Points of Interest

While la Boqueria has its fair share of stalls offering and specializing in chocolate this museum takes this sweet art to a whole new level. Not necessarily regarding the quality of the products but the presentation.

It definitely takes more than a short stroll to explore the whole of the park. Visitors have the chance to engage in many activities here - they can rent paddleboats, cycle, or walk. 

Besides being a monumental statue of one of the world's most famous explorers it also is a lookout point: the pedestal being hollow and housing an elevator can transport you up to a platform from where you can have a great view of la Rambla.

Not far from la Boqueria we find this masterpiece of Gaudí. The building was finished in 1889 and served as a home for the Güell family for decades until it was purchased by the Provincial government of Barcelona.

Amongst the rather gray buildings of the street Palau de la Musica Catalana jumps out being a rather extravagant sight. As a prominent representative of the modernist Catalan architecture it employs colourful decorations, large ornaments and round shapes.

Placa del Rei (King's square) is surrounded by the buildings of Palau Reial Major (Grand Royal Palace) which consists of three main buildings. For a long time it was the royal residence of the counts of Barcelona and later the kings of Aragón.

Barcelona houses one of the most extensive collections of the famous cubist painter. Five former medieval palaces were rebuild to house over 3500 of the artists works and it is the only museum that already opened during Picasso's life.

Considered both the centre of the city and the meeting of the old city and Eixample this 50,000 m2 square rich with statues, fountains and pigeons is the heart of Barcelona. The most famous streets all meet here.

It is said to be a convenient escape from the noise and bustling crowds of la Rambla and an ideal spot for a coffee or a drink from late spring to early autumn when the restaurants and cafeterias are offering seats on the terraces as well.

If you get tired of the bustling crowd of la Boqueria or even the crowd of the downtown your remedy might be closer than you think. The small Church of Santa Ana is a less known temple in the gothic quarter often overlooked by tourists - despite being next to Placa del Catalunya.

Coming from the time when la Boqueria was only a few butcher's stalls the church looks monumental and massive from the outside - but seems surprisingly spacious and light from the inside. Some even say it claims the world's slenderest stone built columns, but these kinds of things are hard to prove.

Santa Maria del Pi is one of the most famous buildings of the city. Even though there are claims that a church was standing on this site as early as 413 AD the building we can see now was finished in 1391 (after 72 years of construction).

Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia, or more commonly known as Cathedral Barcelona is a neo-Gothic building from the 14th century. It was constructed over a Visigothic chapel built in the 10th century and is famous for its gargoyles and statues on the roof which depict fictional and real animals.

This house is one of the most conventional buildings designed by Gaudí - the symmetry and orderly design this house displays was uncommon to the architect. However it still is 100% Gaudí and compared to the other buildings surrounding it still catches the eye.

Even if you want to focus on the market it is worthy of attention though. Walking down the street you will notice countless human statues, souvenir shops and the famous florists of la Rambla which is in a way considered to be part of la Boqueria.