Palau Nacional de Montjuïc

The Palau Nacional sits on the lower slope of Montjuïc, a huge domed palace built for Barcelona's 1929 international fair and now home to the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya. From the front terrace you look straight down a wide staircase to the Font Màgica de Montjuïc, then out along the avenue of old exhibition halls to the twin brick towers at Plaça d'Espanya, with the city and Tibidabo filling the background. The Palace faces roughly north, so its front stays shaded through most of the day, which makes late afternoon and the evening floodlighting ideal. You can set up on the upper steps for the long view down over the layers of fountains and avenue, or drop to the fountain plaza and shoot back up at the palace, where the central dome, two smaller side domes, and four corner towers give you a clean symmetrical subject. In the evenings the fountain lights up in shifting colours, which pairs perfectly with the soaring museum lit up behind it. During tourist season crowds pack the fountain area during the light show so arrive early or work slightly off to one side. A wide lens covers the architecture and the full sweep of the avenue, while something longer compresses the skyline from the steps. The rooftop terrace opens up a higher panorama over the city and the mountain, though reaching it means going through the museum itself and paying an admission fee. (Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain)