Barcelona

Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia and is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, the national capital. It is located on the Mediterranean coast (41°23′N 2°11′E) between the mouths of the rivers Llobregat and Besòs, limited to the west by the Serra de Collserola ridge (512 m).

It is a major economic centre, with one of Spain's principal Mediterranean ports and its second largest airport, and also a cultural and tourist attraction. The architectural works of Antoni Gaudí and Lluís Domènech i Montaner are particularly renowned, and have been inscribed on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

As the capital of Catalonia, Barcelona houses the seat of the Catalan autonomous government, known as the Generalitat de Catalunya, notably its executive branch, the Parliament and the Supreme Court of Catalonia. It is also the capital of the province of Barcelona and of the comarca of the Barcelonès. Barcelona has a Mediterranean climate, with mild, dry winters and warm, humid summers. January and February are the coldest months, averaging temperatures of 10 °C (50 °F. Snowfalls are so rare that they are remembered as special events by people. July and August are the hottest months, averaging temperatures of 25 °C (77 °F). The highest recorded maximum temperature in the city itself is 38.6 °C (101.5 °F) on 2003-08-13.[13] At the Fabra Observatory, situated on the Tibidabo hill, the record is 39.8 °C (103.6 °F) in 1982.

With a coastline stretching more than four kilometres, the recovery of the Barcelona seafront has been one of the most important changes in the city. Today, the beaches are the largest and most popular leisure spaces of the urban landscape.

Shows, bars, discotheques, concerts, terraces and popular fiestas are just a few of the choices that the city offers for enjoying the Mediterranean night. By night Barcelona provides exciting cultural activities, entertainment and leisure for all tastes.

With the idea of being the city's true cultural driving force, the museums of Barcelona programme all sorts of activities, from temporary exhibitions to itineraries and workshops, offering attractive ways to discover their historic and contemporary collections.

The museums of Barcelona house a very valuable heritage, and the conservation and popularizing of that heritage, encouraging different sections of the public to get to know it by means of exhibitions and hands-on activities, is their primary function. This is the context that underpins exhibition ventures such as the cycle Mediterraneum at the Museu d'Història de la Ciutat, which presents the Mediterranean as a space of cultural interchange, and the exhibition París-Barcelona, produced in collaboration with the Musée Picasso in Paris. In addition to displaying their own collections and hosting a wide range of temporary exhibitions, the museums also run a huge variety of activities: itineraries and evening visits, workshops for schools, courses and cycles of lectures and live music are coming more and more to configure the idea of the museum as a driving force of the city's cultural dynamic. The museums work to define differentiated types of provision oriented at specific audiences, and organize programmes such as Summer in the Museums and Christmas in the Museums.