Barcelona is the capital and the most populous city of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain. Barcelona is recognised as a global city because of its importance in finance, commerce, media, entertainment, arts, international trade, education and tourism. This is a major economic centre with one of Europe‘s principal Mediterranean ports, and Barcelona International Airport is the second largest in Spain. Barcelona was the 12th-most-visited city in the world and 4th most visited in the Europe (after London, Paris, Rome) also the most popular tourist attraction in Spain. Barcelona is located on the northeast coast of the Iberian Peninsula, facing the Mediterranean Sea, on a plateau approximately 5 km wide limited by the mountain range of Collserola, the Llobregat river to the south-west and the Besos river to the north.

El Gòtic, also known as Barri Gòtic is the centre of the old city of Barcelona. It stretches from La Rambla to Via Laietana, and from the Mediterranean seafront to Ronda de Sant Pere. Despite several changes undergone in the 19th and early 20th century, many of the buildings date from Medieval times, some from as far back as the Roman settlement of Barcelona. Remains of the squared Roman Wall can be seen around Tapineria and Sots-Tinent Navarro to the north, Avinguda de la Catedral and Plaça Nova to the west and Carrer de la Palla to the south. El Call, the medieval Jewish quarter, is located within this area too. The Barri Gòtic retains a labyrinthine street plan, with many small streets opening out into squares. Most of the quarter is closed to regular traffic although open to service vehicles and taxis.

La Rambla is a street in central Barcelona, popular with both tourists and locals alike. A 1.2 kilometer-long tree-lined pedestrian mall between Barri Gòtic and El Raval, it connects Plaça Catalunya in the center with the Christopher Columbus monument at Port Vell. Spanish poet Federico García Lorca once said that La Rambla was "the only street in the world which I wish would never end". The name rambla refers to an intermittent water flow in both Catalan and Spanish, and is derived from the Arabic ‘ramla‘ which means ‘sandy riverbed‘. The name of the city of Ramla, now in Israel, shares the same origin.

Templo Expiatorio de la Sagrada Familia, often simply called the Sagrada Família, is a massive, privately-funded Roman Catholic church that has been under construction in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain since 1882 and is not expected to be complete until at least 2026. A portion of the building‘s interior is scheduled to open for public worship and tours by September 2010. Considered the master-work of renowned Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926), the project‘s vast scale and idiosyncratic design have made it one of Barcelona‘s (and Spain‘s) top tourist attractions for many years. The church is to be consecrated by Pope Benedict XVI on November 7, 2010, during his visit to Santiago de Compostela and Barcelona. Every part of the design of La Sagrada Família is replete with Christian symbolism, as Gaudí intended the church to be the "last great sanctuary of Christendom". The Church will have three grand façades: the Nativity façade to the East, the Glory façade to the South (yet to be completed) and the Passion façade to the West. The church plan is that of a Latin cross with five aisles. The central nave vaults reach forty-five metres while the side nave vaults reach thirty metres. The transept has three aisles. The columns are on a 7.5 metre grid. The building works are expected to be completed around 2026, the 100th anniversary of Gaudí‘s death, although the likelihood of meeting this date is disputed.