There are few cities on earth—certainly none more notable than Barcelona—whose architectural identities have been shaped so profoundly by just 1 person. Sure, other famous architects have left their mark on some of the other great cities of the world over the years, but none that I can think of whose work has so strongly and completely defined the identity of a single city as Antoni Gaudí for Barcelona. You may never have even heard of Gaudí, but if you know anything about Barcelona, chances are good that when you picture this city, you are picturing something that originated in this guy’s imagination.
With a metro area population of ~ 5.5 million people, Barcelona is the 2nd largest city in Spain, behind only Madrid. By basically every quantifiable metric— population, economy, political power, etc.—Madrid is the larger city. But when it comes to travel, especially international travel, this relationship reverses. Barcelona is far-and-away the favorite destination for international tourists visiting Spain. And, when you consider the fact that Barcelona also covers a much smaller land area than Madrid, the concentration of international tourists becomes much more intense. Barcelona has indeed struggled to accommodate the levels of tourism it is now receiving, but it’s easy to see why the whole world is so interested in coming here! Sandwiched between the Collserola mountains and the Mediterranean Sea, Barcelona is an absolutely idyllic city. And once you’re in the middle of it, it’s incredible how quickly the Catalan identity eclipses that of Spain.
Hondarribia is a beautiful little town that sits on the Spanish side of the Bidasoa river, which form the border between France and Spain in the Bay of Biscay. The estuary that forms here, where the Bidasoa river meets the Atlantic is called the Bay of Txingudi. So, when you look across the water from Hondarribia, you are looking into France. At the end of this article, we’re going to cross the river (spoiler!), but before we do that, we’ll explore this last outpost of Spanish Basque Country.
