Themed routes

The city’s contemporary art museum, the Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona, or MACBA, stands in the heart of the Raval neighbourhood and opened in 1995. It is one of many buildings designed by internationally renowned architects: in this instance, Richard Meier. However, Barcelona’s unique contemporary architecture also includes such outstanding buildings as the Agbar Tower, by Jean Nouvel; the Collserola Tower, by Norman Foster; L’Auditori, by Rafael Moneo; the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya (TNC), by Ricard Bofill; the Bac de Roda Bridge, by Santiago Calatrava.

Entire neighbourhoods in Barcelona are linked to post-modern architecture, such as the Olympic Village, which was built on a disused industrial site in Poblenou overlooking the sea. The Olympic Ring on Montjuïc features the Palau Sant Jordi, by the Japanese architect Arata Isozaki, and nearby, the Barcelona Botanical Gardens stretch up the hillside with their network of accessible terraces.

You can also lose yourself in the city’s many parks and discover contemporary public sculptures and bold designs. Some of the most outstanding can be found in the Parc de l’Estació del Nord, the Parc de l'Espanya Industrial, and the Parc de Joan Miró, which is presided over by the artist’s monumental sculpture.