My Escapes Spain Barcelona Exploring Gaudí's Sprawling Surreal Barcelona The Rambla and Port Vell

The Rambla and Port Vell

No trip to Barcelona is complete without a walk on the Rambla Street and a visit to the crowded yacht port!
You could also try local cuisine at a restaurant, buy a few souvenirs or admire the luxury yachts docked at the local marina.

One of the city's most famous streets is the Rambla. It leads right to the port. This is where you'll find a plethora of souvenir shops and also plenty of places to eat at.

So let's see what this place is all about, shall we?

La Rambla - How It Is

Locals call it "La Rambla" or "Las Ramblas".

It's a 1.2 km (0.7 mi) long street in central Barcelona. Cars circulate on the left and right side, while roughly two-thirds of the road is occupied by the pedestrian area (street in the middle of the street).

The Rambla Street stretches down from the Plaça de Catalunya to the Port Vell - what I call "the port". That's where a beautiful marina is where you can admire lots of beautiful yachts... but we'll get to that lower on this page.

All along the Rambla you will see shops and restaurants. All the way down to the port... Quite an agglomerated area. It's also a favorite "hunting ground" for pickpockets. Although, police presence has intensified during recent years, there still are plenty of bag snatching and pickpocketing cases.

When walking down from Plaça de Catalunya to Port Vell, the Barri Gòtic will be on your left hand side and El Raval on your right hand side.

The Raval area is especially dirty, where shady creeps and whores roam like sardines in the Mediterranean. But that didn't stop me from taking a few curious walks in there.

My advice is simple: when strolling down from the Catalunya Square, don't wander into the shady ugly streets on right hand's side. Especially if you're alone or with family.

It's the dark bad-smelling area where the slums of Barcelona thrive and there are more creeps per square kilometer than "normal" people. Nothing nice to see either.

To the left you will find the very interesting Gothic Quarter - the old center of Barcelona. It's full of beautiful attractions. You will come across the huge Cathedral of Barcelona and various old buildings, the Picasso Museum and the Salvador Dalì Museum in that area. Plenty of great restaurants and beautiful attractions.

Lots of souvenir shops and lots of restaurants, even fine restaurants and a particular atmosphere...

Although the area on the left hand's side also has a slumish part, especially in the vicinity of the port.

La Boqueria Market

Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria is a small historic market to the right hand side of the Rambla (if you're walking down towards the port).

It's a small cute market where fruits and vegetables are abundant and very well presented. It is also a place where tourists roam and take plenty of photos.

You can buy fresh greens there and bring them to your hotel. I always buy something fresh and natural to keep me fresh!

Plaça Reial (Plaza Real)

Otherwise, this is the Royal Square, if we'd translate into English.

Considered part of the Barri Gòtic, it's a rectangular square surrounded by buildings. It was designed and built in the 1800's.

The plaza has scattered tall palms (which make it look so special!). To me it was a bit like an oasis in the concrete jungle: there are trees and there are places to eat and drink.

Expect huge crowds, it's filled with tourists and many wait in line in order to obtain a table. Prices aren't low either.

Some of the most famous nightclubs are found here too: Jamboree, Karma and Sidecar.

Sometimes open air concerts are organized at the Plaça Reial.

Interesting - the lanters at Plaça Reial were designed by Antoni Gaudì.

The Hotel Roma Reial is found right on the square, so if you want to stay in this area, it could be a choice.

Port Vell and Maremagnum

It's the place where the large cruise ships bring tourists in and out. They stop a little bit further...

Attractions include: the IMAX Port Vell - which also hosts an aquarium containing 8,000 fish, 11 sharks living in 22 basins; there's also the old port building, the Columbus Monument (statue of Cristopher Colombus on a 60 m high tower), the Maremagnum shopping center, the port with two marinas where quite often you can admire large luxury motor yachts, additionally - there's an aerial tramway system as well that connects with Montjuïc.

The Torre de Jaume I (107 m high) and the Torre Sant Sebastià are towers holding the mentioned aerial tramway. You can travel all the way up to- (or down from-) Montjuïc. I never tried, despite so many trips to Barcelona... Simply: my schedule was full. But next time I will!

I sometimes went in to Maremagnum. Overall, the selection of shops is rather poor and the quality of products there are quite low... but you can buy junk food, some drinks and there are toilets there as well.

The promenade is especially beautiful with lots of palm trees there...

One of the best things you can do in Barcelona's port area is to find the area behind the Maremagnum complex, where the luxury yachts "park in" (dock, actually...).

I spent long minutes admiring the beautiful ships. Too bad one can't get close enough to all of them. There are some mobile fences that block anyone from getting "too close".

While exploring the marina, I came across several wicked vehicles, but to see those photos, I recommend you to check the page dedicated to the vehicles I saw (from cars to... even a submarine!).

Barcelona is indeed a great place for vehicle spotting. I had lots of unique sightings...

Take my advice and be extremely careful when walking in the port area, even when crossing the wood-covered retractable bridge that connects with the Maremagnum's island. One can easily slip, step off and the water is very deep!

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