La Rambla

La Rambla can be considered a series of shorter streets, each differently named, hence the plural form Les Rambles (the original Catalan form; in Spanish it is Las Ramblas). From the Plaça de Catalunya toward the harbour, the street is successively called the Rambla de Canaletes, the Rambla dels Estudis, the Rambla de Sant Josep, the Rambla dels Caputxins, and the Rambla de Santa Mònica. Construction of the Maremàgnum in the early 1990s resulted in a continuation of La Rambla on a wooden walkway into the harbour called the Rambla de Mar.
La Rambla is exactly 1.2 kilometres long and nearly everyone who visits Barcelona walks along it. La Rambla was laid out in 1766, following the contours of the medieval city walls that had bounded this part of Barcelona since the 13th century.  The locals took it to their hearts straightaway. In Barcelona, a city of narrow, winding streets, the Rambla was the only space where everyone could stroll and spend their leisure time. And we mean everyone. 
Because of its central location, the Rambla became a meeting place for all the social classes. .

Gradually, leisure and cultural attractions found the perfect location on La Rambla. The convents disappeared and florists and newsstands set up there premises here. As you walk along, you’ll see landmark buildings, such as the greatest theatre of Barcelona’s opera, the Gran Teatre del Liceu, the Palau de la Virreina and the spectacular Boqueria Market. This human river, with its street artists, tourists and locals, who still come here for a stroll, take us on a journey through this microcosm of contemporary Barcelona.
Where La Rambla meets the sea, we find the Mirador de Colom, a unique opportunity to admire this unique, green artery of pedestrians from the air and the Maritime Museum (Museu Marítim), specifically devoted to naval history in the Mediterranean. The old port offers other attractions such as leisure venues, restaurants, an IMAX theater, and an aquarium.

In the historical center, close to La Rambla, may be found La Catedral de Barcelona, the Plaza Sant Jaume that houses the buildings of the Generalidat of Catalonia and Barcelona’s City Council, as well as the narrow streets of the Gothic quarter, the Raval and the Born area.

The promenade is crowded during the day and until late in the night. It is full of kiosks that sell newspapers and souvenirs, flowers and birds, street performers, cafes, restaurants and shops. Near the port are found smaller local markets and the shop-fronts of painters and draftsmen. One of the side streets, only a few metres long, leads to the Royal Square (Plaça Reial), a plaza with palm trees and porticoed buildings containing many pubs and restaurants, and in which stamp and coin collectors gather on the weekends.

Most of the time there are many more tourists than locals occupying the Rambla, which fact has changed the shopping selection, as well as the character of the street in general. For this reason also it has become a prime target of pick pockets.

The Spanish poet Federico García Lorca once said that La Rambla was "the only street in the world which I wish would never end." The name rambla refers to an intermittent watercourse in both Catalan and Spanish. This is reflected in the undulating design on the pavement which is also decorated with a mosaic by Joan Miró. This work was the second of three sculptures that were commissioned to welcome tourists. The first was at the airport and had been commissioned in 1968. The other was Dona i Ocell in the centre of the city.

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Sources : barcelona-tourist-guide / wikipedia / barcelonaturisme

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