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La Ribera / El Born

La Ribera/El Born

In 1907, the new Via Laietana cut the Barri Gòtic off from its medieval business end, the Barri de Sant Pere (home to Barcelona’s medieval textile manufacturers, surrounding the once-important church of the same name), and La Ribera, the old maritime and business district. No one seems to quite agree where the neighbourhood boundaries begin and end but traditionally it's all La Ribera—although the gentrified southern end prefers to be called El Born.

Back then, when Barceloneta was just a slip of sand and the sea washed up to what is now Avinguda Marquès de l’Argentera, there was a constant bustle as goods were ferried to and from waiting ships. When the Ramblas was still a sewer, the Passeig del Born was the throbbing heart of Barcelona, surrounded by artisans and their shops who worshipped at the beautiful church of Santa Maria del Mar, while tycoons in their grand Gothic palaces along Carrer Montcada wheeled and dealed in the Llotja, the hub of western Mediterranean commerce in the 13th and 14th centuries.

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7 Portes

A golden oldie

Aire de Barcelona

Arab Baths by the Born

Antic Convent de Sant Agustí

Gothic cloister and music venue

Antic Teatre

As edgy as it gets

Arc de Triomf

A triumphant doodad

Around Santa Maria del Mar

Lose yourself in the medieval maze

Barcelona Zoo

Meet the heirs of Snowflake

Carrer de Sant Pere més Baix

If you're in the hood

Carrer Montcada

A medieval Millionaires' Row

Casa Gispert

Nuts about nuts, and much much more

Castell dels Tres Dragons

The Castle of the Three Dragons

El Born Centre de Cultura i Memòria

Archaeology in the Market

Centre Martorell d’Exposicions

Natural History temporary exhibits

Chocolate Museum

The Art of Chocolate

Estació de França

BCN's prettiest station

Llotja da Mar

Medieval Barcelona's stock exchange

Mercat de Santa Caterina

Fruits under a fruity roof

Moco Museum

The Amsterdam museum’s BCN branch

Monument to Rafael Casanova

Lawyer and hero

Museu Europeu d'Art Modern (MEAM)

A Home for Contemporary Figurative Art

Museu Picasso

Early, late and great works by Mr P

Palau Dalmases

Go for Baroque, and Flamenco

Palau de la Música Catalana

The Garden of Modernista Delights

Parc de la Ciutadella

Lazy afternoons and messing about in boats

Passeig del Born

Born again

Passeig Lluís Companys

A Quirky Promenade

Porxos d’en Xifré

Picasso's first Barcelona address

Sant Pere de les Puel.les

Nuns who lost their heads

Santa Maria del Mar

The Cathedral of the Sea

The Universal Exhibition of 1888

Barcelona Finds its Calling as a World Class Show-off

Text © Dana Facaros & Michael Pauls

Image by Jaume Meneses