After the medieval city walls were demolished in the 19th century, ambitious designs for the city's public spaces were conceived under the guidance of notable urban planners. Plaça Catalunya was conceived as part of pla Rovira in 1859, but no official permission from the government was given until the 1888 Universal Exposition. It was urbanised for the first time in 1902 and was further modified in 1929, on the occasion of the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition, which also included the construction of a metro station.
The Plaza de Catalunya, a large square surrounded by monumental buildings,
is Barcelona's busiest square. It is located between the old city and the 19th century Eixample district.
Las Ramblas has always been the most popular walkway in Barcelona.
Ramblas, a word of Arab origin, means riverbed and refers to the seasonal rivers common to
the Mediterranean coast that drain rainwater into the sea. This shows the Ramblas as it
originally was a sandy stretch of empty land along the medieval walls used by the citizens
of medieval Barcelona as a setting for markets, dances, executions and leisure time activities.
A great number of live statues, musicians, clowns, acrobats, dancers and all kind of performers line
the walkway. The magnificent Baroque exterior of the Iglesia de Betlem stands in stark contrast to
the austerity of Barcelona's other churches. From Roman times through the Gothic period to
the Catalan Art Nouveau and modernism, Barcelona's architecture naturally transmits the city's rich
history. Founded in 1847 on Barcelona's Las Ramblas, the Gran Teatro del Liceu is an opera house that
has retained its role as a center for culture and arts throughout its history and has become
one of the symbols of the city. It is the work of the architect Miguel Garriga y Roca and was
originally designed to hold 3,500 guests. The Teatre Principal was the first building in
Barcelona expressly designed to hold theatrical performances. The basic outline of the building
derives from the reform project of the architect Francisco Daniel Molina.
