The brainchild of Josep Puig i Cadafalch, another of Barcelona's talented Modernist men, Poble Espanyol was conceived as an open-air architectural museum and the pavilion dedicated to art for the 1929 Barcelona International Exhibition. The name 'Poble Espanyol' is Catalan for 'Spanish village' and the idea of the museum was to recreate the atmosphere of Iberian village life using the traditional architecture of all the different regions of Spain, from Galicia to the Balearic Islands. The exhibition was so popular that it has remained functioning ever since, and today tourists continue to enjoy a stroll around its cobbled streets, scenic squares and characteristic colonnades. As well as the architecture many buildings showcase Spanish artisanry and several more function as charming cafes, restaurants, flamenco clubs and even discotheques - check out La Terrrazza in summer!
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