Barcelona: Tessera Audio Guide

Barcelona is best seen on foot — and best understood with someone telling you what you're looking at. Tessera is that someone, in your pocket, with no signal needed. 112 short stories cover the city, from the Roman walls of the Gothic Quarter to Gaudí's Sagrada Família, Park Güell and the hill of Montjuïc. Each one is written to be heard on the spot: look up, listen, and the city starts to make sense. Why the stone of a quiet little square is pitted with shrapnel. What a life-size concrete mammoth is doing in Ciutadella Park. Why the city barely had a beach before 1992. Which fountain promises you'll come back. EIGHT NEIGHBORHOODS • Gothic Quarter — the cathedral, Roman Barcino, Plaça del Rei, the Jewish quarter • El Born & Ciutadella — Santa Maria del Mar, the Picasso Museum, the Palau de la Música • La Rambla & El Raval — the Boqueria, the Liceu, Gaudí's Palau Güell, the Columbus…