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DESTINATIONS SPAIN & PORTUGAL | EUROPE


t travelweekly.co.uk


hink of Barcelona and there are many places your mind will


go. Home of Antoni Gaudí and his unfinished masterpiece, the Sagrada Família, the city is dotted with unique, otherworldly architecture. It boasts arguably the most famous football club on the planet, one whose cultural impact goes far beyond the game itself and seeps into every aspect of the city. Foodies can rub shoulders with locals in bustling tapas bars, tuck into a plate of steaming paella on the seafront or splash out at one of its many Michelin-starred restaurants. Throw in the fact that you have a host of quality beaches on its doorstep and you can see why Barcelona is high on the list of many tourists’ dream destinations. Never one to be afraid of standing out from the crowd, the Catalan capital is now keen to showcase another aspect of what makes it great: science. As Alexandra Marcó, marketing director of the city’s


tourist board, points out, modern Barcelona contains an array of science-themed attractions that offer something for everyone. “Barcelona has been ranked as the fourth-best European city for science, with investigative centres and research hubs. We are a very creative and innovative city, with lots of interesting scientific and technological installations that not everybody knows about,” she says. “For example, we have the most powerful computer in Spain, immersive experiences with digital art, and a fantastic science museum.” That museum, the CosmoCaixa, is an obvious focal point for the city’s science-based attractions. In it, visitors can take in exhibitions such as the Flooded Forest, which recreates 1,000sq m of Amazonian rainforest, the Hall of Matter, detailing the history of the universe, and the huge Geological Wall that uses sections of rock to illustrate the Earth’s structures. Several family-oriented attractions, such as ‘Toca! Toca!’ (‘Touch!


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