Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter, or Barri Gòtic, is the tangled heart of the old city: a neighbourhood of narrow lanes, stone squares and café terraces clustered around Barcelona Cathedral. Its atmospheric streets reward wandering, but there’s more here than a picture-perfect medieval backdrop.
The quarter sits on the site of Roman Barcino, founded in the late 1st century BC. Remains of the Roman city walls and the Temple of Augustus survive among later buildings, while the cathedral took shape over several centuries from the late 13th century onward. Not everything that looks medieval is as old as it seems: the much-photographed Pont del Bisbe, for instance, was built in 1928.
Visit Plaça del Rei for a sense of the city’s medieval past, then lose the crowds in the smaller streets around Plaça Sant Felip Neri. Come early to enjoy the Gothic Quarter at its quietest, wear comfortable shoes for the uneven paving, and keep an eye on your belongings in busy streets and squares.