Barcelona is inextricably linked to the architecture of Antoni Gaudi. His most famous and unfinished masterpiece, the Church of Sagrada Familia, is the emblem of the city. Like the church, Barcelona takes traditional ideas and presents them in new, even outrageous, forms. And the city's bursts of building and innovation give the impression that it's still being conceived. Both the cathedral and city can be tough places to get a handle on, yet their complexity is invigorating rather than forbidding.
Since it hosted the Summer Olympics in 1992, Barcelona has been on the hot list of European destinations. The staging of the Universal Forum of Cultures in 2004 also raised the city's profile. Such popularity may make it harder to land a hotel room, but it has only added to the sense that Barcelona is a place to be as much for its energetic, cosmopolitan character as for its unusual attractions.
