The Harborfront

For a city that for centuries "lived with its back to the sea," Barcelona now sports a spectacular harborfront, the busiest leisure port in the Mediterranean, and kilometers of urban beaches. The relocation of the commercial port and coastal freeway, and the demolition of industrial buildings that blocked the view of the sea, were pushed ahead for the 1992 Olympic Games. Without a doubt, the reclaiming of the city's coast has been the most life-enhancing change Barcelona has seen in the last century. Starting at the Columbus Monument, you can follow the city's coastal stretch via boardwalks and esplanades to the Olympic Village and beyond. Along the way you pass through the modern marina the Port Vell and the old fishermen's district of La Barceloneta, ending at Frank Gehry's famous fish sculpture at the Olympic Port.