Tour Features

Itinerary

• 1st stop

  Mercat de la Boqueria

  Our walk starts at the entrance of La Boqueria, in front of the Mosaico de Miró, a short step from the Liceu metro station. Inside, we move between the stalls of fish, cured meats, and fruit, tasting fried fish and jamón as we go. From the market, the route opens onto Las Ramblas.

• 2nd stop

  Las Ramblas

  We follow Las Ramblas, the long tree-lined promenade that divides the old city and carries the everyday life of Barcelona, from flower stalls to newspaper kiosks. The walk keeps to a comfortable pace, with time to look around before turning into the side streets toward Plaça Reial.

• 3rd stop

  Placa Reial

  Plaça Reial opens off La Rambla through a single archway: an arcaded square of palm trees, a central fountain, and lampposts designed by Antoni Gaudí. We take a few minutes here to read the square's architecture and to see how it fits into the city's nineteenth-century growth.

• 4th stop

  Placa Sant Jaume

  At Plaça Sant Jaume we look up at the City Hall and the Generalitat, the two seats of Catalan government facing each other across the square, and at the Pont del Bisbe, the bridge that links the buildings above the alley. Pinchos, the small appetizers served on bread, come next, shared as the group moves on.

• 5th stop

  Barcelona Cathedral

  The Barcelona Cathedral rises over the Gothic Quarter with its stone facade, pointed arches, and a cloister where geese walk between palm trees and a fountain. We stop in the square in front of it to take in the scale of the building and to trace how the city grew around it from the thirteenth century onward.

• 6th stop

  Mercat de Santa Caterina

  We continue to the Mercat de Santa Caterina, the neighborhood market whose wavy roof of colored mosaic tiles has become one of the landmarks of the old city. Inside, we walk the aisles of produce, fish, and cured meats, close to the daily life of the residents who still shop here.

• 7th stop

  El Born

  From the market we step into El Born, the quarter of artisans and merchants that kept the old city's trade alive. Its narrow streets keep the scale of the medieval plan, with small shops, workshops, and quiet squares that reward a slow walk before we reach the basilica.

• 8th stop

  Santa Maria del Mar

  Santa Maria del Mar stands at the heart of El Born, a basilica built between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries in the plain, powerful lines of Catalan Gothic. We look at the facade and the rose window from the square and hear about the guilds and port workers who paid for its construction, stone by stone.

• 9th stop

  Gothic Quarter

  We close in the Gothic Quarter, the oldest part of the city, walking into El Call, the medieval Jewish quarter, and finishing at the Temple of Augustus columns, Roman remains hidden in a medieval courtyard. A portion of patatas bravas near Plaça de Sant Agustí Vell and a slice of tarta de formatge from a local pastry shop round off the tastings.

Tour Details