Guide to Barcelona

The Famous Plaza Catalunya

Friday, 18 December 2009 12:13

In and Around Barcelona

Everybody who has visited Barcelona, or is going to visit Barcelona will definitely pass the famous Plaza Cataluña, which is the so-called heart of the Catalan capital. It is the first destination in Barcelona city, and it is also a meeting point for people. No matter where to go in and around Barcelona, Plaza Cataluña is a perfect place to start. Plaza Cataluña has a little bit of everything: Modern cafes and monuments, shops, hotels, bars and beautiful fountains. For those who just want to have a break, sitting in the sun and having an ice cream or enjoy a cold drink is a great thing to do at Plaza Cataluña! 

Plaza Cataluña
The central position of Plaza Cataluña connects the old city with the modern part of Barcelona, the Eixample. At one side, you can find the Eixample district and Passeig de Gracia and on the other side you will find Raval and Barri Gotic (the old city of Barcelona). Another landmark of the city, Las Ramblas starts from Plaza Catalunya and leads down to the sea, where it meets the famous Columbus Monument, the Barcelona Port and the Barceloneta area.

Besides that, Plaza Cataluña has a few interesting monuments and sculptures representative of Noucentrisme, Noo-Classicism and different avant-garde movements.
Significantly grand is the Monument Francesc Macià, which commemorates the man who declared Cataluña a free independent republic in 1931. In addition to these politically-inspired works, there are also some impressive fountains to be found here, for example at the corner of the Plaza with Passeig de Gràcia.

Shopping
At Plaza Cataluña, other than the monuments, the shopping is a great adventure. On one side of the plaza there is El Corte Ingles, a famous Spanish department store where you can find anything and everything. Furthermore, some of Barcelona`s best known streets run off the main square: La Rambla, Ronda de la Universitat and Portal del Angel and Passeig de Gracia two famous shopping routes are starting from there as well. On these shopping streets you will find all kind of shops, from designer boutiques and all the normal worldwide shops to the high street brands.

Bars and restaurants
If you want to take a break from your sightseeing activities, make sure you pass Plaza Cataluña on your break time. There you can find plenty of cafes and restaurants on and around Plaza Cataluña to take a cold drink and enjoy some typical Spanish dishes. But the most popular is the well known Café Zürich with is located on the corner topping La Rambla. Café Zürich is known for its outdoor terraces and busy atmosphere. Beside that you will find the following cafes which disappeared with the Spanish Civil War: Maison Dorée, Café Colón, La Lluna and Café Suis. Finally, there is one of the Worlds famous Hard Rock Cafes at the upper corner of Café Zürich located. This Café attract many thousand tourists annually, which are intended to buy a Hard Rock t-shirt and enjoy the musical atmosphere inside. But you can simply take dinner and drinks as well.

Transport
Plaza Cataluña is in addition to all these interesting facts above, Barcelona`s most important transport point, both above and underground. That means that it is not only a bus station but also a metro and railway station. The Barcelona metro line in Barcelona, known as Gran Metro, had Plaza Cataluña as one of its destinations. There are two operators: TMB and FGC lines. From Plaza Cataluña you can take the metro Lines: TMB (L1, L3) FGC (L6 and L7) in all directions.

Furthermore there are leaving plenty of buses from Plaza Cataluña in all directions. For party animals there are even night busses available, which are known as Nitbus Barcelona and most of its lines serving Plaza Cataluña. 

Finally there are driving shuttle busses between Plaza Cataluña and Barcelona`s airport El Prat, the so-called Aero busses. These busses leave approximately every 10 minutes. For those who depart from Terminal 1, have to take the Aerobus 1 (A1), for those ones who depart from Terminal 2 have to take Aerobus 2 (A2).


At last but not least, it is definitely worth mentioning that many of most popular and desired accommodation facilities in Barcelona, such as hotels, hostels and holiday apartments in Barcelona are located near Plaza Cataluña. So it is a really must have to pass Plaza Cataluña at least once, during your stay in Barcelona. Whether you are travelling to Barcelona for a weekend or a whole month, you will pass Plaza Cataluña. So be sure to take a moment to enjoy what makes this Plaza the symbolic heart of Cataluña.

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