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Palau de la Generalitat
This seat of Catalan government was adapted from several Gothic mansions in what had been the Jewish ghetto (known as the Call) in the early 15th century and extended over time. The original Gothic façade on Carrer del Bisbe Irurita (C2) features a relief of St George by Pere Joan in 1418.
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Palau del Baró Quadras
Remodelled by Puig i Cadafalch between 1902 and 1904, this palace currently houses the Casa Asia cultural centre. It has fine stained glass and its façade is ornamented with detailed neo-Gothic carvings. Pop in for a cuppa at the café.
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Palau del Lloctinent
Built in the 1550s, this palace was the residence of the lloctinent (Spanish viceroy) of Catalonia. It boasts a fine wooden ceiling and pleasing courtyard. Until 1993 it housed the Arxiu de la Corona d'Aragó, a unique archive documenting the history of the kingdom prior to unification under Fernando and Isabel, and may again do so from 2007.
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Palau Güell
With this commission for wealthy patron Eusebi Güell, Antoni Gaudí first showed what he was capable of. Sombre compared with his later whims, it is still a characteristic riot of styles (Gothic, Islamic, Art Nouveau) and materials. After the civil war, the police tortured political prisoners in the basement. Up two floors you reach the main hall and its annexes. The hall is a parabolic pyramid - each wall an arch stretching up three floors and coming together to form a dome. The roof is a Gaudian riot of ceramic colour and fanciful design in the chimney pots.
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Parc d'Atraccions
For the Ferris Wheel ride of your life - with panoramic views from the top of mount Tibidabo mountain - head to this cherished old-fashioned funfair. It's also a museum for old carnival games and gizmos dating back to the 19th century. Follow the funicular to fun.
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Parc d'Espanya Industrial
Maligned by many, this playfully postmodern park comprises what look like galactic watchtowers overlooking a boating lake and a dragon sculpture that's popular with kiddies. It's transformed when illuminated at night and worth a look if you're waiting for a train at Estació Sants.
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Parc de Collserola
Some 8000 hectares of parkland spread out in the hilly country southwest of Tibidabo, forming a marvellous escape hatch for city folk needing a little nearby nature. Pick up information at the Centre d'Informació.
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Parc de la Ciutadella
Stroll, punt on the little lake or snooze in verdant Parc de la Ciutadella, site of Catalonia's regional parliament, the city zoo (for now; see ), a couple of museums and the monumental Cascada (waterfall) created in 1875-81 by Josep Fontsère with the help of a young Gaudí. The park was created when the hated 18th-century Ciutadella fortress, built by Madrid to keep watch over the restless population, was demolished.
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Parc del Fòrum
Once a wasteland around a creaky old sewerage plant, the Parc del Fòrum lies at the heart of an ambitious urban renewal project.
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Park Güell
Gaudí's fantasy public park was meant to be a glorious gated playground for Barcelona's rich, but that idea didn't come off . Instead, the town hall bought it in 1922 and opened it to the common folk.
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Pavelló Mies Van Der Rohe
This is a replica of a structure erected for - and demolished with - the 1929 World Exhibition. In hindsight it was considered a milestone of modern architecture and was rebuilt in 1986. With a light and airy design comprising horizontal planes, it reveals Mies van der Rohe's vision of a new urban environment.
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Plaça de Braus Monumental
Although Catalans generally don't like bullfighting, the events have long been an integral part of the city's calendar. You can see them at 6pm on Sunday during the summer months at the Plaça de Braus Monumental.
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Plaça Reial
This pretty 19th-century square with neoclassical façades, palm trees and numerous noisy restaurants and bars was created on the site of a convent. The elegant lampposts were Gaudí's first commission in the big smoke.
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Poble Espanyol
Something of an impostor, the Spanish Village was put together for the 1929 World Exhibition. It comprises replicas of famous buildings and examples of traditional architecture from all over Spain. For a tourist trap, it's quite engaging, but its craft shops, restaurants and bars share the unfortunate distinction of being overpriced.
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Roman Cemetery
On a quiet square that once lay on a road leading out of Roman Barcino, this site features a series of intact Roman tombs lined up on the spot where they were found when they were excavated.
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Sinagoga Major
What little is left of the Jewish ghetto's main medieval synagogue was accidentally discovered in the early 2000s. In the two rooms, now again a working temple, can be seen remnants of Roman-era walls and some tanners' wells.
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Sitges
Only half an hour from Barcelona by train, Sitges is a unique resort that in summer attracts hordes of fashionable city folk and a huge international gay set. A former fishing village, it was a trendy hang-out for artists and bohemians in the 1890s and has remained one of Spain's more unconventional resorts ever since.
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Sitges Museums
Sitges resort is no less attractive in winter, although you won't have much company as you cavort between its three museums, admire the sun-bleached baroque church atop a bluff over the beach, soak up the village atmosphere and wonder if it's too cold for a dip at the nude beach southwest of town.
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Temple Romà d'Augusti
It's unremarkable from the outside, but this courtyard houses four Corinthian columns of Barcelona's main Roman temple, built in the 1st century in the name of Caesar Augustus.
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Torre Agbar
Barcelona's very own cucumber-shaped tower, Jean Nouvel's luminous Torre Agbar (the headquarters of the city water company) is the most daring addition to Barcelona's skyline since the first towers of La Sagrada Família went up. Completed in 2005, it shimmers in shades of midnight blue and lipstick red, especially at night. You can wander into the foyer.
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Torre de Collserola
Designed by Britain's Sir Norman Foster, this 288m telecommunications tower was built to bring the events of the 1992 Olympics to TV viewers around the world. A glass lift shoots up to an observation deck at 115m that affords splendid views of Tibidabo and the city.
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Transbordador Aeri
This cable car (aka funicular aeri ), strung out precariously across the harbour to Montjuïc, provides a bird's-eye view of the city. The cabins float between Miramar (Montjuïc) and the Torre de Sant Sebastià (La Barceloneta).
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University of Barcelona Gardens
Half the city's population would like to live here. Mr Granados (1867-1916), a classical musician, probably wouldn't have minded either. The pedestrianised bottom end, at Carrer de la Diputació, is marked off by the gardens of the Universitat de Barcelona. The banter of diners can be heard at a couple of nearby restaurants as you wander between rows of elegant apartments to the leafy (but noisy) Plaça del Doctor Letamendi (C5).
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Zoo de Barcelona
As thrilling or depressing as any other, this small zoo occupies the southern end of the Parc de la Ciutadella and boasts 4000 creatures great and small. Plans are afoot to move the zoo to a new spot in Parc del Fòrum.
