Rambla de Catalunya (; es, Rambla de Cataluña) is a major street in the ''

Eixample The Eixample (; ) is a district of Barcelona between the old city (Ciutat Vella) and what were once surrounding small towns (Sants, Gràcia, Sant Andreu, etc.), constructed in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Its population was 262,000 at t ...

'' district of central

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

. It is one of the city's trendiest streets, with many international fashion shops, and is lined with lime trees. The street stretches from

Plaça de Catalunya Plaça de Catalunya (, meaning in English language, English "Catalonia Square"; sometimes referred to as Plaza de Cataluña, its Spanish name) is a large square in central Barcelona that is generally considered to be both its city centre and the p ...

Avinguda Diagonal Avinguda Diagonal (, in Spanish Avenida Diagonal) is the name of one of Barcelona's broadest and most important avenues. It cuts the city in two, diagonally with respect to the grid pattern of the surrounding streets, hence the name. It was ori ...

, a distance of some . It runs parallel to, and between, the Passeig de Gràcia and

Carrer de Balmes ''Carrer de Balmes'' (), named after the Catalan philosopher and ecclesiastic Jaume Balmes, is one of the most important avenues in Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain). It was devised in 1859 as part of Ildefons Cerdà urban plan. Balmes is along '' Ca ...

. It can be seen as an extension into the ''Eixample'' of the famous La Rambla.

Sights

The street is lined by a number of notable buildings: * '' Casa Pia Batlló'', 17 Rambla de Catalunya, by

Josep Vilaseca i Casanovas Josep Vilaseca i Casanovas (; Barcelona, Spain 1848–1910) was a Spanish architect and artist who formed part of the '' Modernista'' movement. He studied architecture in Madrid and qualified in 1873. He travelled with Lluís Domènech i Mont ...

, 1891–96 * '' Casa Fargas'', 47 Rambla de Catalunya, by Enric Sagnier i Vilavecchia, 1902-04. An example of the architect's mature Modernista period. * '' Casa Dolors Calm'', 54 Rambla de Catalunya, originally by Josep Déu i Busquets, 1879, and remodelled in 1903 by Josep Vilaseca i Casanovas * '' Casa Juncosa'', 78 Rambla de Catalunya, by Salvador Viñals i Sabater, 1907-09. * Church of ''La Mare de Déu de Montsió'', 115 Rambla de Catalunya. Originally built in about 1400 on a site near what is now the Plaça Catalunya and moved here in 1882 by the architect Joan Martorell. * '' Casa Antoni Costa'', 122 Rambla de Catalunya, by

Josep Domènech i Estapà Josep Domènech i Estapà (; Tarragona, 1858 – Cabrera de Mar, 1917) was a Catalan architect. He graduated in 1881, and became professor of geodesy (1888) and descriptive geometry (1895) at the University of Barcelona, and member of the Acad ...

, 1904. * ''

Casa Serra The Casa Serra (Serra House) is a building in the Modernisme style in Barcelona, designed by Josep Puig i Cadafalch. It is situated at number 126 Rambla de Catalunya, at that street's corner with the Avinguda Diagonal. The building was built as a ...

'', 126 Rambla de Catalunya, by

Josep Puig i Cadafalch Josep Puig i Cadafalch (; Mataró, 17 October 1867 – Barcelona, 21 December 1956) was a Catalan '' Modernista'' architect who designed many significant buildings in Barcelona, and a politician who had a significant role in the development of ...

, 1903-8, in a neo-Romanesque style. There are also two notable statues in the street, both created by the sculptor Josep Granyer in 1972: * ''La girafa coqueta'', at the streets western end, by

. * ''El toro assegut'', on the crossing with the

Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes Gran may refer to: People *Grandmother, affectionately known as "gran" * Gran (name) Places * Gran, the historical German name for Esztergom, a city and the primatial metropolitan see of Hungary * Gran, Norway, a municipality in Innlandet coun ...

Culture

The Rambla de Catalunya has always been a street noted for its art galleries, theatres and cinemas. Some of which have disappeared or been transformed with the passing of the years, but there are still two cinemas on the street. Unfortunately the '' Teatre Barcelona'', once one of the most iconic theatres in the city, has had to be pulled down.

Transport

Like its more famous cousin, ''La Rambla'', the ''Rambla de Catalunya'' has a wide central pedestrianised area. This is flanked by two narrow service roads, which in turn are flanked by narrow pedestrian walkways in front of the buildings. Unlike ''La Rambla'', the central pedestrian walkway is interrupted by cross-streets. The nearest

Barcelona Metro The Barcelona Metro (Catalan and Spanish: ) is an extensive network of rapid transit electrified railway lines that run mostly underground in central Barcelona and into the city's suburbs. It is part of the larger public transport sys ...

stations are: * ''

Catalunya Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the northe ...

'', immediately adjacent to ''Plaça Catalunya'', is a major interchange station served by several metro and suburban railway lines. * ''

Diagonal In geometry, a diagonal is a line segment joining two vertices of a polygon or polyhedron, when those vertices are not on the same edge. Informally, any sloping line is called diagonal. The word ''diagonal'' derives from the ancient Greek δ ...

'', near the intersection with ''Avinguda Diagonal'', is another major interchange, with the platforms on various lines linked by long underground passageways. This is the only station with an access directly to the ''Rambla de Catalunya''. * '' Passeig de Gràcia'' is one city block east of the midpoint of the street.

References

Bibliography

External links