Gothic Quarter Insights & Tapas Experience

In the Plaça Nova, in Barcelona's Gothic Quarter, almost touching the wall of the former Roman city, seven giant letters contrast with their historic backdrop. They are part of the alphabet created by Joan Brossa to spell out the word Barcino, the principal name of the Colonia Iulia Augusta Faventia Paterna Barcino, which was the origin of present-day Barcelona. The letters, six of them made of bronze and one of aluminium, are bolted to the ground and make up a fun and original display, very much in keeping with this Barcelona-born artist's visual poems

The building now known as the Palace of the Bishop is the first building of the new episcopal Barcelona that rises walled city of Barcelona, using the utensils inside the Roman walls. The New Square, opened in front of the Porta Praetoria of Roman wall, known as the Portal del Bisbe. It was created in 1355 when the water was channeled to Collserola Sant Jaume Square demolishing buildings facing the Portal del Bisbe, then we gave the name of New Square.

The Casa de l'Ardiaca, the residence of the ecclesiastical hierarchy from the 12th century onwards, has undergone many alterations over the years, such as the ones carried out in the early 16th century which connected the building with the dean's residence. This was also the period when the porticoed central courtyard was built and the Renaissance-style decorations, which tie in with the flamboyant Gothic style of the original building, completed. A staircase leads to the upper terrace, a balcony in the purest Romeo and Juliet style.

The narrow, labyrinthine streets of the Gothic Quarter come out into this unexpected spot. A tiny square with a charming little fountain in the middle and overlooked by the baroque church of Sant Felip Neri. On one side, you can see the buildings that once housed the city's shoemakers' and coppersmiths' guilds, which moved here from their premises on Carrer de la Bòria and Carrer de la Corribia, respectively.

A Gothic basilica and the two picturesque squares that surround it form one of the most enchanting corners of the Gothic Quarter. The old cemeteries that surrounded the 14th-century church are now small squares where painters and artisans exhibit their works.

The Conjunt Monumental de la Plaça del Rei in Barcelona is, arguably, the Gothic architectural ensemble which best exemplifies the city's medieval past. The royal palace, the Palau Reial Major, and its surrounding buildings, enclose a harmonious and peaceful square which is still imbued with Barcelona's splendour during the Middle Ages.

As you explore Barcelona's Gothic Quarter you'll come across one of the city's best-kept secrets in a building on Carrer Paradís. Inside a small medieval courtyard, the four columns from the Temple of Augustus have survived despite the passing of the centuries. They are more than 2,000 years old, like Barcelona itself.

Basilica de Santa Maria del Mar The Basilica Santa Maria del Mar is considered the real cathedral of the Old Town since it has been founded and constructed in Medieval times by the people of the neighborhood themselves. It is an emblem of Catalan Gothic art and a must-to-see spot of the Gothic Quarter.

The street called Carrer de Montcada is today the most important area of medieval civic architecture in the city. It starts with the Romanesque Marcus chapel (12th century) and finishes at Plaça del Born. It used to be all one single street until the 19th century when it was divided into two by the opening of Carrer Princesa in 1853. Its name derives from the important Montcada family from Barcelona who, it appears, received the land in the 12th century for the support lent to King Ramon Berenguer IV by Guillem Ramon de Montcada during the conquest of Majorca.