Barcelona also hosts major music festivals. These include the "Festival Primavera Sound", the "Festival Sónar" and the "Festival Grec". During three days at the end of September when the city's La Mercè festival is held, Barcelona offers a large number of free outdoor concerts in squares in the centre of the city.

GRAN TEATRE DEL LICEU

Work on building the Gran Teatre del Liceu began in 1844 and it was inaugurated in 1848. Over the years it has suffered two fires and an anarchist attack. The most recent fire in 1994 burnt down the stage, the stalls and caused the roof to collapse, with the building being a total write-off.

THE AUDITORI DE BARCELONA

The Auditori de Barcelona was one of the major projects conceived as part of the urban reorganisation of Barcelona in the second half of the 1980s. Standing next to the Plaza de las Glorias, the facility was built to be a major cultural centre for the city, designed to give a boost to the urban renewal plan for a new focal point in the city to the north-east of the old part where the Eixample, Poblenou and Vila Olímpica areas meet.

PALAU DE LA MUSICA CATALANA

The Palau de la Música Catalana is one of the world's leading concert halls. Widely seen as one of the best examples of Modernism, it was built by the architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner between 1905 and 1908. Currently the facility is the headquarters of the "Orfeó Català". In 1997 it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.