In a privileged position on the northeastern coast of the
Iberian peninsula and the shores of the Mediterranean, Barcelona
is the second largest city in Spain in both size and population.
It is also the capital of Catalonia, 1 of the 17 Autonomous
Communities that make up Spain.
There are two official languages spoken in Barcelona: Catalan,
generally spoken in all of Catalonia, and Castillian Spanish.
The city of Barcelona has a population of 1.510.000, but this
number spirals to more than 4.000.000 if the outlying areas are
also included.
Barcelona, more than just a single city, is really a collection
of multi-faceted and diverse cities. The visitor unfamiliar with
its history might be surprised that such a modern and
enterprising city preserves its historic Gothic center almost
intact, or by the curious contrast between the maze of narrow
streets and the grid-like layout of the Eixample, the urban
planning "Enlargement" project of the end of the 19th century.
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