Kips Travelpage. Barcelona. Areas.

About Barcelona
Barcelona is a varied, lively, modern and beautiful city. It doesn't matter if you're interested in modern or classical arts, contemporary architecture or historic buildings, small museums or big, there is something to see for everyone. To host the Olympic games of '92, brand-new neighborhoods were designed, new museums were built, streets were renovated, in short, the city got a completely new and very attractive appearance. Limited City map.

This is the most famous street in Barcelona. The Ramblas exists of several parts, beginning at Plaça de Catalunya, and ending 1,5 km (+- 1 mile) further at the harbor. Plaça de Catalunya is a nice green and lively plaza in the middle of the city center, with several bus stops and underneath an important metro and train station. El Corte Inglès, the impressive grey building is the oldest department store in the city. The tourist information center also has an office at Pl. de Catalunya n°17 s ( 9am - 9pm). Really everyone walks on the Ramblas: businessmen getting to their jobs, housewives with shopping bags, strollers who want to see and be seen, and lots of tourists. Walking under the trees is a nice experience, even if you're not interested in the flower stands, bookstands, birdcages or the various street artists. The walk from one end to the other can take you 30 minutes or even hours, just as you like. Next to the pedestrian boulevard is traffic rushing by, and at both sides of the street there are lots of shops, hotels and restaurants.
The Ramblas exists of five parts starting at Plaça de Catalunya: Rambla de Calanetes, Rambla del Estudis, Rambla St. Josep - also called Rambla del flors because of the flower stands -, Rambla del Capuxtins and Rambla de Santa Monica.
There are lots of places of interest on and near La Rambla, I'll describe them in order coming from Pl. de Catalunya. Rambla Map (90 kb).
The third street on the left side is Carrer Portaferissa, a shopping street. More details on shopping page. This street leads into the Barrio Gotic and Ribera, the oldest districts.
At your right is La Boqueria, a popular indoor food market with an enormous roof made of steel and glass. A little further on is the new opera house, El Liceu. The old opera, burned down completely in 1994.
Plaça Reial, on the left, is a nice plaza with palm trees and pastel colored façades. The lampposts were designed by Gaudi.
The pattern of the paving has been designed by Miró, which is very obvious at the fourth part of the Rambla (photo).
At Nou de la Rambla, a street at the right side, you'll see Palau Güell, designed by architect Antoni Gaudi, with a typical wrought iron gate. The hall can be entered for free.

At La Rambla n° 7, is the arts centre, Centre d' Arts Santa Monica situated; a striking building with a wooden platform. In the cellar is a beautiful hall, a modern construction in the middle of relics of a monastery displaying changing exhibits of contemporary art. There is also a restaurant with terrace on the platform.
When you turn to the right at this part of the Rambla (almost at the end), you'll get to Barrio Xino, the prostitution area. This is certainly the least beautiful or clean part of the city, some say it's unsafe (I haven't noticed it, but be careful anyway, there is not much police around here) but it is a quite amusing experience to stroll around here.
At the end of the Rambla, the monument of Christopher Columbus is overlooking the city. Columbus on top of the column was meant to show the way to the 'New World', but by mistake he is pointing in the wrong direction, he points at Malaga. You can get to the top of the statue by elevator, for a view of the Ramblas and the harbor.
If you walk further to the harbor, you'll get to the completely renovated waterfront.

The Rambla can be reached by metro line 1, stop Pl. Catal. and line 3, stop Pl. Catalunya or Liceu and several buses.

This area exists of different parts at the seaside. These areas have been changed the most before the Olympic games. Just cross the street at the Columbus statue and you'll bump into the waterfront.
Right in front of you, you'll see the beautiful wooden bridge connecting the mainland with Moll d'Espanya and the marina Port Vell. At Moll d'Espanya there is the shopping mall Maremagnum with a gigantic mirror wall in which the water reflects beautifully. Also at Moll d'Espanya you'll find an IMAX theatre and an aquarium with displays on flora and fauna of the Mediterranean sea.
At the left of Columbus you'll see the promenade Moll de la Fusta with funny red bridges, palm trees, bars and restaurants. At the end of the promenade stands Cap de Barcelona, a colorful sculpture made by Roy Lichtenstein. At this point you can start your walk to Barceloneta, passing the nice promenade around Museu d'historia de Catalunya leading to the Olympic village.
Barceloneta is a typical, old fishing neighborhood which has been cleaned up within the scope of the Olympic games. It is still very picturesque with his narrow streets, small old bars and laundry hanging out to dry between the balconies full of flowers. If you have the time, just stroll through the small streets, there is nothing spectacular to see, but it is nice. Following the shoreline you'll pass some beaches, they look nice, but I don't know if the water is clean enough to swim in. In the distance you can see the buildings of the Olympic village. It takes quite a walk from the Rambla to the Olympic village, but it is a pleasant one.

If you don't feel like walking, take a bus or metro line 4, stop Barceloneta or Ciutadella Villa Olímpica.
During the games of '92, the Olympic village had to accommodate thousands of athletes and spectators. For this purpose architects from all over the world designed modern and striking buildings. Eye-catchers are the two tower buildings, housing a hotel and an office building, 142 meters high. The Villa Olímpica hotel is surrounded by a steel frame, so it seems like it is in scaffolding. In front of those buildings stands the golden sculpture Pez y Esfera, designed by Frank Gehry, representing a headless fish. The circular building a little further on accommodates the meteorological service. The beautiful promenade is full of sculptures. Especially in the evening, this is a very lively neighborhood with lots of trendy restaurants and bars. Everything is rather new here, 5000 apartments were built in the Olympic Village and several parks and plazas were designed.

Barri(o) Gòtic and Ribera are different areas but because they are adjacent and both are part of the old city (Ciutat Vella), I've put them together.
The Gothic area borders the left of the Rambla, Ribera lays a bit more eastwards. It are classical areas, you 'll find it interesting here if you like the architecture and the atmosphere of before the 20th century. Especially the gothic area is crowded with tourists, I find Ribera more pleasant.
The Barrio Gòtic is full of history, there are still parts of a 2300 year old Roman wall, lots of old palaces and plazas. Centrally located is the Gothic cathedral, which was started building in the 14th century, and the façade only being finished in the 19th century. The City hall is on Plaça Jaume I.
Ribera is separated from the Barrio Gòtic by the avenue Via Laietana. Some more gothic buildings can be found here. Carrer Montcada is an important alley with art galleries, palaces and restaurants. Important is the Picasso museum at n°15, with a collection showing the evolution of the artist beginning at his early works.
At carrer Montcada 25 is the famous art gallery Galeria Maeght situated.
At Carrer Sant Pére Més Alt is the Palau de la Música Catalana, a beautiful Modernist concert hall built by Domènech i Montaner in 1908 and tastefully renovated in the eighties.

During the half of the 20th century there was an increase of population and the city became too small. Architect I. Cerda was appointed to design new areas to host workers but he had to work especially on accommodation for the middle class. His plans were changed completely, the planned parks were deleted and the only thing that was kept, was the chessboard pattern of the streets. However, El Eixample is still an area with great importance in architectural way. It is more like an open air museum, where some of the most striking Modernist buildings are displayed. It is in many ways a very pleasant area, almost in every street you will discover beautiful houses, and the main streets are filled with elegant shops. More information about Modernism and the important architects of this period on the architecture page.

Rambla de Catalunya is a a continuation of the other Rambla, but it is completely different, because it had to become the promenade for the rich. Expensive shops and some beautiful houses are located here, especially the Modernist façades of n° 21 to 27 are worth to look at. If you walk on this street you'll see in a street on the right, Carrer d’ Arago, the spectacular steel wire work of art of Antoni Tapies on the roof of Fundacio Tapies, a gallery with works of the Spanish painter and other contemporary artists.
At the end of Rambla de Catalunya at the corner of Avinguda Diagonal you'll find Casa Serra from Puig i Cadafalch.
Casa Mila Passeig de Gracia is the most important street of the neighborhood, filled with luxurious shops,and some of the most beautiful Modernist buildings in Barcelona. At n° 92 is 'Casa Mila’,(photo) sometimes called La Pedrera, designed by the famous architect Antoni Gaudi. You have to see this (if you like architecture of course), it really is a fantastic building. The courtyard, top floor and the roof can be visited. When you enter the courtyard you're surrounded by blue, green and yellow curved walls. On the top floor there is an exhibition of scale models, slide shows and photo's of Gaudi's most important buildings. Every corner of the building is asymmetrical, there are corners and niches everywhere, hundreds of brick arches vault the room. The roof is a real wonderland with mosaics, stairs, arches and chimneys disguised as sculptures. You have a good view over the city too.
The next 3 houses are Modernist buildings, but look each very different, which can be observed well as they are built next to each other. At n° 43 Passeig de Gracia, there is another masterpiece of Gaudi : Casa Battló. (photo). The house is open to the public. The façade is made in colorful mosaic, the balconies look like facial bones of giant animals and the roof represents the back of a prehistoric animal.
Next to Casa Battló on n°41 is Casa Amattler, a Neogothic building of architect Puig i Cadafalch.
The headquarters of Tourist information at n°35 is located in another important building, Casa Lleó Morera by Domènech i Montaner.
On Carrer Mallorca there are more buildings designed by Domènech i Montaner, like Palau Montaner (on the corner of Carrer R. de Lluria)and Casa Thomas at n° 291.
In Eixample, there are hundreds of other houses worth seeing, just look around. More information about architects and buildings on my page Architecture.
Metro line 2, 3 or 4 stop Passeig de Gracia or Pl. de Catalunya.

More or less in the same area, at Carrer de Provença is
La Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's cathedral situated. The building of the cathedral started last Century but it is still not completed. The three major façades represent Birth, Passion and Death, and Glorification. There have to be built four towers at each façade, with a total of twelve (one for each apostle), but only eight are finished yet. The towers are 107 meters tall, have a structure of vertical ribs, surrounded by horizontal rings and are full of references to nature. The spires are real masterworks, existing of concrete decorated with colorful mosaic and glass. It's a shame that cranes obstruct the view of this amazing building. The unfinished interior and the museum in the cellars can be visited. Some people say it's worth visiting, others say there isn't much to see.
Metro line 2 and 5, stop Sagrada Familia.

The district of Gracia is not very well known among tourists and there isn't really anything spectacular to see, but it is a pleasant residential area, nice to stroll trough when you visit Parc Güell which is not far from here. Parc Güell is another wonderful Gaudi project. The park was designed to become a residential area for the rich, but the project was canceled because there weren't enough investors and because World war 1 broke out, the building stopped at three houses, in one of which Gaudi lived during the building. Casa Gaudí , displaying some of his furniture and works can be visited. At the entrance of the park are an office and porter's lodge with a mosaic tower, and the Dragonfountain. Eye-catcher is the long mosaic coilbench, forming the border of a plaza, supported by 100 pillars : the Greek pillarhall. The park is big, but the most important stuff is not far from the entrance. Standing on the plaza you have a beautiful view over the city.

Address: Carrer Albert Llamas. Free.
Bus 24, 25, 31, 32, 74 or metro line 3, stop Lesseps, but then you have a good walk uphill ahead. At Lesseps you can take the mini bus 116 to the park.

The mountain Montjuïc is the green area of the city. Because of the world fair in 1929 parks, palaces, pavilions, sports stadiums and exhibition halls were built. Some of those buildings remained and house some important museums or were renovated to accommodate sports activities during the Olympic games of 1992. I'll start my summary at the foot of the mountain.
At Carrer Tarragona is the Parc Joan Miró situated,where his high sculpture 'Dona i ocel' (woman and bird )is standing in the middle of a pool. The parc is dedicated to Miró, but there is only one sculpture of him in it.
Plaça d'Espanya is nearby, and is with his two towers and fountain the entrance gate to Montjuïc. The fountain is colorfully lit at night. Standing here gives you a view of the stairs to the mountain, with on top the Palau Nacional, housing the Museu d'Art Catalunya (Medieval art).
When you've climbed up the stairs, and you turn to the right, you'll pass the famous 'Barcelona pavilion', also called 'Mies van der Rohe pavilion'. The architect designed this famous building for the world fair in '29. After being used as the German pavilion, it had been demolished. Because the building was considered as a milestone in modern architecture, it has been rebuilt on the same spot in 1985. You can visit the pavilion, changing exhibitions and the famous Barcelonachair are displayed. You don't have to enter the building to get a nice view of it, reflecting in the pool.
Higher on the mountain are the Olympic facilities located. The Olympic stadium (photo)was built in1929 but has been beautifully renovated to accommodate 70.000 people during the games of 1992. You can take a free look in the stadium, daily from 10a.m. - 6 p.m..
The futuristic sports palace Palau d'esports San Jordi,(photo left) was designed for the games in '92 by the Japanese architect Isozaki and can seat up to 15.000 people. The plaza in front of the building offers a great view; on the left the Olympic stadium with in front water terraces, at the entrance of the San Jordi sports palace steel wire sculptures and to the right the Calatrava, a 188 meters high communication tower, looking like a giant needle with a wire trough it.
Of course lots of events, like concerts, are organized at the Olympic stadium and at San Jordi sports palace.
On top of the mountain is Montjuïc castle, with the military museum situated. You can get here by cable car.
If you like Miró's work, don't miss Fundaçio Joan Miró at parc de Montjuïc. At this great museum paintings, sculptures and tapestries of Miro are displayed in a fantastic building with a sculpture garden on the roof. There is also a hall for temporary exhibitions of modern art. A restaurant and two large museum shops are located near the entrance hall. Visit their site for more details : www.bcn.fjmiro.es .

Address: Parc de Montjuïc. Closed on Monday. From October - June open from Tuesday - Saturday: 11a.m. - 7p.m., Thursday open till 9.30 p.m., Sunday and holidays : 10 am -2.30pm.From July trough September, the museums stays open longer, from Tuesday - Saturday : 10am - 8pm, Thursday open till 9.30 p.m., Sunday and holidays : 10 a.m. -2.30 p.m..
Can be reached by Funicular from Paral.lel metro station and with bus 61 from Pl. d'Espanya.
Montjuic can be reached in several ways: by foot (but it's a walk uphill), by bus and with metro line 1 and 3 (stop Pl. d'Espanya), or with line 2 and 3 (stop at Paral.lel where you can step on the funicular ).
Some simple advice: on Montjuic there are not many places to eat, all I saw were some small food stands between the stairs of Pl. Espanya and there is a restaurant (not cheap I guess) at the Fundaçio Joan Miró, so it's not bad to have something to drink or eat with you.

Pedralbres

Pedralbres is a residential area for the rich, but important for soccer lovers as the stadium and museum of FC. Barcelona is located here at Aristides Maillol.

More information, and opening hours on page museums.