Barcelona’s artistic side

La Sagrada Família, Gaudí’s magical masterwork, is still a work in progress.  (Rosemary McClure / For The Times)

The dizzying spires at La Sagrada Família. The church has been under construction for nearly 120 years and won’t be completed for more than a decade.  (Rosemary McClure / For The Times)

Park Güell, with its unusual buildings, colorful mosaic-clad benches and large terrace overlooking the city, has become a favorite stop for tourists.  (Rosemary McClure / For The Times)

Agustí Puig, with some of his paintings, assisted in the making of the film “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.”  (Rosemary McClure / For The Times)

Cynthia Fusillo, an American artist who has lived in Barcelona nearly half her life, has a great appreciation for her adopted city: “The people, the weather, the food. La Rambla -- the idea that you can walk right down the heart of the city. I love the Gothic Quarter; I love Gaudí -- it’s all wonderful.”  (Rosemary McClure / For The Times)

The Plaza de Catalunya is a gathering spot for people as well as pigeons.  (Rosemary McClure / For The Times)

A shopper peruses a flower stand along La Rambla, the pedestrian mall that runs from the Mediterranean to the center of the city.  (Rosemary McClure / For The Times)

Colorful produce, cheese and meat stands draw customers to Mercat de La Boqueria, a cavernous open-air market.  (Rosemary McClure / For The Times)

The Casa de las Punxes, Catalan for “the House of Spikes,” has six towers with conical points. The building, at Avenida Diagonal, was designed by Josep Puig i Cadafalch, one of the Modernistas who helped change the face of the city.  (Rosemary McClure / For The Times)

The giant copper Peix (fish) sculpture by L.A.’s Frank Gehry glitters in the sunlight over Port Olimpic, a marina built for the 1992 Summer Olympics.  (Rosemary McClure / For The Times)

Early morning light pierces a narrow cobbled street in the Barri Gòtic, or the Gothic Quarter, where Picasso, Joan Miró and other artists once worked.  (Rosemary McClure / For The Times)

The skyline of Barcelona spreads into the distance. The city, one of the world’s great art centers, is a bold and exuberant place known for sensory overload.  (Rosemary McClure / For The Times)