Rambla de les Flors

In the words of Cirici Pellicer, the Rambla de les Flors is the "quintessence of Barcelona, with its ever-changing beauty that follows the seasons of the year". In the 19th century this was the only place in Barcelona where flowers were sold. And it is said that, from among the groups of people that congregated around the beautiful flowers, the painter Ramon Casas, a pioneer of Impressionism in Catalonia, selected his favourite model, later to become his wife.

The flower stalls are now alongside kiosks selling all manner of books, magazines and newspapers from Spain and abroad. These kiosks, which stay open 24 hours a day, are to be found all along the Rambla, as are street performers dressed up as well-known exotic characters, such as the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz or ghosts who may be from the play Don Juan Tenorio.

A little past Carrer de la Portaferrissa, but on the other side, is the Palau de la Virreina. This palace was built by the Viceroy of Peru, Manuel Amat i Junyent, also the Marquis of Castellbell. He died before he could enjoy it, so the palace then became the residence of his wife. Hence its name, literally, the "Palace of the Viceroys' Wife". The palace was built between 1772 and 1775. The plans had already been prepared by 1770, usually attributed to Josep Ribes, but it is by no means certain who actually drew them up. The building work was carried out under the direction of the architect and sculptor Carles Grau (1717-1798).

Beside the palace is a very old little shop, Casa Beethoven, where you can find all manner of musical scores, both old and modern. A little further down is the hundred-year-old Boqueria Market (its official name is in fact the Mercat de Sant Josep), elegant in construction, though this might not be immediately apparent amidst all the ironwork. From the day it opened it has been the city's main market.

Back to Carrer de la Portaferrissa, the second street on the right is Carrer Petritxol, a sheltered street that is full of life. There you can find exhibition rooms, goldsmiths, bookshops, fashion boutiques and the street's traditional cafes specialising in hot chocolate. The street was opened up in 1465 on the land of a man by the same name, and many of its buildings date from the 17th and 18th centuries. There are many plaques on the walls of the street, telling of events that have occurred there. The street holds a special place in the history of the city and also in its literature, being the home of the popular 20th-century dramatist Àngel Guimerà (1846-1924), who lived at Number 4.

Back on the Rambla, at number 94 to be precise, is the Palau Nou (New Palace) de la Rambla: a high-tech, or "smart" building, featuring a robot-operated car park of 11 underground levels. This building houses shops and is the work of the architectural team Martorell - Bohigas - Mackay - Puigdomènech and Jordi Frontons. Built in 1992, its design lets you see, through a large opening in its facade, the bell-tower of the Church of Santa Maria del Pi.

Immediately after, you will be surprised by a building with an oriental style. This used to be a shop selling umbrellas, walking sticks and fans , opened by Bruno Quadros in the middle of the nineteenth century. Fascinated by what he had seen in the East, he asked the architect of the Arc de Triomf, Josep Vilaseca, to design the shop, which was finished in 1888 in time for the Universal Exhibition. On the corner of the building, jutting out onto the Rambla, there is a figure of a dragon with a lantern and an umbrella, where tourists always stop to take a few photographs. The ground floor is now occupied by a bank but it still retains some of the Modernista furniture.