Font de Canaletes

Plaça de Catalunya (pronounced [ˈplasə ðə kətəˈluɲə], meaning in English "Catalonia Square"; sometimes referred to as Plaza de Cataluña, its Spanish name) is a large square in central Barcelona that is generally considered to be both its city centre and the place where the old city (see Barri Gòtic and Raval, in Ciutat Vella) and the 19th century-built Eixample meet. Some of the city's most important streets and avenues meet at Plaça Catalunya: Passeig de Gràcia, Rambla de Catalunya, La Rambla, and Portal de l'Àngel, in addition to Ronda de Sant Pere, Carrer de Vergara, and Carrer de Pelai. The plaza occupies an area of about 50,000 square metres. It is especially known for its fountains and statues, its proximity to some of Barcelona's most popular attractions, and the flocks of pigeons that gather in the centre. The square played a significant part in the Spanish Civil War, in particular as a site of key events of the May Days.

The Church of Santa Anna (Catalan: Església de Santa Anna, Spanish: Iglesia de Santa Ana) is a church located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was declared Bien de Interés Cultural in 1881.

Plaça de Catalunya station, also known as Barcelona-Plaça Catalunya, Plaça Catalunya or simply Catalunya is a major station complex in Barcelona located under Plaça de Catalunya, the city's central square and a large transport hub. Many Rodalies de Catalunya, Barcelona Metro and Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya lines go through it and many bus routes link it with all of the districts of the city and most of the municipalities in its metropolitan area. It is one of the oldest railway stations in Catalonia and one of the first stations of Barcelona Metro network. It is also one of the busiest stations in Barcelona and the terminal station in the city of all Metro del Vallès lines. It is served by Rodalies de Catalunya suburban lines R1, R3, R4 and regional line R12, TMB-operated Barcelona Metro lines L1 and L3, FGC-operated Barcelona Metro lines L6 and L7, and Metro del Vallès lines S1, S2, S5 and S55.

The Bombing of Barcelona was a series of airstrikes led by Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany supporting the Franco-led Nationalist rebel army, which took place from 16 to 18 March 1938, during the Spanish Civil War. Up to 1,300 people were killed and at least 2,000 were wounded. It is considered the first aerial carpet bombing in history.

Line 1, shortened to L1, coloured red and often simply called Línia vermella ("Red Line"), is the second oldest Barcelona Metro line, after line L3. It is the longest line of the Barcelona Metro, and links L'Hospitalet de Llobregat and Santa Coloma de Gramenet. Originally operated by the independent Ferrocarril Metropolitano Transversal de Barcelona, it is today operated by Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) and is part of the ATM fare-integrated main transport system. L1 is the only metro line in Spain to use Iberian gauge tracks, as used by most Spanish main line railways.The line was created in 1926 as a means to join the rail stations the city had in the 1920s, and in preparation for the 1929 Universal Exposition. It has been growing since then to become, as of 2007, a large line made up of 30 stations, the network's busiest. These stations are architecturally homogenous, and as in the case of most metro lines in Barcelona, ornamentation is virtually absent from them. Some of them are improving their artificial lighting. Most of the line is underground, except for one short section, and at one point it shares tunnels with mainline tracks.Future plans are for the line to be extended southbound into El Prat de Llobregat and from its north terminus into Badalona, where it will join L2 in Badalona Centre.

Avinguda de la Llum (Catalan for Avenue of Light; Spanish: Avenida de la Luz) is a now-closed underground mall in Barcelona, the first one of its kind to open in Europe, open between 1940 and 1990, on a 2000 square-metre site built in 1929 and boasting 68 commercial establishments, including a movie theater. It was underneath Carrer de Pelai, between Plaça de Catalunya, Carrer de Balmes, Carrer de Bergara and Plaça de la Universitat, upstairs of the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC) station Catalunya, between its vaults and the street.Despite initially being part of an ambitious plan to build an underground city from Plaça Urquinaona to Plaça de la Universitat, the urban decay prevalent in the area from the 1960s onwards prompted its progressive abandonment. The Avinguda de la Llum was in a state of decay and had a large homeless population by the time of its closure on May 21, 1990. On the ground upstairs stood an empty triangular area between buildings which came to be called Triangle de la vergonya ("Triangle of shame"), which contributed to the adoption of measures to renovate the area in time for the 1992 Summer Olympics. Nowadays its main corridor is part of the underground stage of a Sephora store in the El Triangle shopping centre (its successor), while some parts of it are still abandoned and remain closed to the public.

Carrer de Bergara (sometimes, but not officially, Vergara, using the Spanish spelling of the Basque name) is a short street in central Barcelona, stretching from Plaça Catalunya towards Carrer de Pelai. It's in the Eixample district. It's named after the Basque city of Bergara, where an armistice was signed at the end the First Carlist War in 1839. The name of the street was approved in 1900. The street is home to a number of restaurants, cafes, and hotels.

Portal de l'Àngel (Catalan pronunciation: [puɾˈtal də ˈlaɲʒəl]) is a pedestrian street in the Ciutat Vella district of Barcelona adjacent to Plaça Catalunya and part of the large shopping area that spans from Avinguda Diagonal to Barri Gòtic. It's one of the city's most visited streets and is always crowded with tourists and locals all year round. Portal de l'Àngel is noteworthy for being the most expensive street in Spain, with an average rental price of €265 per square meter in 2013.There is a large El Corte Inglés department store in this street, just opposite a building that has a giant thermometer in its façade. It's also home to other international shopping brands, including Zara, Massimo Dutti, and Benetton.

Carrer de Pelai (official Catalan name; sometimes called, in Spanish, Calle de Pelayo) is a major shopping street in Barcelona, one of the busiest in the city at daytime. It forms the border between the districts of Ciutat Vella and Eixample in the center of the city, and runs from the intersection of Plaça de Catalunya with La Rambla and the El Triangle shopping centre to Plaça de la Universitat. It is named after King Pelagius of Asturias. The current Catalan-language name was approved in 1980 by the city council, though it also bore that same name before 1900.

The Barcelona Centre for International Affairs, CIDOB, is a Spanish think tank headquartered in Barcelona, devoted to research in the field of international relations. It defines itself as an "independent institution" that, "based on criteria of excellence and relevance, has as scope of study the analysis of international relations and global issues that affect governance at different levels, from international to local". CIDOB has the "goal of being a useful tool for society and institutions in Europe, Spain, and Catalonia, and their influence on the debates that inform decision-making processes in the political, economic, and social spheres". Likewise, the centre "is committed to innovation, rigor in research, public service, and collaborative work".. Legally speaking, CIDOB is a private foundation endowed with a board of trustees made up of the main public institutions and universities of Barcelona and Catalonia. Both the centre and the foundation are governed by statutes, a code of ethics, and a master plan. At present, CIDOB is the oldest think tank in Spain and one of the most influential in its area, at the European level.

The Virreina Palace (Catalan: Palau de la Virreina; Spanish: Palacio de la Virreina) is a building in the city of Barcelona. Situated on the famous La Rambla avenue, today it houses the headquarters of the city council's Culture Institute (Institut de Cultura de l'Ajuntament de Barcelona) and hosts various temporary art exhibitions and cultural events.The palace was built, between 1772 and 1778, for Manuel d'Amat i de Junyent, who was Viceroy of Peru between 1761 and 1776. It is named for his wife, virreina meaning vicereine in the Catalan language. The architect was Carles Grau, and the palace was built in a style between baroque and rococo. Grau, also a sculptor, created the window hoods and the vases which decorate the building's skyline.On the exterior of the palace is a statue of Our Lady of the Rosary, created by Luisa Granero in 1967.

Els Quatre Gats (pronounced [əls ˈkwatɾə ˈɣats]; Catalan for 'The Four Cats') is a café in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain that famously became a popular meeting place for famous artists throughout the modernist period in Catalonia, known as Modernisme. The café opened on June 12, 1897 in the famous Casa Martí, and served as a hostel, bar and cabaret until it eventually became a central meeting point for Barcelona’s most prominent modernist figures, such as Pablo Picasso and Ramon Casas i Carbó. The bar closed due to financial difficulties in June 1903, but was reopened and eventually restored to its original condition in 1989.