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Select from 2 self-guided walking tours in Barcelona

Barcelona Walking Tour: El Raval and the Gothic Quarter's Landmarks & Legends

Barcelona is a captivating city that attracts visitors time and again. You too will be destined to return, or so the legend goes, once you’ve drunk fountain-water from Font de Canaletes or rubbed the crown jewels on Fernando Botero’s fat feline statue, El Gato de Botero. On this walking tour around the city, I’ll share its lesser-known stories as well as some of its myths, legends and folklore.

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After leaving La Rambla, you’ll stroll through El Raval, once the most densely-populated urban area in all of Europe, and the city’s Red Light District. There, I’ll tell you about its connection to prostitution, and share the tale of Enriqueta Marti who was wrongly accused of being a serial killer. You’ll hear about the bread riots of 1789 and how Antoni Gaudi, the great Catalan Modernist architect, died tragically in an accident.

 

You’ll cross over La Rambla into Plaça Reial (the Royal Plaza) and the Gothic Quarter, where you’ll find out how the small fortified Roman village of Barcino developed into the great city that Barcelona is today. I’ll show you where the stream that provided the village with water used to run and where the tombs of the dead used to line the ancient village wall. You’ll see slightly more modern attractions too, like the gothic-looking Cathedral of Barcelona and Pont de Bisbe (the Bishops Bridge).

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On this tour, you’ll have the opportunity to:

• Gaze upon one of Gaudi’s most understated buildings, Palau Güell (Güell Palace)
• Find out how Barcelona’s destitute mothers used to drop off unwanted babies through a hole in the wall at the House of Mercy
• Step into Mercat de la Boqueria, a food market that’s been operating since the 1100s
• Hear Can Culleretes Restaurant’s two origin stories and decide which one you believe
• Take a shortcut through Carrer d’Avinyo, which inspired Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d'Avignon painting
• Visit Meson del Cafe, where you’ll find the city’s best coffee and possibly bump into the mayor
• Soak up El Peto, the kissing mural composed of 4,000 photographic images of “freedom”, donated by the public

 

On this 75-minute walk, you’ll stroll along narrow lanes, hidden alleys and through popular squares like Plaça de Sant Jaume, Plaça Nova and Plaça Sant Felip Neri. You’ll hear about the city’s enchanting history, see its captivating architecture and find out about its quirky urban legends. Have your cameras ready, there are countless photographic opportunities along the way.

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Preview online:  El Raval & The Gothic Quarter's Landmarks & Legends

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Barcelona Walking Tour: Landmarks and Legends of El Born and Ciutadella Park

Barcelona’s Ciutadella Park has more to it than meets the eye. Its epic history of wars, destruction, politics, art, and expos have shaped it, and in doing so, changed the face of Barcelona forever. On this walking tour, we’ll do more than simply stroll through the celebrated park, we’ll venture into the medieval streets of El Born, once a seaside suburb and thriving industrial area where many became wealthy.

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The further you walk, the more you’ll get a sense of how local people lived in one busy, entrepreneurial area where aristocrats and the working class coexisted. You’ll stroll down Passeig del Born and find out how the area transformed from a jousting strip into a market and, much later, into one of the city’s main thoroughfares. Along the way to Barcelona’s Arc de Triomf I’ll reveal how, thanks to a (so-called) accidental excavation, you’re now able to see what the streets would have been like in the 1700s. I’ll also tell you how the city’s modern street names still hold clues about what occurred on them centuries ago.

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On this 75-minute stroll, you’ll:

• Pass by various cultural centers including El Born Centre de Cultura i Memòria, Picasso Museum, Moco Museum Barcelona, and Palau de la      Música Catalana
• Find out how Barcelonians crowdsourced the Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar
• Spot the hidden Gaudi sculpture on the Cascada Monumental fountain
• See Barcelona’s shortest street, Carrer de l’Anisadeta, it takes two seconds to walk it.
• Gaze upon a statue of La Carassa’s female form, a ‘signpost’ that showed people where to find brothels in the 1600s
• Hear about the links between Capella d’en Marcús (Chapel of Marcus) and the first postal service in Europe
• Discover the origins of Sant Pere, one of Barcelona’s medieval neighborhoods
• Peak inside Santa Caterina Market, where you’ll find tasty treats and ancient ruins

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This tour covers a wonderful area of Barcelona with an incredible history and many awesome sights that are often overlooked in favour of the Gothic Quarter. On this tour, I’ll show you why you need to visit both to truly get a taste of my favorite city in the world. By the end, I hope you’ll agree that El Born is the coolest area in town!

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Preview online:  Landmarks & Legends of El Born & Ciutadella Park

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