El Raval
Your diverse and bohemian home
Overview
El Raval has found new life in recent years.
Not long ago it was a red-light district. Now it's one of Barcelona's best places to live. You have iconic sights and party zones within walking distance. It's multicultural and welcoming.
Do you dream of a Catalonian adventure?
Try El Raval.
What can I do here?
Stop shopping at your local supermarket.
Shop at Mercat de la Boqueria instead. You can get all your fresh fruit, veg and meat here. The difference is the produce. It's local. So are the people selling it. Your money goes back into the community rather than an offshore tax haven.
There are 300 stalls. You can buy everything from garlic to guacamole, honey to jamón (ham) There's a food school too. Come here to learn the local chefs' secrets.
Enter the confusing and chameleonic world of Modern Art:
When evening falls outside the Museu d'Art, you can watch skateboarders and breakdancers sharpen their skills. Good skills they are, too.
Visit Gaudí's Palau Güell. It's a 128-year-old mansion. A masterpiece of wonder. Unicorn dreams and fairy-tales sleep under the stairs. Possibly.
When night falls, head to dusty-bottled Bar Marsella for an absinthe.
And then?
Interesting fact
El Raval comes from the Arabic word rabad, meaning outskirts. That's because El Raval was once on the edge of Barcelona. Today it's central. Expansion.
