Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TOP SIGHT
LA RAMBLA
Barcelona's most famous street is both a tourist magnet and a window into
Catalan culture, with cultural centers, theaters and architecturally intriguing
buildings lining its sides. Set between narrow traffic lanes and flanked by
plane trees, the middle of La Rambla is a broad pedestrian boulevard,
crowded every day until the wee hours with a wide cross-section of society. A
stroll here is pure sensory overload, with souvenir hawkers, buskers, pave-
ment artists, mimes and living statues all part of the ever-changing street
scene.
History
La Rambla takes its name from a seasonal stream ( raml in Arabic) that once ran here. From
the early Middle Ages, it was better known as the Cagalell (Stream of Shit) and lay outside
the city walls until the 14th century. Monastic buildings were then built and, subsequently,
mansions of the well-to-do from the 16th to the early 19th centuries. Unofficially, La
Rambla is divided into five sections, which explains why many know it as Las Ramblas.
La Rambla de Canaletes
The section of La Rambla north of Plaça de Catalunya is named after the Font de
Canaletes ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ) , an inconspicuous turn-of-the-20th-century drinking foun-
tain, the water of which supposedly emerges from what were once known as the springs of
Canaletes. It used to be said that barcelonins 'drank the waters of Les Canaletes'.
Nowadays people claim that anyone who drinks from the fountain will return to Barcelona,
which is not such a bad prospect. Delirious football fans gather here to celebrate whenever
the main home side, FC Barcelona, wins a cup or the league premiership.
A block east along Carrer de la Canuda is Plaça de la Vila de Madrid, with a sunken
garden where Roman tombs lie exposed in the Via Sepulcral Romana .
La Rambla dels Estudis
La Rambla dels Estudis, from Carrer de la Canuda running south to Carrer de la Portafer-
rissa, was formerly home to a twittering bird market, which closed in 2010 after 150 years
in operation.
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