Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Beyond the Palau de la Virreina starts
Rambla Sant Josep
, the switch in names marked by
the sudden profusion of flower stalls - it's sometimes known as Rambla de les Flors. Here
stands the city's glorious main food market, officially the Mercat Sant Josep though referred
to locally as
La Boqueria
. While others might protest, the market really can claim to be the
best in Spain. Built on the site of a former convent between 1836 and 1840, the cavernous
hall stretches back from the high wrought-iron entrance arch facing the Ramblas. It's a riot
of noise and colour, as popular with locals who come here to shop daily as with snap-happy
tourists. Everything radiates out from the central fish and seafood stalls - bunches of herbs,
pots of spices, baskets of wild mushrooms, mounds of cheese and sausage, racks of bread,
hanging hams and overloaded meat counters. Many get waylaid at the entrance by the eye-
candy seasonal fruit cartons and squeezed juices, but the flagship fruit and veg stalls here
are pricey. It's better value further in, particularly in the small outdoor square just beyond
the north side of the market where the local allotment-holders and market gardeners gather.
Everyone has a favourite market stall, but don't miss
Petras
and its array of wild mushrooms
(it's at the back, by the market restaurant,
La Garduña
) or Frutas y Verduras Jesús y Car-
men, which is framed with colourful bundles of exotic chillies (it occupies stall 579). And of
course, there are some excellent stand-up
tapas bars
in the market as well, open from dawn
onwards for the traders -
Bar Pinotxo
is the most famous.
Plaça de la Boqueria
Liceu
The halfway point of the Ramblas is marked by
Plaça de la Boqueria
, with its large round
mosaic by Joan Miró
in the middle of the pavement. It's one of a number of public works
in Barcelona by the artist, who was born just a couple of minutes' walk off the Ramblas in
theBarriGòtic(there'saplaquetomarkthebuildingonPassatgedelCrèdit,offc/deFerran),
andhasbecomesomethingofasymbolforthecity.Closeby,atRamblas82,JosepVilaseca's
Casa Bruno Quadros
- the lower floor is now the Caixa Sabadell - was built in the 1890s
to house an umbrella store. This explains its delightful facade, decorated with a green dragon
and Oriental designs, and scattered with parasols. On the other side of the Ramblas at no. 83
there are more
modernista
flourishes on the
AntigaCasaFigueras
(1902), which overdoses
on stained glass and mosaics, and sports a corner relief of a female reaper. It's now home to
the renowned bakery-café
Escribà
.
Gran Teatre del Liceu
Ramblas 51-59•Toursdaily (except Aug)10am, 11.30am, noon,12.30pm & 1pm, English spoken •10am tour
€11.50, later tours €5.50 • 934 859 914,
www.liceubarcelona.com
• Liceu
