Barcelona Ultimate Travel Guide Barcelona is a major metropolis known to many tourists around the world. It is a combination of two faces...the old city and the new or the modern city. After the Olympic games in 1992, Barcelona gained international fame and since then has started to bloom into a magnificent city that it is today. Such a beautiful combination of old and new, Barcelona boasts of amazing historical landmarks, modern buildings and facilities, world-class metro system, one-of-a-kind and futuristic architectures, and panoramic beaches.