Barcelona at Christmas: Lights, Food & Markets

The elevator taking visitors to the rooftops can be accessed though the chapel of the Innocent Saints, next to the door of San Ivo. From the rooftops, we can see the two bell towers, the two lateral pinnacles, the cimborio crowned by the Holy Cross (sustained by the image of Saint Helena), the Cloister and a spectacular panoramic view of Barcelona.

Fira de Santa Llúcia: a fair dating from 1786!
What will you find? Well, not many Santa Clauses, that's for sure. But you will find everything you'll need for the traditional Christmas crib which is the centrepiece of our homes over the festive season: moss, figurines, shepherds, little houses, trees and caganers… You'll also find decorations for the tree, lucky mistletoe and tió logs with smiley faces sporting a typical Catalan cap, the barretina.

The Plaça Sant Jaume has been the city's political centre almost since its inception. Today the Plaça Sant Jaume is an open space, a "lung" in the middle of the Gothic Quarter. The square is the site of the most important buildings in the lives of Barcelona and Catalonia: City Hall and the Palau de la Generalitat.

Food Artisans Market
A nice surprise that pops up in Plaça Santa Maria del Pi (by the church of the same name), in the Gothic District, this mini-market has around twenty stalls selling artisanal treats such as Catalan honey, chocolates, cheeses, wines, and cakes. A good one for non-kitsch stocking fillers.

If you are looking for streets with this special charm in Barcelona, you can't miss carrer Petritxol, it is a pedestrian street known to be the street of chocolate in Barcelona and I will explain to you why. Carrer Petritxol is documented since 1340, and the name petrítxol comes from the word "pedrítxol" that refers to those stones that didn't allow the carriages to come inside a certain street. Petrítxol was the first pedestrian street in Barcelona city in 1959.

La Rambla is exactly 1.2 kilometres long and nearly everyone who visits Barcelona walks along it. La Rambla was laid out in 1766, following the contours of the medieval city walls that had bounded this part of Barcelona since the 13th century. The locals took it to their hearts straightaway. In Barcelona, a city of narrow, winding streets, the Rambla was the only space where everyone could stroll and spend their leisure time. And we mean everyone. Because of its central location, the Rambla became a meeting place for all the social classes.

La Rambla's history is the Boqueria Market's history—the evolution from a past of peddlers to a modern and charming present full of color and life. The market is a metaphor for Barcelona's life, a human river that delights those who like watching.
(we only can access if the Market is open)