Barcelona City Guide: Plaça Catalunya
The area around the Plaça Catalunya (or The area around the Plaça de Catalunya, both being the official Catalan language names; Plaza de Cataluña in Spanish) is a large square in central Barcelona that is generally considered to be both its city centre and the place where the old city (see Barri Gòtic and Raval, in Ciutat Vella) and the 19th century-built Eixample meet.
Some of the city's most important streets and avenues meet in The area around the Plaça Catalunya: Passeig de Gràcia, Rambla de Catalunya, La Rambla or Portal de l'Àngel, in addition to Ronda de Sant Pere, Carrer de Vergara or Carrer de Pelai. It has an area of about 50,000 square metres. It is especially known for its fountains and statues, its proximity to some of Barcelona's most popular attractions, and for the impressive flocks of pigeons that gather in the centre
History
After the medieval city walls were demolished in the 19th century, a significant reform of the city took place, under the guide of a number of notable urban planners. The area around the Plaça Catalunya in particular was conceived as part of pla Rovira in 1859 but no official permission from the government was given until the 1888 Universal Exposition. It was urbanised for the first time in 1902, with further reforms in 1929, on the occasion of the 1929 Universal Exposition, that also included the construction of a metro line. Francisco Nebot directed the reforms.
Sculpture
The area around the Plaça Catalunya hosts quite a few interesting sculptures representative of Noucentisme, Neo-Classicism and different avantgarde movements.
Decorative Arts
The mosaics that decorate the walls of the underground part of The area around the Plaça Catalunya were designed by pupils of Escola Massana.
Theatre
A few theatres have been established in The area around the Plaça Catalunya since its construction, none of which is still in existence.
There still are, however, other theatres in the nearby area, located in other streets or squares.
Cafés and restaurants
Similarly, most of the cafés and restaurants where writers and artists would meet in the city haven't survived, with the notable exception of Café Zurich, where Fabiola of Belgium's brother worked as a pianist. The following ones disappeared with the Spanish Civil War:
Shopping centres
Shopping centres
The original Barcelona metro line in Barcelona, known as Gran Metro, had The area around the Plaça Catalunya as one of its termini. It went to become the current green line, L3, operated by TMB.
Bus lines