La Rambla is a street in central Barcelona, popular with both tourists and locals alike. A 1.2km long tree-lined pedestrian mall between Barri Gòtic and El Raval, it connects Plaça Catalunya in the centre with the Christopher Columbus monument at Port Vell.
La Rambla can be considered a series of shorter streets, each differently named, hence the plural form Las Ramblas. From the Plaça de Catalunya toward the harbour, the street is successively the Rambla de Canaletes, the Rambla dels Estudis, the Rambla de Sant Josep, the Rambla dels Caputxins, and the Rambla de Santa Monica.
Construction of the Maremàgnum in the early 1990s resulted in a continuation of La Rambla on a wooden walkway into the harbour, the Rambla de Mar.
La Rambla can be crowded, especially during prime time tourist season. Most of the time, there are many more tourists than locals occupying the Rambla, which has changed the shopping selection, as well as the character of the street in general.
For this reason also, it has become a prime target for pick pocketing.
Spanish poet Federico García Lorca once said that La Rambla was 'the only street in the world which I wish would never end'.
The name rambla refers to an intermittent water flow in both Catalan and Spanish, and is derived from the Arabic 'ramla' which means 'sandy riverbed'. The name of the city of Ramla, now in Israel, shares the same origin.
Some cultural sights you may like to see are:
Gran Teatre del Liceu, or simply Liceu, is Barcelona's renowned opera house. Opened in 1847, it is among the world's finest.
Centre d'Art Santa Mònica is a public museum of contemporary art located on the Raval side of Rambla de Santa Mònica, with regular exhibitions of international artists.
Mercat de la Boqueria (also known as Mercat de Sant Josep or just La Boqueria) is the city's most iconic street market.
Font de Canaletes is the city's most famous fountain and its most popular meeting point.
Palau de la Virreina, a Baroque palace, hosts museum exhibitions and cultural events.
No comments:
Post a Comment