Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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Flower &
Bird Stalls
Will the real Rambla please
stand up? Amid the here-
today-gone-tomorrow street
performers and tourists,
the true Rambla old-timers
are the flower and bird
stalls that flank the pede-
strian walkway. Many
of the stalls have been
run by the same families
for decades.
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Font de Canaletes
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Ensure your return to the
city by drinking from this
19th-century fountain, inscribed
with the legend that anyone
who drinks from it “will fall
in love with Barcelona and
always return .
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2
La Rambla
^
Miró Mosaic
&
Palau de la
Virreina
Constructed by the vice-
roy of Peru in 1778 - the
name means “Palace of
the Viceroy's Wife” - this
Neo-Classical palace hosts
a range of temporary
exhibitions, from sculpture
to photography to video.
Splashed on the
walkway on La Rambla
is a colourful pavement
mosaic
(above)
by
Catalan artist Joan
Miró. His signature
abstract shapes and
primary colours unfold
at your feet.
(
Bruno Quadras
*
Centre d'Art
Building
Once an umbrella factory,
this playful, late 19th-cen-
tury building
(left)
is fes-
tooned with umbrellas.
Santa Mònica
Once the hallowed haunt of
rosary beads and murmured
prayers, this former 17th-
century monastery was
reborn in the 1980s. Thanks
to a massive government-
funded facelift, it is now
a cutting-edge contempo-
rary art centre. Temporary
exhibitions run the gamut
from large-scale video
installations to sculpture
and photography.
)
Església de Betlem
A relic from a time
when the Catholic Church
was rolling in pesetas (and
power), this hulking 17th-
century church is a
seminal reminder of when
La Rambla was more
religious than risqué.
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For sights in El Raval
See pp80-83
