Barcelona, a vibrant metropolis on Spain's northeastern coast, is the capital of Catalonia and the country's second-most populous city, with an urban area home to around 5.7 million people. Traditionally founded by Phoenicians or Carthaginians, it flourished as a vital economic and administrative center of the Crown of Aragon in the Middle Ages, later becoming a key hub for Catalan separatism and the capital of autonomous Catalonia. Renowned for its rich cultural heritage, the city is a major tourist destination, particularly famous for the striking UNESCO World Heritage architectural works of Antoni Gaudí and Lluís Domènech i Montaner.
This leading global city is a significant cultural, economic, and financial center, notably hosting the 1992 Summer Olympics and serving as Spain's main biotech hub. With one of Europe's busiest seaports and an international airport handling over 50 million passengers annually, Barcelona stands as a crucial transport hub, continually asserting its influence in global socio-economic affairs.