Join us on a Sunday stroll through the Barri Gotic, the oldest distirct of Barcelona, and see the typical Sardana.
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Barri Gotic – Gothic Quarter
Our walk begins at the Pla del Palau. It used to be the entrance to the city, for all the goods that came from the sea. The façades of the houses date from the 19th century. Originally warehouses, that were converted to the palace of the viceroy. Later it became the Palace of the Capitanes Generales de Catalunya.
Through narrow streets, which strongly characterize this quarter, we find ourselves in front of the Basilica de Santa Maria del Mar. On the square in front of all the chairs are occupied so we go in the direction of Passeig del Born.
Here we can see a photographer at work with his models .
Later, we turn into the Placeta de Montcada and continue onto Carrer de Moncada.
Looking through an open door, we see a beautiful medieval courtyard. The whole turns out to be the Palau Dalmases, a location for opera and flamenco shows. At the moment the best flamenco show of Barcelona is presented here.
Directly opposite is the modern designed Picasso Museum. Art and culture lovers should therefore absolutely notice this address.
Mercat de Santa Caterina
Afterwards we arrive at the Mercat de Santa Caterina. The market was set up on the foundation walls of a former cloister. The name of the place still reminds at it. The remains of the monastery can be seen in the basement. The Mercat de Santa Caterina is the oldest covered market of Barcelona. It was built between 1844 and 1848 and redesigned between 1997 and 2004.
The design of the roof by Enric Miralles and Benedetta Tagliabue, was inspired by the Trencadis of Gaudí (mosaic from ceramic shards in Catalan Modernisme).
In the time of our visit a local wine market takes place. We had the chance to test delicacies and the exquisite wines from the region.
Sardana
We continue westward and reach the Barcelona Cathedral (The Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia). A large crowd has gathered on the square Pla de la Seu in front of the Gothic Cathedral. As we get closer, we see that groups of people have formed to dance the Sardana, as every Sunday.
The Sardana dancers are always accompanied by a Cobla, the traditional Catalan Sardana Band. It consists of 5 wood and five brass players, a double bass and a leading musician. In the past, the way of playing in a Cobla was spread over all of Europe.
Today, Catalunya is the only region where it is still practiced. Sardana has become an identity-giving folk dance for the Catalans. The Cobla playing on the square is the La Principal de Llobregat & Esteve Molero. The formation was founded in the city of Cornellà de Llobregat (now a district of Barcelona) in 1929.
It is unique to see, how young and old together shape and maintain this tradition. We let this culture event do its magic for a while, before we turned our attention to the rest of the square.
Next to an antiquarian market, a crowd had gathered around a group of street dancers. The acrobatic performances amazes the audience.
Please read on > Barcelona – City Tour by Bus
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