5 Best Sights in Barcelona, Spain

The 1911 Casaramona textile factory, a neo-Mudejar Art Nouveau masterpiece by Josep Puig i Cadafalch (architect of Casa de les Punxes, Casa Amatller, and Palau del Baró de Quadras), is now a center for temporary art exhibits, as well as concerts, live performances, and other cultural events. The original brickwork is spectacular, while a 2002 restoration added sleek white modern entryway designed by Japanese architect Arata Isozaki, also responsible for the nearby Palau Sant Jordi.

A defunct Poblenou movie theater rescued and reimagined for the digital age, the IDEAL space combines 360-degree projections with virtual reality and cutting-edge light and sound effects for an immersive experience. Recent shows have brought to life the story of Tutankhamun and the works of Monet, Gustav Klimt, and Frida Kahlo.

This eye-catching center for design is home to six permanent collections covering textiles, historical clothing and haute couture, ceramics (with pieces by Miró and Picasso), decorative arts, and graphic design. The product design and modern and contemporary furniture collections are particularly outstanding. Temporary exhibits run the gamut, with recent shows devoted to the graffiti art of Banksy, Balenciaga's exquisite hats, and women in design. The building itself, by MBM Arquitectes (Oriol Bohigas, doyen of the firm, was the prime mover in much of Barcelona's makeover for the 1992 Olympics), juts out like a multistoried wedge into the Plaça de les Glòries.

Next door to the MACBA, this multidisciplinary gallery, lecture hall, and concert and exhibition space offers a year-round program of cultural events and projects. The center also has a remarkable film archive of historic shorts and documentaries, free to the public. Housed in the restored and renovated Casa de la Caritat, a former medieval convent and hospital, the CCCB, like the Palau de la Música Catalana, is one of the city's shining examples of contemporary flare added to traditional architecture and design. A smoked-glass wall on the right side of the patio, designed by architects Albert Villaplana and Helio Piñon, reflects out over the rooftops of El Raval to Montjuïc and the Mediterranean beyond.

This self-proclaimed artist social club—remodeled from an old textile factory on the outer limits of the Poblenou district—is a great place for emerging young visual artists to find their footing. Part of the complex accommodates work spaces for resident artists and creatives; live performances and festivals are hosted here as well.