BARRI GOTIC

The tightly packed maze of narrow streets and alleyways of Barcelona's Ciutat Vella (Old City), bordered by Las Ramblas, the Ciutadella Park, Placa Catalunya and the sea, was once enclosed by medieval city walls and, until the massive building boom of the Eixample, 150 years ago, comprised the entire city. At its heart is the Barri Gotic (Gothic Quarter), one of several clearly identifiable barris or districts which make up the Old City. Its roots can be traced back to 15BC, when Roman soldiers established a small settlement called Barclno on a slight hill here called Mons Taber.

This remarkable cluster of dark, twisting streets, quiet patios, sunsplashed squares and grand Gothic buildings was built inside the Roman fortifications at a time when Barcelona, along with Genoa and Venice, was one of the three most important merchant cities in the Mediterranean and possessed untold riches. Its crowning glory, the Catedral, is surrounded by former residences of the counts of Barcelona and the Kings of Catalonia and Aragon To the northwest lies Carrer Portaferrissa, the principal shopping street, with sophisticated boutiques and shopping arcades. To the south lies the spacious Placa Sant Jaume  and a cobweb of narrow streets and interconnecting squares, including Placa Sant Felip Neri, with its fine baroque church, Placa del Pi, with its market of local produce , and leafy Placa Sant Josep Oriol, the 'Montmartre of Barcelona', where local artists display their works at weekends and buskers entertain the cafe crowds. Just off the square, the narrow streets bounded by Carrer Banys Nous, Call and Bisbe once housed a rich Jewish ghetto, but now the area is better known for its antiques shops.

As the city grew more prosperous in the early Middle Ages, new barris developed around the Roman perimeter, including La Merce to the south and La Ribera to the east La Ribera is the old city's most fashionable district, with a plethora of cutting-edge cafes and boutiques, and dominated by the majestic Santa Maria del Mar Church.