Las Ramblas
The most famous street in Barcelona stretches from the city's main square, Plaça Catalunya, down to the old Port (Port Vell) with Christopher Columbus atop his monument, pointing out to the Americas. Las Ramblas is actually a series of smaller "rambla" streets, all joined together to fom the plural las ramblas. The street is actually a dry river bed which used to run alongside the old city walls.
At the top end, starting from Plaça Catalunya is Rambla de Canaletes, named after the fountains of Canaletes on Plaça Catalunya - legend has it that if you drink from the fountains you will one day return to Barcelona. This is a favourite place for FC Barcelona fans to congregate after any famous victory, and on any normal day can be seen full of retired gentlemen conversing animatedly whilst they put the world to rights.
The next section is Rambla de los estudios (studies), which surely makes reference to the Catalan Library, just along Carrer Hospital to the right. This scetion is also home to the much criticised but very popular bird and small animals stalls. Protestors claim it is too small a space for so many animals (if you see them closed at night, you may wonder) but the owners will happily tell you that they have existed long before the protestors were even born, and will surely continue to do so.
Following along seamlessly from los estudis is Rambla de Sant Josep - named after the famous Saint Joseph's market, more commonly known as "La Boqueria". This fantastic food market sells every food produce under the sun, and you'd be hard fetched to not find what you're looking for here. This is the central part of Las Ramblas, and is often called Rambla de les Flors - due to the many flower sellers adding vibrant colours to the street. This part is also where the main newspaper kiosks begin. These stalls are 24 hour, and sell press from around the globe. This
The Liceu Opera House has pride of place on Rambla de los caputxins - so named for the many pavement cafes, frequented by Ernest Hemmingway and others. Cafè de l'Opera, on the right is perhaps Barcelona's most famous cafe, after Zurich at the top of Las Ramblas.
The final section widens out and welcomes the various artists of Barcelona, with caricature artists, Portraits, chinese writings, futuristic spray painters, and often acrobats or puppeteers to bighten the Rambla de Santa Monica. This scetion leads all the way down to Colom, and also has an art and crafts fair on weekends. No trip is complete to Barcelona without a stroll along Las Ramblas!
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