Rambla de Raval

©Esme Fox/Lonely Planet

Rambla del Raval

El Raval


This broad boulevard was laid out in 2000 as part of the city's plan to open up this formerly sleazy neighbourhood, with some success. Now lined with palm trees and terrace cafes, it hosts a craft market every weekend and is presided over by the glossy Barceló Raval hotel. Fernando Botero's 7m-long, 2m-tall bronze sculpture of a plump cat, El Gat de Botero, which stands near the bottom of the Rambla, is something of a Barcelona icon.

Transportation

  • metro: Liceu

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby El Raval attractions

1. La Capella

0.15 MILES

The Antic Hospital de la Santa Creu's 15th-century former chapel is now an exhibition space, with frequent temporary exhibitions.

2. Antic Hospital de la Santa Creu

0.16 MILES

Behind the Mercat de La Boqueria stands the Gothic Antic Hospital de la Santa Creu, which was once the city’s main hospital. Founded in 1401, it…

3. Institut d’Estudis Catalans

0.18 MILES

The Institute for Catalan Studies sits in the 17th-century Casa de Convalescència, once part of the Antic Hospital de la Santa Creu. The building,…

4. Església de Sant Pau del Camp

0.19 MILES

The best example of Romanesque architecture in Barcelona is the dainty little cloister of this small 11th- or 12th-century church, which was founded in…

5. Gran Teatre del Liceu

0.24 MILES

If you can’t catch a night at the opera, you can still take in the awe-inspiring architectural riches of one of Europe’s greatest opera houses. Opened in…

6. Palau Güell

0.26 MILES

Built off La Rambla in the late 1880s for Gaudí's wealthy patron the industrialist Eusebi Güell, the Palau Güell is a magnificent example of the early…

7. Mercat de la Boqueria

0.27 MILES

Barcelona's most central fresh-produce market is one of the greatest sound, smell and colour sensations in Europe. It's housed in a packed-out Modernista…

8. Mosaïc de Miró

0.27 MILES

At Plaça de la Boqueria, where four side streets meet just north of Liceu metro station, you can walk all over a colourful 1976 pavement mosaic, with one…

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