Spain’s Barcelona comes seventh in TripAdvisor poll of world’s best holiday destinations

THIS view of the Barcelona skyline from one of its most famous parks comes as the city came seventh in a new ranking of the most popular destinations for tourists.

TripAdvisor’s Best Destinations 2019 ranking awarded Barcelona seventh place based on reviews and recommendations from millions of its users.  Places were awarded by an algorithm based on ratings for hotels, restaurants and experiences, the travel site said.

The site said: “Barcelona feels a bit surreal, which is appropriate since Salvador Dali spent time here and Spanish Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi designed several of the city’s buildings.

“Stepping into Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia is a bit like falling through the looking glass- a journey that can continue with a visit to Park Guell.”

Barcelona’s most popular sites include both the park and the cathedral, as well as the Las Ramblas thoroughfare, its Barri Gotic (Gothic Quarter) old town and its many Art Nouveau buildings.

The city is also home to the Pablo Picasso Museum. Picasso moved to the city as a young boy and was admitted to its School of Fine Arts aged 13.

A plaza near the Barrri Gotica bears the name of British writer George Orwell, who travelled to the city in December 1936 following the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. He later wrote about the experience in Homage to Catalonia.