Barcelona is a northern city of the South – this means it is progressive, industrial, and European, whilst still preserving the traditional values and way of life typical of the pleasant climes of the Mediterranean. This dichotomy between tradition and progress is characteristic not only of the city itself but also of its inhabitants. In the realms of architecture and art, Gaudí and Miró are doubtless Barcelona’s most notable Spanish talents.
Barcelona has always known how to make the most of great historic events in order to launch itself into the future the 1888 Universal Exhibition, the 1929 International Exhibition, the 1992 Olympic Games and 2004’s International Forum of Culture. This traditional dynamism on the part of Barcelona has pervaded its urban and economic development. No other European city, except for Paris and Berlin, experienced such a large-scale transformation throughout the eighties – a momentum that has been maintained and continues into the future.
Above all, however, Barcelona boasts a new seafront area, which makes it the only great European metropolis which lives facing the sea. La Rambla leads down to the refurbished Port Vell, which has become the city’s new leisure area through the construction of the IMAX cinema, the shopping and leisure complex Maremagnum and the giant Aquarium. The new restaurants and night-time bars in the Olympic Marina exist side by side with pleasure cruisers and yachts, beaches, parks, offices and patios.
The Forum 2004 has generated the building of new hotels, a new Conference Centre and yet more prestige to a city which is accustomed to progress and not resting on its laurels.
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