Explore El Born District: Private Half-Day Walking Tour

A trendy neighbourhood with interesting bars, restaurants and stylish boutiques.

A Time and a PlacePlaça del Rei may be small, but it is dense with history. The Royal Palace - the Palau Reial Major - has enclosed the square for centuries, cupping it from the winds of time. As such, the Plaça del Rei is imbued with Barcelona’s Middle Ages splendour, and is perhaps one of the best windows into the city’s past. The palace was the residence of the Catalan counts and King of Aragon who reigned during the Middle Ages. It dates from the 11th century, but underwent alterations in the 13th century. As a result, it’s a fine example of Gothic architecture, mingled with Romanesque elements. Set in StoneThe highlight of the palace is surely the Salo del Tinell, a magnificent banquet hall which was added in the 14th century and now houses the temporary exhibitions of the city history museum. The museum itself can be entered by the stairs to the Palau Clariana-Padellàs, which was moved to this spot stone by stone from Carrer Mercarders early in the 20th century. On the other side of the square you will find the Royal Chapel of St. Agatha, with its unique octagonal bell tower in the shape of a crown. Within the chapel is an outstanding example of Catalan Gothic art, Jaume Huguet’s Epiphany, and its ceiling is covered with striking polychrome tiles. HearsayThe steps that fan out from the corner of the square were allegedly where King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella stood to greet Christopher Columbus when he arrived home after his first voyage to the New World.

Portrait of the artist as a young man The Picasso Museum boasts an incredible 4,000 works by Spain’s most beloved and prolific artist. The Museum, which was opened ten years before his death in 1963, focuses on Picasso’s relationship with Barcelona, particularly in his formative years. The extensive collection is housed in five palaces on the medieval street Carrer Montcada, and comprises not only his paintings, drawings and sculptures, but also photographs and records of the young Picasso. The buildings have been remodelled since the Middle Ages, and the beautiful Catalan Gothic structures we see today date from the 18th century.  The father of modern art Born in Málaga in 1881, the son of a painter and art professor, Picasso showed an exceptional aptitude for art at a very young age. He began his formal training with his father at the age of seven. After the death of his younger sister the family moved to Barcelona in 1895, and here Picasso found a haven; although he went on to move regularly throughout his life, he came to regard the city as his true home. At just 13 he managed to gain entry to the advanced class in the Llotja School of Fine Arts, and began to form his inimitable personal style. Later in life, Picasso himself expressed the wish for a museum of his works to be built in Barcelona and in 1960 plans were set in motion. The museum was originally called the Sabartés Collection: Picasso was vocally opposed to the regime of Francisco Franco, then dictator of Spain, so his name could not appear on a national monument. Sabartés was a fellow painter and poet from Barcelona, and a close personal friend of Picasso. The original museum consisted of Sabartés’ own collection of Picasso’s work as well as a few donations of illustrated prints and drawings.  Having grown exponentially over the years through donations and acquisitions, the present collection is a comprehensive showcase: visitors can follow the development of Picasso’s art from the stunning 1896 Portrait of Aunt Pepa, painted when the artist was only 14, through the world-changing innovations of Cubism and his Rose, African and Blue Periods. Though some of his most famous mature works, such as Guernica and Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, are held elsewhere, the Picasso Museum is an unmissable insight into one of the story of a modern master. 

Catalan gloryThe first mention of a church on the site of Santa Maria del Mar dates from 998. The area around this small chapel grew into the thriving port district of Barcelona, busy with merchants, fishermen, trading vessels, builders and craftsmen. The majestic building we see today was created by master builder Berenguer de Montagut using stone from the nearby mountain Montjuïc, and completed in 1383, during Catalonia’s prime as a centre of maritime commerce. While it looks rather imposing from outside, the church’s interior is bright and spacious. In 1936, during the Civil War, a fire blazed inside the church for eleven days and sadly destroyed much of its magnificent decoration, including a Baroque altarpiece. Fortunately, some of the stained glass windows on the top levels were high enough to escape the flames and can still be admired by visitors today. Sacred circumferenceCareful restorations to the church have ensured the retention of its distinctive and elegant Catalonian Gothic style. It follows the ad quadratum ideal of sacred geometry: a high ceiling of intertwining arches is supported by thick octagonal columns, creating a huge space of perfect circumference - 33m wide and 33m high. In 1965, the remains of the Baroque altar were excavated and replaced; a Roman necropolis was discovered beneath, and was remodelled into a functional crypt in which the relics of St. Cugat del Rec have been held since 2000. Many important saints have worshipped here over the years, and the church remains an important devotional centre for the Catholic faith today, taking an active role in the local community and offering charity to those in need.

Built at the open of the 20th century, the Palau de Música Catalana remains Barcelona’s most spectacular concert hall. It was commissioned by the Orfeó Català, a nationalistic choral society. As bizarre as that sounds, they were a leading force in the cultural movement known as the Renaixença — the Catalan Rebirth. Designed in the Catalan Modernista style by the architect Lluís Domènech i Montanaer, it was extensively restored in the eighties and has since been declared a World Heritage Site. It’s an old hand, but far from retired — more than half a million people a year still attend performances there. Modernista, Fashionista The building exemplifies many of the traits of Catalan modernism: curves and dynamic shapes triumph over straight lines and static forms, and it’s all capped by a riot of florid ornament. The extravagant façade is a marriage of Spanish and Arabic architecture, with a mixture of exposed red brick and iron, mosaics, stained glass and glazed tiles. And although nationalistic, it was not beyond the Orfeó Català to acknowledge some of the greats: busts of Bach, Beethoven and Wagner gaze over the building’s entrance. High Noon The concert hall is the type that renders architects and designers giddy and speechless. It is the only auditorium in Europe that during the day is illuminated entirely by natural light. Over the stage there is an enormous stained glass skylight, with an orange centre burning out into an azure periphery, like the sun in a midday sky.  Orders from Above Elsewhere the decoration runs a strong choral theme, as you would expect. Depictions of great musical works, such as Wagner’s Die Walküre and Beethoven’s Ode to Joy, are coupled with references to classical mythology, including the 18 young women known as the muses and Pegasus, who was ridden by the muses whenever their father Zeus called for them at his side on Mount Olympus.

Memorial to the defenders of Barcelona who died in the siege of 1714

Scenic city park housing the Catalan Parliament