Just five minutes' walk from the Sagrat Cor is its main rival, and Barcelona's most visible landmark. Norman Foster's communications tower was built in 1992 to transmit images of the Olympics around the world. Those who don't suffer from vertigo attest to the wonderful views of Barcelona and the Mediterranean from the top.

The television tower built for the 1992 Olympics was designed by star architect Norman Foster and affords a fabulous panoramic view of the city - when the weather's good, one can see for 70 km. A glass elevator transports visitors to the 115 m high viewing platform. The tower is also known as Torre Foster (as it was designed by the English architect Norman Foster), and is situated in the Collserola Park, close to Tibidabo, the highest point of the Collserola mountain range.

Torre de Collserola is a uniquely designed tower located on the Tibidabo hill in the Serra de Collserola, in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was designed by architect Sir Norman Foster, and built in 1991 for the 1992 Summer Olympics. It features a pod for floor space like many towers but uses guy wires for lateral support like a mast. Mainly used as a TV and radio transmitter, this futuristic design provides the highest viewpoint over the city. The top antenna reaches 288.4m (946 ft) and the top of the pod, which has thirteen floors, reaches 152m (499 ft). The tenth floor of the pod is open to the public.

The tower has a hollow slip-formed, reinforced concrete main shaft of only 4.5 m diameter, which reduces to a mere 3 m to hold a radio mast which telescopes from 2.7 m to 0,7m. The thirteen floors are surrounded by a perimeter of open stainless steel grilles and suspended from the shaft by three primary vertical steel trusses. The total weight of the tower is 3,000 tons.

The Telecommunications Tower of Collserola (Torre de Collserola) opened in July 1992 for the Olympic games in Barcelona. The tower is 288 meters high and is located in the Collserola hills near Tibidado. The exact location is known as Turo de la Vilana and is situated 445 meters above sea level. The tower rises a further 268 meters from this height. There are thirteen platforms between the 84-metre and the 152-metre points of the Tower.

The tenth platform has been designed as a Public Viewing Deck and is 560 meters above sea level. The glass elevator ride is breathtaking as are the superb views of Barcelona city, the Mediterranean Sea and the Catalan backlands, which can be seen up to distances of over 70 kilometres on a clear day.

The viewing deck is reached from inside the mountain by means of an elevator which travels up the outside of the concrete shaft. A lift takes one up to the tenth floor of the pod, where there is a restaurant, and the mirador, or observation deck, at a height of 268 metres, with panoramic views of the city and sierra covering a radius of some 70 kilometres on a clear day.

Most audiovisual transmissions in the metropolitan area and province of Barcelona are sent from Torre de Collserola. This futuristic building also hosts a variety of events as it has a reception room and catering service. In October, the famous Gore-Tex Series race comes to an end here after the athletes climb the 712 steps to the impressive Torre de Collserola, Barcelona's lookout point.

The tower won the 1993 FAD Award for Architecture. If you'd like to learn more about its function and design there are special guided tours. How to get there: take the FGC train from Catalunya station to Peu del Funicular and the Funicular de Vallvidrera, before hopping onto the 111 bus. You can get there via direct flight to Barcelona or to Girona, Reus or Lleida–Alguaire.