Barcelona

Barcelona is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain, the capital and largest city of Catalonia and Spain's second-most populous municipality after Madrid. About 1.7 million people live within the city limits and around 5.7 million in the wider urban area. It lies on the Mediterranean between the mouths of the Llobregat and Besòs rivers, bounded by the Serra de Collserola.

Monocle ranked Barcelona No. 4 in its Quality of Life Survey 2025. Resonance Consultancy placed it No. 10 in World's Best Cities 2026, with No. 3 for public transit and No. 12 for walkability, and describes the Catalan capital as welcoming the world "on its own terms". Resonance notes that the city has about 12 million visitors a year, double its metropolitan population.

According to tradition, Barcelona was founded by the Phoenicians or the Carthaginians. In the Middle Ages it was capital of the County of Barcelona and became the leading city of the Crown of Aragon. Resonance points out that Antoni Gaudí's Sagrada Família is scheduled for completion in 2026, when its 566-foot central tower of Jesus Christ is due to be unveiled.

Sources of this text: Wikipedia · Monocle · Resonance Consultancy