We are going to have some fun in Barcelona walking around in the old town, the Gothic
Quarter.
It's one of the largest pedestrian zones in Europe, with various little plazas connected
by walking lanes lined with shops, and plenty of bars and restaurants and sidewalk cafes.
While Barcelona has many famous sites and museums, one of the great pleasures is just
hanging out, just taking a stroll, sitting down relaxing, watching the people go by.
It can get pretty crowded because this is a real popular city and there's a busy night
life, with some activities that draw even more people.
For example, Barcelonans love to get together at festivals and dance the sardana at the
outdoor plazas.
We'll show you some of that coming right up.
And we will take you inside, perhaps the greatest monument of the old town, the Cathedral, then
we'll point out some ways that you can go and get lost, visiting neighborhoods around
the Cathedral, the church of Pi, the Plaza St Jaume, the Royal Square and all of those
marvelous little pedestrian lanes ideal for walking.
It would be smart to spend most of your time in and around the old section of town, called
the Barri Gotic, or Gothic Quarter, a giant pedestrian zone surviving from ancient days.
It is perhaps the most extensive automobile-free district in Europe, except for Venice, and
it's tapa bars are one of the biggest attractions.
Tapas.
Oh, can I taste?
Yes.
Tapas.
Thank you.
These small delicious snacks are quite inexpensive, maybe three euro per plate, and you can grab
three or four them and you've got quite a meal.
What is this place?
Place is Plaça de Sant Josep Oriol.
This name in the place.
Here, Plaça, Plaça, St Josep Oriol.
Oh.
And that's the church of?
The place, is the church of Santa Maria Del Pi. Del Pi.
A quiet scene with a pleasant church backdrop but look at the gymnast doing cartwheels in
the background.
People sitting at their café tables are sometimes irritated by these gymnasts who are blasting
their music and looking for tips.
(Music plays) Not only are the street performers sometimes
an annoying distraction, they're breaking the law.
Just watch what happens as the police arrive.
The music stops and the cops move in, in a very calm and professional way.
They round up these lawbreakers and they are going to escort them off the premises somewhere
and no doubt give them a citation.
These guys are going to have to show up in court pay a fine, while peace and quiet has
returned to the plaza.
Around the corner in the plaza that extends in front of the church of Santa Maria Del
Pi there's some kind of a food market going on with a nice variety of local jams and condiments
on offer, specialysing in a variety of local marmalades, olive oils, balsamics, and various
food snacks.
We are right in front of the church and the door' s open so let's step inside, have a
quick look.
The impressive church interior features a high ceiling with Gothic vaulting and many
stained glass windows all around, but otherwise the interior is rather plain, because it was
burned out during the Spanish Civil War.
Gothic style overall, with some Baroque side chapels around the central nave, and it was
is believed this church was first built from about the year 1000 as a much smaller Romanesque
church that later was rebuilt into the church we see today around the fifteenth century,
most famous for what is reputedly the world's largest, round, stained glass Gothic window.
The lovely pedestrian lanes around the church are ideal for wandering and shopping and people-watching
and they soon lead you over to a main pedestrian lane, Carrer de Ferran, a straight road that
connects the Rambla with the Plaça St Jaume.
Around the corner there is an unusual bridge up above in what seems to be the Gothic style,
although it was built in the early twentieth century.
It connects the government headquarters of Catalonia with the residents of the president
of Catalonia.
Turn by the bridge to find the small Plaza of St. Philip Neri, which is closed off for
part of the day as a playground for the nearby school, but otherwise you can walk through
and have a look at the old Baroque church and the stone walls with the pocketed scars
that have been preserved from the Spanish Civil War when bombs went off here with fascists
blowing up some Republican opponents.
And then you'll arrive quickly at the grand Plaza of the Plaça Reial, that's the Royal
square, and this was built in the nineteenth century.
It's surrounded by magnificent arcades on all sides and anchored by a grand fountain
in the center.
While this is a very popular touristic destination, it's also a public space that's utilized by
the locals, especially when they're putting on an outdoor concert at one of their various
festivals.
We dropped in on a live performance that was part of the Mercè Festival – mostly locals
out in the audience.
(Music plays) The Mercè Festival is Barcelona's biggest
weekend of the year, and we do have other movies about the Mercè in our collection.
So for now we're just having a quick walk and then and enjoying this Royal Plaza during
its normal activities, such as a coin collectors gathering.
On Sundays they have a flea market with antiques and collectibles.
The street market could be a good place to pick up an authentic souvenir – better than
a tourist shop, but perhaps the main attraction of the Royal Square are the many restaurants
lining it all the way around.
We'll come back in a minute to show you the square at night in restaurant heaven.
But first a quick look at the most famous street in town, the Rambla.
It runs right next to the Royal Square and this place is always lively, day and night.
There are outdoor restaurants from one end to the other, so, hey, if you want to sit
down and do some people-watching this will be a great place to have a drink, maybe even
a meal.
It's not going to be the greatest food in town, but it does have some of the best scenery
for those who were into people-watching.
Back into the Royal Square in the evening, you can see it's even more lively at night
than during the day, primarily because of all the busy restaurants and it's like an
outdoor living room for the people who live here.
Even if you're not hungry this is certainly an interesting spot to pass through in the
evening.
There's even a couple of small deluxe hotels on the square and just looking around at all
the food, restaurants you'll quickly work up an appetite.
While you have many restaurants to pick from on the square of the most famous one is a
phenomenon called Les Quinze Nits, where people sometimes line up for over an hour to get
in for dinner, attracted by the low prices, the high quality and the big fame.
One way to beat the line is to come in for a late lunch, say, about 2 or 3 PM or you
can reserve online, open from 9 AM till midnight.
And don't hesitate to take a walk at night in the heart of Barcelona, for example, once
again back out here on the Rambla.
It really is quite safe because there are so many people around, the streets are pretty
well lit.
Now Barcelona, frankly does have a reputation as somewhat of a pickpocket haven, so you
want to be careful, but you can see how to charming these little squares and lanes can
be at night.
You don't want to miss out on that, and the Spaniards, as you know stay up late so the
restaurants are open.
One of the busiest pedestrian streets is Carrer de Jaume, which is actually part of a much
longer street that goes from one end of downtown to the other, changing names to Carrer de
la Princesa and as we saw earlier, Carrer de Ferran.
That culinary favorite of pizza is always available, and gelato – that could be your
staple dishes in town, along with the tapas and the vino.
This lively street inevitably leads into its namesake the Plaça St Jaume, where City Hall
is located, other government buildings and lots of people.
Tonight there was a special event, part of the Mercè Festival, lighting up the buildings
with moving illuminations and music.
Over 100 events with music and dance performances take place on that Mercè Festival weekend.
We will show you a little bit more of this and the sardana dance at the end of the show.
Events also happen in front of the Cathedral on the big square in the heart of town.
We're going inside in just a moment but first have a look at this grand view, it's from
the rooftop bar of the Hotel Colón, which is open to the public.
Just go on into the hotel lobby, use the elevator, go on up top and have a drink, and enjoy the
view.
The Cathedral is Gothic, built between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries, although
the façade was built later, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century in the Gothic
style.
They've done a wonderful job with the pointed arches and the statues and the angels leading
up to heaven.
The Cathedral is distinguished by the great size of its nave, 275 feet long by 122, feet
wide reaching a height of 174 feet.
There are a series of chapels around the perimeter of the church and a large cloister adjacent
– Latin cross but with a shallow transept.
Pagan, Moor and Christian have worshiped in succession on the site.
The first church was consecrated about the year 1058, built on the site of a pagan temple
and that church was converted by Muslims into a mosque, but the Moors only remained in Barcelona
for less than a century.
The Cathedral we see now was commenced in 1298 finished in 1448.
By all means go through the connecting door on the right side into the elegant Gothic
cloister, with its pleasant court of palm trees and sparkling waters, it's pointed arcades
wrapping around a central courtyard where you will find a noisy surprise.
(Geese quack) These cackling geese are the extension of
a long tradition here where in the past they warned against intruders and thieves.
(Geese quack) There is an admission charge but if you come
in the morning between 8 AM and 12:45, the entrance is free, with access to the full
interior and the cloister, also free entrance in the evening from 5:45 till 7:30 PM.
There is another cloister or just in front of the Cathedral in a Gothic palace from the
fifteenth century.
This was this was the former home of the Archdeacon with a beautiful Gothic fountain in the center
of the courtyard.
This is free and open to the public and you can also go inside the building and there
you can have a glimpse at the original Roman wall that once encircled the ancient town.
For the next two minutes through the end of the show, I'm going to bring you back out
into the plaza in front of the Cathedral for some of the entertainment of the Mercè Festival.
(Music and dance performance, applause) We have many more movies about Barcelona in
our collection.
Be sure to look for them.
And if you enjoyed the movie, how about a thumbs up, and we always welcome comments
down below.
It really helps us spread the word.
We upload a new movie every week so please subscribe to our channel and be sure to click
that little alarm bell then you'll be notified.
Thank you.