Tibidabo

Barcelona has the history, architecture, wonderful temples, cathedrals, museums, beaches, great restaurants and nightlife. All that needed now is a nearby mountain to view this beautiful city in all its splendor. It shouldn't come as a surprise to find that there are two, Montjuic and Mount Tibidado.

Tibidabo is the small mountain or hill you see in the north of the city behind Zona Alta. You will get a fantastic view of the city. Tibidabo is a Latin word for “I will give you".
Tibidabo can be reached by the tramvia Blau which is taken at the end of Calle Balmes in Plaça John Fitzgerald Kennedy. There are three night-time venues in Plaça del Doctor Andreu which are also good viewpoints: the Mirablau, the Venta and the Merbeyé. Also, on the upper part of the Square, on the mountain side, it is possible to see the Tibidabo funicular which goes from Plaça del Doctor Andreu to the top of the mountain, where the funfair is located. This was the first transport of these characteristics to operate in the Spanish state (inaugurated on 29 October 1901) and the journey covers 1,152 m.

The Blue Tram and the Funicular were inaugurated on 29 October 1901, and shortly afterwards the first attractions were installed on Tibidabo. On top of Tibidabo you will find a nostalgic amusement park with antique merry-go-rounds. It was opened in Barcelona in 1908 and some of the merry-go-rounds are still from this time. Also the Museu dels Autòmates can be found here, a museum that exhibits all kinds of robots and machines. The park still conserves some of the most significant ones that have filled it during its hundred years of existence: for example, the Castle of Terror and the Big Dipper (roller coaster). Or one of its most unusual items: the airplane, which dates from 1928 and is a replica of the model that made the first flight between Barcelona and Madrid.

Up on Mount Tibidabo, you'll first see a large church and hear the bells. When we were there, it sounded as if the bells came from a tape that was not in the best working condition anymore--don't know if it was my ears or what . . . The church was quite pretty inside, but featured electric candles that you could light by inserting money in the machine--I had not seen electric ones before. The church Temple Expiatori del Sagrat Cor can be seen from all over Barcelona. Enric Sagnier built it during 1902 and 1911. From the top of the church the view on Barcelona is stunning. Climb up the stairs for some more amazing views of Barcelona. You can take a different picture with the fun-fair equipment in the front!

The most important thing for travelers to see and understand what Barcelona is and what represent for the people who lives here. So they need to find perfect place to enjoy Barcelona: a place like Barcelona hotels where tourists can rest and feel with intensity the Barcelona vibe.

Other attractions of the Mount Tibidabo are two buildings erected between 1901 and 1905: in 1901 Camil Fabra, the Marquis of Alella, built the astronomical observatory which bears his name, designed by Josep Domènech i Estapà. Nearby, in 1905, Ferran Alsina built a museum of experimental physics named La Mentora, which, due to the great interest of its collection of scientific apparatus of the time, has been conserved to the present day.

To climb Tibidabo Mountain is worth a visit because of the excellent city views, the Sacred Heart Basilica and the amusement park panorama from outside.

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