This week’s travel dream: Barcelona’s artistic side

Among Barcelona's artistic treasures are its well-preserved Gothic quarter, Gaudi's masterpieces, and museums dedicated to Picasso and Joan Miró.

Barcelona is “one of the world’s great art centers,” said Rosemary McClure in the Los Angeles Times. There is much about this Spanish city to admire, but “at its heart, Barcelona is where art and architecture rule.” I wanted to see this vibrant Mediterranean city through the eyes of the artists who helped to create it. I wanted to “touch and taste the exuberance” of the place. So I plotted an itinerary that would take me from the ancient streets and medieval squares of the Barrio Gótico to the whimsical 20th-century creations of architect Antoni Gaudí.

Barrio Gótico, the city’s “well-preserved” Gothic quarter, has inspired artists for centuries. Created during a building boom that expanded the city’s Roman-built core, the neighborhood remains “one of Europe’s most impressive Gothic legacies.” I wandered from the 13th-century Barcelona cathedral to the Plaça del Pi, an outdoor square where locals dine on tapas. Nearby, the Museu Picasso “pays homage to the 20th century’s most acclaimed artist,”

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