Plaça d'Espanya

Plaça d'Espanya is a semicircular plaza in the Montjuïc neighborhood of Barcelona, designed as a public garden with a building spanning roughly 200 meters (650 feet). The complex includes two tall brick towers at each end, a colonnaded walkway, and a shallow canal where visitors can rent small boats.

The plaza was built in the late 1920s as part of the preparations for the Ibero-American Exposition that Barcelona hosted in 1929. Architect Aníbal González led the project and created a Renaissance-style structure blending regional Spanish elements.

Along the curved building stand benches dedicated to each of Spain's forty-eight provinces, decorated with hand-painted tiles showing coats of arms and maps. Visitors often sit on the bench representing their home region and take photos in front of the colorful azulejos that tell local stories in bright colors.

Access is free through the adjacent Maria Luisa Park, which connects on foot in a few minutes. The best light for photos comes in early morning or late afternoon, when the sun warms the brick and ceramic tiles.

Four small bridges span the canal and carry the names and symbols of the medieval kingdoms of Castile, Aragon, Navarre, and Leon. Each bridge shows a different coat of arms in colorful ceramic tiles, recalling the historical union of these territories.