Take an escalator up the mountain! (Parc de Montjuïc (Barcelona, Spain))

Member Name: ms_123

Product:	Parc de Montjuïc (Barcelona, Spain)
Date:	08/06/09 (53 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Stunning Views and Beautiful fountain show!

Disadvantages: None

We visited Barcelona last week and spent an evening at Montjuic. The park is set on a mountain that rises 700ft above the port and was the site for many of the stadiums used in the 1992 Olympics. To get up the mountain you can take a cable car from the port or approach the mountain from the southern side by a series of escalators. Yes, that's right escalators that take you up the mountain! This I had to see, so we decided to skip the cable cars and head for the escalators.

The mountain is home to several tourist sites including the Palau National which exhibits historic artwork from the region. Also on the mountain is Castell de Montjuic, which used to be a prison but now houses the museo del comic y la ilustracion. Nearby is also Poble Espanyol which has many restaurants and activities for children. We didn't actually have time to visit these but did spend some time wandering around the Olympic complex. The views from the mountain are stunning and well worth taking the escalator up.

At the bottom of the mountain in front of the Palau National is the Font Magica - the reason for our visit. Four evenings a week at dusk this fountain comes alive with countless jets of coloured water that are choreographed to music. The 15 minute show attracts a huge crowd so get there early and pick a spot on the steps in front. We got there for the first show at around 9pm, whilst it was still light, and I have to say that we were not all that impressed. The show had no music and as it was not dark the lights did not have much impact. By the second show however, darkness had fallen and the show was transformed with music. The choreography was spectacular with jets of water rising to about 15 feet in all shapes and sizes. The colours were magnificent, blues, greens, purples and oranges - it reminded me of watching Disney's Fantasia. The finale was awesome with Freddie Mercury singing 'Barcelona' with Monserrat Cabelle before the fountain faded away ready for the next show. Truly mesmorising and not one to be missed!

Summary: A great evening out!