#Barcelona: Route through the Gothic Quarter (Barrio Gótic)

What is the gothic quarter of Barcelona?

It is the oldest nucleus of Barcelona city! I promise that your camera will not have a break, because it has a lot of things to do, to see and to visit.

It is not far away from las Ramblas … in fact, you can exit at Liceu metro station (line 3), walk a little along the Rambla until you find on the right side the arches of Palau Moja (on your left will be a Catholic church). Turn on this street, Carrer de la Portaferrissa … here is where the gothic quarter starts! Walk along Carrer de la Portaferrissa until you reach:

Plaça Nova

In Plaça Nova, there is the well-known work of the Catalan artist Joan Brossa, a set of letters (six in bronze and one in aluminum), which form the word Barcino (Roman origin of the word Barcelona). Next to the Roman wall that surrounded the city until the 19th century is the Casa de l'Ardiaca, a 15th-century Gothic palace with a Renaissance facade. In 1902, the Bar Association ordered to the modernist architect Domènech i Montaner to design the mailbox ... which became a symbolic mailbox. The mailbox features 5 swallows symbol of the speediness of justice that the parties involved would like, ivy leaves symbolizing bureaucratic obstacles and a tortoise represents the real slowness of justice.

New Square

Cross Pla de la Seu, and visit the:

Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Santa Eulalia - Cathedral of Barcelona

The Cathedral of Barcelona has an impressive gothic facade of 93m wide, a steeple with 53m and a main tower with 70m. In its interior it exhibits a nave of 26m surrounded by 25 chapels and a magnificent cloister. An elevator in the Capilla de las Ánimas del Purgatorio allows you to climb to the Cathedral terrace and enjoy a view over Barcelona.

Cathedral of Barcelona

After leaving the Cathedral, turn right into Carrer dels Comtes, here you will find the:

Frederic Marès Museum

Situated in the old Palace of the Counts of Barcelona, it holds the works of the collector Frederic Marès. The museum is open from Tuesday to Saturday, from 10am to 7pm; Sundays and holidays from 11am to 8pm (closed on Mondays). Price € 4.20.

Frederic Marés Museum

At the intersection of Carrer dels Comtes and Carrer de la Pietat, turn left onto:

Plaça del Rey

With the unification of Spain in 1469, the so-called Catholic Monarchs (Dona Isabel I and King Dom Fernando II) established Barcelona as the temporary residence of the royal family. In fact, it was here that Christopher Columbus was received by the Kings of Spain, when he returned from the voyage of discovery of America. Later, an Inquisition Tribunal also functioned here. The MUHBA Plaça del Rei museum was born here in 1943 and gathers the objects found in the excavations and that retract several historical periods of Barcelona. The museum can be visited from Tuesday to Saturday, from 10 am to 7 pm and on Sundays from 10 am to 8 pm (closed on Mondays, 1 January, 1 May, 24 June and 25 December). Price €7.

King Square

Return to Carrer de la Pietat and cross it until you reach:

Carrer del Bisbe

Carrer del Bisbe, bishop's street, was the main street of Barcelona in the Roman period. To your left you will have one of the most photographed elements in the Gothic Quarter - the Pont del Bisbe, which connects Generalità to the Casa dels Canonges. This arch bridge does not date back to the medieval period, as it may seem, was actually added during the revitalization works of the area in the 1920s.

Bisbe bridge

Continue on Carrer del Bisbe until you reach:

Plaça de Sant Jaume

It is the administrative center of Barcelona, here is the City Hall of Barcelona, and as such it is in here that the protests and cultural demonstrations such as the famous human pyramids of Catalonia ("Castellers de Barcelona") take place. The Palau de la Generalitat, a medieval building with a neoclassical facade, is known for its ding-dong (created in 1510) consisting of 49 bells. At 12 p.m. and 6 p.m., you can listen a small concerts produced by this atypical carillon, which only exists in a few cities in the world. It can be visited on the 2nd and 4th weekend of each month (closed in August), Saturday and Sunday morning. Admission is free, but visits must be scheduled by email.

City Hall of Barcelona and Palau de la Generalitat

Plus 3 points in the Gothic Quarter, which you cannot miss!

Goes through the facade of the Palau de la Generalitat and continues along Carrer del Call. Turn right at the first street, Carrer de Sant Domenèc del Call. You are now at:

El call

It is the old Jewish quarter of Barcelona and, during the 11th and 14th centuries, it was the place where doctors, philosophers and mathematicians shared their knowledge. At the intersection of Carrer de Sant Domenèc del Call and Carrer de Maret is the Old Major Synagogue. Continue on the Carrer de Sant Domenèc del Call and on the Placeta de Manuel Ribé (left side) you will find MUHBA El Call, a museum that tells the trajectory of the Jews in the city and its legacy. The museum can be visited on Wednesdays and Fridays, from 11am to 2pm; Saturdays and Sundays, from 11am to 7pm (closes on 1 January, 1 May, 24 June and 25 December). Price € 2.20.

Continue on Carrer de Sant Domenèc del Call until you reach the Carrer de Sant Sever, turn right and then turn left to:

Plaça de Sant Felipe Neri

Here, the walls of the buildings and the facade of the baroque church keep (with very visible marks) the aftermath of a bombing on Barcelona. In January of 1938, an Italian airplane to the service of Franco bombarded this zone, killing 42 people who were hidden in the refuge of the Church of Sant Felipe Neri. Gaudí frequently attended masses in this church and the day he was hit by a tram, he was precisely on the way to this church.

Return to Carrer de Sant Sever (turn right) and walk until you reach Carrer dels Banys Nous. Turn left and then right onto Plaça de Sant Josep Oriol. Look for, on your right side:

Carrer Petritxol

It is between Plaza del Pi (where is the Basilica of Santa Maria del Pi) and the Carrer Portaferrisa and here you can find chocolatiers (las granjas) that are famous since the 18th century: La Pallaresa (at number 11) and Dulcinea (at number 2).

At the end of this street, you will be in Carrer de la Portaferrissa again, turn left and you will reach the Ramblas. 

Here is the map of the itinerary through the Gothic Quarter

Itinerary through the Gothic Quarter (map)