Barcelona guide

Barcelona's districts

La Ribera

La Ribera is one of the four Medioeval districts of Barcelona. It is located in the surroundings of the Church of Santa Maria del Mar, a stunning Gothic Cathedral. This zone intensely built and visited, hosts important monuments (and the Picasso Museum) and it is also the centre of leisure activities in Barcelona. The district is complete of buildings essential for a tourist visit in Barcelona such as the Palau de la Musica Catalana and the new Mercat de Santa Catarina. La Ribera disrtict, situated south of the Casc Antic, the area near the sea that begins below the Calle Princesa and more concretely on the Passeig del Born, is at the moment one of the zones more frequented by the young public.

El Modernismo

Many architects among them, Domènech i Montaner, Gaudí and Puig i Cadafalch helped create at the end of the XIX and beginning of the XX Century in Barcelona, a city museum of the Modernismo. Barcelona became this way a city with a multitude of buildings of this architectonic style. Amonsts them we want to emphasize the essential visit to the Güell Park and the Palau Güell, and taking a walk by the Eixample you can’t miss the icons of Barcelona such as La Pedrera, Casa Batllo, Casa LLeó i Morera, Casa Amatller and the Temple of La Sagrada Familia; a unique route that shows you some of Gaudi’s masterpieces.

The Gothic

The Gothic Quarter is the heart of old Barcelona, a medieval city built upon the remains of the Roman foundations. Its historic centre is Plaça del Rei, where Columbus was received after returning from the New World, nearby the City History Museum; from here all of the major attractions are easily accessible as the Cathedral, Plaza Real and the City Hall. The area also reunites multiple stores, bars and restaurants in its narrow and pedestrians streets, in Portal de l’Angel and in the most famous street of Barcelona, Las Ramblas, lined with flower stalls, street performers and artists.

The Mountain of Montjuïc

The mountain of Montjuïc, or magical mountain, provided during centuries material for the construction of buildings in Barcelona, but only after the the Universal Exhibition of 1929 and the Olympic Games of 1992 became part of the city-planning. It is one of the most visited places in Barcelona, for the Fundació Joan Miró, the Teatre Grec, the Fundació Caixa Forum, and the National Museum of Catalonian Art. Here you can also visit Poble Espanyol, a replica of a Spanish Village, with handicrafts from every corner of Spain, tapas and flamenco shows. Montjuïc is also the site of a large number of events, congresses, trade fairs and salons such as the Bread&Butter but the most emblematic image of Montjuïc is the night-time view of the Magic Fountain.

The Barceloneta and Port Olímpic

The Barceloneta is considered as a modern district of beach and leisure, a mixture of trendy cocktail bars, clubs and hotels which manteins a strong “old village” personality with its bars, fish restaurants and inhabitants. While strolling around the Barceloneta you can enjoy the view of the Old Port, shopping in the malls of the Maremagnum and a day in the Aquarium. Barceloneta also hosts some of the best fish restaurants in the city and a variety of bars and clubs in the Port Olimpic.

The Park of the Ciutadella

The Parc of the Ciutadella is an ample green zone whose present aspect is due to the Universal Exhibition. With its lake and cascade, the Museums of Modern Art, Zoology and Geology and with constructions like the Hivernacle, the Ciutadella Parc is a work of clearing in a zone intensely built and visited for its many monuments.

La Rambla and the District of the Raval

The Raval is in the area located on the right when lowering La Rambla from Plaza Catalunya, one of the most popular streets in Barcelona known anywhere in the world. The zone is historically defined by the boundary of the Roman walls and La Rambla is the most evident border. The Raval is perhaps one of the districts that have been more renewed in the last years; it’s the center of diverse population where you can find stores, commerce and restaurants. A cultural and leisure center where artists, specialized bookstores, art galleries and restaurants cohabit.

The Tibidabo

This mountain is the highest tip of Barcelona and hosts an amusement park visible from almost all points of the city. It is the highest point of the Serra de Collserola, an important green zone of Barcelona. The attractions are suitable and fun for families, young people and majors. The season begins at the beginning of the spring and the theme park is only opened on Saturdays and Sundays.

La Ciutat Vella

Ciutat Vella has become a place where retailers, designers, artists and craftsmen develop their activities and offer their products to all the visitors and tourists who take a walk by its streets. A commercial network of modern premises and restaurants, along with traditional establishments adapting to the new times. In this zone you can enjoy sitting outside the terraces of Plaza Reial, spending a night in a club of international fame, listening and dancing to good music enjoying the nightlife of Barcelona.

El Maremagnum

Walking by the Rambla and crossing the Moll de la Fusta you will find a leisure and commercial center located in the Port Vell. During the day the visitors can enjoy the stores and the services of the center, walking by the modern facilities. In the evening and the night, the Maremangum becomes a centre of entertainment complete with the IMAX cinema, restaurants and the unique Aquàrium de Barcelona

L'Eixample

The Eixample is considered the most emblematic district of the city designed by architect Ildefons Cerdà to join the old independent municipalities around the city to the new Barcelona. By its streets we can discover diverse clubs, bars with live music and trendy restaurants. The Eixample is considered the gay district of Barcelona also known as the Gayxample.

The Poble Espanyol

During the Universal Exhibition of 1929, this space was built to reproduce the facades of historical buildings of all Spain. Inside its streets, bars and restaurants can be found where to enjoy a night out including dinner with flamenco shows. Also in the Poble Espanyol, you can find some of the most modern premises of the city and one of the best clubs in town, La Terrazza.

The District of Gràcia

During many years, this district of Barcelona was an independent municipality, that later was annexed to the city. At present, this district conserves the traditional atmosphere and craftsman of the old town. At night, is frequented by young people that enjoy Barcelona’s night life in the multiple choice of music, bars, restaurants and wonderful terraces.

El Barrio de Poblenou

During the day you can enjoy a walk in its Rambla lined with tapas restaurants offering variety of seafood dishes and traditional Spanish food, away from the chaos of the tourist area and near the beaches of the Mar Bella (the gay beach) and Bogatell. This district was for decades the industrial zone of the city of Barcelona. Now it is an agglomaration of alternative music clubs and numerous bars born in those old industrial factories such as the well known Razzmatazz.

El Forum

Taking advantage of the Forum de la Cultures 2004, Barcelona constructed near the sea the premises that are now used for festivales, concerts and exhibitions such as the Primavera Sound, Summercase and the Feria de Abril. This open space in the city offers a place of calm where to enjoy strolls outdoors and relax enjoying the proximity of the sea.