Bargains can be found in the heart of Barcelona
By Harold Heckle, Associated Press Writer
BARCELONA — Spain’s northeastern city of Barcelona, set between verdant mountains and the Mediterranean sea, basks in a well-earned reputation as one of Europe’s most popular tourist destinations.
With a dramatic rocky coastline cradling little fishing ports to the north and almost endless sandy beaches stretching to the south, the capital of the Catalan region has acted as a powerful tourist magnet since the late 1950s.
Around 59.2 million foreign visitors last year made Spain the world’s third most visited holiday destination, a position — behind France and ahead of the United States — it has held consistently for decades.
Thanks to its setting and the beauty of Catalonia, its coasts and offshore islands, millions of tourists explore Barcelona annually. Once there it is easy to understand why.
