Barcelona is a major cultural, economic, and financial centre insouthwestern Europe,[9] as well as the mainbiotech hub in Spain.[10] As a leading world city, Barcelona's influence in global socio-economic affairs qualifies it forglobal city status (Beta +).[11]
The nameBarcelona comes from the ancient IberianBaŕkeno, attested in an ancient coin inscription found on the right side of the coin inIberian script as,[15] inAncient Greek sources asΒαρκινών,Barkinṓn;[16][17] and inLatin asBarcino,[18]Barcilonum[19] andBarcenona.[20][21][22]
Other sources suggest that the city may have been named after theCarthaginian generalHamilcar Barca, who was supposed to have founded the city in the 3rd century BC,[8][23] but there is no evidence its name in antiquity,Barcino, was connected with theBarcid family of Hamilcar.[24] Duringthe Middle Ages, the city was variously known asBarchinona,Barçalona,Barchelonaa, andBarchenona.
An abbreviated form sometimes used by locals for the city isBarna.Barça is only applied to the local football clubFC Barcelona, not to the city. Another common abbreviation is 'BCN', which is also theIATA airport code of theBarcelona-El Prat Airport.
The city is referred to as theCiutat Comtal inCatalan andCiudad Condal in Spanish (i.e., "Comital City" or "City of Counts"), owing to its past as the seat of theCount of Barcelona.[25]
The origin of the earliest settlement at the site of present-day Barcelona is unclear. The ruins of an early settlement have been found, including different tombs and dwellings dating to earlier than 5000 BC.[26][27] In Greek mythology, the founding of Barcelona had been attributed to the mythologicalHercules.
Punic Barcelona
According to tradition, Barcelona was founded by Punic (Phoenician) settlers, who had trading posts along the Catalonian coast.[8][28][29] In particular, some historians attribute the foundation of the city directly to the historicalCarthaginian general,Hamilcar Barca, father ofHannibal, who supposedly named the cityBarcino after his family in the 3rd century BC,[8][30] but this theory has been questioned.[24] Iberia and Barcelona was controlled by theCarthaginian Empire and was an important location for trade due to its proximity to PunicIbiza. Archeological evidence in the form of coins from the 3rd century BC have been found on the hills at the foot of Montjuïc with the name Bárkeno written in an ancient script in the Iberian language.[citation needed] Thus, some has argued that the Laietani, an ancient Iberian (pre-Roman) people of the Iberian peninsula, who inhabited the area occupied by the city of Barcelona around 3–2 BC after the Punic withdrawal from Iberia, called the area Bàrkeno, which means "The Place of the Plains" (Barrke = plains/terrace).[31]
A marble plaque in the Museu d'Història de la Ciutat de Barcelona, dated from around 110–130 AD and dedicated to the Roman colony of Barcino
In about 15 BC, theRomans redrew the town as acastrum (Roman military camp) centred on the "Mons Taber", a little hill near theGeneralitat (Catalan Government) and city hall buildings. The Roman Forum, at the crossing of theCardo Maximus andDecumanus Maximus, was approximately placed where currentPlaça de Sant Jaume is. Thus, the political centre of the city,Catalonia, and its domains has remained in the same place for over 2,000 years.
Under the Romans, it was a colony with the surname ofFaventia,[32] or, in full,Colonia Faventia Julia Augusta Pia Barcino[33] orColonia Julia Augusta Faventia Paterna Barcino.Pomponius Mela[34] mentions it among the small towns of the district, probably as it was eclipsed by its neighbourTarraco (modernTarragona), but it may be gathered from later writers that it gradually grew in wealth and consequence, favoured as it was with a beautiful situation and an excellent harbour.[35] It enjoyed immunity from imperial burdens.[36] The city minted its own coins; some from the era ofGalba survive.
Important Roman vestiges are displayed inPlaça del Rei underground, as a part of theBarcelona City History Museum (MUHBA); the typically Roman grid plan is still visible today in the layout of the historical centre, theBarri Gòtic (Gothic Quarter). Some remaining fragments of theRoman walls have been incorporated into the cathedral.[37] The cathedral, Catedral Basílica Metropolitana de Barcelona, is also sometimes calledLa Seu, which simply means cathedral (and see, among other things) in Catalan.[38][39] It is said to have been founded in 343.
The Counts of Barcelona became increasingly independent and expanded their territory to include much of modernCatalonia, although in 985, Barcelona wassacked by the army ofAlmanzor.[41] The sack was so traumatic that most of Barcelona's population was either killed or enslaved.[42] In 1137,Aragon and theCounty of Barcelona merged indynastic union[43][44] by the marriage ofRamon Berenguer IV andPetronilla of Aragon, their titles finally borne by only one person when their sonAlfonso II of Aragon ascended to the throne in 1162. His territories were later to be known as theCrown of Aragon, which conquered many overseas possessions and ruled the westernMediterranean Sea with outlying territoriesin Naples and Sicily and as far asAthens in the 13th century.
Barcelona also had a substantial Jewish community at the time, then the largestJewish community in the Crown of Aragon. Called "the Call," for the many small streets that defined the area, it later became enclosed.Montjuïc or Montjuich, in medieval Latin and Catalan, meaning "Jewish Mountain" and the birthplace of the city, is the site of a medieval Jewish cemetery, Jews continued to live in Barcelona until theMassacre of 1391 diminished their numbers. TheSpanish Inquisition forced the remaining Jews who refused to convert to Christianity to be burned at the stake, or sell their property and leave.
Barcelona was the leadingslave trade centre of the Crown of Aragon up until the 15th century, when it was eclipsed byValencia.[45] It initially fed from eastern and Balkan slave stock later drawing from aMaghribian and, ultimately,Subsaharan pool of slaves.[46]
In the beginning of the early modern period, Barcelona lost political primacy, but the economy managed to achieve a balance between production capacity and imports.[48] In the context of the wider early recovery of Catalonia from the17th-century crisis in the second half of the century, increasing maritime activity since 1675 doubled traffic in the port of Barcelona compared to figures from the beginning of the 17th century.[49] In the late 17th and early 18th century, Barcelona repeatedly endured the effects of war, including the 1691 bombing, the sieges of 1697, 1704, 1705, 1706, and the 1713 blockade and ensuing 1714 siege and assault.[50] In the 18th century, the population grew from 30,000 to about 100,000 inhabitants, as the city became one of the key mercantile centres in the Western Mediterranean, with inland influence up toZaragoza, and to the south up toAlicante.[51] A fortress was built atMontjuïc that overlooked the harbour. Much of Barcelona was negatively affected by theNapoleonic wars, but the start of industrialization saw the fortunes of the province improve.
During the 19th century, Catalan business interests, many of them based in Barcelona, became increasingly involved in theAtlantic slave trade, taking advantage of the void left by theBritish abolition of the trade in 1807. Catalan immigrants in Spanish America also became heavily involved in owning and runningslave plantations in Cuba and Puerto Rico. Between 1817 and 1867, Catalans were involved in the transportation of 700,000 slaves from West Africa to the Caribbean, which "financed much of the industrialisation of Catalonia and the 19th-century building boom in Barcelona." Although the Spanish government had abolished slave trading in 1817, it turned a blind eye to illicit slave trading. When slavery was abolished in the Spanish Empire in 1886, many Catalans returned to Barcelona and invested their newfound fortunes in constructing opulent mansions in areas such asLa Rambla.[52][better source needed]
Transforming the city
In the mid-1850s, Barcelona was struggling with population density as it became an industrial,port city and European capital. The city's density was at 856 people per hectare, more than double that of Paris. Mortality rates were on the rise and any outbreaks of disease would devastate the population. To solve the issue, a civil engineer namedIldefons Cerdà proposed a plan for a new district known as theEixample. The citizens of Barcelona had begun to demolish the medieval wall surrounding and constricting the city. Cerdà thought it best to transform the land outside the walls into an area characterized by a scientific approach tourbanization. His proposal consisted of a grid of streets to unite the old city and surrounding villages. There would also be wide streets to allow people to breathe clean air, gardens in the centre of eachstreet block, integration of rich and poor giving both groups access to the same services, and smooth-flowing traffic.
Urban quality, egalitarianism, hygiene, sunlight, and efficiency were all major keys for Cerdà's vision. Not everything he imagined would be realized within the Eixample district, but the iconic octagonal superblocks with chamfered corners for better visibility are his direct brainchild and remain immensely helpful even 170 years later. The district and its ideals were not appreciated at the time. The city council awarded the design of the extension plan to another architect. The Spanish government was the one to step in and impose Cerdà's plan, laying the groundwork for many more tensions between the Spanish and Catalan administrations. Regardless, some of the upper class citizens of Barcelona were excited by the new plan and began a race to build "the biggest, tallest, most attractive house" in the district. Their interest and money fueled the rich diversity that we now see in the district's architecture. In the end, Cerdà's ideas would have a lasting impact on Barcelona's development, earning it international recognition for its highly efficient approach to urban planning and design.[53][54]
Shortly after the establishment of the Second Spanish Republic, in 1931, it became the capital of theautonomous region of Catalonia. During theSpanish Civil War, the city, and Catalonia in general, were resolutely Republican. Many enterprises and public services werecollectivized by theCNT and UGT unions. As the power of the Republican government and the Generalitat diminished, much of the city was under the effective control of anarchist groups. The anarchists lost control of the city to their own allies, the Communists and official government troops, after the street fighting of the BarcelonaMay Days. Thefall of the city on 26 January 1939, caused a mass exodus of civilians who fled to the French border. The resistance of Barcelona toFranco'scoup d'état was to have lasting effects after the defeat of the Republican government. The autonomous institutions ofCatalonia were abolished,[57] and the use of theCatalan language in public life was suppressed. Barcelona remained the second largest city in Spain, at the heart of a region which was relatively industrialized and prosperous, despite the devastation of the civil war. The result was a large-scale immigration from poorer regions of Spain (particularlyAndalusia,Murcia andGalicia), which in turn led to rapid urbanization.
Late twentieth century
In 1992, Barcelona hosted theSummer Olympics. The after-effects of this are credited with driving major changes in what had, up until then, been a largely industrial city. As part of the preparation for the games, industrial buildings along the sea-front were demolished and 3 km (2 mi) of beach were created. New construction increased the road capacity of the city by 17%, the sewage handling capacity by 27% and the amount of new green areas and beaches by 78%. Between 1990 and 2004, the number of hotel rooms in the city doubled. Perhaps more importantly, the outside perception of the city was changed making, by 2012, Barcelona the 12th most popular city destination in the world and the 5th amongst European cities.[58][59][60][61][62]
The death of Franco in 1975 brought on a period of democratization throughout Spain. Pressure for change was particularly strong in Barcelona, which considered that it had been punished during nearly forty years of Francoism for its support of the Republican government.[63] Massive, but peaceful, demonstrations on 11 September 1977 assembled over a million people in the streets of Barcelona to call for the restoration of Catalan autonomy. It was granted less than a month later.[64]
The development of Barcelona was promoted by two events in 1986:Spanish accession to the European Community, and particularly Barcelona's designation as host city of the1992 Summer Olympics.[65][66] The process ofurban regeneration has been rapid, and accompanied by a greatly increased international reputation of the city as a tourist destination. The increased cost of housing has led to a slight decline (−16.6%) in the population over the last two decades of the 20th century as many families move out into the suburbs. This decline has been reversed since 2001, as a new wave of immigration (particularly from Latin America and fromMorocco) has gathered pace.[67]
In July 2023, Barcelona was announced as the UNESCO-UIA World Capital of Architecture for the 2024–2026 term. This means it will be the hub for discussion around global challenges including culture, heritage, urban planning and architecture. In addition to being the capital through 2026, it will also host the UIA World Congress of Architects for that year. The honour is befitting of Barcelona, as its history is peppered with architectural achievement and various iconic styles and influences. From its ancient Roman roots, to the Gothic and Modernisme movements, Barcelona has thrived through the way it ties together architecture and culture.[72]
Barcelona is located on the northeast coast of theIberian Peninsula, facing theMediterranean Sea, on aplain approximately 5 km (3 mi) wide limited by the mountain range ofCollserola, theLlobregat river to the southwest and theBesòs river to the north.[73] This plain covers an area of 170 km2 (66 sq mi),[73] of which 101 km2 (39.0 sq mi)[74] are occupied by the city itself. It is 120 km (75 mi) south of thePyrenees and theCatalan border with France.
Tibidabo, 512 m (1,680 ft) high, offers striking views over the city[75] and is topped by the 288.4 m (946.2 ft)Torre de Collserola, atelecommunications tower that is visible from most of the city. Barcelona is peppered with small hills, most of them urbanized, that gave their name to the neighbourhoods built upon them, such asCarmel (267 m or 876 ft),Putxet (es) (181 m or 594 ft) andRovira (261 m or 856 ft). The escarpment ofMontjuïc (173 m or 568 ft), situated to the southeast, overlooks the harbour and is topped byMontjuïc Castle, a fortress built in the 17–18th centuries to control the city as a replacement for the Ciutadella. Today, the fortress is a museum and Montjuïc is home to several sporting and cultural venues, as well as Barcelona's biggestpark and gardens.
According to theKöppen climate classification, Barcelona has a hot summerMediterranean climate (Csa), with mild winters and warm to hot summers,[76] while the rainiest seasons are autumn and spring. The rainfall pattern is characterized by a short (3 months)dry season in summer, as well as less winter rainfall than in a typical Mediterranean climate. However, both June and August are wetter than February, which is unusual for the Mediterranean climate. This subtype, labelled as "Portuguese" by the French geographer George Viers after the climate classification ofEmmanuel de Martonne[77] and found in the NW Mediterranean area (e.g.Marseille), can be seen as transitional to thehumid subtropical climate (Cfa) found in inland areas.
Barcelona is densely populated, thus heavily influenced by theurban heat island effect. Areas outside of the urbanized districts can have as much as 2 °C of difference in temperatures throughout the year.[78] Its average annual temperature is 21.2 °C (70.2 °F) during the day and 15.1 °C (59.2 °F) at night. The average annual temperature of the sea is about 20 °C (68 °F). In the coldest month, January, the temperature typically ranges from 12 to 18 °C (54 to 64 °F) during the day, 6 to 12 °C (43 to 54 °F) at night and the average sea temperature is 13 °C (55 °F).[79] In the warmest month, August, the typical temperature ranges from 27 to 31 °C (81 to 88 °F) during the day, about 23 °C (73 °F) at night and the average sea temperature is 26 °C (79 °F).[79] Generally, the summer or "holiday" season lasts about six months, from May to October. Two months – April and November – are transitional; sometimes the temperature exceeds 20 °C (68 °F), with an average temperature of 18–19 °C (64–66 °F) during the day and 11–13 °C (52–55 °F) at night. December, January and February are the coldest months, with average temperatures around 15 °C (59 °F) during the day and 9 °C (48 °F) at night. Large fluctuations in temperature are rare, particularly in the summer months. Because of the proximity to the warm sea plus theurban heat island, frosts are very rare in the city of Barcelona. Snow is also very infrequent in the city of Barcelona, but light snowfalls can occur yearly in the nearbyCollserola mountains, such as in theFabra Observatory located in a nearby mountain.[80]
Barcelona averages 78 rainy days per year (≥ 1 mm), and annual average relative humidity is 72%, ranging from 69% in July to 75% in October. Rainfall totals are highest in late summer and autumn (September–November) and lowest in early and mid-summer (June–August), with a secondary winter minimum (February–March). Sunshine duration is 2,524 hours per year, from 138 (average 4.5 hours of sunshine a day) in December to 310 (average 10 hours of sunshine a day) in July.[81]
Climate data forBarcelona Airport (1991-2020) at 15 km (9.3 mi) from the city centre (1924-present extremes)
As of 2024, Barcelona has a population of 1,686,208,[87] on a land area of 101.4 km2 (39 sq mi). It is the main component of anadministrative area of Greater Barcelona, with a population of 3,218,071 in an area of 636 km2 (246 sq mi) (density 5,060 inhabitants/km2). The population of the urban area was 4,840,000.[4] It is the central nucleus of theBarcelona metropolitan area, which relies on a population of 5,474,482.[5]
In 1900, Barcelona had a population of 533,000,[73] which grew steadily but slowly until 1950, when it started absorbing a high number of people from other less-industrialized parts of Spain. Barcelona's population peaked in 1979 at 1,906,998, and fell throughout the 1980s and 1990s as more people sought a higherquality of life in outlying cities in the Barcelona Metropolitan Area. After bottoming out in 2000 with 1,496,266 residents, the city's population began to rise again as younger people started to return, causing a great increase in housing prices.[88]
Languages spoken
Catalan is the "own language"[89][90] of Catalonia and Barcelona, and therefore its the main language used by the City Council, in schools and it dominates thelinguistic landscape. Alltoponymy of Barcelona, including the stops of themetro system, are exclusively in thecatalan language. Despite this, Spanish is the most spoken language in Barcelona (according to the linguistic census held by the Government of Catalonia in 2013) and it is understood almost universally.Catalan is also very commonly spoken in the city: it is understood by 95% of the population, while 72.3% can speak it, 79% can read it, and 53% can write it.[91] Knowledge of Catalan has increased significantly in recent decades thanks to alanguage immersion educational system.
After Catalan and Spanish, the most spoken languages in Barcelona are those from North Africa, such asAmazigh andArabic, followed byBengali,Urdu,Punjabi,Mandarin Chinese,Romanian, English, Russian andQuechua, according to data collected by the University of Barcelona.[92]
Population density
Aerial view of the centre and the Eixample, with theSerra de Collserola at the background
Barcelona is one of the most densely populated cities in Europe. For the year 2008 the city council calculated the population to 1,621,090 living in the 102.2 km2 sized municipality, giving the city an average population density of 15,926 inhabitants per square kilometre withEixample being the most populated district.[93][full citation needed]
In the case of Barcelona though, the land distribution is extremely uneven. Half of the municipality or 50.2 km2, all of it located on the municipal edge is made up of the ten least densely populated neighbourhoods containing less than 10% of the city's population, the uninhabitedZona Franca industrial area andMontjuïc forest park. Leaving the remaining 90% or slightly below 1.5 million inhabitants living on the remaining 52 km2 (20 sq mi) at an average density close to 28,500 inhabitants per square kilometre.[93][full citation needed]
Of the 73 neighbourhoods in the city, 45 had a population density above 20,000 inhabitants per square kilometre with a combined population of 1,313,424 inhabitants living on 38.6 km2 at an average density of 33,987 inhabitants per square kilometre. The 30 most densely populated neighbourhoods accounted for 57.5% of the city population occupying only 22.7% of the municipality, or in other words, 936,406 people living at an average density of 40,322 inhabitants per square kilometre. The city's highest density is found at and around the neighbourhood ofla Sagrada Família where four of the city's most densely populated neighbourhoods are located side by side, all with a population density above 50,000 inhabitants per square kilometre.[93][full citation needed]
Age structure
In 1900, almost a third (28.9 percent) of the population were children (aged younger than 14 years). In 2017, this age group constituted only 12.7% of the population. In 2017, people aged between 15 and 24 years made up 9 percent of the population; those aged between 25 and 44 years made up 30.6 percent of the population; while those aged between 45 and 64 years formed 56.9% of all Barcelonans. In 1900, people aged 65 and older made up just 6.5 percent of the population. In 2017, this age group made up 21.5 percent of the population.[94][95]
Migration
Largest groups of foreign residents in Barcelona[96]
Nationality
Population (January 2024)
Italy
50,052
Colombia
28,551
Pakistan
24,706
China
21,876
Peru
21,090
France
18,723
Morocco
17,772
Honduras
17,715
Venezuela
17,410
Argentina
14, 287
In 2016, about 59% of the inhabitants of the city were born inCatalonia and 18.5% coming from the rest of the country. In addition to that, 22.5% of the population was born outside of Spain, a proportion which has more than doubled since 2001 and more than quintupled since 1996 when it was 8.6% and 3.9% respectively.[97]
The most important region of origin of migrants is Europe, with many coming from Italy (26,676) or France (13,506).[97] Moreover, many migrants come from Latin American nations such asBolivia,Ecuador orColombia. Since the 1990s, and similar to other migrants, many Latin Americans have settled in northern parts of the city.[98]
There exists a relatively large Pakistani community in Barcelona with up to twenty thousand nationals. The community consists of significantly more men than women. Many of the Pakistanis are living inCiutat Vella. First Pakistani migrants came in the 1970s, with increasing numbers in the 1990s.[99]
In 2007, most of the inhabitants stated they areRoman Catholic (208 churches).[101] In a 2011 survey conducted by InfoCatólica, 49.5% of Barcelona residents of all ages identified themselves asCatholic.[102] This was the first time that more than half of respondents did not identify themselves as Catholic Christians.[102] The numbers reflect a broader trend in Spain whereby the numbers of self-identified Catholics have declined.[102] In 2019, a survey byCentro de Investigaciones Sociológicas showed that 53.2% of residents in Barcelona identified themselves asCatholic (9.9% practising Catholics, 43.3% non-practising Catholics).[103]
The province has the largestMuslim community in Spain, 322,698 people in Barcelona province are of Muslim religion.[104] A considerable number of Muslims live in Barcelona due to immigration (169 locations, mostly professed byMoroccans in Spain).[101] In 2014, 322,698 out of 5.5 million people in the province of Barcelona identified themselves as Muslim,[104] which makes 5.6% of the total population.
The Barcelona metropolitan area comprises over 66% of the people of Catalonia, one of the richer regions in Europe and the fourth richest region per capita in Spain, with a GDP per capita amounting to €28,400 (16% more thanthe EU average). The greater Barcelona metropolitan area had aGDP amounting to $177 billion (equivalent to $34,821 in per capita terms, 44% more than the EU average), making it the 4th most economically powerful city by gross GDP in the European Union, and 35th in the world in 2009.[108] Barcelona city had a very high GDP of €80,894 per head in 2004, according toEurostat.[109] Furthermore, Barcelona was Europe's fourth best business city and fastest improving European city, with growth improved by 17% per year as of 2009[update].[110]
Barcelona was the24th most "livable city" in the world in 2015 according to lifestyle magazineMonocle.[111] Similarly, according to Innovation Analysts 2thinknow, Barcelona occupies 13th place in the world onInnovation Cities™ Global Index.[112] At the same time it is according to the Global Wealth and Lifestyle Report 2020 one of the most affordable cities in the world for a luxury lifestyle.[113]
Barcelona has a long-standing mercantile tradition. Less well known is that the city industrialized early, taking off in 1833, when Catalonia's already sophisticated textile industry began to use steam power. It became the first and most important industrial city in the Mediterranean basin. Since then, manufacturing has played a large role in its history.
Borsa de Barcelona (Barcelona Stock Exchange) is the main stock exchange in the northeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula.
Barcelona was recognized as the Southern European City of the Future for 2014/15, based on its economic potential,[114] byFDi Magazine in their bi-annual rankings.[115]
It also has several congress halls, notablyFira de Barcelona – the second largest trade fair and exhibition centre in Europe, that host a quickly growing number of national and international events each year (at present above 50). The total exhibition floor space of Fira de Barcelona venues is 405,000 m2 (41 ha), not countingGran Via centre on thePlaza de Europa. However, theEurozone crisis and deep cuts in business travel affected the council's positioning of the city as a convention centre.
Part of the beach promenade and the beach ofLa Barceloneta towardsPort OlímpicBeaches of Barcelona
In 2023, Barcelona was the 9th most visited city in the world by international visitors and the fifth most visited city in Europe after Paris, Madrid, Amsterdam, and Rome, with around 9 million international arrivals.[117] Barcelona is an internationally renowned tourist destination, with numerous recreational areas, one of the best beaches in the world,[118][119] mild and warm climate, historical monuments, including eight UNESCOWorld Heritage Sites, 519 hotels as of March 2016[update][120] including 35 five-star hotels,[121] and developed tourist infrastructure.
Due to its large influx of tourists each year, Barcelona, like many other tourism capitals, has to deal with pickpockets, with wallets and passports being commonly stolen items. Despite its moderate pickpocket rate, Barcelona is considered one of the safest cities in terms of security and personal safety,[122] mainly because of a sophisticated policing strategy that has dropped crime by 32% in just over three years and has led it to be considered the 15th safest city in the world byBusiness Insider in 2016.[123]
Street art rejecting tourists
While tourism produces economic benefits, according to one report,[citation needed] the city is "overrun [by] hordes of tourists". In early 2017, over 150,000 protesters warned that tourism is destabilizing the city. Slogans included "Tourists go home", "Barcelona is not for sale" and "We will not be driven out". By then, the number of visitors had increased from 1.7 million in 1990 to 32 million in a city with a population of 1.62 million, increasing the cost of rental housing for residents and overcrowding the public places. While tourists spent an estimated €30 billion in 2017, they are viewed by some as a threat to Barcelona's identity.[124]
A May 2017 article in the British online dailyThe Independent included Barcelona among the "Eight Places That Hate Tourists the Most" and included a comment from MayorAda Colau, "We don't want the city to become a cheap souvenir shop", citing Venice as an example.[125] To moderate the problem, the city has stopped issuing licenses for new hotels and holiday apartments; it also fined AirBnb €30,000. The mayor has suggested introducing a new tourist tax and setting a limit on the number of visitors.[125] One industry insider, Justin Francis, founder of theResponsible Travel agency, stated that steps must be taken to limit the number of visitors that are causing an "overtourism crisis" in several major European cities. "Ultimately, residents must be prioritised over tourists for housing, infrastructure and access to services because they have a long-term stake in the city's success", he said.[126] "Managing tourism more responsibly can help", Francis later told a journalist, "but some destinations may just have too many tourists, and Barcelona may be a case of that".[127] In April 2024 protests against overtourism began in the city, reaching its peak in July 2024. These protests caught further attention again in July 2025, as similar protests took place inSouthern Europe and includedPalma, andLisbon, organized by the Southern Europe Network Against Touristification (SET).[128] During the protests some protesters used large water guns to spray water on tourists.[129]
Manufacturing sector
Industry generates 21% of the total gross domestic product (GDP) of the region,[130] with the energy, chemical and metallurgy industries accounting for 47% of industrial production.[131] The Barcelona metropolitan area had 67% of the total number of industrial establishments in Catalonia as of 1997.[132]
Barcelona has long been an important European automobile manufacturing centre. Formerly there were automobile factories ofAFA,Abadal, Actividades Industriales, Alvarez,America, Artés de Arcos, Balandrás, Baradat-Esteve,Biscúter, J. Castro,Clúa,David, Delfín, Díaz y Grilló,Ebro trucks,Edis [ca],Elizalde, Automóviles España,Eucort,Fenix, Fábrica Hispano, Auto Academia Garriga, Fábrica Española de Automóviles Hebe,Hispano-Suiza, Huracán Motors, Talleres Hereter, Junior SL,Kapi,La Cuadra, M.A., Automóviles Matas, Motores y Motos, Nacional Custals,National Pescara, Nacional RG, Nacional Rubi, Nacional Sitjes, Automóviles Nike, Orix,Otro Ford, Patria,Pegaso,PTV, Ricart, Ricart-España, Industrias Salvador, Siata Española, Stevenson, Romagosa y Compañía, Garaje Storm, Talleres Hereter, Trimak, Automóviles Victoria, Manufacturas Mecánicas Aleu.[133][134]
Today, the headquarters and a large factory ofSEAT (the largest Spanish automobile manufacturer) are in one of its suburbs. There is also aNissan factory in thelogistics and industrial area of the city.[135] The factory ofDerbi, a large manufacturer of motorcycles, scooters and mopeds, also lies near the city.[136]
As in other modern cities, themanufacturing sector has long since been overtaken by the services sector, though it remains very important. The region's leading industries are textiles, chemical,pharmaceutical, motor, electronic, printing, logistics, publishing, in telecommunications industry and culture the notableMobile World Congress, and information technology services.
The traditional importance of textiles is reflected in Barcelona's drive to become a major fashion centre. There have been many attempts to launch Barcelona as afashion capital, notablyGaudi Home.[citation needed]
Beginning in the summer of 2000, the city hosted theBread & Butter urban fashion fair until 2009, when its organizers announced that it would be returning toBerlin. This was a hard blow for the city as the fair brought €100 m to the city in just three days.[137][138]
From 2009,The Brandery, an urban fashion show, was held in Barcelona twice a year until 2012. According to theGlobal Language Monitor's annual ranking of the world's top fifty fashion capitals Barcelona was named as the seventh most importantfashion capital of the world right afterMilan and beforeBerlin in 2015.[139]
Barcelona was ranked as the number 1 startup hub in Southern Europe, and as the 33rd best city in the Global Started Ecosystem published by Startupblink.[140]
Barcelona is governed by a city council formed by 41 city councillors,elected for a four-year term byuniversal suffrage. As one of the two biggest cities in Spain, Barcelona is subject to a special law articulated through theCarta Municipal (Municipal Law). A first version of this law was passed in 1960 and amended later, but the current version was approved in March 2006.[141] According to this law, Barcelona's city council is organized in two levels: a political one, with elected city councillors, and one executive, which administers the programs and executes the decisions taken on the political level.[142] This law also gives the local government a special relationship with the central government and it also gives the mayor wider prerogatives by the means of municipal executive commissions.[143] It expands the powers of the city council in areas like telecommunications, city traffic,road safety andpublic safety. It also gives a special economic regime to the city's treasury and it gives the council a veto in matters that will be decided by the central government, but that will need a favourable report from the council.[141]
The City Hall of Barcelona
TheComissió de Govern (Government Commission) is the executive branch, formed by 24 councillors, led by theMayor, with 5 lieutenant-mayors and 17 city councillors, each in charge of an area of government, and 5 non-elected councillors.[144] The plenary, formed by the 41 city councillors, has advisory, planning, regulatory, and fiscal executive functions.[145] The sixCommissions del Consell Municipal (City council commissions) have executive and controlling functions in the field of their jurisdiction. They are composed by a number of councillors proportional to the number of councillors each political party has in the plenary.[146] The city council has jurisdiction in the fields ofcity planning, transportation, municipal taxes, public highways security through theGuàrdia Urbana (the municipal police), city maintenance,gardens, parks and environment, facilities (like schools, nurseries, sports centres, libraries, and so on), culture, sports, youth andsocial welfare. Some of these competencies are not exclusive, but shared with the Generalitat de Catalunya or the centralSpanish government. In some fields with shared responsibility (such as public health, education or social services), there is a shared Agency or Consortium between the city and the Generalitat to plan and manage services.[147]
The Saló de Cent, in the City Hall of Barcelona
The executive branch is led by a Chief Municipal Executive Officer which answers to the Mayor. It is made up of departments which are legally part of the city council and by separate legal entities of two types: autonomous public departments and public enterprises.[148]
The seat of the city council is on the Plaça de Sant Jaume, opposite the seat of Generalitat de Catalunya. Since thecoming of the Spanish democracy, Barcelonahad been governed by thePSC, first with anabsolute majority and later in coalition withERC andICV. After the May 2007 election, the ERC did not renew the coalition agreement and the PSC governed in a minority coalition with ICV as the junior partner.
After 32 years, on 22 May 2011,CiU gained a plurality of seats at the municipal election, gaining 15 seats to the PSC's 11. ThePP hold 8 seats, ICV 5 and ERC 2.
The districts are based mostly on historical divisions, and several are former townsannexed by the city of Barcelona in the 18th and 19th centuries that still maintain their own distinct character. Each district has its own council led by a city councillor. The composition of each district council depends on the number of votes each political party had in that district, so a district can be led by a councillor from a different party than the executive council.
The city has a network of public schools, from nurseries to high schools, under the responsibility of a consortium led by city council (though the curriculum is the responsibility of the Generalitat de Catalunya). There are also many private schools, some of them Roman Catholic. Most such schools receive a public subsidy on a per-student basis, are subject to inspection by the public authorities, and are required to follow the same curricular guidelines as public schools, though they charge tuition. Known asescoles concertades, they are distinct from schools whose funding is entirely private (escoles privades).
The language of instruction at public schools andescoles concertades is Catalan, as stipulated by the 2009 Catalan Education Act. Spanish may be used as a language of instruction by teachers of Spanish literature or language, and foreign languages by teachers of those languages. An experimental partial immersion programme adopted by some schools allows for the teaching of a foreign language (English, generally) across the curriculum, though this is limited to a maximum of 30% of the school day. No public school orescola concertada in Barcelona may offer 50% or full immersion programmes in a foreign language, nor does any public school orescola concertada offer International Baccalaureate programmes.
Barcelona's cultural roots go back 2000 years. Since thearrival of democracy, the Catalan language (very much repressed during thedictatorship of Franco) has been promoted, both by recovering works from the past and by stimulating the creation of new works. Barcelona is designated as aworld-class city by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network.[151] It has also been part of theUNESCO Creative Cities Network as a City of Literature since 2015.[152]
El Periódico de Catalunya,La Vanguardia andAra are Barcelona's three major daily newspapers (the first two with Catalan and Spanish editions,Ara only in Catalan) whileSport andEl Mundo Deportivo (both in Spanish) are the city's two major sports daily newspapers, published by the same companies. The city is also served by a number of smaller publications such asAra andEl Punt Avui (in Catalan), by nationwide newspapers with special Barcelona editions such asEl País (in Spanish, with an online version in Catalan) andEl Mundo (in Spanish), and by several free newspapers like20 minutos andQuè (all bilingual).
Barcelona's oldest and main online newspaperVilaWeb is also the oldest one in Europe[citation needed] (with Catalan and English editions).
Barcelona is also home to numeroussocial centres andillegal squats that effectively form a shadow society mainly made up of the unemployed, immigrants, dropouts,anarchists,anti-authoritarians andautonomists.[159]Peter Gelderloos estimates that there around 200 squatted buildings and 40 social centres across the city with thousands of inhabitants, making it one of the largest squatter movements in the world. He notes that they pirate electricity, internet and water allowing them to live on less than one euro a day. He argues that these squats embrace ananarcho-communist andanti-work philosophy, often freely fixing up new houses, cleaning, patching roofs, installing windows, toilets, showers, lights and kitchens. In the wake of austerity, the squats have provided a number ofsocial services to the surrounding residents, including bicycle repair workshops, carpentry workshops,self-defense classes, free libraries,community gardens, free meals, computer labs, language classes, theatre groups, free medical care and legal support services.[160] The squats help elderly residents avoid eviction and organize various protests throughout Barcelona. Notable squats includeCan Vies andCan Masdeu.[citation needed]
Barcelona is served byBarcelona-El Prat Airport, about 17 km (11 mi) south-west of the centre of Barcelona. It is the second-largest airport in Spain, and the largest on theMediterranean coast, which handled more than 50.17 million passengers in 2018, showing an annual upward trend.[161] It is a main hub forVueling Airlines andRyanair, and also a focus forIberia andAir Europa. The airport mainly serves domestic and European destinations, although some airlines offer destinations in Latin America, Asia and the United States. The airport is connected to the city by highway, metro (Airport T1 andAirport T2 stations), commuter train (Barcelona Airport railway station) and scheduled bus service. A new terminal (T1) has been built, and entered service on 17 June 2009.
ThePort of Barcelona has a 2000-year-old history and a great contemporary commercial importance. It is Europe's ninth largestcontainer port, with a trade volume of 1.72 million TEU's in 2013.[162] The port is managed by the Port Authority of Barcelona. Its 10 km2 (4 sq mi) are divided into three zones:Port Vell (the old port), the commercial port and the logistics port (Barcelona Free Port). The port is undergoing an enlargement that will double its size thanks to diverting the mouth of theLlobregat river 2 km (1 mi) to the south.[163]
The Barcelona harbour is the leading European cruiser port and a very important Mediterranean turnaround base.[164] In 2013, 3.6 million pleasure cruise passengers used the Port of Barcelona.[162]
The Port Vell area also houses the Maremagnum (a commercial mall), a multiplex cinema, theIMAX Port Vell and one of Europe's largestaquariums –Aquarium Barcelona, containing 8,000 fish and 11 sharks contained in 22 basins filled with 4 million litres of sea water. The Maremagnum, being situated within the confines of the port, is the only commercial mall in the city that can open on Sundays and public holidays.
Barcelona is a major hub for the Spanish rail network. The city's mainInter-city rail station isBarcelona Sants railway station, whilstEstació de França terminus serves a secondary role handling suburban, regional and medium distance services. Freight services operate to local industries and to the Port of Barcelona.
Barcelona is served by an extensive local public transport network that includes ametro system, a bus network, aregional railway system, trams,funiculars,rack railways, aGondola lift andaerial cable cars. These networks and lines are run by a number of different operators but they are integrated into a coordinated fare system, administered by theAutoritat del Transport Metropolità (ATM). The system is divided into fare zones (1 to 6) and various Integrated Travel Cards are available.[167]
TheBarcelona Metro network comprises twelve lines, identified by an "L" followed by the line number as well as by individual colours. The Metro largely runs underground; eight Metro lines are operated on dedicated track by theTransports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB), whilst four lines are operated by theFerrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC) and some of them share tracks with RENFE commuter lines.
In addition to the city Metro, several regional rail lines operated by RENFE'sRodalies de Catalunya run across the city, providing connections to outlying towns in the surrounding region.
Buses in Barcelona are a major form of public transport, with extensive local, interurban and night bus networks. Most local services are operated by the TMB, although some other services are operated by a number of private companies, albeit still within the ATM fare structure. There are 21 night lines, 19 of them go through Plaça de Catalunya, where you can change to other lines. The frequency is 15/20 minutes between 22:20 and 06:00. A separate private bus line, known as Aerobús, links the airport with the city centre, with its own fare structure.
TheEstació del Nord (Northern Station), a former railway station which was renovated for the 1992 Olympic Games, now serves as the terminus for long-distance and regional bus services.
Taxi
Two typical Barcelona taxis
Barcelona has ametered taxi fleet governed by the Institut Metropolità del Taxi (Metropolitan Taxi Institute), composed of more than 10,000 cars. Most of the licences are in the hands ofself-employed drivers. With their black and yellow livery, Barcelona's taxis are easily spotted, and can be caught from one of manytaxi ranks, hailed on street, called by telephone or via app.[170][171]
On 22 March 2007,[172] Barcelona's City Council started theBicing service, a bicycle service understood as a public transport. Once the user has their user card, they can take a bicycle from any of the more than 400 stations spread around the city and use it anywhere the urban area of the city, and then leave it at another station.[173] The service has been a success, with 50,000 subscribed users in three months.[174]
The city's main arteries includeDiagonal Avenue, which crosses it diagonally,Meridiana Avenue which leads toGlòries and connects with Diagonal Avenue andGran Via de les Corts Catalanes, which crosses the city from east to west, passing through its centre. The famous boulevard ofLa Rambla, whilst no longer an important vehicular route, remains an important pedestrian route.
TheBarri Gòtic (Catalan for "Gothic Quarter") is the centre of the old city of Barcelona. Many of the buildings date from medieval times, some from as far back as the Roman settlement of Barcelona. Catalanmodernista architecture (related to the movement known asArt Nouveau in the rest of Europe) developed between 1885 and 1950 and left an important legacy in Barcelona. Several of these buildings areWorld Heritage Sites. Especially remarkable is the work of architectAntoni Gaudí, which can be seen throughout the city. His best-known work is the immense but still unfinished church of theSagrada Família, which has been under construction since 1882 and is still financed by private donations. As of 2015[update], completion is planned for 2026.[176]
Barcelona was also home toMies van der Rohe'sBarcelona Pavilion. Designed in 1929 for theInternational Exposition for Germany, it was an iconic building that came to symbolize modern architecture as the embodiment of van der Rohe's aphorisms "less is more" and "God is in the details".[177] The Barcelona pavilion was intended as a temporary structure and was torn down in 1930 less than a year after it was constructed. A modern re-creation by Spanish architects now stands in Barcelona, however, constructed in 1986.
Barcelona won the 1999RIBARoyal Gold Medal for its architecture,[178] the first (and as of 2015[update], only) time that the winner has been a city rather than an individual architect. Barcelona is the home of many points of interest declaredWorld Heritage Sites byUNESCO:[179]
Barcelona contains sixty municipal parks, twelve of which are historic, five of which are thematic (botanical), forty-five of which areurban, and six of which are forest.[184] They range from vest-pocket parks to large recreation areas. The urban parks alone cover 10% of the city (549.7 ha or 1,358.3 acres).[74] The total park surface grows about 10 ha (25 acres) per year,[185] with a proportion of 18.1 m2 (195 sq ft) of park area per inhabitant.[186]
Barcelona beach was listed as number one in a list of the top ten city beaches in the world according toNational Geographic[118] andDiscovery Channel.[189] Barcelona contains seven beaches, totalling 4.5 km (2+3⁄4 mi) of coastline.Sant Sebastià,Barceloneta andSomorrostro beaches, both 1,100 m (3,610 ft) in length,[74] are the largest, oldest and the most-frequented beaches in Barcelona.
TheOlympic Harbour separates them from the other city beaches: Nova Icària, Bogatell, Mar Bella, Nova Mar Bella and Llevant. These beaches (ranging from 400 to 640 m (1,310 to 2,100 ft) were opened as a result of the city restructuring to host the1992 Summer Olympics, when a great number of industrial buildings were demolished. At present, the beach sand is artificially replenished given that storms regularly remove large quantities of material. The2004 Universal Forum of Cultures left the city a large concrete bathing zone on the eastmost part of the city's coastline. Most recently, Llevant is the first beach to allow dogs access during summer season.
^abP.F. Collier & Son Corporation (1957).Collier's Encyclopedia. Collier. p. 48.Archived from the original on 14 May 2016. Retrieved14 May 2016.
^"Ciutat Comtal"Archived 11 July 2021 at theWayback Machine entry inGran Enciclopèdia Catalana, Barcelona, Enciclopedia.cat,(in Catalan). [Retrieved 14 September 2019].
^Servei d'Arqueologia of Institut de Cultura de Barcelona."Caserna de Sant Pau del Camp".CartaArqueologica (in Spanish). Ajuntament de Barcelona. p. Description and Historical Notes. Archived fromthe original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved2 May 2016.
^Welcome page in CatalanArchived 15 May 2019 at theWayback Machine, Cathedral of Barcelona,(in Catalan). There is an English version of this page and website, as well as a Spanish one, but the wordseu seems to be explained better in the Catalan version... [Retrieved 14 September 2019].
^"Seu"Archived 4 November 2015 at theWayback Machine, entry in the Diccionari Alcover-Moll,(in Catalan). [Retrieved 14 September 2019].
^The Usatges of Barcelona: The Fundamental Law of Catalonia, ed. Donald J. Kagay, (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1994), 7.
^Collins, Roger (2012).Caliphs and Kings, 796–1031. Blackwell Publishing, p. 191.
^Bisson, T. N. (1986). "II. The age of the Early Count-Kings (1137–1213) (The Principate of Ramon Berenguer IV 1137–1162)". In Clarendon Press – Oxford (ed.).The medieval Crown of Aragon. A short story. p. 31.ISBN978-0-19-820236-3.
^The proportion of the population born outside of Spain rose from 3.9% in 2001 to 13.9% in 2006."Guies Estadístiques: Barcelona en Xifres"(PDF). Ajuntament de Barcelona. November 2006. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 20 February 2012. Retrieved26 June 2010.
^EFE (23 January 2009)."El presidente del Bread&Butter confirma oficialmente que la feria abandona Barcelona".El Periódico. Retrieved22 July 2009.[Karl Heinz Muller, the entrepreneur behind B&B in announcing the move in a press conference held on January 23, 2009 said] No llores Barcelona, levántate y haz algo [don't cry Barcelona, get up and do something about it] Barcelona in Europe is a metropolis of fashion.
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