Setting a good Eixample

Not that this fascinating quarter of Barcelona means Example, but its name means "extension", since it was added on to existing parts of the city in the 19th century. You don't see that many grid patterns in cities outside the Americas (although Valencia has a smaller version) but this one is remarkable. After it was conceived, the architect Antoni Gaudi and his followers latched on to it in a big way, using his unique take on Art Nouveau called Modernisme. Other architects clung to a mish-mash of French chateaux and Scottish baronial. Wonderful!

If you want to know why there are no pictures of the famous Sagrada Familia church, the queues outside other major sites put me off, plus I did go there in the 1970s. But there was enough local life in the Concepcio covered market to keep me occupied.Read more