It took me six tries on five visits over 16 years, but I finally got up to the observation platform on the Columbus Tower at the foot of Barcelona’s Ramblas and the edge of its harbor.
Each time, it was either closed, or closed for renovation, or, on my first try this trip, waiting for the elevator repairman. I almost didn’t believe it when I showed up on my last morning and found it was now ready for me.
The rather elaborate monument, 200 feet high, was built for the 1888 Barcelona Universal Exposition. It has 12 statues or medallions around the base representing 12 people associated with Coumbus, an anchor, four Winged Victories, each with paired griffins. And there are eight bas-relief panels of scenes in Columbus’s first voyage. And there are eight coats of arms representing places that Columbus visited, in Europe and the Americas. Oh, yes. There are four staircases down to the lobby, each with two lions.
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But all that’s out of sight when you get to the top, just under the statue itself. The impressive building in the middle picture is the Commandancia Naval de Barcelona, regional headquarters of the Spanish Navy. The office building just behind it, with the Calvin Klein ad, is also called Columbus Tower, but you wouldn’t confuse the two. In the lower picture, the famous and now largely-pedestrianized Las Ramblas run north to Placa de Catalunya, the spine of the old city.
Montjuic, the hill that is a Barcelona landmark and location of some important local sites, looms over the city; in the middle picture, the National Palace, home to the Catalan National Museum of Art is to the left at the summit. Three Chimneys, in the foreground, is a recreation area re-using some of the city’s industrial past. A cable car runs from the port area to Montjuic, using the tower.
These days the port area is mostly given over to small craft, cruise ships and retail malls, as well as a major aquarium; in the age of containerization, the working harbor has moved a few miles away.
But the area is not entirely de-industrialized; the out-of-water boats above are at a facility that advertises itself as the world’s premier place for repair and maintenance of super-yachts, if you happen to have one. At the near edge of the inner basin is the former Port Authority building, now being turned into a visitor and event venue.
Looking away from the port and the old city, toward newer areas, including the sites of the 1992 Olympics, which helped put Barcelona high on the world tourism map. Further up in that direction is the Torre Glòries, which also has an observation deck and, you should pardon the expression, sticks out like a sore thumb.
Inside the Columbus monument, a view of the viewing platform, with the points of the crown-like decoration visible through the windows, and part of the plaque honoring the builders—and especially the donors—of the tower.
Telephoto shots from on high can be fun because of foreshortening. This one brings the tower of the 15th century Santa Maria del Pi church unnaturally close; it’s actually a half mile from the tower. The next shot puts the square towers of Barcelona’s cathedral almost next door to the soaring round towers of Sagrada Familia, which is about a mile and a half away.
And, speaking of Sagrada Familia, its Passion Tower is another great spot for a view looking down, also with stone decorations intruding into some of the pictures.
And, if you need a cab, now you know where to find one… Just need to run down about 260 winding steps to get there…
Great views!!