The Val d'Aran

• Location and Description: The Val d'Aran (Occitan: Era Val d'Aran; Catalan: la Vall d'Aran) is a catalan valley (620.47 km²) in the Pyrenees mountains and a comarca (county) in the northwestern part of the province of Lleida, in Catalonia. Most of the valley constitutes the only part of Catalonia, on the north face of the Pyrenees, whose waters drain into the Atlantic Ocean.
The capital of the comarca is Vielha, with 3,692 inhabitants (1996). The entire population of the valley is about 7,130 (1996).
• Curiosities: Did you know that "Val d'Aran" itself is a pleonasm? It means Valley of the Valley (val in Gascon and aran from Basque haran), a combination that reflects its unique geography.
• How to go there: The Val d'Aran borders France on the north and the Spanish Autonomous Community of Aragón to the west.
If you click here, you will see the Val d'Aran ubicated in the map.
• Wikipedia article: Click Here!



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Sagrada Família

• Location and Description: The Sagrada Família, is a large Roman Catholic church in Barcelona (Catalonia) designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926). Although incomplete, the church is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and in November 2010 was consecrated and proclaimed a minor basilicaby Pope Benedict XVI.
• Curiosities: Gaudi devoted his last years to the project and at the time of his death in 1926, less than a quarter of the project was complete.Sagrada Familia's construction progressed slowly as it relied on private donations and was interrupted by the Spanish Civil War — only to resume intermittent progress in the 1950s. Construction passed the mid-point in 2010 with some of the project's greatest challenges remaining and an anticipated completion date of 2026 — the centennial of Gaudí's death.
• How to go there: Click Here! Visitors can access the Nave, Crypt, Museum, Shop, and the Passion and Nativity towers. While visitors could previously access the towers directly at no cost, their access is only possible by lift and a walk up the remainder of the towers, over the bridge between the towers and descent via the opposite tower by spiral staircase.
As of August 2010, there is a service for faster entry whereby visitors can buy an entry code either at Servicaixa ATM kiosks (part of 'La Caixa') or online.
• Wikipedia article: Click Here!