Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Explore: La Ribera
La Ribera is widely used to refer to the entire area covered by the city council's rather long-
winded appellation of Sant Pere, Santa Caterina i la Ribera. Carrer de la Princesa, ramrod
straight between the traffic-choked Via Laietana and Parc de la Ciutadella, cuts La Ribera in
half. The gentrified southern half is generally known as El Born, after busy, bar-lined Pas-
seig del Born. Capped at one end by the magnificent Gothic Basílica de Santa Maria del
Mar, it runs along to the Born Centre Cultural, in what used to be the neighbourhood's mar-
ket building. This area should be your first port of call, specifically a stroll down the Carrer
de Montcada, a street rich in Gothic and baroque mansions as well as one of the city's major
museums, the Museu Picasso, along with many art galleries, shops and so on. Several other
important streets feed south into El Born from the Jaume I metro stop, such as restaurant-
lined Carrer de l'Argenteria.
Passeig del Born was Barcelona's main square from the 13th to the 18th centuries and
still has an air of excitement around it - it's lined with bars, cafes and some good restaur-
ants, and the streets that cross this short drag are packed with some impressive (quite high-
end) shopping. It's a popular night-time area for locals, especially in the summer when ter-
races get full and bars throw open their doors. The area is best explored day and night - it's
an eclectic, cosmopolitan jumble in a magnificent medieval setting.
Northwest of Carrer de la Princesa, the area's physiognomy changes. A mess of untidy
streets wiggles northwards around the striking modern reincarnation of the Mercat de Santa
Caterina and on towards the Modernista Palau de la Música Catalana. North African and
South American immigrant communities call this part of La Ribera home. Little by little,
some good eating and drinking options have opened up in these narrow, winding streets.
Via Laietana, a rumbling, fuel-fumed thoroughfare, marks the southwest side of La Rib-
era, while the Parc de la Ciutadella closes off its northeastern flank. The park is a rare green
space in central Barcelona, where you can lounge on its stretches of grass, sit by the water at
the grand fountain, visit the zoo and, if accompanied by tots, take advantage of its play-
grounds.
