In the Montjuïc area you will find several sports facilities, built in occasion of the Olympic Games of Barcelona in 1992.
This area is called Olympic Ring and is situated behind the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, reachable by following l’Avinguda de L’ Estadi.
Olympic Stadium LLuís Companys
The most important building in the Olympic ares is the Olympic Stadium, where you can also find the Museum of the Barcelona Olympic Foundation.
The stadium was built in 1929, for the 2nd International Fair of Barcelona, and renewed ten years later to host the 1936 Alternative Olympic Games.
This games were supposed to be the alternative to the Pylmpic Berlin Games, sponsored by the Hitler regime. Unfortunately the games didn’t end up well because of the Civil War that started the same year.
After the war, the stadium was enlarged and renovated again in 1992, to host the Olympic Games of the city.
This was also the setting for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Olympics, other than the Athletics competitions.
As main ornaments outside you will see two bronze equestrian figures above the Marathon Gate, decorated with sculptures made by Pau Gargallo.
The stadium has nowadays a total capacity for 55,000 spectators and was used until 2009 as the stadium of the football team RCD Espanyol de Barcelona.
Palau Sant Jordi
Palau Sant Jordi is withiout any doubt the most spectacular and extravagant building in the sport complex.
Designed by the Japanese architect Arata Isozaki it was conceived as an allegory of a Mediterranean tortoise with a huge glass shell.
It can accommodate up to 24,000 spectators and nowadays is often used as a Music Hall.
Calatrava’s Communications Tower
Close to Palau Sant Jordi, you will find the Communications Tower built by Santiago Calatrava, one of the jewels of contemporary architecture in the city of Barcelona.
It has a total height of 120 meters, and the same inclination of the axis of the earth.
During the Olympic Games another Communication Tower was built in Collserola’s Hill by the architect Norman Foster.
Both towers aim to facilitate the communication system in the city of Barcelona and around its metropolitan area.
Picornell Swimming pool
Another important element of the Olympic Area is the Picornell Swimming pool, designed by Catalan architect Antoni de Moragues and used as the headquarters of the Olympic swimming and diving competitions during the Olympic Games in Barcelona.
This swimming pool is the playground of one of the funniest summer events of Barcelona: “Cinema i bany”, litteraly Cinema and swimm, which basically consist in watching movies at night while swimming in the pool.
Close to Olympic pool you will also see a white building, the Training Institute of Catalonia, where athletes that want to become professional train and live.
How to get to Olympic Ring Area
- Metro: L1 and L3, stop Plaça Espanya. From the stop you can take the escalator to go up to the Olympic area.
- Buses: 50 55 61 25 193 125
- Barcelona Touristic Bus: Blue Route (Starts at Plaça de Catalunya or Plaça de Espanya). Stop: Olympic Ring
- Funicular de Montjuïc
- From the metro stop Liceu (L2 and L3 Metro ) Stops: Palau Sant Jordi, Olympic Stadium, University of Sport.