Archive for 'Parks & Gardens in Spain'

One of Barcelona's most popular attractions is Park Güell, a public park system composed of gardens and architectonic elements located on Carmel Hill that was designed by famous Catalonian architect Gaudí. Around four million people visit every year. In fact, it is such a key attraction in the city that it has come to symbolise the city itself and is an iconic visual that is plastered across all advertisements for and articles about Barcelona.

The Plaza de España, in Seville, was built for the Ibero-American Exhibition in 1929, as were many of the pavilions that you can still see in the area around the Parque Maria Luisa. A semi-circular brick building executed in a combination of Renaissance and Neo-Moorish styles, it is a vast and beautiful building. 50,000 square metres in size, as large as five football pitches, it was designed by architect Anibal Gonzalez to wow the exhibitors and visitors from around the world, as well as showcase Seville's excellent craftsmanship and one can imagine that its sheer scale and incredible beauty did just that.

Situated in Maria Luisa Park, it is now home to various government offices, including the offices that issue IDs and the NIE (Numero de Identificacion de Extranjero) to those who have moved to Spain from abroad. However, while the interior is for official purposes, the picturesque exterior has ensured that this lovely building remains a tourist attraction and a particularly photogenic one, at that.