Barcelona’s artistic side
La Pedrera, designed by famed Barcelona architect Antoni Gaudi, is hard to miss on Paseo de Gracia, one of the city’s most beautiful streets. (Rosemary McClure / For The Times)
La Sagrada Família, Gaudí’s magical masterwork, is still a work in progress. (Rosemary McClure / For The Times)
The dizzying spires at La Sagrada Família. The church has been under construction for nearly 120 years and won’t be completed for more than a decade. (Rosemary McClure / For The Times)
Park Güell, with its unusual buildings, colorful mosaic-clad benches and large terrace overlooking the city, has become a favorite stop for tourists. (Rosemary McClure / For The Times)
Agustí Puig, with some of his paintings, assisted in the making of the film “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.” (Rosemary McClure / For The Times)
Cynthia Fusillo, an American artist who has lived in Barcelona nearly half her life, has a great appreciation for her adopted city: “The people, the weather, the food. La Rambla -- the idea that you can walk right down the heart of the city. I love the Gothic Quarter; I love Gaudí -- it’s all wonderful.” (Rosemary McClure / For The Times)
The Plaza de Catalunya is a gathering spot for people as well as pigeons. (Rosemary McClure / For The Times)
A shopper peruses a flower stand along La Rambla, the pedestrian mall that runs from the Mediterranean to the center of the city. (Rosemary McClure / For The Times)
Colorful produce, cheese and meat stands draw customers to Mercat de La Boqueria, a cavernous open-air market. (Rosemary McClure / For The Times)
The Casa de las Punxes, Catalan for “the House of Spikes,” has six towers with conical points. The building, at Avenida Diagonal, was designed by Josep Puig i Cadafalch, one of the Modernistas who helped change the face of the city. (Rosemary McClure / For The Times)
The giant copper Peix (fish) sculpture by L.A.’s Frank Gehry glitters in the sunlight over Port Olimpic, a marina built for the 1992 Summer Olympics. (Rosemary McClure / For The Times)
Early morning light pierces a narrow cobbled street in the Barri Gòtic, or the Gothic Quarter, where Picasso, Joan Miró and other artists once worked. (Rosemary McClure / For The Times)
The skyline of Barcelona spreads into the distance. The city, one of the world’s great art centers, is a bold and exuberant place known for sensory overload. (Rosemary McClure / For The Times)
