Barcelona has more than 10,000 restaurants and a total of 9 Michelin stars. It is the only city outside France to have been awarded the Gourmande status.

In order to promote the native language, the Catalan regional government gave grants to local film-makers to sponsor the production of a series of pornographic films in Catalan.

It took the US Court of Appeals three years of legal argument to hand back the domain Barcelona.com to its original owner, a Mr Nogueras, after protests by the Barcelona City Council. The Council had not registered the domain on time because, according to them, "...it was not seen as a priority by the Council".

If completed, the Sagrada Familia would be the highest building in Barcelona. It is estimated that Gaudi's masterpiece may be finished by 2030. George Orwell thought the building was a monstrosity that the partisans should have destroyed.

Currently being assessed for Canonisation, Gaudi, who was killed by a tram in from of Sagrada Familia, could become architecture's first Saint.