There may be no better place in the country to indulge in the Spanish ritual of the paseo (stroll) than on this wide, pedestrian street that is anything but pedestrian. An orgy of activity day and night, La Rambla is voyeuristic heaven. Spray-painted human statues stand motionless among the passing crowds; buskers croon crowd-pleasing classics; caricaturists deftly sketch faces; bustling stalls create an open-air market of bright bouquets and chattering parakeets; and round-the-clock kiosks sell everything from The Financial Times to adult videos.
Gran Teatre del Liceu
Mercat de La Boqueria
Palau de la Virreina
Centre d’Art Santa Mònica
Església de Betlem
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La Rambla
Street performer
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Monument a Colom
Pointing resolutely out to sea, this statue of Christopher Columbus (1888) commemorates his return to Spain after discovering the Americas. An elevator takes visitors to the top for sensational views (see Mirador de Colom).
Font de Canaletes
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”.
Palau de la Virreina
Constructed by the viceroy 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.
Centre d’Art 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 contemporary art centre. Temporary exhibitions run the gamut from large-scale video installations to sculpture and photography.
Bruno Quadras Building
Once an umbrella factory, this playful, late 19th-century building is festooned with umbrellas.
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.