Life & Style

The 2014 Catalonia Wine Guide has given top marks to the 'Teixar' 2010 (Domènech vineyard-D.O Montsant, Southern Catalonia) and to the cava Brut Gran Reserva 2000 (Enoteca Gramona La Plana, Greater Barcelona), with a 9.77 out of 10 for each of them . These two wines are the very best in Catalonia, according to this year’s guide, which was released along with a new application for smart phones, ‘Guide App'. The guide now offers a variety of information and different concepts accessible via augmented reality technology. With these innovative changes, the guide is looking to introduce Catalan wines to a wider audience, by appealing to young people.

The National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC) has opened two terraces to its visitors who will enjoy never-seen-before panoramic views over Barcelona city and Montjuïc Mountain. This intervention was part of the investment policy of the museum to increase its revenues. Visitors will pay an entrance fee to access the roof of the ‘Palau Nacional’ while the new available space will also be rented out for concerts and other events. Director of the MNAC Pep Serra explained this initiative would help diversify the uses of the museum and give people a new “reason” to go up to Montjuïc for a visit.

Aiming to control better the number of tourists visiting Antoni Gaudí’s famous Park Güell and to obtain revenue to pay for security and maintenance, a few months ago Barcelona City Council approved charging an entrance fee. Friday 25th will be the first day that visitors will have to pay for a ticket in order to access Gaudí’s monuments located in this park in the Catalan capital. The rest of the park will be open to the public as it used to be, without entrance fees. Up to Wednesday noon, 1,900 tickets had been sold for Friday, representing 23% of those available. In addition, the City Council delivered 25,000 cards for the park’s neighbours, in order to allow them access to the park’s entire area, including the zone where Gaudí’s monuments are located.