Description
Gràcia is the bohemian neighborhood of Barcelona, a web of narrow streets and small squares north of the Eixample, with independent shops, cafés, vintage stores and cozy bars. It has few big chains and an easy, local feel. Until 1897 it was not Barcelona at all.
The heart of Gràcia is its squares. Plaça del Sol is the lively one, with terraces filling up in the evening. Plaça de la Virreina is quieter, in front of a church, and Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia holds the 33-meter bell tower of the old town hall.
Wander its small streets for independent shops, vintage clothing, artisans' workshops and tapas bars. Carrer de Verdi is known for shopping, and the neighborhood has plenty of food from around the world. Catalan flags hang from many balconies.
Gaudí left his mark here. His first great house, Casa Vicens, stands on Carrer de les Carolines, and Park Güell rises at the district's northern edge. Mercè Rodoreda set her novel The Time of the Doves in Gràcia, in Plaça del Diamant.
Gràcia was a town of its own, with its own council, grown around a Carmelite convent of 1626, Our Lady of Grace, which gave it its name. Many Barcelona families had second homes here, close to the city yet with the quiet of a village.
It stayed independent through the 19th century, as the Eixample crept closer. In 1897 Barcelona annexed it, but Gràcia never quite lost its own identity.
Don't miss the Festa Major de Gràcia, every August since 1817. For about a week the residents compete for the best-decorated street, turning them into scenes of nature, wild animals or characters from popular culture.
It is the smallest district of Barcelona by area, but home to more than 120,000 people, which is why its squares are busy from morning to late night.
The heart of Gràcia is its squares. Plaça del Sol is the lively one, with terraces filling up in the evening. Plaça de la Virreina is quieter, in front of a church, and Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia holds the 33-meter bell tower of the old town hall.
Wander its small streets for independent shops, vintage clothing, artisans' workshops and tapas bars. Carrer de Verdi is known for shopping, and the neighborhood has plenty of food from around the world. Catalan flags hang from many balconies.
Gaudí left his mark here. His first great house, Casa Vicens, stands on Carrer de les Carolines, and Park Güell rises at the district's northern edge. Mercè Rodoreda set her novel The Time of the Doves in Gràcia, in Plaça del Diamant.
Gràcia was a town of its own, with its own council, grown around a Carmelite convent of 1626, Our Lady of Grace, which gave it its name. Many Barcelona families had second homes here, close to the city yet with the quiet of a village.
It stayed independent through the 19th century, as the Eixample crept closer. In 1897 Barcelona annexed it, but Gràcia never quite lost its own identity.
Don't miss the Festa Major de Gràcia, every August since 1817. For about a week the residents compete for the best-decorated street, turning them into scenes of nature, wild animals or characters from popular culture.
It is the smallest district of Barcelona by area, but home to more than 120,000 people, which is why its squares are busy from morning to late night.