The main fountain of a series that sweeps up the hill from Avinguda de la Reina Maria Cristina to the grand facade of the Palau Nacional, Font Màgica is a unique performance in which the water can look like seething fireworks or a mystical cauldron of colour.

It is wonderful that an idea that was cooked up for the 1929 World Exposition has, since the 1992 Olympics, again become a magnet. With a flourish, the ‘Magic Fountain’ erupts into a feast of musical, backlit aquatic life. On hot summer evenings especially, this 15-minute spectacle (repeated several times throughout the evening) mesmerises onlookers. On the last evening of the Festes de la Mercè in September, a particularly spectacular display includes fireworks.