Poble Espanyol

Description:

• This re-created Spanish village, built for the 1929 World's Fair, provokes mixed feelings: Purists see it as the height of kitsch, while others delight in its open spaces and Disneyland-type feel. But the question remains: Where else would you find over 100 styles of Spanish architecture crammed into one very pleasant spot? From the Levante to Galicia, from Castilian high Gothic to the humble whitewashed dwellings of the south and to colorful Basque homes -- it's all here. At the entrance, for starters, stands a facsimile of the gateway to the grand walled city of Avila. This leads you to the center of the village with an outdoor cafe where you can sit and have drinks, and there are various other venues throughout, including the excellent flamenco taberna, the Tablao de Carmen, and a couple of other trendy nightspots. The big names of July's El Grec festival also play here, in the main plaza just inside the gates. As was originally intended, numerous shops still sell provincial crafts and souvenir items, and in some of them you can see artists at work, printing fabric, making pottery, and blowing glass. If you are lucky, your visit may coincide with a wedding at the faux Sant Miquel monastery, one of the most popular places in the city to get married. A few years back, the Poble Espanyol added the Fundació Fran Daural (daily 10am-7pm), a collection of contemporary Catalan art with works by Dalí, Picasso, Barceló, and Tàpies. Many families delight in the faux-Spanish atmosphere, but the more discriminating find it a bit of a tourist trap.

• © Frommer's 2013

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Highly Recommended 2009
•  Highly Recommended 2010