Barcelona

I visited the great Spanish city of Barcelona in the autumn of 2016. It is hard to express how lovely it is as a Mediterranean city. 

The old part of the city, the Gothic Bari, (where the Cathedral is, and the Ramblas) is simply an interlacing of tiny passages which no cars can pass. It remains a quite remarkable, often eery place. There is one exquisite square with a C13th church (S Felip Neri) on one side:

Very close to the Opera house, there is a more famous large square (Place Reial) which is near to where the terrorist van stopped. Even in the rain it was fun to visit and very beautiful. 

But outside of the old area of town, there is street after street of loveliness, all built on the modern grid. Often lined with London plane trees, this area is very restful.

And from the amazing Museum of Catalonia, which overlooks the city, there is a most splendid view.