Museu del Calçat - museum of shoes

Barcelona is known for fashion.  It should come as no surprise then, that there is a unique museum dedicated to shoes in Barcelona. 

The Museu del Calçat is a shoe museum where you can see historical fashions in footwear. 

The museum may be lacking in scale but it does have an interesting collection of shoes from the last 300 years and even shoes worn by historical figures. 

If you are in the area and think old shoes are cool, stop by the Museu del Calcat.  Don't worry, the place does not smell like feet.

Address: Plaça Sant Felip Neri, 5, Barcelona, Spain

Hours: Tuesday - Sunday, 11-2

Located in the Montjuic district of Barcelona, the Fundació Joan Miró contemporary art museum is a showcase of the works of Joan Miro and other contemporary artists.

Looking for things to do near Las Ramblas, the famous pedestrian walkway in Barcelona?  Consider the Museu de Cera, a wax museum on a Las Ramblas sidestreet not far from the Christopher Columbus monument.

The Barcelona wax museum contains a hundreds of human-like wax figures representing historical and entertainment personalities.  Most of the characters only exist in our minds because we only see them in the movies or on the television.  The Museu de Cera brings the characters to life - and then makes time stand still.

Imagine seeing Star Wars characters in person.  The museum makes it possible.  The wax museum has realistic representations of famous Star Wars characters Chewbacca and R2-D2 alongside Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia. 

The Museu de la Xocolata is a strange Barcelona museum - strangely delicious! 

You see, Xocolata means chocolate.  And to me, good chocolate is a key ingredient of a great vacation.  If you like chocolate, the Museu de la Xocolate in the La Ribera district of Barcelona will add to your vacation enjoyment.  

Rrrrrroarr!!!

The Barcelona Zoo has over 400 species of animals and 7,500 individual animals.  Many of these animals are on the endangered or threatened species list.  Besides a large collection of mammals, the zoo has an aviary, a bird center and a terrarium with 100 species of reptiles and amphibians.  The zoo features regular shows including a bottlenose dolphin show.

So there I am, in a Barcelona gift shop looking at the postcards.  I'm just about to leave Barcelona and have a few euros in my pocket.  Like a good tourist, I have to get a few postcards.  It is my duty.

I picked up 3 - as much as the coins in my pocket could buy.  It was so hard to choose.  I settled on these:

There are so many fabulous attractions to see on a tour of Barcelona, visitors often have a difficult time deciding what to do – and what to leave behind for another visit. No matter what attractions you choose, you aren't likely to be disappointed if you choose them according to your level of interest. Yet it isn't always easy to decide what you'll be interested in if you've never been to Barcelona!

Some places in Barcelona are natural attractions for almost everyone, such as Las Ramblas. In other cases, you may need to spend a little bit of time deciding what to do, and what to let go. This may be especially true of museums and architectural sights. In a week's time, you can't possibly see everything, plus partake of your daily siesta, take advantage of Barcelona's vibrant nightlife, and enjoy all the fabulous Catalan tapas you won't want to miss trying.

Barcelona's famous and popular street, Las Ramblas, usually has its share of street performers entertaining tourists each day. Here's a selection of some of the stranger entertainers.

Guy Losing Head

Jesus on Lunch Break

Casa Batlló is a famous Barcelona building designed by Antoni Gaudi, the same guy who design La Sagrada Familia, the huge unfinished church.

The interior of Casa Batlló, I think, is even more amazing than the exterior. Casually wandering around is fun. Everything seems to curve and it would take a lot of looking to find any straight lines. Gaudi designed the building with an organic flow - like being inside a cave.

(Photo by papalars)

When the topic of Barcelona churches arises, the first thought is La Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's huge unfinished church. Let's look at a few other Barcelona churches.