Barcelona offers a wide range of interesting options all year round and opens its doors to everyone. Make the most of the sunshine to go for a stroll and take a dip in the sea on one of the city’s accessible beaches. Experience Gaudí’s nature with your hands, add a sign-language tour or an audiodescribed show to your plans… Do you need any more ideas? You’ll find them with the SEARCH FACILITY or on the SUMMARY for accessible places of interest!
Standing at the end of Barcelona's Rambla, near the sea, The Mirador de Colom, designed by Gaietà Buïgas, was built in 1888 on the occasion of the Universal Exhibition as a tribute to Christopher Columbus, who chose to disembark in the port of Barcelona on his return from America. Inside, a lift raises the 51mts high of the column, made of cast iron and Corinthian style, to the viewing gallery. If you look north, you'll be able to make out the Gothic Quarter, the Cathedral, Santa Maria del Mar and the bustling Rambla. If you look towards the sea, to the east, following the coastline, you will be able to see the Olympic Marina and the modern Forum. To the south, stands Montjuïc Hill, with its castle at the top and, finally, if you look west, you'll see Collserola Natural Park, the vast green lung surrounding the city of Barcelona.
And in its top, dominating the sky of Barcelona, the statue of Christopher Columbus holding a navigational chart in his left hand, and pointing to the route to America with his right.
The monument contains Barcelona's first ever lift. It was hydraulic, with all the complexities this entailed, and was fitted inside the monument's narrow column. It took four minutes to reach the viewing gallery at the top. The lift was eventually replaced by safer and more modern electric lifts, and it now takes just 30 seconds to ride to the top.
