SPAIN - Best of Europe 2014 - page 1420

archive's treasures (though it's rarely on display) is the 1491 Santa Fe Capitulations, a con-
tract between Columbus and the monarchs about his upcoming voyage.
Ironically,ColumbusandtheKingdomofAragonplayedaroleinBarcelona'sdeclineas
an independent kingdom. When Ferdinand of Aragon married Isabel of Castile, Catalunya
got swallowed up in greater Spain. Columbus' discovery of new trade routes made Bar-
celona's port less important, and soon the royals moved elsewhere.
The Barcelona History Museum's entrance is at the near end of Plaça del Rei (see listing
on here ) . It gives visitors the only peek they'll get of the palace interior (and there's disap-
pointingly little to see), but more importantly, provides a fine way to retrace all the history
we've seen on this walk—from modern to medieval to the Roman foundations of Barcino.
• Your walk is over. It's easy to get your bearings by backtracking to either Plaça de Sant
Jaumeorthecathedral.TheJaumeIMetrostopistwoblocksaway(headdownhillandturn
left). Or simply wander and enjoy Barcelona at its Gothic best.