Barcelona's Montjuic - The Most Popular Tourism Area in the City

Montjuic is a hill on the south side of Barcelona thatfuicular, or small cable car. You can take this route
rises 700 feet or 213 meters into the sky, and slopesstraight from the Paral-lel Metro Station to the
sharply into the Mediterranean Sea. The top is basicallymuseum.
flat and the eastern side has an amazing view of theThe Palau Nacional houses the Museu Nacional d'Art
city. The site hosted the 1929 International Exposition,de Catalunya. The collections displayed here include
which led to the first real construction on the hill.historic representations from the Roman, Gothic,
The hill was settled first by the Iberian Celts thousandsRenaissance and Baroque periods through the 20th
of years ago. The hill served as a fantastic vantagecentury. The Font Majic, or Magic Fountain is a lighted
point for settlers to the region and as such, in 1640, afountain with a magnificent display, that is highly
military fortress was first built here. In the 18th centuryrecommended at night. The water dances to music
the Castell de Montjuic was built in its place, was alsoand decorates the façade of the Palau Nacional.
a fortress, only much larger.The Pavello Mies van der Rohe is a museum next to
Today, the Castell de Montjuic has been joined bythe Magic Fountain, with a collection of art from the
many tourist attractions making this the most visitedvery important Spanish architect Mie van der Rohe.
area within Barcelona's city limits. There areThe museum was built and then deconstructed for the
opportunities to learn no only about the city's history,International Exhibition, and then rebuilt in the 1980s to
but also the art and cultures of the many settlers tothe exact specifications of the original, representing the
the area. Within the Castell de Montjuic is the Museuarchitects minimalist construction in steel and glass.
Militar, a military museum that is usually reached by a