Plaça d’Espanya

Barcelona


The whirling roundabout of Plaça d’Espanya, distinguished by its so-called Venetian towers (vaguely reminiscent of the belltower in Venice’s St Mark’s Square), was built for the 1929 World Exhibition and is the junction of several major thoroughfares.

It is flanked on its northern side by the facade of the former Las Arenas bullring (now a shopping centre); bullfighting ceased in 1977.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Barcelona attractions

1. Parc de Joan Miró

0.21 MILES

This palm-filled park is worth a look for its massive phallic 1980s Miró sculpture, Dona i Ocell (Woman and Bird), whose red, yellow, blue and green tiles…

2. Dona i Ocell

0.22 MILES

Rising 22m from a reflecting pool, Joan Miró's phallic Dona i Ocell (Woman and Bird) sculpture was installed in the early 1980s in the Parc de Joan Miró…

3. CaixaForum

0.25 MILES

The La Caixa building society prides itself on its involvement in (and ownership of) art, in particular all that is contemporary. The bank's premier expo…

4. Font Màgica

0.3 MILES

Originally created for the 1929 World Exposition, this huge colour-lit fountain has again been a magnet since the 1992 Olympics, shimmering on the long…

5. Pavelló Mies van der Rohe

0.31 MILES

Designed in glass, steel and various marbles in 1929 by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969) for the World Exhibition, this curious work of artful…

6. Fundació Fran Daurel

0.42 MILES

With Poble Espanyol, the Fundació Fran Daurel is an eclectic collection of 300 works of art, including sculptures, prints, ceramics and tapestries by…

7. Poble Espanyol

0.43 MILES

Welcome to Spain! All of it! This ‘Spanish Village’ is an intriguing scrapbook of Spanish architecture built for the local-crafts section of the 1929…

8. Mirador del Palau Nacional

0.47 MILES

Even if you don't visit the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, you should at least admire the view from the plaza out the front. There's a terrace cafe,…