When put in a historical context, the people of Scotland got off lightly. Enric Miralles’s parliament building might have come in 10 times over budget, but at least it was only three years late. In the architect’s home city, construction of Antoni Gaudi’s unfinished masterpiece, La Sagrada Familia, has been rumbling on since 1882 and is still nowhere near completion. On the subject of the time taken, Gaudi is said to have joked: “My client is not in a hurry.”

Which is just as well, given current estimates that it will be another 50 years before sufficient money is raised to complete the work. But the cathedral’s unfinished state does nothing to deter the 2m people who visit each year, making it the most-visited monument in Spain.

On a recent sunny afternoon, the towering structure made a striking silhouette against a brilliant blue Barcelona sky. Brightly coloured spires and turrets climb towards the heavens, while the interior and exterior surfaces are festooned with intricate stone carvings, each bestowed with rich symbolism. The overall impression is of joyful celebration.

Gaudi became consumed by the project and devoted the last 15 years of his life to it, sleeping on site and often working through the night. When he was knocked down by a tram in 1926, he was mistaken for a tramp because of his shabby appearance, but when it was discovered who he was, Barcelona honoured him with a huge funeral. Thousands turned out to pay tribute to the genius of the modernista movement, whose impact on the city was immeasurable.

Wherever you go, his work bursts out of the ground like an acid-fuelled fantasy, such as the Pedrera block of flats and offices. Many visitors, including groups from Europe’s leading architecture schools, shape their entire itineraries around him. Even those with only a passing interest can’t fail to be swept up by his legacy.

His work had a typically Catalan spirit, which lives on today. While staff in shops, bars and restaurants in the centre are happy to talk to customers in the official Castilian Spanish, or English, you don’t have to travel too far to get a taste of Catalan nationalism.

In a tobacco shop a few miles north of the city centre, my request (in Castilian) for three stamps is waved away by the middle-aged man serving. A faltering attempt in the guttural-sounding Catalan prompts a chuckle, but it also delivers the goods.

Earlier this year, a Catalan referendum backed by the central government gave the region greater autonomy. The Catalans won nation status within Spain and the region’s parliament gained extra powers in taxation and judicial matters. Observers say the progress of Catalonia’s autonomy plan may have influenced the ceasefire announced by the armed Basque separatist group, Eta, in May.

The country’s regional picture is a complex and evolving one. Barcelona has always been the tourists’ favourite Spanish city, ahead of the capital, Madrid, and the southern beauty, Seville. With its cultural heritage, beautiful architecture, great shopping and reputation for fine food and a lively nightlife, it’s not hard to see why. A growing number of foreigners are putting down roots and buying property. Luxury apartment blocks are being thrown up to the east of the city to absorb the population boom.

Although Barcelona is increasingly spread out and served by a metro with patchy coverage, most of the sights, restaurants and shops are concentrated around La Rambla, the famous street at Barcelona’s centre, and the gothic quarter. This district is made up of a tightly packed body of interconnecting streets and buildings dating back to Roman times. And it is here that people gather to graze on a spectacular array of tapas, washed down with cava or cold beer.

With more and more cheap flights arriving each year, the entire city is packed most of the year round. But if the crowds get too much, there are plenty of interesting places to visit within easy striking distance, such as Montserrat high up in the mountains or one of the beaches along the coast.

Another popular day trip is to Figueres, the centre of the northern Costa Brava. Even on a warm summer’s day, there is a wind known as the tramontana that sweeps across this area and, according to the rest of Catalonia, leaves its inhabitants “un poco loco”, or a little crazy. This is borne out by two of the town’s most famous sons — Salvador Dali and the engineer Narcis Monturiol, inventor of the first steam-driven submarine.

The city itself is far from spectacular and the only reason anyone visits it is to see the Dali museum. Like Gaudi, Dali’s

work has a playful edge. On the bonnet of his surrealist sculpture Rainy Cadillac, inside the museum, stands a large-breasted warrior, while inside, rain cascades down on a loop over ivy-covered mannequins.

Dali was a prolific artist and it is only when you see so many of his works crammed in one place — there are more than 4,000 of them in this museum alone — that you realise his quality control was sometimes amiss.

Tiring of sightseeing, I hail a taxi. It is only a short distance to the station, but that doesn’t stop the driver sharing his entire life history with me. It does not make for easy listening, and when I open the car door to leave, he starts hurling abuse after me. It makes me wonder whether he too harbours an artistic gift.

Details: Hotel Zenit Borrell (www.zenithoteles.com, 00 34 93 452 55 66) has double rooms from €106 per night.

Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) flies from Glasgow Prestwick to Girona, about 40 minutes from Barcelona city centre, from £50 return including taxes.

British Airways (www.ba.com) and EasyJet (www.easyjet.co.uk) fly from Heathrow and Luton to Barcelona’s Aeroport d’el

Prat from about £90 including taxes. Both airlines have connecting flights from Edinburgh and Glasgow, with fares starting at £9.

There are regular trains from Barcelona Sants or Passeig de Gracia stations to Figueres, and the journey takes about 90 minutes.

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