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Barcelona's Gothic Quarter, alias the Barri Gotic sits to the side of La Rambla. Distinctive for its narrow winding streets, which heave with visitors flocking to Barcelona Old Town's numerous attractions including the Picasso Museum, the Barri Gotic is a stark contrast to Barcelona's L'Eixample new town to the north. Look on any Barcelona city map, and you'll see the contrast between Barcelona's tightly packed narrow streets in the Gothic Quarter compared to the wide paseos of L'Eixample. A great point to absorb this contrast is views of Barcelona city from the top of Castillo de Montjuic, reached by the now reopened Montjuic Cable Car. The main Barcelona Tourist Information Office in the Barri Gotic is with the City Hall on Placa de Sant Jaume, Ciutat, 2, Barcelona, open Mondays to Fridays 9am to 8am. There's a particularly good tourist shop, with maps and so forth, in here.
Barcelona's Barri Gothic and La Ribera Old Town districts are two of Barcelona's most popular areas with visitors. Highlights include the Picasso Museum of course (get ready for queues!), the stunning Catalan Gothic architecture of the Santa Maria del Mar and the Museu Frederic Mares which is home to one of Spain's most outstanding collections of sculpture dating from pre-Roman to the 20th century. For a detailed tourist guide on Barcelona's gotic quarter, including the La Ribera district see the Barcelona Tourism Guide weblink right. (Metros. Liceu or Catalunya/Line 3, Jaume 1/Line 4, Urquinaona and Arc de Triomf/Line 1).
Roughly speaking Barcelona's old town Barri Gotic quarter covers the area from Las Ramblas, the Via Layetana, Placa Catalunya and Barcelona's old port. Placa Sant Jaume is the central point, and hub of Roman Barcelona. The Romans were the first to make use of this Barcelona region. Compact and crammed with historic sites and museums, Barcelona's old town Gothic quarter includes the very popular Picasso Museum, Barcelona Cathedral, Barcelona's ornate town all, the remains of Barcelona's Roman walls and a selection of museums including the Museu D'Historia De La Ciutat which leans towards exploring Barcelona's old town Roman and medieval history. Incorporated into Barcelona's Gothic quarter is La Ribera, split off fairly recently in the early 1900s by Via Laietana, the street which stretches up from Pl.Antonio Lopez near Port Vell Marina waterfront. La Ribera is very much a part of the Barri Gotic, and pushes finally into Parc de la Ciutadella.
Barcelona Gothic quarter attractions are numerous. Starting with historic building you can put on your list Barcelona's town hall on Placa de Sant Jaume. The earliest council chamber here dates from 1373, whilst the facade is neoclassical. Placa de Sant Jaume in front is always bustling, popular for music events and shows. Town hall tours are free. Just to the north on Pla de la Seu sits Barcelona's official cathedral, although the Sagrada Familia these days often gets mistaken for it. Dating from the 13th century, building work spanned six centuries. The bell tower and cloisters are 15th century and the Gothic style for much of it is obvious. Barcelona Cathedral is seeing considerable renovation in 2007. Near the cathedral on Av.de la Catedral, 4 (tel. 933 152 213 is the Museu Diocesa de Barcelona. Sculptures, paining, pottery, religious clothing and jewellery, some of which dates from the Roman and Middle Ages, is on display here.
The Museu D'Historia De La Ciutat on Sq.del Rei, Tel. 933 151 111 (see webguide right for details) explores Barcelona's two thousand year history. Roman Barcelona is particularly explored, inclusive of routes through underground archaeological excavations and views of remains of Barcelona's first city walls. See also weblink right for the Museu Frederic Mares.
Moving into the Barri Gotic's La Ribera area, not to be missed is a visit to the Santa Maria del Mar church, indeed one of the finest examples of Catalan Gothic you're likely to see. Both inside and out are worth taking time over. Find it on Passeig del Born, 1. The nearby Palau de la Musica Catalan on Sant Francesc de Paula, 2 (see weblink right), is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Created by the Modernisme artchitect Lluis Domenech i Montaner in 1908, it's a fascinating addition to the mix of much older historic buildings in this Barcelona district. The interior is breathtaking, and tours are highly recommended. Alongside the acclaimed Picasso Museum in the Ribera Barri Gotic region sits the Textiles Museum and Museu Barbier-Mueller. See webguides for both these Barcelona Museums to the right.
Barcelona's Picasso Museum is understandably one of the city's most visited attractions. More than 3500 of Picasso's paintings are held here in the permanent collection, making Barcelona's Picasso Museum one of if not the best collections of the artists' work. The popularity of the Picasso Museum means there are often queues - very long ones, all year round so like the Prado in Madrid, it's well worth getting here early (see Picasso Museum weblink right for opening times).
The particular relationship Picasso had with Barcelona, and the influence of Catalan Modernisme on his work is naturally well represented here. Picasso donated much of the work on display in Barcelona's Picasso Museum himself. Picasso paintings, drawings, ceramics and engravings are all here aplenty.
Temporary Picasso exhibitions are constantly changing and have included a focus on themes such as 'Picasso War and Peace and Picasso Bulls and Bullfighters. Checkout the Barcelona Picasso Museum's website right for details of work in the permanent Picasso collection, and forthcoming temporary exhibitions.
Museu Picasso/Picasso Museum, Montcada Street, 15-23 08003 Barcelona, Spain. Tel. (00 34) 932 563 000.
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