Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
16; 7.30am-2pm Mon, to 3.30pm Tue, Wed & Sat, to 8.30pm Thu & Fri, closed afternoons Jul & Aug;
; Jaume I)
Come shopping for your tomatoes at this extraordinary-looking produce market, designed
by Enric Miralles and Benedetta Tagliabue to replace its 19th-century predecessor. Finished
in 2005, it is distinguished by its kaleidoscopic and undulating roof, held up above the bust-
ling produce stands, restaurants, cafes and bars by twisting slender branches of what look
like grey steel trees.
The multicoloured ceramic roof (with a ceiling made of warm, light wood) recalls the
Modernista tradition of
trencadís
decoration (a type of mosaic, such as that in Park Güell).
Indeed, its curvy design, like a series of Mediterranean rollers, seems to plunge back into an
era when Barcelona's architects were limited only by their (vivid) imagination. The market
roof bears an uncanny resemblance to that of the Escoles de Gaudí at La Sagrada Família.
The market's 1848 predecessor had been built over the remains of the demolished 15th-
century Gothic Monestir de Santa Caterina, a powerful Dominican convent. The
Espai
section of the church foundations, is glassed over in one corner as an archaeological remind-
er.
PARK
PARC DE LA CIUTADELLA
Come for a stroll, a picnic, a visit to the zoo or to inspect Catalonia's regional parliament,
but don't miss a visit to this, the most central green lung in the city. Parc de la Ciutadella is
perfect for winding down.
After the War of the Spanish Succession, Felipe V razed a swath of La Ribera to build a
huge fortress (La Ciutadella), designed to keep watch over Barcelona. It became a loathed
symbol of everything Catalans hated about Madrid and the Bourbon kings, and was later
used as a political prison. Only in 1869 did the central government allow its demolition,
after which the site was turned into a park and used for the Universal Exhibition of 1888.
park entrance, created between 1875 and 1881 by Josep Fontserè with the help of an enthu-
siastic young Gaudí, is a dramatic combination of statuary, rugged rocks, greenery and thun-
dering water - all of it perfectly artificial. Nearby, you can hire a rowing boat to paddle
about in the small lake.
