Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/939870
38 maltatoday SUNDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2018 Travel ≠≠ CITY BREAKS Barcelona has a unique identity not found anywhere else in the world. Pictures of the city as so distinctly Barcelona they could not be mistaken for anywhere else in the world. This is largely thanks to early 20th century artists and architects, the likes of Antoni Gaudi. If you're a food lover Barcelona is the destination of choice with 20 Michelin starred restaurants and tapas at every corner. With six kilometres of pristine beaches, this urban destination also makes a great summer holiday with all the advantages of the city. NEED TO KNOW How to get there Barcelona is pretty easy to get to from Malta. Just a two hour flight away, Barcelona is serviced by Airmalta, as well as low cost airlines Ryan Air and Vueling. Best time to visit With its Mediterranean climate the best time to visit Barcelona is early summer or autumn when temperatures are mild. However even in the winter, days are cold though often sunny, making Barcelona a great city destination in the winter. . Currency Spain is part of the European monetary union and uses the euro. Visas As part of the European Union, Europeans do not need a travel visa to get to Barcelona. Barcelona – A city of art in architecture, food and lifestyle BEST SPOT FOR SIGHTSEEING Just walk around the city and you're sure to find works by the famous architect Antoni Gaudi. Perhaps the best known is the Sagrada Familia, as impressive from the inside as it is from the outside. Gaudi dedicated more than 40 years of his life to the construction of this cathedral, which is still unfin- ished. From afar it looks like a giant has spilled candle wax over the cathedral but on closer look, every protuberance is seen to be an intricate sculpture of flora, fauna or human fig- ure, combining to form an astonishingly moving stone tapestry depicting scenes from Christ's early years. Gaudi's other works are scattered all over the city. Some worth visiting are Park Guell, a space that's out of a fairy tale and emulates an English garden city, La Perdera and Casa Batllo, among others. Barcelona's art is not only in its buildings. Barcelona was where Picasso spent his early years. Follow the footsteps of the artist and visit the landmarks that shaped his youth, from his family home to Els 4 Gats, the restaurant where artists like himself and Salvador Dali would meet up to chat over drinks and dinner. Don't miss out on the Museu Picasso with more that 3,800 pieces of the artist's early works, mostly donated by his friend and secretary Juame Sabartes. The pièce de résistance is the complete series of 58 canvases based on Velázquez's famous 'Las Meninas', donated by Picasso him- self after the death of Sabartés, and now stretching through the Great Hall. La Sagrada Familia is perhaps Guadi's best known work. He dedicated over 40 years of his life to the construction of this cathedral that is still not quite finished The pièce de résistance at the Museu Picasso, is the complete series of 58 canvases based on Velázquez's famous 'Las Meninas', donated by Picasso himself