Barcelona is a major city located on the northeastern coast of Spain along the Mediterranean Sea. It serves as the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia. Geographically, it is situated between the mouths of the Llobregat and Besòs rivers and is bounded to the west by the Serra de Collserola mountain range.
As the second-most populous municipality in Spain after Madrid, Barcelona has a population of approximately 1.7 million people within its city limits. Its broader urban area extends into neighboring municipalities within the province of Barcelona, housing around 5.7 million residents. This makes it the fifth most populous urban area in the European Union.