Hotel Arts Barcelona

On 16 June 1900 work began on creating access to the top of Tibidabo, with the building of a tram - known popularly as the “Tramvia Blau” (Blue Tram) - and a funicular railway. At the same time, at the top of the mountain, work continued with the landscaping and construction of buildings and terraces. On 29 October 1901, the new facilities were officially opened. Interestingly, the funicular railway turned out to be the first main attraction of the Amusement Park, due to it being an innovative means of transport at that time. That same year, the first leisure facilities also appeared - such as the automatic scales and postcard vending machines. The first decade saw the introduction of small attractions such as telescopes and binoculars, swings, the Flobert shooting gallery, bowling, mirrors, automatons, the carrier pigeon station, along with events of all kinds: including Clavé choirs, military bands, orchestras and balloon rides. New buildings were opened such as the Gran Café Restaurant Tibidabo and the Hotel Restaurant Coll as well as a large events hall, within which they tried, unsuccessfully, to open a casino.

Barça's new stadium replaced their old ground of Les Corts which with a capacity of just 48,000 was too small to accomodate the interest generated by a team led by Hungarian star Ladislao Kubala. The stadium was designed by architects Francesc Mitjans Miró and Josep Soteras Mauri, with the collaboration of Lorenzo García Barbón, and it was constructed between 1955 and 1957, using mainly concrete and iron. The whole project cost a staggering 288 million pesetas, which meant the club would spend the following years heavily in debt. Although it was originally going to go under the official name of ‘Estadi del FC Barcelona’, it soon came to be popularly known as the 'Camp Nou' (the ‘new ground’), as opposed to the club’s old home at Les Corts. It was not until the 2000/2001 season that, following a postal vote made by the Club membership, that the decision was made to make ‘Camp Nou’ the official name of the stadium. Of the 29,102 votes the club received, a total of 19,861 (68.25%) preferred Camp Nou to Estadi del FC Barcelona. The stadium’s maximum height is 48 metres, and it covers a surface area of 55,000 square metres (250 metres long and 220 metres wide). In accordance with UEFA stipulations, the playing area has been downsized to 105 metres x 68 metres. With a capacity of 99,354, it is now the biggest stadium in Europe. However, the total capacity has varied over the years owing to different modifications. When it was first opened in 1957, it held 93,053 spectators, which would be increased to 120,000 in 1982 on occasion of the FIFA World Cup. However, the introduction of new regulations outlawing standing areas reduced the stadium’s capacity in the late 1990s to just under 99,000. In the 1998-99 season, UEFA recognised the services and facilities at Camp Nou by awarding it five star status. In the whole of Spain there are only four other stadiums that can claim that, the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium, also in Barcelona, the new Cartuja Olympic Stadium in Seville, the Vicente Calderón, home of Atlético Madrid, and the Santiago Bernabéu, also in Madrid. Of the different facilities on offer inside the stadium, of particular note are a chapel next to the changing rooms, the presidential box, the VIPs lounge, the press rooms, several television studios, the Sports Medicine Centre, the Operative Control Unit (UCO), the veteran players area, the FC Barcelona club museum, and the offices of all of the many different Club departments.

Antoni Gaudí was born on 25 June 1852 in Reus, in the Baix Camp, which was then the second city in Catalonia. He attended the Escoles Pies school, where he excelled in Geometry and Arithmetic, and received a traditional, religious and humanist education. Son of a coppersmith, he started learning about crafts in his father’s workshop in 1860. In 1868 he moved to Barcelona and prepared for entry to the School of Architecture, which he joined in 1873. He combined his studies with working as an assistant in an architectural practice, as well as in the workshops of a carpenter, a glassmaker and a locksmith where he learned these crafts. He was inconsistent in his Architecture studies, but stood out in the subjects of design, drawing and mathematical calculation. In 1878, after qualifying in Architecture, he received his first official commission. As his professional reputation grew he undertook larger projects commissioned by the bourgeoisie such as, amongst others, the Casa Calvet, the Casa Batlló and the Casa Milà. In 1883 he took over the design of the Sagrada Familia, while also working on other projects. Some of our guestrooms and suites have views on this amazing church right in front of your window! In 1906, Antoni Gaudí moved into what is now known as the Gaudí House Museum, the model home at Park Güell designed by Francesc d’Assís Berenguer i Mestres, the architect’s friend and right-hand man, where he lived for nearly 20 years. He worked for 43 years on the temple until 1926. In 1914 he left all other work to concentrate exclusively on this sole project until his death on 10 June 1926, the result of a tragic accident three days earlier. His funeral cortege, which went through much of Barcelona and finished in the Sagrada Familia, was a grand event in the city in recognition of his status as the greatest architect Barcelona has ever seen. Gaudí was buried in the chapel of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the crypt of the Sagrada Familia.

Güell wanted to recreate the British residential parks, which is why he named it Park Güell, in English. Gaudí respected the vegetation that was already growing on the property, such as the carob and olive trees, and when new species were introduced, he opted for Mediterranean plants that did not require much water. He also designed various systems for collecting and storing water, based on the irrigation systems he had learned about in the rural setting of his childhood. Both the vegetation and the management of the water resources thus helped to prevent the erosion of the land caused by the heavy Mediterranean downpours, while at the same time helping to provide the water needed by the estate’s inhabitants.

Over 3000 workers were commissioned to work on the project and less than 1 year later the magic fountain was born. The magic fountain of Montjuïc's (Font màgica de Montjuïc in Catalan) first performance was on May 19, 1929 during the Great Universal Exhibition. The designer Carles Buigas submitted his plans one year before the exhibition and many thought that the project was too ambitious to be created, let alone completed on time. The magic fountain is a spectacular display of colour, light, motion, music and water acrobatics - if you mix these elements together in just the right combinations, you end up with pure magic! The magic fountain is a "must see" when you come to Barcelona and highly recommended.

Walk the Gothic quarter and discover Barcelona's spectacular cathedral, dine at amazing tapas restaurants or shop in the famous Portal del Angel shopping street

Discover Barcelona's beaches at your doorstep while staying at Hotel Arts. Bogatell, Nova Icaria or Mar Bella are some of the best within walking distance from the Hotel!