The neighbourhood
Gothic Quarter after the concert
The Gothic Quarter around the Basílica de la Mercè: what the old town is, what survives from Roman and medieval Barcelona and how to spend an evening there.
Book a seat under the dome ↗Quick answer
The Basílica de la Mercè stands in the Gothic Quarter, the old-town core of Barcelona's Ciutat Vella. It lies between La Rambla and Via Laietana, with narrow lanes opening into small squares. Ordinary road traffic stays out of most of it. Much of what you see was restored around 1900, and the cathedral façade dates from 1882 to 1913.
What the Gothic Quarter is
The Gothic Quarter is the old-town core of Barcelona, part of the Ciutat Vella district. It lies between La Rambla and Via Laietana, and between the sea and the Ronda de Sant Pere. Its streets form a maze of narrow lanes that open into small squares, and most are kept free of ordinary road traffic, though taxis and service vehicles may enter. The basilica is one of the quarter's landmarks, so a concert there places you in the middle of it.
Roman and medieval layers
The quarter holds the city's oldest parts, including remains of the Roman wall and of a Roman temple, the Temple of Augustus. The medieval street plan survives in the lanes. Around 1900 the quarter was heavily restored and turned into a tourist attraction, with the work timed to finish for the 1929 International Exhibition, and neo-Gothic additions continued into the 1960s. Most of the fabric you see today is a product of that restoration.
The cathedral and the squares
The cathedral's neo-Gothic façade was built between 1882 and 1913 by Josep Oriol Mestres and August Font i Carreras. Plaça Sant Jaume holds the Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya, and Plaça del Rei, Plaça de Sant Felip Neri and Plaça Reial are further landmarks. La Rambla forms the quarter's boundary. None of these is part of the concert ticket, but together they make an evening on foot easy to plan around the one-hour concert.
Planning around the concert
The concert lasts about one hour, with doors opening 15 minutes early, so it fits before or after a meal. Eat first if you prefer a light stomach during the music, because food is not allowed in the church. After the concert, the lanes are the point: walk without a fixed route and let the squares appear. In the last week of September the city's main festival, La Mercè, adds street events around the basilica, and the quarter is busier.
La Mercè in the streets
Every September the quarter hosts the city's main festival, La Mercè, which honours the patron saint of Barcelona. The city's account says its most traditional activities gather popular culture from all over Catalonia: the sardana, the human castles and the devils of the Camp de Tarragona. Its great Barcelona speciality is the street parade, which grew out of the processions held for Corpus Christi centuries ago. If your concert falls in late September, expect crowds and music in the squares.
What the ticket does not cover
The concert ticket admits you to the concert and nothing else. It does not include a visit to the cathedral, a museum or a guided walk, and the squares and lanes are free to walk through. Treat the basilica as the anchor of the evening and plan any other visits separately, checking each site's own opening rules. Because the concert lasts only about an hour, you have time for one more stop on the same night, whether a meal or a slow walk through the lanes.
Getting around
Because ordinary road traffic stays out of much of the quarter, you cover it on foot. The Drassanes metro station and the Estació de França commuter station serve the basilica, and La Rambla's western edge brings you into the lanes. Wear shoes you can walk in over old paving. If you are staying outside the old city, plan how you will return at night, and check the last services on the transport operator's website.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the Gothic Quarter?
In Ciutat Vella, between La Rambla and Via Laietana, and between the sea and the Ronda de Sant Pere.
Can I drive there?
Ordinary road traffic stays out of most of the quarter, though taxis and service vehicles may enter.
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