Barcelona
Barcelona
+ The City of Barcelona
Sights
* L'Anella Olímpica
* LA Barceloneta and Port Olímpic
* Casa Amatller
* Casa Batlló
* Casa Lleó-Morera
* Casa Milà
* Ciutat Vella
* Drassanes and Museu Marítim
* L'Eixample
* Fundació Antoni Tàpies
* Gràcia
* Hospital De La Santa Creu I Sant Pau
* Mercat De La Boqueria
* Monestir De Pedralbes and Collecció Thyssen-Bornemisza
* Monument A Colom
* Museu D'art Contemporani De Barcelona (Macba)
* Museu D'art Modern - Mnac
* Museu Frederic Marès
* Museu del futbol club Barcelona
* Museu D'Història De La Ciutat
* Museu Tauri De La Monumental
* Museu Tèxtil I D'Indumentària
* Palau Güell
* Palau De Mar
* Palau De La Música Catalana
* Palau Reial De Pedralbes
* Parc De La Ciutadella
* Parc Del Clot
* Parc De La Creueta Del Coll
* Parc De L'Espanya Industrial
* Parc De Joan Miró
* Parc Del Laberint
* Pavelló Barcelona
* Plaça De Catalunya
* Plaça Del Rei
* Plaça Reial
* Plaça Sant Jaume
* Port Vell
* Tibidabo and Serra De Collserola
* Vila Olímpica
* Barcelona's Metro
Vicinity
+ Vicinity
Walk/Drive
Food&Drink
In The Know
Did You Know?
( Do not miss )
The tightly packed maze of narrow streets and alleyways of Barcelona's Ciutat Vella (Old City), bordered by the Ramblas, the Ciutadella Park, Plaça Catalunya and the sea, was once enclosed by medieval city walls and, until the massive building boom of the Eixample, 150 years ago, comprised the entire city.
At its heart is the Barri Gòtic (Gothic Quarter), one of several clearly identifiable barris or districts which make up the Old City. Its roots can be traced back to 1BC, when Roman soldiers established a small settlement called Barcino on a slight hill here called Mons Taber. This remarkable cluster of dark, twisting streets, quiet patios, sun-splashed squares and grand Gothic buildings was built inside the Roman fortifications, at a time when Barcelona, along with Genoa and Venice, was one of the three most important merchant cities in the Mediterranean and possessed untold riches. Its crowning glory, the Catedral, is surrounded by former residences of the counts of Barcelona and the Kings of Catalonia and Aragón. To the northwest lies Carrer Portaferrissa, the Old City's principal shopping street, with trendy boutiques and shopping arcades. To the south lies the spacious Plaça Sant Jaume and a cobweb of narrow streets and interconnecting squares, including Plaça Sant Felip Neri, with its fine baroque church, Plaça del Pi, with its market of local produce and leafy Plaça Sant Josep Oriol, the 'Montmartre of Barcelona', where local artists display their works at weekends and buskers entertain the café crowds. Just off the square, the narrow streets bounded by Carrer Banys Nous, Call and Bisbe once housed a rich Jewish ghetto called El Call, but now the area is known for its antique shops.
As the city grew more prosperous in the early Middle Ages, new barris developed around the Roman perimeter, including La Mercè to the south and La Ribera to the east. The area south of Carrer de Ferran - La Mercè - is focused around the elegant, arcaded Plaça Reial and the Church of La Mercè, Barcelona's patron Virgin. Though once very prosperous, this barri has become shabby and run-down, but is still worth exploring if only to seek out the excellent tapas bars along Carrer de la Mercè.
The barri of La Ribera, east of Via Laietana, holds much to interest the visitor. Its name (The Waterfront) recalls the time when the shoreline reached considerably further inland during Barcelona's Golden Age, when it was the city's main centre of commerce and trade and the favourite residential area of the merchant élite. Their handsome Gothic palaces still line its main street, Carrer Montcada. Several have since been converted into museums and galleries including Museu Picasso and Galeria Maeght. The street leads to Santa Maria del Mar, the 'seaside cathedral' and the Passeig del Born, with its popular restaurants, bars and craft shops.
Restaurant: Plenty (Inexpensive-Expensive)
Metro: Jaume I, Liceu, Plaça de Catalunya, Urquinaona
Other: Plaça de Catalunya; Port Vell; La Rambla
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