Other sights in Barcelona
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Plaça Reial & Around
Just south of Carrer de Ferran, near its La Rambla end, Plaça Reial is a traffic-free plaza whose 19th-century neoclassical facades are punctuated by numerous eateries, bars and nightspots. It was created on the site of a convent, one of several destroyed along La Rambla (the strip was teeming with religious institutions) in the wake of the Spain-wide disentailment laws that stripped the Church of much of its property.
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Air Raid Shelter
This air raid shelter was one of more than 1300 across the city during the civil war. The narrow and winding tunnels were slowly dug to a total of 200m over two years from March 1937. The half-hour tours (generally in Spanish or Catalan but you can book ahead for English or French) provide some fascinating insight into life in wartime Barcelona. Just being inside here and imagining bombs dropping outside is enough to give you the heebie-jeebies.
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La Rambla
Flanked by narrow traffic lanes and plane trees, the middle of La Rambla is a broad pedestrian boulevard, crowded every day until the wee hours with a cross-section of barcelonins and out-of-towners. Dotted with cafes, restaurants, kiosks and news-stands, and enlivened by buskers, pavement artists, mimes and living statues, La Rambla rarely allows a dull moment.
It takes its name from a seasonal stream (raml in Arabic) that once ran here. From the early Middle Ages, on it was better known as the Cagalell (Stream of Shit) and lay outside the city walls until the 14th century. Monastic buildings were then built and, subsequently, mansions of the well-to-do from the 16th to…
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Cementiri de l’Est
The Cementiri de l’Est, created in 1773, was positioned outside the then city limits for health reasons. Its central monument commemorates the victims of a yellow-fever epidemic that swept across Barcelona in 1821. The cemetery is full of bombastic family memorials, but an altogether disquieting touch is the sculpture El Petó de la Mort (The Kiss of Death), in which a winged skeleton kisses a young, kneeling but lifeless body.
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Market
A 19th-century market, built on the site of a 15th-century monastery, was replaced in 2005 with this original, colourful market designed by the adventurous Catalan architect Enric Miralles. The outstanding element is the bright, ceramic-covered, wavy roof - a splash of pastel loopiness. Out the back, remnants of the monastery uncovered during excavations are on public show with explanatory panels.
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Fundación
Francisco Godia (1921-90) put together the intriguing mix of medieval art, ceramics and modern paintings at the Fundación in a lifetime of collecting. Godia's interests ranged from the Neapolitan baroque painter Luca Giordano through to Catalan Modernisme and Valencia's Joaquim Sorolla, not to mention fast cars.
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CaixaForum
Part of the Caixa bank’s extensive collection of modern art from around the globe is housed in a remarkable former Modernista factory designed by Puig i Cadafalch. Constantly changing exhibitions are generally top quality and the elegant brick building itself warrants a wander even if the current exhibitions don’t ring your bell.
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Pavelló Mies van der Rohe
Just to the west of La Font Màgica is the strange Pavelló Mies van der Rohe. Architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe erected the Pavelló Alemany (German Pavilion) for the 1929 World Exhibition. It was a startling modern experiment. What you see now is a replica erected by an association of his fans in the 1980s.
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Mirador a Colom
The bottom end of La Rambla, and the harbour beyond, lie under the supervision of this late 19th-century monument to the glory of Christopher Columbus (who some Catalan historians insist came from Barcelona rather than Genoa in Italy). You can take the lift to the top for spectacular views over the city.
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Palau del Bispat
At the northern end of Carrer del Bisbe, poke your head into the courtyard of the 13th-century Palau del Bispat. On the outside of this building, at the end of Carrer del Bisbe, the foundations of the rounded towers that flanked a Roman gate are visible.
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Fàbrica del Sol
One relic left from the industrial era is the Fàbrica del Sol, a red brick and yellow-painted building that now houses a city office devoted to environmental sustainability (the solar panel out the back is no coincidence).
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Plaça de Sant Josep Oriol & Around
This small plaza is the prettiest in the Barri Gòtic. Its bars and cafes attract buskers and artists and make it a lively place to hang out. It is surrounded by quaint streets, many dotted with appealing cafes, restaurants and shops.
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Sala Capitular
Although Sala Capitular is bathed in rich red carpet and cosseted by fine-timber seating, the few artworks gathered here are of minor interest. Among them is a Pietat by Bartolomeo Bermejo.
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Can Coll
The 15th-century Can Coll, a grand farmhouse, is used as an environmental education centre where you can see how richer farmers lived around the 17th to 19th centuries.
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Institut Nacional d’Educació Física de Catalunya
The Institut Nacional d’Educació Física de Catalunya is a kind of sports university designed by one of Catalonia’s best-known contemporary architects, Ricardo Bofill.
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Plaça d’Espanya
The whirling roundabout of Plaça d’Espanya is distinguished by its so-called Venetian towers (because they are vaguely reminiscent of the belltower in Venice’s St Mark’s Sq).
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La Capella
La Capella, the one-time bare chapel of the former hospital (Antic Hospital de la Santa Creu), is now used for temporary exhibitions.
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Opera House
Barcelona's grand Opera House was built in 1847, largely destroyed by fire in 1994 and reopened better than ever in 1999.
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Institut Français de Barcelona
French-language school that puts on films, concerts and exhibitions.
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Universitat de Barcelona
Universitat de Barcelona.
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Future Zoo (Under Construction)
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Casa Roviralta
This fancy Modernista mansion is now home to a well-known grill restaurant.
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