Arc de Triomf
Arc de Triomf rises in Barcelona over the wide Passeig de Lluís Companys, leading towards Parc de la Ciutadella. Red brickwork and Neo-Mudéjar decoration give the gateway a warm, distinctive appearance.
Josep Vilaseca i Casanovas designed it as the main entrance to the 1888 Barcelona World Fair, welcoming visitors rather than celebrating military victory. The front frieze, Barcelona rep les nacions, shows Barcelona receiving the nations, while the park-facing Recompensa depicts medals awarded to fair participants. Side sculptures represent agriculture, industry, trade, sciences and the arts, and a stone laurel wreath carries the arms of 49 Spanish provinces.
Look closely at the pillars for carved bats, an emblem associated with King Jaume I and Catalan tradition. The larger Barcelona coat of arms appears above the provincial arms, while the surrounding promenade brings together cyclists, walkers and street performers. The arch is wheelchair accessible and can be viewed from outside.
- City
- Barcelona
- Content updated
Image: SelbymayCC BY-SA 3.0 
Image: No machine-readable author provided. Yearofthedragon assumed (based on copyright claims).CC BY-SA 3.0 
Image: No machine-readable author provided. Yearofthedragon assumed (based on copyright claims).CC BY-SA 3.0 
Image: No machine-readable author provided. Yearofthedragon assumed (based on copyright claims).CC BY-SA 3.0 
Image: No machine-readable author provided. Yearofthedragon assumed (based on copyright claims).CC BY-SA 3.0
Take this page with you
The myTuur app is free, and once you are standing at a spot its story starts by itself.
Spots like this one are the stops myTuur strings into tours through Barcelona. In the app, each story begins where you stand: walk up to a spot and it starts, read it on screen or listen as you go, then follow the route to the next one.
What is myTuur?
myTuur is a free city-guide app. Its tours are built from spots, and each spot carries a story that starts when you get there, to read or to listen to as you like.