Barcelona

The city of Barcelona is a vibrant, colorful, proud, interesting place that’s got the benefit of the passion of the Spanish combined with the efficiency and organization of the Catalans. The city’s energy continues today despite Spain’s economic woes. People live, work, and shop in most of the city neighborhoods and districts, so each has its own community spirit, and some even have their own fiestas. 

Barcelona is the economic, cultural, and administrative capital of Catalonia, situated in the northeast of Spain, on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. The city covers a small area but has a large population: 100 square kilometers with about 1.6 million people in the city center and another 4 million in the suburbs. The city has 10 districts, but the areas in greatest demand among visitors, property investors, and expats are the oldest part, the Ciutat Vella, which is divided into four regions—La Ribera, also known as El Borne (or, locally, Born), to the north; Barrio Gótico, which is in the central Gothic quarter; El Raval to the south; and the seaside suburb of Barceloneta.