Barcelona is the capital of the Catalonian region of Spain and according to government figures, it was the most visited Spanish city in 2007.  The figures were statistics for the Frontier Tourist Movement survey.

In 2006, 58.2 million people visited Spain and in 2007, that number increased to 59.2 million people.

The most popular area for tourists was Catalonia.  Catalonia is an autonomous community in the north east region of Spain and it had a total of 15.2 million tourists visit there last year.

The majority of these visits will have paid a visit to the city of Barcelona.  There are many sights and tourist attractions in Barcelona, like the Sagrada Familia Roman Catholic church, attracting over 2 million visitors per year.

Other tourist attractions include the Park Guell, Casa Calvet, Casa Batilo and Casa Vicens, sll of which show the distinctive style of the architect Antoni Gaudi, who also designed the Sagrada Familia.

Chief factors that may have contributed to Barcelona’s popularity will probably include the cheap flights available now from most UK airports and the bargain holiday deals available all year round.