Take a Walking Tour of the Gothic Quarter in Barcelona

Last updated on 14 March 2025

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Over the course of my 5-week Contiki around Europe in 2024, I discovered that I actually really enjoy walking tours. We ended up doing quite a few of them, even if they were short, whether they were guided tours or self-guided. Only about a week into our trip, we ended up doing a walking tour, Barcelona edition, through the Gothic Quarter.

This one was a self-guided one, with a written guide that was given so we could explore the alleyways and points of interest along the way, at our own pace.

It was a scorcher of a day while we there, and we actually spent a lot of the day riding the Barcelona Hop On Hof Off bus to get a little reprieve from the heat and walking so much. But before we did that, we did make the most of the Gothic district guide that we had, and set off with our guide on our phones and eyes set on pockets of shade.

A Brief History of the Gothic District in Barcelona

Or Gothic Quarter as it’s called. Like many spots around Europe, it used to be a Roman village called Bàrcino, and you can see bits of this past as you wander through the narrow streets and pathways. Some of the Roman wall is still there, as well as other notable buildings and landmarks, which we’ll get to soon.

The original settlement of Bàrcino was built around a temple, called the Temple of Augustus, which makes a lot of sense. So many of the European towns and cities (and outside Europe, too!) were built around temples and churches.

Bàrcino was founded around 133 BC, but the Gothic Quarter in Barcelona wasn’t really established until the medieval ages when the Gothic-style churches and palaces were constructed. This was around the 13th – 15th centuries (so old!).

In 1992 (yes we’re fast-forwarding a LOT!), the Gothic Quarter was renovated for the Olympic Games in Spain but was also renovated and upkept many times before that, too.

Take a walking tour – Barcelona Gothic Quarter

The Barcelona Gothic Quarter is located right in the heart of the city, and you can pop into it at many spots from the main streets. Barcelona’s main shopping street is La Ramblas which is around 1.2km long, beginning at the water at Port Vell at the southern end, and ending at the northern end at Plaça de Catalunya.

While the street itself is worth the wander along – we stopped in the market and had a nosey through the foods and goods stalls, and you can see things like the Liceu Theatre, as well as various arts and mosaics on the buildings – you can walk into the Gothic Quarter from there and begin your own walking tour.

The Gothic Quarter is a bit of a winding maze and you might get a little bit lost or turned around. Definitely have your maps app open. There are lots of points of interest throughout the quarter, and while I’m not going to point out all of them today, I do want to share some of the spots that we stopped at along the way that were provided by with some background commentary from our Contiki tour guide.

Placa Nova – Cathedral Square

This is one of the four main entrances to the Roman City, which I mentioned earlier, and was used as a meeting spot. These days, it sort of still is, with markets and various gathering events throughout the year. The square also is the location for one of Barcelona’s oldest festivals, the Day of Sant Roc.

Barcelona Cathedral – the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia

Right in the Placa Nova, or Cathedral Square, is the Barcelona Cathedral (above). Surprise surprise. Its official name is the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia. Saint Eulalia was a young girl of just 13 when she was martyred for her faith. She refused to renounce her faith and was tortured and killed as a result. She’s remembered each year during a huge feast that Barcelona holds.

You can visit the Cathedral for free (though if you want to check out the rooftop, there’s a small fee), and check out the cloisters, walkways and courtyard. Inside you’ll also find a statue of Saint Eulalia. We didn’t go into the Cathedral while we were there but it sounds brilliant!

Placa del Rei – King’s Square

There are many squares in Barcelona, and it’s the same inside the Gothic Quarter. The King’s Square, or Placa del Rei (below), was next up in our walking tour. The King of Aragon (not to be confused with Aragorn from Lord of the Rings) had his palace here, which dates back to the 11th century, and is a mix of Gothic and Roman styles.

The square is very enclosed, very quiet, and when we paused there there was only one or two people who wandered by to look at it, too. Coming from the palace is a huge staircase, which the King and Queen would receive guests on (including Christopher Columbus), and up above the door at the top of the steps is a stained glass window of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella.

There are also a bunch of gargoyles around the top of the buildings, facing into the square. And while these are mostly for water draining from the roofs, gargoyles are often used in palaces and churches to ward away evil spirits.

St Jaume Square

The next stop on our Barcelona Gothic Quarter walking tour (what a mouthful haha) was St Jaume Square. Back in Roman times, there used to be a church here, with a forum for debates and meetings. Hence the name of the square. Sometimes today you’ll find protests or other political meetings happening still.

If you’ve come from King’s Square, to your left in St Jaume Square is the Barcelona City Hall, and one right is the Government House where the president and the government of Catalonia hang out.

In the photo below, you can see alleyways branch out from here and back into the Gothic Quarter. From here, we took one to the right, to the Bishop’s Bridge.

Pont del Bisbe – Bishop’s Bridge

This was one of my favourite things on our walking tour: Pont del Bisbe, or Bishop’s Bridge. It was built in 1928 (incredibly ‘new’ compared to a lot of the things we’d wandered by up to that point!), and is probably one of the most photographed spots in the Gothic Quarter.

It’s a bridge up above the street or alleyway that connects two buildings: the House of Canons and the Government buildings, which we saw from the square. Underneath the bridge is a skull with a dagger through it. The architect, Joan Rubio is said to have been upset with a change of plans when building this bridge – apparently, he was meant to have several building projects in the quarter, which were all scrapped and he was left with this bridge – so out of spite, he put this skull and dagger under the bridge.

The myth goes that if you walk under the bridge and look up at the skull and dagger you will be cursed. But if you walk under the bridge backwards, you’ll be fine. It’s also said that if the dagger is removed, Barcelona will fall. Probably don’t touch that, eh. You can read more about the bridge and its history here.

💡 Fun fact: It was inspired by the Bridge of Sighs in Venice, a bridge we also visited on our Contiki trip

Sant Filip Neri Square

The final stop on our walk through the Gothic Quarter in Barcelona was Sant Filip Neri Square. Another square, but this one has a particularly interesting, and sad history.

Sant Filip Neri Square used to be a school playground, but in 1938, during the Spanish Civil War, it became the site of a terrible tragedy. Bombs were dropped here, killing 42 people, including children who had taken shelter in the church which you can see in the square.

You can still see the shrapnel marks on the walls as you look around. You can see them in the photo below, taken by JoaquinAranoa from pixabay via Canva.

Now, the octagonal fountain at the centre of the square stands as a memorial, a symbol of peace, and the trees in the square represent new life and moving forward.

💡 Music fact: If you’ve ever seen the My Immortal music video by Evanescence, it was filmed right here. The song’s lyrics feel eerily fitting for a place with so much history.

That’s a wrap!

And that was our full walking tour of the Gothic Quarter in Barcelona. As I said, there are plenty of other points of interest throughout the alleyways, and there is so much history wrapped up in those cobbles and stones. While it was a horrifically hot day the day we were there, and the only reprieve from the heat was trying to stick to the shadows made by the buildings, it would be cool to explore more of the Quarter on a less hot day.

I’d love to know if you’ve been to Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter!

Let me know in the comments, and tell me what your favourite spots were, or what you found to be most interesting.