Badalona

Badalona is a city in the eastern part Catalonia, the region which is in northeastern part of Spain, and is located next to the city of Barcelona, almost as a suburb. It is situated on the left bank of the small Besòs river and the Mediterranean Sea to the front of it, and has a stunning backdrop of the Sierra de la Marina mountain range.

Badalona has a long history dating back to the Roman occupation although human occupation has used the area since 3500bc. It was here that the monarch of Spain received Christopher Columbus after his first voyage to the Americas.

For many years the Catholic monarchs of Spain used Badalona as their summer retreat and the Saint Jeroni de la Murtra Monastery was originally their residence.

Badalona has good transport links with Barcelona, the RENFE train service, the Barcelona Metro system which extends this far, and a good bus service. But with a good beach you may not feel like much Travelling.

The town is fairly industrialised, being the home of wool, cotton, glass, biscuits, sugar and brandy production. The city is also home to the historic distillery which produces Anis del Mono, a spirit made of herbs and aniseed, the most famous anisette in Spain. Badalona harbour is also the home of a fishing industry and boat building trades.

Badalona is justly proud of it's sport complex, the Municipal Sports Palace, which was the setting for basketball competition during the Olympic Games in 1992. Now it is home of the basketball team from Badalona and is also to be the centre of the Badalona Capital Europea del Bàsquet, which is intended to be a theme park celebrating basketball - with a basketball museum, shopping centre, cinemas, basketball courts, a harbour, indoor carting and more activities.

Badalona is a surprising place, partially industrial but with a beautiful beach for relaxing. But if you get tired of that, there are plenty of places of interest in the city to visit.