Barrio Húmedo is the nickname given to an old part of the city of León,

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, that is concentrated within the largely intact

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

city walls. The translation is usually rendered as ''the wet district'', a reference both to the large number of

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

s and

clubs Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Club (magazine), ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands a ...

packed into a relatively small area and to the copious quantities of

alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...

consumed inside them. The area is centered on the square called ''Plaza de San Martín'', from where an intricate network of streets spreads out towards the newer parts of León. Within the Barrio Húmedo is also the ''Plaza Mayor'', which contains the local market that has taken place since 1660. ''Calle Ancha'', generally considered to be the main street within Barrio Húmedo, is popular among both tourists and locals due to the many shops, boutiques, and bookstores, in addition to the distinctive large number of bars and restaurants. There are approximately between 100 and 150 bars and clubs within Barrio Húmedo. The district is famous throughout Spain for both its density and intensity of bars and clubs and because of León's reputation for free

tapas Tapas () are appetisers or snacks in Spanish cuisine. They can be combined to make a full meal and are served cold (such as mixed olives and cheese) or hot (such as , which are battered, fried baby squid; or , spicy potatoes). In some bars ...

bars. The most common practice of those who visit the bars is to ''

pub crawl A pub crawl (sometimes called a bar tour, bar crawl or bar-hopping) is the act of visiting multiple pubs or bars in a single session. Background Many European cities have public pub crawls that serve as social gatherings for local expatriates ...

'' (have one drink and then move on to the next bar). Tapas are mostly served from 9 p.m. to 12 a.m. At around 10:30 p.m., people sometimes start to have dinner in the

restaurant A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...

s that are often located inside the same tapas bars. These restaurants tend to specialize in traditional

Leonese cuisine Leonese cuisine is a subcategory of Spanish cuisine from the Province of León. Embutidos *''Cecina'' from León is beef. In Leonese, ''cecina'' means "meat that has been salted and dried by means of air, sun or smoke". ''Cecina de León'' is ma ...

; there are a number of quite prestigious and famous ones. Barrio Húmedo also features

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

and heavy metal bars, glamorous nightclubs and Irish-style pubs. In 2004, the

Chancellor of Germany The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the head of the federal Cabinet of Germany, government of Germany. The chancellor is the chief executive of the Federal Government of Germany, ...

at the time,

Gerhard Schröder Gerhard Fritz Kurt Schröder (; born 7 April 1944) is a German former politician and Lobbying, lobbyist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. From 1999 to 2004, he was also the Leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (S ...

, was seen partying at a bar in Barrio Húmedo called ''La Abaceria'' with former

Prime Minister of Spain The prime minister of Spain, officially president of the Government (), is the head of government of Spain. The prime minister nominates the Spanish government departments, ministers and chairs the Council of Ministers (Spain), Council of Mini ...

and León native

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (; born 4 August 1960) is a Spanish politician and member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). He was the Prime Minister of Spain being elected for two terms, in the 2004 and 2008 general elections. O ...

. Since then, this bar is sometimes referred to as the ''Schröder Bar'' by some.

References

* Symington, Andy "Northern Spain" (Footprint Travel Guide Series)

External links

Barrio Humedo Information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barrio Humedo Buildings and structures in León, Spain Entertainment districts in Spain Restaurant districts and streets in Spain Tourist attractions in Castile and León Historic districts in Spain

See also

References

External links