The Performing Arts

Long a city of the arts, Barcelona experienced a cultural decline during the Franco years, but now it is filled once again with the best opera, symphonic, and choral music. At the venues listed here, unless otherwise specified, ticket prices depend on the event. Tickets can be bought at the venues, but it's often more convenient and easier to use one of the special ticket services. The bank Caixa Catalunya sells entradas for many events and it also has the wondrous Servicaixa -- an automated machine that dispenses theater and cinema tickets -- in many of its branches. Tel-entrada (tel. 90-233-22-11) lets you buy over the phone with your credit card.

I Could Have Danced All Day -- Although the city caters to music lovers of most tastes, the really big thing here is electronic dance music. DJs are the new rock heroes, and the Woodstock of this generation is called Sonar (www.sonar.es). The festival began more than 10 years ago in a small, outside venue as a way of showcasing some of the more unusual experimental music coming out of different parts of Europe. Now it takes over a significant part of the city for a long weekend in mid-June, drawing people from far and wide. It's now really two festivals, in two separate locations. During the day, it's held at a number of stages around the MACBA and CCCB museums in El Raval. At night, it moves to a huge congress and trade-fair hall outside the center, with a special bus shuttling people between locations. For the day and night gigs, tickets are sold separately, although you can buy a pass to the whole thing. Recent Sonar nighttime headliners have included Massive Attack and Björk, but the daytime music is much more open and eclectic, often accompanied by strange visuals. Of course, this being Barcelona, there's also a string of unofficial festivals running at the same time, all of which are much cheaper (or sometimes free) and can be read about on walls and from flyers in bars. This, claim the purists, is where you find the true experimental music, Sonar having sold out to the big sponsors years ago. The best thing is probably to enjoy both -- but if you want to go to the official Sonar festival, you should buy your tickets (and book your accommodations) well beforehand.

Theatre

The majority of theater in Barcelona is presented in the Catalan language by Spanish production companies. Avant-garde theater and comedy are particularly strong. La Fura dels Baus is an internationally renowned troupe, El Comedients and La Cubana draw on local folklore and popular culture to make theatergoers laugh, and El Tricicle is a well-loved trio of comedians whose medium is mime. The Catalan director Calixto Bieito is one of the world's leading directors, renowned for his contemporary and often violent versions of Shakespeare's work.

Flamenco

Flamenco isn't the rage here that it is in Seville and Madrid, but it still has its devotees. It's not a Catalan tradition, though Barcelona has an active Andalusian population and dancers with as much verve and color as any you'd find farther south.

Cinema

In Barcelona there's a good choice of cinemas showing original language (versió original) movies -- mostly in English -- with Spanish subtitles. Some offer Monday and Wednesday discounts. Weekends are very popular (and crowded) with most moviehouses also featuring late-night shows that start at 1am. Check the Guía del Ocio and local papers such as El País and La Vanguardia for information on showings and times.