Las Ramblas Walk Barcelona – Self Guided Tour
The very first day in Spain we did the famous Las Ramblas Walk Barcelona.
Barcelona, the Catalan capital, is huge!!! We were perplexed while planning the itinerary for Spain to decide on how many days are needed to tour Barcelona. There is so much to see and interesting things to in Barcelona, walking through the entire city is near impossible within the five days we planned to see the city. We made a study of the different Barcelona walks possible, and the best one suggested turned out to be Las Ramblas Walk.
We made good use of the long daylight hours for sightseeing during our entire tour through Spain and Portugal. Sun sets at around 9 PM in Spain in summer; this was such a contrast to the sunset time of 5 PM in Greece during winters.
A regular day would start with sightseeing in early part of the day and driving to next destination in the later part of the day. The car hire was planned from Day 2, so the remaining part of Day 1 (we landed at around 12 noon) was spent exploring Barcelona on foot. We headed for the cathedral soon after lunch. Do read: Major Highlights of Cathedral of Barcelona
This post is on the sights I came across during The Ramblas walk which covered the old town of the city, a romantic historic area.
Self Guided Las Ramblas Walk Barcelona
This walk cuts through the old town of Barcelona, extending from the Plaça de Catalunya to the Columbus monument. The whole stretch is 1.2 km.
Plaça de Catalunya is the meeting point of several important roads of Barcelona. Even though it is a huge area covering a space of 50,000 sqm, it is hard to find a spot free of tourist. The statues scattered around made such an interesting subject for photography, you never know whose statue you would find next.
The entire length of of La Rambala of 1.2 km, a pedestrian route is dotted with bustling stalls of souvenirs, newspaper kiosks, ice cream stalls and flower stalls. They sell lot of garden related stuffs. Getting seeds across the airport would be difficult so felt discouraged to pick anything. They really made the street walk a colorful enjoyable experience. You can see an aerial view of the street here.
Tips for La Ramblas Walk Barcelona
- One has to to careful while loitering in this street; there are chances to get pickpocketed.
- If you plan to do the walk at night, be extra cautious.
- Plenty of street buskers. If you intend to watch they expect to be paid.
- No washrooms along the street, but there are restaurants and a Mc Donald too.
Origin of the Las Ramblas street
It took me to do bit of reading to know that La Rambla and Las Ramblas, except that the latter is the plural form of the former. The name is modified from an old Arabic word ‘ramla’ meaning sandy riverbed indicating how this magnificent boulevard started. It was a dried-out stream outside the walls of the Gothic Quarter.
Font de Canaletes Fountain
A short walk down from the Plaça de Catalunya is the Font de Canaletes fountain. According to legend, if you drink from this fountain you’ll return to Barcelona one day. It is here that the Barcelona football fans meet to celebrate their team’s victories.
Bruno Quadras Building
You won’t miss this one: The Bruno Quadras Building. It was once an umbrella factory, the building is adorned with umbrellas. The figure of a Chinese dragon mounted on the corner that keeps watch over the Rambla.
I am in love with the antique street lamps of Barcelona streets. Most of them were made in the 20th century under the original 19th century design. Do check this post for more images of street lamps –> Vintage Street Lamps in Barcelona.
Check more eco friendly souvenirs –> Souvenirs from Lombok
Stretches for 1.2 km from the Port Vell to Placa Catalunya and is easily doable a nonstop pace of 40 min. We took more than an hour though to devour the sights of history that has stood still, culture that is constantly evolving and crowd watching while being cautious of our belongings. Interesting to note here that, the great Spanish poet Federico García Lorca described the street as being “the only street in the world which I wish would never end.”
There is Erotic Museum on this street, the model attracts attention. You will know where it is exactly on the street. At night time the southernmost end of the Ramblas becomes something of a red light district and is frequented by night women (prostitutes).
Conclusion
Always do self guided walking tours in a new city. A little bit of studying the history, culture and art of Barcelona, helped me plan this self guided walking tour of Las Ramblas. A memorable experience, I hope to visit Barcelona again just for this heritage walk of Barcelona.
Your wonderful photography made us tour the Placa de Catalunya square virtually.I loved the besutiful statues.Street lamps are so fabulous.Amazing place.Thanks for sharing.
Beautiful captures and very interesting building and sculptures! Love the mug flower vases and wall decoration with umbrella and dragon.
Loved the pose of the Monroe imposter
Loved that shot of planters with a variety of succulents and the dragon hanging on the umbrella factory..'twas nice taking a stroll with you on Rambla 🙂
Really lovely, thanks for sharing
Much love…
I love the umbrella factory and the cactus in tiny pots.
Tons of beauty in these photos. Love the whimsy of the umbrella factory.
That was a nice tour in Barcelona in Cataluña. You was in Andalucia?
Greetings from Los Boliches in the South of Spain
beautiful pictures…
Loved the mug plants!!!
Nicely written
The pictures are so very welcoming. I feel I m already there walking down those streets.
Wow! The photographs look magnificiant, large size!
Wow! Such lovely pictures andthose cacti in the mug are super cool!.
A memorable trip it must be..:-)
Loved the flowers and the mugs… just beautiful…
..beautiful pics.. 🙂
Very beautiful photos. Strangely I liked the cactus cups the most!
Love La Ramlas….its a lively place 🙂
sunset is at 9 PM . amazing . so long daytime . the pictures are unique . one of cup design picture is really very beautiful. I would like to try it my own.
What a great post, Indrani!
Awesome captures! Thank you:)
Did you say 9 pm!! wow! lovely captures and amazing series
What a fascinating tour Indrani! :') Loved the flower mugs! <3
Beautiful shots Indrani.. I wish to be there 😉
Beautiful captures, Indrani. And I always love your commentary regarding the place. Waiting for cathedral post. 🙂
The flowers are lovely and the sculptures give a character to the city.:-)
I too loved the mugs with plants in them…nice and detailed tour.
Thanks for taking us with you to Barcelona through your photography.
What a wonderful series… how blessed you are to travel as much as you do, to see so much and meet interesting people. I really love the cactuses blossoming in cups, how fun!
The mug wall with all the cacti is so awesome!! One day I hope to make it to Barcelona. Thank you for sharing your experience and beautiful photos!
That's an amazing street – so much to see and photograph. But pickpockets are so frustrating!
Love the umbrella buildings.
This is one of my fave places in the whole world.
The statues are an oasis in the city. Love those mugs! Is that Marilyn Monroe?
It's great you were able to see so many places without a car!
Nice shots! Love the mugs full of flowers.
I have been in Barcelona in the 60th, I don't remember anything, now I see that it looks like a nice city!
I do remember it as a wonderful, interesting and beautiful old city. I love the flower market and "cups of blossoms"! You do have terrific captures, as always, Indrani!! Hope your new week is off to a great start!
Hello Indrani, what a walking lovely tour! The buildings, fountains, sculptures are pretty. I love the building with the umbrellas and the flowers. Thanks for sharing this part of your trip! Have a happy Monday and new week ahead!