelfonso Falcones.

5.On the Passion façade of the Sagrada Familia, which represents the last years of Jesus, the most observers may see two magic cubes, one in front and the other in the doors. Just like Sudokus, they always add up the same, 33, either by columns or diagonal lines, the age at which the New Testament says Christ died.

6. Beware where are you stepping when walking through Passeig de Gràcia, because that hexagonal tiling that creates a carpet effect, was designed by Gaudí for the pavement of Casa Batlló, even thought they ended up (for a while) in La Pedrera. Later on, they were taken to decorate one of the most mdoernist streets of Barcelona.

7. Another Barcelona classic is the big wheel that you can find in Tibidabo. There have been three different wheels since 1953 and a fourth one will be installed replacing the old one (which was removed in 2011). This wheel is for sure one of the most famous city icons.

8. The gargoyles of the Cathedral are famous for their fantastic shapes, including an elephant and a unicorn. The legend says that they are witches who were petrified in gargoyles because they were not paying respect to the Corpus Christi.

9. From the air, the Barcelona Eixample, is a perfect grid. Seven square kilometres that were designed by the most classical urbanism of Idelfons Cerdà. He was a classicist in the map and a modernist in the air, as can see in the precious façades around all the city center. Get to a view point and enjoy this perfect symmetry.

10. Despite its appearance, the bridge that goes over the Bisbe Street, it's been built recently. During the restoration of the building in the 20's, some Gothic elements were added based on previous structures, and one of them was this bridge, one of the most photographed spots in the city. Let me give you a tip, don't look to the skull under the bridge, it brings bad luck!

Original article: http://www.traveler.es/viajes/rankings/galerias/100-cosas-sobre-barcelona-que-deberias-saber/330/image/15037

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