Barcelona II

BARCELONA

  Barcelona is a Spanish city, capital of the homonymous province and autonomous community of Catalonia. With a population of 1,619,337 inhabitants in 2010 is the second most populous city in Spain after Madrid, and eleventh of the European Union. The Barcelona metropolitan area, including Urban Region of Barcelona, has 5,012,961 inhabitants (2010), making it the sixth most populous in the European Union.

  Located on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, some 120 km south of the ridge of the Pyrenees and the French border, on a plain bounded by the sea to the east, west Collserola Mountains, the river Llobregat to the south and Besos river north. Having been capital of the County of Barcelona, is often referred to it under the name of Barcelona.

  Barcelona has hosted many world events that helped shape the city and give it international exposure. The most important have been the 1888 Universal Exhibition, the International Exhibition of 1929 Summer Olympic Games 1992 and the Universal Forum of Cultures 2004. It also hosts the secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean.

  Nowadays, Barcelona is recognized as a global city for its cultural, financial, trade and tourism. Has one of the largest ports in the Mediterranean and is also an important communications between Spain and France, due to motorway connections and high-speed train. The Barcelona airport was used by about 30 million passengers in 2010.

  PARKS

 Barcelona has many parks. The best known are the Güell Park, designed by Antoni Gaudí in the district of Gracia, Montjuic Park, located on the mountain of the same name, and the Ciudadela Park, located in the center of town, where you can found the Parliament of Catalonia and the Barcelona Zoo, famous for hosting until his death albino gorilla Snowflake. Recently inaugurated the Diagonal Mar Park, designed by Enric Miralles, and the Forum Park, which houses the exhibition hosted by the Universal Forum of Cultures 2004. About Collserola, north of the city are Central Park, Nou Barris, one of the largest in Barcelona and the Horta Labyrinth Park, where the hedges are planted and trimmed so that they create a maze where children and spend more fun times. Other smaller parks are the Industrial Park of Spain, in the Sants, the Parque del Clot, near the Plaza de las Glorias, and Turo Park, next to Plaza Francesc Macia.