Architecture

Religious

The Cathedral

Is it a Gothic cathedral? Well… mostly. But the chapel of Santa Llúcia is Romanesque, and the main façade is neo-Gothic in style and dates from the 19th century. A Visigothic church once stood on this site, and long before that, an early-Christia ...
Church of Santa Maria del Pi

If you want an instructive art history lesson, just take a close look at the church of Santa Maria del Pi. This pure-Gothic building is a compendium of all the characteristic elements of this style. It is said that, centuries ago, there was a pine wo ...
Santa Maria del Mar

Santa Maria del Mar is a record breaker: in terms of beauty, harmony and the wide spaces between its columns, making it a unique medieval building, and because it was built in just 55 years. This explains the perfection of its Gothic style and the fa ...

The Columns of the Temple of Augustus

As you stroll through the charming, narrow streets of Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter, you’ll not only see traces of the medieval city but of the Roman city as well. However, if you want to find the latter you’ll have to keep your eyes peeled. Tucke ...
Roman walls and aqueducts (Casa de la Ardiaca)

The Archdeacon’s House, the Casa de l’Ardiaca, is a fascinating blend of styles which contains archaeological remains, and, as you would expect, bears the imprint of the Romans. One of the walls was part of Barcelona’s ancient Roman city walls, ...
Wall and gateway to the Roman city of Barcino (Plaça Nova)

As you walk between the two towers that usher you into Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter, you are, in fact, crossing over a section of the Roman wall dating back to the 1st century BC and the 4th century AD. But the Plaça Nova has many more surprises in ...

Barcelona City Hall

A neo-Gothic façade and pure-Gothic-style interior. Paintings by Josep Maria Sert, sculptures by Gargallo, Llimona and Miró. Images of King Jaume I. Barcelona City Hall occupies a prominent position in the Plaça Sant Jaume directly opposite the Ca ...
La Llotja (The Old Commodities Exchange)

The neo-Gothic façade conceals a jewel of Civil Gothic architecture: the old commodities exchange, La Llotja. The building has a fascinating history which has always been linked with trade, seafaring life and education. La Llotja once housed the art ...
Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya

The seat of the Catalan Government, the Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya, stands in the Plaça Sant Jaume and is a building of great value: artistic value, due to its Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque styles and the delicate beauty of its Pati dels ...

The former factories of Can Felipa and Can Ricart

The Poble Nou neighbourhood was traditionally the hub of Barcelona’s industrial life. The disused factories that tell us so much about the city’s industrial past have become places where people can meet to enjoy themselves and expand their cultur ...
L’Auditori

Since 1999, Barcelona has had a contemporary version of the Palau de la Música Catalana. The architecture, designed by Rafael Moneo, impeccable acoustics and seating capacity, make this concert hall complex, in Barcelona’s Eixample district, a del ...
Santa Caterina Market

An impressive, undulating, brightly coloured-mosaic roof is sure to catch your eye if you’re walking near the Cathedral. The roof is the spectacular culmination of the refurbishment of the old Santa Caterina Market by the architects Enric Miralles ...