Abounds in bars, discotheques and nightclubs, many of which have appeared during the last twenty years, increasing the city' s already ample repertoire. Many of the most recent additions are prime examples of the high standard of the contemporary Catalan designers who have obviously inherited much of the creativity and imagination made manifest by their forefathers in the great transformation of the city at the end of the nineteenth century. The renowned Catalan cuisine, whose wide spectrum embraces both the humble pa amb tomaquet (bread with tomato and olive oil), and the most sophisticated creations, may be sampled at many of the hundreds of restaurants scattered over the city. International cuisine of a high standard is also widely available, along with more informal tapas bars.
There are two places of interest to animal lovers in Barcelona: the zoo, situated in the Parc de la Ciutadella (also site of the splendid Modernist Museu de Zoologia), is home to the world-famous Floquet de Neu (Snowflake), the only example of albino gorilla in captivity. The second is l' Aquarium, one of the attractions of the Maremagnum commercial centre in the port. Species of fish from all over the world are housed here, and of special interest, a group of sharks may be observed at leisure, and in safety, through the walls of a transparent tunnel that crosses the floor of the great tank where they live. Barcelona is also a city with a splendid musical agenda, thanks to its opera season in the Gran Teatre del Liceu, its various annual seasons of classical music at the Palau de la Musica and the Auditori, and many other concerts featuring music for the younger set. Some one hundred cinema screens, including the Imax at Maremagnum, can be visited in the city as can twenty or so theatres headed by the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya and the Lliure, which regularly feature classical, independent, street and children's theatre. And of course (given that our civilisation increasingly dedicates its leisure time to such things), Barcelona offers a choice of shopping areas. One of the most important of these is the Paseo de Gracia ( El Corte Ingles, Zara, Boulevard Rosa, Vincon, etc. ) and Diagonal ( L'Illa, with many chain stores like FNAC, Decathlon, etc. ).
Those of you who prefer to devote your leisure time to strolling will also find a great choice in Barcelona thanks to the new parks that have opened in the city in recent years. Mention must also be made of Pueblo Espanol, built on Montjuic for the International Exhibition of 1929. This unique institution includes scale models of popular architecture from every region in Spain, bringing together all its building types in one single village.
Barcelona is also one of the best settings for getting to know the huge range of popular Catalan traditions. The one that most accurately reflects local character - working together, tenacity and daring - is probably the castells or human towers. Other traditions have more of a festive character, among these the gegants or giants, present in many places, from villages to cities, and the correfoc, a celebration of gunpowder and fire that goes back to pagan mythology.
This latter celebration, closely linked to solstices and summer celebrations, turns the streets of Barcelona into a sea of fire where lights, flames and sparks fly to bathe the night in the most brilliant colours. As a metaphor it alludes to the briefness and finite nature of human existence, and can also be seen as an element in defining the local character - pragmatic, always ready to negotiate and taking everything with a pinch of salt.
The Catalans in general are known to be hard - working people, and the inhabitants of Barcelona are no exception to this rule. But they also like to enjoy themselves and, to this end, have created a great number of places in which to do so. In fact, the city is presided by two amusement parks: one on the side of the Montjuic hill, and the Parc del Tibidabo, in the Collserola hills, from where the view of the city stretches out at ones feet as far as the sea. The Tibidabo, with its watchtower, miniature aeroplane, ghost train, robot museum and other fairground attractions, is an intrinsic part of the childhood of every Barcelona's. As they grow up, they turn their interests to other fields, many of them choosing to channel their enthusiasm towards the Futbol Club Barcelona - "el Barca" in colloquial terms - . More than just a football team, this is an enormous institution that traditionally represents both sport and the political assertion of Catalunya's identity as a nation within the Spanish state. Nearly 120,000 people attend every match played in the Camp Nou, the club's magnificent ground, and spend the rest of the week debating the result! The club's museum, where all the team's trophies are proudly exhibited, receives more than half a million visitors each year.
