We don't say it: the data says it
HERITAGE
1. First goal for Barcelona. The mere fact that this is the city with the most buildings listed as World Heritage from all over the planet (exact number) is a sufficient argument to beat Madrid, which for now only has the candidacy of the Jerónimos neighborhood as an incentive.
two. If the criterion is lowered a little and the next step in the classification is attended, the Assets of Cultural Interest , Madrid hits him back by crushing: 181 against 78 , although this is explained by the need in the Spanish capital to protect everything by law against real estate threats and requalification.
3. Churches: Just comparing the Sagrada Familia with the Almudena provides the answer.
Interior of the Holy Family
Four. Antique buildings. Other point for Barcelona . Only with a walk through the Gothic Quarter and a wander around Montjuic is the threat of Madrid and its decontextualized Temple of Debod overcome.
5. Modern buildings (not modernist). Here Madrid with its Royal Palace , with its glorious era (that of the Habsburgs) and with the reign of Carlos III, defeats a city that did not give any brilliant spark until the Eixample.
6. Vanguards. But of course, ** Gaudí ** and his modernist disciples arrived while in Madrid his famous cathedral was being finished and…
7. contemporaneity. could take a technical tie. Madrid has art well kept in its museums (they will be seen later) and exhibits trends in iconic buildings such as the CaixaFórum, the towers Kio, the White Towers or the BBVA building in AZCA . Barcelona counters this with essential centers such as the MACBA or the Design Museum and with other famous inhabitants of its skyline such as the W hotel (although there are those who think it is a real aberration), the Agbar tower, the forum or the fish (or samurai hat) by Gehry in Barceloneta.
An essential visit: Caixaforum Madrid
8. Museums. First KO of Madrid without discussion . Few cities in the world can compete with the artistic potential of the art walk made up of the Prado, Thyssen and Reina Sofía Museums. And even more so when you add the occasional unknown such as the Sorolla Museum, the San Fernando Academy of Fine Arts or the future museum of contemporary art.
9. Plazas. The solemnity of the Plaza Mayor of the capital can with the palm trees of Barcelona's Plaza Real.
Monument to Philip III in the Plaza Mayor
NATURE
10. Beach. While in Barcelona there is the portentous Mediterranean, in Madrid there is only one song by The Refrescos. And this article of ours that serves as consolation in the asphalt summers far from the sea.
eleven. Mountain. Something similar to the previous point. The Catalan city lies on the slopes of the Collserola mountain range , while Madrid, as much as it is a city of slopes, barely has contact with such a wide and elevated natural space.
12. Parks. If it were a battle between the two best known (Retiro against Güell) perhaps Barcelona would win by points, but the quality and variety of those from Madrid, with Egyptian temples, contemporary sculptures and palatial flower beds, it wins hands down. In addition, the capital of Spain is the second city in the world with the most green spaces.
13. River. The cats lived with their backs to the Manzanares until its shore was reinvented and went from being a large ditch to being a beautiful park and recreational area. The one from Barcelona remains unaccounted for.
La Barceloneta, guitar and sand or a good Sunday paella?
LEISURE
14. Amusement parks. difficult dilemma. On one side are the impressive views from Tibidabo and on the other the mixture of legendary and modern attractions of Madrid. When in doubt, numbers rule. The 36 attractions and 1.2 million traditional visitors suppose a landslide victory compared to the **29 activities and more than 600,000 tickets** sold for its Barcelona version.
fifteen. Zoo. Victory also for Madrid , with a more complete and extensive zoo than that of its rival and with an ace up its sleeve, that highly entertaining hybrid that is Faunia .
16. Heights. The super panoramic view offered by the Barcelona cable car It is unrivaled by its Madrid counterpart. More spectacular and, above all, more accessible and practical.
Tibidabo Park
17. Football. Technical tie. The capital offers more and even more beauty in its buildings but the mere fact that 1.5 million tourists pass through the FC Barcelona museum (compared to the 900,000 who do the same at the Real Madrid museum) leaves everything in tables.
18. Another sports. The heritage of Barcelona '92 beat the dream of Madrid 2012, and 2016, and 2020...
19. Theaters. Taking as a reference the rooms and works collected by the Leisure Guide , Madrid has 67 commercial rooms while Barcelona with 32 . In relative terms, what the M-40 has is one theater for every 47,238 inhabitants, while its rival has one for every 50,062. More offer in the first.
twenty. Opera and classical music. In beauty of spaces, Barcelona wins. In programming Madrid.
Real Café Bernabéu: gastro-football
SIGHTSEEING
twenty-one. The raw number. Last year, 7,874,941 tourists strolled down Las Ramblas, while more than 8.3 million tourists did the same on Gran Vía, which was a record for this metropolis.
22. As for spending, According to MasterCard's Global Destinations Cities index, Barcelona scores: $13,865 million compared to $7,126 million for Madrid.
ACCOMMODATIONS
23. overnight stays Barcelona wins: 17.5 million against 16.5 in Madrid.
24. In number of hotel beds , the Madrid city reached 81,627 while in the Catalan city 68,036 places were reached.
25. By categories, Madrid has 26 5-star hotels . Your opponent beats you with 39 expected by the end of the year according to official sources.
26. Tourist apartments . According to the leading website of the Homeaway sector, Barcelona has 4,933 registered accommodations while Madrid only reaches 1,698. There are too many comments.
This is how they will receive you on Las Ramblas
TRANSPORT AND BUSINESS
27. Airports. In figures and number of characters, the Adolfo Suárez Madrid Barajas triumphs with 41,833,638 passengers in 2014 compared to 37,558,981 in El Prat. As for its beauty, a technical tie between the immaculate design of Bofill in T1 in Barcelona and the rainbow of Rogers in T4 in Madrid.
28. Regarding connectivity, Madrid has direct flights with 176 cities in the world while Barcelona has 141.
29. Train Stations. Another point for the chulapos. The majesty of Atocha is endorsed with double the number of Sants passengers.
30. Business trip. The win here is indisputable. The capital of Spain organized in 2014 12,455 meetings (sum of congresses, conferences and courses and conventions and incentives) while on the shores of the Mediterranean 1,969 were held. In fact, Madrid is in 3rd place in the 2014 ICCA ranking, only surpassed by Paris and Vienna.
31. Fairs . The comparisons between FIRA of Barcelona and IFEMA it is a technical draw. Both exceed 2 million visitors. However, the economic impact of the first one makes him win in extra time: 2,600 against 2,000 million Euros.
32. Shopping tourism. The different reports corroborate that Paseo de Gracia, for now, beats the Barrio de Salamanca in this area.
GASTRONOMY, BARS AND NIGHTLIFE
33. Although this magnitude may be debatable, Barcelona beats Madrid in number of Michelin stars , with 27 to 19 and also in a variety of restaurants on the list: 22 to 12.
3. 4. If we look for another reference such as the soles Repsol , Madrid is the one that hits hard : 118 against 47.
35. And one last most popular scale . TripAdvisor has 3 Barcelona restaurants among the 10 best in Spain while Madrid only 'strains' one.
36. Number of bars. According to the 2013 La Caixa Economic Yearbook, Madrid has 17,271 bars , one for every 187 inhabitants while his opponent has 10,621 , one for every 152 inhabitants. Sabina was exaggerating. She beats the city of Barcelona.
Ocaña, the hipster cover of Plaça Reial
37. nightclubs We value quality and here Barcelona wins. In the list published by The Guardian of the 25 best bars and clubs in Europe, there are 3 from Barcelona and none from Madrid.
38.**By number, the nightclubs registered with FASYDE** (Federation of Nightlife Associations of Spain) located in the capital are 71 , in the case of Barcelona 37 . In proportion, Madrid has one nightclub for every 44,577 inhabitants while Barcelona wins with one for every 43,297 residents.
CONCLUSION
The count is defining but not binding. Barcelona wins by 18 rounds to 17, with three rounds that ended in a draw so… everyone is happy!
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