The best plans in Montjuïc

The Olympic Ring

Located around the Olympic Stadium in Montjuic mountain, this is the most important area that was remodeled for the Barcelona Olympic Games held in 1992. Its various facilities include Sant Jordi Palace, the Olympic Stadium, the Picornell swimming pools, Montjuic municipal swimming pool, the INEFC (National Institute of Physical Education) and the Olympic and Sports Museum (built in 2007). Right in the middle of the ring is the famous Calatrava Tower, a communications tower measuring 136 metres.

Magic Fountains of Montjuic

Built by Carles Buïgas for the International Exhibition of 1929, it is the largest ornamental fountain in the city and offers a show combining music with the movement of water and over 50 different lights.

In 1992 the fountain was painstakingly restored for the Barcelona Olympics.

Every year, Barcelona’s main festival, La Mercè, culminates in a Pyromusical performance that combines the fountain show with a fantastic fireworks display.

In an effort to save water, all the water used in the fountain is recycled.

Fira de Barcelona (Trade Fair Grounds)

Barcelona’s trade fair tradition goes as far back as the Universal Exhibition of 1888. In 1920, the first trade fair was held and the present trade fair grounds in Montjuic were established in 1929.

The Fira de Barcelona is the city’s trade fair institution and one of the largest in Europe. Each year numerous exhibitions and conferences are held here, bringing together leading companies from different economic sectors to showcase their innovations, share their knowledge and experience and promote their businesses.

The Fira has a portfolio of 80 annual, biannual, biennial, triennial, and quadrennial trade shows which attract some 40,000 companies and 3.5 million visitors. It is the leader in industrial trade fairs in Spain, and 15 of its trade fairs are considered benchmarks in Europe.

The Fira is divided into two venues – the Montjuic location is 165,000 square metres and the Gran Via venue, which opened in 2007, covers 200,000 square metres and is extendable to 405,000 square meters.

Spanish Village

Built in 1929 for the Universal Exhibition in Barcelona, it was designed by the architect Puig i Cadafalch.

It currently houses a total of 117 scale models of buildings representing 15 different Spanish regions and covers a surface area of 42,000 square metres. It is considered to be a unique space in the city; a real village with streets, squares and buildings that can transport us from a church in Aragón to a neighbourhood in Andalucía, all mixed together in one enclosure.

Since 1997, it has also housed 40 workshops, where artisans specialising in jewelry, glass, masks, embroidery, puppets, leather, ceramics, etc., all offer unique handcrafted pieces. For this reason, the Catalan government declared it an ‘Area of Craft Interest’.

It also has several bars, restaurants and clubs.

Montjuic Castle

In 1640, during the War of the Reapers, the city built a military compound in the place where there used to be a watchtower. This first fortress became royal property in 1652, and shortly after became one of the main protagonists in the War of Succession between 1705 and 1714.

In the mid-18th century, military engineer Juan Martin Cermeño undertook the remodeling of the enclosure that was badly damaged during the war. It was at this time that the castle started to take on the appearance it has today. Throughout history, the city of Barcelona was bombed several from the castle grounds, which also served as a prison. On 15 October 1940, the Catalan president, Lluís Companys, was shot to death. The castle was used as a military prison until 1960, when it was ceded to the city under the management of the army.

Montjuic Castle has been the property of the City Council since 2007.

Mies Van der Rohe Pavilion

Built in 1929 as the German pavilion for the Universal Exhibition, the building is simple in form but constructed with luxurious materials such as travertine marble.

The pavilion was dismantled in 1930 once the Exhibition had ended. Over time it became a key reference in the career path of Mies van der Rohe and for 20th-century architecture. As a result, the pavilion was rebuilt in 1980 and opened in 1986 on the original site.

It is one of the most important monuments of modern 20th-century architecture, and has been extensively studied and interpreted, as well as inspiring the work of several generations of architects.

The pavilion was designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, director of the Bauhaus, the centre for aesthetic reflection that changed the course of art and design in Europe.

The pavilion is constructed with glass, steel and four different types of marble: Roman travertine, green Alpine marble, ancient green marble from Greece and golden onyx from the Atlas Mountains.

Grec Theatre (Teatre Grec)

This outdoor theatre was designed and built in 1929 by architects Ramón Reventós and Nicolau Maria Rubió i Tudurí for the Universal Exhibition in Barcelona. Rubió and Reventós drew their inspiration from the plan of the Epidaurus theatre. As it was built in an old disused quarry in the mountain, the cut stone wall serves as the theatre’s stage.

With an area of 460 square metres, the theatre can accommodate up to 1,900 spectators.

The Grec Festival has been held here every year since 1976, offering major artistic performances, especially in summer. The theatre is scarcely used the rest of the year.

Within the grounds of the theatre are some gardens and a restaurant.