66 Fun Facts About Barcelona

Which Picasso painting of five women takes its title from a street in Barcelona?

Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. The brothel it depicts is on Barcelona's Carrer d'Avinyó, not in the French city of Avignon.

Which Pedro Almodóvar film, in which a grieving nurse travels from Madrid to Barcelona, won the foreign-language Oscar?

All About My Mother. Manuela's teenage son is killed by a car while chasing an actress for her autograph, sending her to Barcelona to find his other parent, Lola.

While building the Sagrada Família, where did Gaudí live for the last months of his life?

In its workshop. In 1925 Gaudí moved out of his house and onto the building site, where he lived for his last months.

Which pope consecrated the Sagrada Família and proclaimed it a basilica in 2010?

Benedict XVI. A later pope, Leo XIV, blessed the completed central Tower of Jesus Christ on 10 June 2026, the centenary of Gaudí's death.

During which war were many of Gaudí's Sagrada Família plans destroyed?

The Spanish Civil War. In July 1936, at the war's outbreak, the crypt was set alight and Gaudí's original plans were partly destroyed.

With its 172.5 m central tower completed in 2026, the Sagrada Família holds which world record?

Tallest church. It overtook Germany's Ulm Minster on 30 October 2025, when part of the unfinished central tower was lifted into place.

Gaudí was struck by what on his daily walk to church in June 1926?

A number 30 tram. Taken for a beggar, the unconscious Gaudí got no immediate help, and he died three days later.

Gaudí's mosaic technique using broken ceramic pieces is called what?

Trencadís, Catalan for 'broken up', uses shards of tile and broken china; Gaudí began breaking tiles because whole ones couldn't cover curved surfaces.

Because of its rough-hewn façade, Casa Milà is popularly known by what nickname?

La Pedrera, 'the stone quarry', began as a mocking nickname from citizens who disapproved of Gaudí's unconventional building.

Casa Batlló sits on a row of rival Modernista buildings on the Passeig de Gràcia known as what?

The Block of Discord puns on the local word for both a city block and an apple, recalling the golden apple of discord as rival architects' styles clash.

Which industrialist, later made a count, commissioned Gaudí to build him a city palace and a hillside garden estate?

Eusebi Güell planned his park as a luxury estate of 60 plots, but only two houses were built and it became a public park.

Which Gaudí building, built 1883-85 in Gràcia in an orientalist style, is considered his first major project?

Gaudí covered Casa Vicens in tiles of the yellow marigolds he found growing on the plot when he first measured it.

Barcelona's name comes from Baŕkeno, inscribed on coins minted by which ancient people?

The Iberians of the Laietani tribe called the area Baŕkeno and wrote the name on their coins in Iberian script.

The Roman colony on the site of Barcelona was known by what name?

Barcino's forum stood where Plaça de Sant Jaume is today, and the regional government and the city council still face each other there.

Legend says the Catalan flag's four red stripes were first drawn in which count of Barcelona's blood?

In the legend, Charles the Bald dipped his fingers in Wilfred the Hairy's war wounds and drew them down his golden shield, though no evidence supports it.

The 1137 betrothal of Ramon Berenguer IV to Petronilla joined the County of Barcelona with which kingdom?

Their son Alfonso II inherited both, creating what became the Crown of Aragon.

Founded in 1401, Barcelona's Taula de Canvi is often called Europe's oldest what?

Barcelona's public bank was set up by the city's governing council, the Consell de Cent, to hold its deposits and manage its debts.

Which civil engineer designed the Eixample, Barcelona's grid of octagonal blocks with chamfered corners?

Ildefons Cerdà's grid was imposed by the central government in 1860, though Barcelona's council had chosen a rival plan.

What does the Catalan word Eixample mean in English?

Eixample means expansion: the district filled the plain between the walled old city and outlying towns such as Gràcia and Sants.

Cobi, the cubist mascot of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, was what kind of animal?

Javier Mariscal drew Cobi as a cubist sheepdog of a local breed, picked to represent the host city.

Which actress won an Oscar for playing the painter's ex-wife in Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona?

Penélope Cruz won the Oscar and the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress as María Elena, the painter Juan Antonio's unstable ex-wife.

Which architect's German Pavilion for the 1929 Barcelona exposition was rebuilt in 1986?

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's pavilion was dismantled in 1930 after the fair, yet its Barcelona chair is still in production.

Barcelona's tree-lined pedestrian street runs 1.2 km from Plaça de Catalunya to a statue of whom?

La Rambla ends at the Christopher Columbus Monument, and Lorca called it the only street in the world he wished would never end.

La Rambla forms the boundary between the Barri Gòtic and which neighbourhood to the west?

El Raval was nicknamed Barrio Chino in the 1920s, though no Chinese community lived there at the time.

What is the name of the big covered food market opening onto La Rambla near the Liceu opera house?

La Boqueria, officially the Mercat de Sant Josep, had its first stone laid on 19 March 1840, Saint Joseph's feast day.

What happened at Barcelona's Liceu opera house on the opening night of its 1893 season?

An anarchist bombed the stalls: Santiago Salvador threw two Orsini bombs into them, and only one exploded, but it killed at least 20 people.

The 60-metre monument at the foot of La Rambla was erected for which occasion?

The 1888 Universal Exposition, the first of Barcelona's two world's fairs, also gave the city the red-brick Arc de Triomf as its gateway.

Tibidabo, the hill above Barcelona, is said to take its name from Latin words spoken by whom?

In Luke's Gospel, Satan shows Jesus the world's kingdoms and says 'tibi dabo', I will give you, though the name's origin is uncertain.

Barcelona lies on a coastal plain between the mouths of the Besòs and which other river?

Between 2001 and 2008 the Llobregat's mouth was moved 2 km south so the Port of Barcelona could double in size.

Barcelona's cathedral honours the Holy Cross and which teenage martyr, the city's co-patron?

Eulalia was said to be 13 when she was martyred, which is why 13 white geese live in the cathedral's cloister.

Santa Maria del Mar, built 1329-1383 in the Ribera district, is an outstanding example of which style?

Port porters called bastaixos carried the stones for this Catalan Gothic church on their backs from the royal quarry.

The Palau de la Música Catalana, a UNESCO-listed concert hall, was designed by which architect?

Lluís Domènech i Montaner built the hall for the choral society Orfeó Català, and UNESCO listed it with his Hospital de Sant Pau in 1997.

The bullet-shaped Torre Glòries, formerly the Torre Agbar, was designed by which architect?

Jean Nouvel said the tower recalls a geyser, a nod to the water company it housed, and it was renamed Torre Glòries after a 2017 sale.

Barcelona's main annual festival, held each September, honours which figure?

Barcelona's council turned to Our Lady of Mercy during a 1687 plague of locusts, and when it ended she was named the city's patron.

What are the human towers built at Catalan festivals called?

Castells count as complete when the enxaneta, usually a young child, climbs to the top and raises one hand.

In a correfoc, participants dressed as what run through the streets with fireworks?

Devils set off fireworks, and spectators in hats and scarves try to get as close to the sparks as they dare.

On Sant Jordi's day, 23 April, Catalans traditionally exchange which two gifts?

Books and roses change hands on Sant Jordi, a working day so popular it feels like a holiday, and it doubles as a local Valentine's Day.

What is the traditional Catalan circle dance that spread across the region from the late 19th century?

Dancers hold hands facing inward; the modern sardana llarga runs 12 to 13 minutes.

Pa amb tomàquet, the staple of Catalan tables, is bread rubbed with tomato and dressed with what?

Olive oil and salt finish the bread after the tomato is rubbed in; rubbed garlic is optional, and cured ham often goes on top.

About 95 percent of cava, the region's sparkling wine, is produced in which wine area?

In 1872 Josep Raventós of Codorníu made Spain's first traditional-method cava, founding a new industry in the Penedès.

What does FC Barcelona's famous Catalan motto mean in English?

FC Barcelona took More than a club as its motto because the club became a symbol of Catalan culture and Catalanism.

Who led the group of Swiss, Catalan, German and English footballers who founded FC Barcelona in 1899?

Swiss-born Joan Gamper placed an advert in the magazine Los Deportes in October 1899 calling for players to form a club.

Which figure, shown squatting with his trousers down, is hidden in Catalan manger scenes?

The caganer was said to fertilise the soil and bring luck, and modern versions portray politicians and sports stars.

Which Dutch star joined Barcelona in 1973 for a record fee and later managed its early-1990s side?

Johan Cruyff threatened to quit if Ajax sold him to Real Madrid, then joined Barcelona for a world-record fee.

Barcelona won their first European Cup in 1992 at Wembley with a free kick from which player?

Ronald Koeman's free kick came in the 112th minute, deep in extra time, and beat Sampdoria 1-0.

Which coach, promoted from Barcelona's B team in 2008, led the club to six trophies in 2009?

Pep Guardiola won the treble in his first season and three more cups in 2009, making Barcelona the first European club to win six in a year.

Which Brazilian star set up Lionel Messi's first goal for Barcelona in 2005 with a scooped pass?

Ronaldinho's scooped pass against Albacete in May 2005 let Messi, then 17, become the club's youngest-ever scorer at the time.

The 1992 Olympic cauldron in Barcelona was lit by what unusual method?

Paralympic archer Antonio Rebollo shot the flaming arrow over the cauldron to light its gas, and the arrow landed outside the stadium.

Which country, absent from the Olympics since 1960, returned to the Summer Games at Barcelona 1992?

South Africa returned after a multiracial Olympic committee, formed in 1991 as apartheid ended, joined the IOC, and Barcelona hosted the first Games without a boycott since 1972.

Which 1992 US basketball squad, the first with NBA players, was inducted whole into the Hall of Fame?

The Dream Team fielded Michael Jordan and Larry Bird; before 1992 the US had sent only amateur players.

Which Barcelona district, once a factory hub nicknamed the Catalan Manchester, was transformed by the 1992 Olympics?

Poblenou's old industrial land became the Vila Olímpica, the neighbourhood built to house athletes at the 1992 Games.

Freddie Mercury's 1987 duet 'Barcelona', later used for the 1992 Games, was recorded with which soprano?

Montserrat Caballé and Mercury's duet became the 1992 Olympic anthem after his death, and the reissue climbed to number two in the UK.

What kind of buildings house the Museu Picasso, the only Picasso museum created in his lifetime?

The five medieval palaces on Carrer de Montcada hold more than 4,000 Picasso works, including his early Science and Charity.

Which Paris cabaret, where Pere Romeu had worked, inspired the Barcelona café where young Picasso held his first solo show?

Le Chat Noir inspired Els Quatre Gats, whose name means The Four Cats; it opened in 1897 and closed for lack of money in 1903.

A foundation devoted to which Barcelona-born painter opened on the hill above the harbour in 1975?

Joan Miró's close friend, architect Josep Lluís Sert, designed the foundation's building, which opened in 1975.

Which singer was dropped as Spain's 1968 Eurovision entry for insisting on singing in Catalan?

Joan Manuel Serrat's late replacement, Massiel, sang La, la, la in Spanish and won the 1968 contest.

Snowflake, the albino star of Barcelona Zoo until 2003, was what kind of animal?

Snowflake, a gorilla captured in Equatorial Guinea in 1966, fathered 22 young, but none of them were albino.

In March 1938 Barcelona was bombed for three days by aircraft from which two countries?

Italy and Germany's bombers flew from bases on Mallorca, and the three days of raids killed up to 1,300 people.

In 2010, Catalonia's parliament voted to ban which spectacle, once staged at Barcelona's La Monumental?

Bullfighting's last corrida at La Monumental came in September 2011; Spain's Constitutional Court struck down the ban in 2016, but the ring now hosts concerts and circus shows.

Which sea-facing hill is called Barcelona's birthplace, with 3rd-century-BC coins at its foot?

Montjuïc's castle later served as a prison and execution ground, and the 1929 fair and 1992 Games were staged on its slopes.

Which airline, founded in 2004, uses Barcelona's El Prat airport as its main hub?

Vueling's name blends the Spanish vuelo, meaning flight, with the English -ing, and its first flight in July 2004 went from Barcelona to Ibiza.

La Rambla, Barcelona's famous boulevard, takes its name from an Arabic word meaning what?

Sand, ramla in Arabic, suits La Rambla: it follows a usually dry streambed that was diverted outside the city walls in 1440.

Which English slogan of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics was also the title of an Andrew Lloyd Webber song?

Friends for Life translates the Catalan motto Amics per sempre, and Sarah Brightman and José Carreras sang Lloyd Webber's song of that name.

Which order's chapter did Charles V hold in Barcelona in 1519, leaving knights' arms on the cathedral choir stalls?

The Order of the Golden Fleece held its 19th chapter in the cathedral while Charles V was in Barcelona for his investiture as count.

By one tradition, which Carthaginian general founded Barcelona and named it after his family?

Hamilcar Barca was Hannibal's father, but no evidence links the city's ancient name to his Barcid family.

Which telecommunications tower, 288 m tall, tops Tibidabo and is visible from most of Barcelona?

Norman Foster won the design contest for Torre de Collserola, a mast held up by steel guy cables and opened for the 1992 Olympics.