Anella Olímpica stop
The Olympic Ring, which bore witness to the opening and closing ceremonies and main events of the 1992 Olympic Games, is now home to one of the city’s largest sporting facilities.
The legacy of the Olympic Games that changed the city
From the Anella Olímpica stop on the Red Route of Barcelona Bus Turístic you can take a trip through the main sites of the Barcelona ’92 Olympic Games.
At the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium, built in 1929, you can relive the opening and closing ceremonies of Barcelona ’92, the Olympics for which Barcelona created pioneering facilities like Palau Sant Jordi. The building designed by the Japanese architect Arata Isozaki is not only the city’s largest indoor venue, but also its most versatile. Its mechanised structure has even allowed it to be transformed into an artificial sea to host the Indoor Windsurfing Championship.
The Olympic swimming competitions were held at the Bernat Picornell Pools, a complex opened in 1970 and then remodelled for the games. To relive some of the city’s key moments you can visit the Olympic and Sports Museum, dedicated to Joan Antoni Samaranch, who was the President of the International Olympic Committee for more than 20 years.
But the Olympic Ring is home to more than buildings: on the other side of Passeig Olímpic you can visit Barcelona Botanical Garden, which specialises in species from climates similar to the Mediterranean’s and is dedicated to the conservation of the biodiversity of Mediterranean plant life.
What to see
Lluís Companys Olympic StadiumNobody could have predicted that more than 60 years after its construction this stadium would host Barcelona’s most important sporting event.
Palau Sant JordiThe jewel of the Olympic Ring is a palace whose mechanised structure can be adapted to house all types of events. Designed by the Japanese architect Arata Isozaki for the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, its construction was an engineering marvel.
Bernat Picornell PoolsThree swimming pools: a training pool, a competition pool and a diving pool, which hosted the Barcelona ’92 swimming events.
Barcelona Botanical GardenA garden with more than 1,300 species of plants from Australia, California, Chile, South Africa and the Mediterranean Basin.
Joan Antoni Samaranch Olympic and Sports MuseumA space dedicated to sport with interactive facilities that allow you to virtually interface with your idols.
Montjuïc Olympic RingA living tribute to Barcelona ’92, the so-called Olympic Ring is the set of sporting facilities built or renovated for the Olympic Games.