Mediterranean |
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Barcelona , Spain |
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Barcelona exudes cool . Located on Spain ’ s Catalan coast , this artistic city with an unrivalled food scene is a year-round hive of activity . Every traveller ’ s first stop is La Rambla , a wide , 1.2km-long boulevard of cafes , bars and outlet stores that cuts across the city centre directly from the cruise terminal . Once you ’ ve wandered up and down the bustling street , make a beeline to the Gothic Quarter . It ’ s marked by spiralling washed stone towers , thin , twisting lanes , and market stalls selling hand-wrought souvenirs and thought-provoking literature , secondhand . Its lanes lead up to its otherworldly cathedral , final resting place of the tortured martyr Santa Eulàlia , the city ’ s patron saint . |
Alternatively , visit El Raval ’ s ornate Palau Güell mansion , built by renowned architect Antoni Gaudí from 1886 to 1888 . Gaudí is synonymous with Barcelona — and his work is best observed in the elevated Parc Güell . Technicolour ceramics and mammoth monuments pepper the park , against a panoramic city backdrop . After hiking up hill to the verdant park , hop on the Metro to admire the ornate spires of the Sagrada Familia — one of Spain ’ s most popular attractions , and the world ’ s largest unfinished Catholic church .
Barcelona is also known for its tapas . Head to Carrer del Parlament for bites of freshly caught fish , served up en masse with glasses of local sweet red vermouths .
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Head to Carrer del Parlament for bites of freshly caught fish , served up en masse with glasses of local sweet red vermouths .
From left : Parc Güell , with the city
skyline in front ; Leaning Tower of
Pisa and Pisa Cathedral
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beach , Ibiza
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images : awl images ; getty |
46 • pos t c a rds |