La Rambla - La Rambla

General information

Las Ramblas

Las Ramblas is the most popular street in the center of Barcelona. This famous alley is 1180 m long, as it is the former seasonal river bed. This is where its name comes from - from the Arabic word "ramla" meaning a sandy riverbed.

It takes less than an hour to walk the entire street from the Port (Placa Portal de la Pau) to Placa de la Catalunya, taking your time, of course, as there is plenty to see.

Design

The development of this area took place in the 18th century and was designed in the manner of French boulevards. Centrally located is a walkway, on both sides there is a road for traffic, while trees are planted along the entire length of the avenue.

Alleys

Christopher Columbus Monument

The avenues are made up of a series of streets with different names and appearance. Starting from Plaza de Cataluna, there are avenues:

• Rambla de Canaletes (named after the spring),
• Rambla de los Estudios (Rambla Studies),
• Rambla de San Josep (Saint Joseph) also known as Rambla de las Flores (Rambla Flowers) - from flowers and plants displayed there for sale.

This part of the Ramblas ends with the Boqueria Square, where there is a mosaic pavement by Joana Miro.

Then it starts:

• Rambla de los Capuchinos (Capuchin Rambla) otherwise known as Pla del Teatre - from the facade of the former Teatro Principal de Barcelona located there.
• The last episode creates the Rambla de Santa Monica (Saint Monica's Rambla).

At its end there is a statue of Christopher Columbus. It was designed for the world exhibition in 1888 by the architect Gaiet Buigas.

An extension of the Rambla is the promenade that takes walkers towards Port Vell.

Tourist attractions

A flower stall on Las Ramblas

While walking through Las Ramblas, you can experience many attractions. Along the entire Las Ramblas there are numerous flower stalls, stands with books, newspapers and pets.

You can also visit many small shops or enjoy street performances of mimes, actors and dancers competing in their ideas.

While strolling along the Rambla, you can also visit the Museu de Cera (wax museum), exotic bird market, stamp and coin exchange or simply relax sitting in the cafe garden. It is also worth deviating from the main road and wandering the narrow streets around the Rambla.

Bibliography

The texts were drafted based on:
Guide to Barcelona
Description of the sights of Barcelona