Capital of Catalonia, Barcelona has long been dubbed "La Gran Encisera" -- the Great Enchantress. Little wonder: with the bustle of the world's busiest seaport, the medieval romance of its Gothic Quarter, and a feast of Catalan Art Nouveau buildings -- including the great creations of Antonio Gaudí -- Barcelona remains one of the most eye-knocking cities in Europe.

Barcelona has always been ambitious, decidedly modern (even in the 2nd century), and quick to accept the most recent innovations. Its democratic form of government harks back to the so-called Usatges Laws, which were instituted by Ramon Berenguer I in the 11th century and amounted to a constitution. This code of privileges represented one of the earliest known examples of democratic rule, while Barcelona's Consell de Cent (Council of One Hundred), constituted in 1274, was Europe's first parliament and is the true cradle of Western democracy.

The city's palette is vivid and variegated: the glow of stained glass in the penumbra of the Barri Gòtic; Gaudí's mosaic-encrusted, undulating facades; the chromatic mayhem at the Palau de la Música; Miró's now universal blue and crimson shooting stars. Then, of course, there is the physical setting of the city, crouched cat-like between the promontories of Montjuïc and Tibidabo, between the Collserola hills and the 4,000-acre port. Obsessed with playful and radical interpretations of everything from painting to theater to urban design and development, Barcelona consistently surprises itself in its constant quest for emotion and self-renewal.