Placa d'Espanya

Eric's favorite spot in Barcelona was the area around Placa d'Espanya.  

 

Close to the square was the Caixa Forum, the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, and the Font Magica.



Caixa Forum

The Caixa Forum was okay.  It wasn't too expensive to get in, only four euros each, and the exhibits were alright, but most of the museum descriptions were in Catalan or Spanish, not English.  It was a nice museum, but I would't go again.

 

Caixa Forum from above.

Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya

We weren't planning on going inside initially.  A lot of the reviews of the museum that I saw said that the exterior was more exciting than the interior because of the great views of the city, so we planned to only climb the hill up to the outside of it.  

A Scottish Referendum sticker made it all the way to Spain.

When we arrived, we saw a sign that said the museum is free after 3:00pm on Saturdays.  This was good news because by the time we got to the museum, it was 2:45pm and a Saturday.  We had a snack on the patio and people watched for fifteen minutes before heading in.  I don't know if it being free affected my opinion, but I enjoyed the art that was displayed in the museum.  

 

 

View form the top of the building.

 

 

Also, a jazz band was playing in the auditorium for people to dance to.  Luckily, Eric and I took a social dance class a few semesters ago, so we were able to join all the other swing dancers.

Font Magica

This fountain is located in front of the Catalan Art Museum.  During the day, it's a normal fountain, but starting at 7:00pm, it turns in to a dancing light show.  After a tribute to Barcelona with Freddie Mercury's "Barcelona," the water moves and changes colors to recent pop songs.