Streets, squares & neighbourhoods
Until the 1960s, the cabarets on the Paral·lel, with their bohemian, free-and-easy lifestyle, provided a haven of freedom in the grey Barcelona of the Franco era.
El Molino opened in 1910 as a replica of the famous Moulin Rouge in Paris"s Montmartre. The music hall staged some of the most risqué productions starring the most famous stars of the day. The legendary café-concert on the Paral·lel, which had become an icon of Barcelona"s nightlife, gradually fell into a state of disrepair and closed down in 1997. The local community joined forces to restore the old theatre and, in association with a group of artists and entrepreneurs, made it possible for this unique venue to reopen in 2010.
Barcelona"s main arteries converge on the Plaça Espanya, but it"s much more than a traffic hub. Barcelona"s most monumental square, it marks the gateway to the trade-fair site and Montjuïc Hill.
The neighbourhoods of Sants originated from a rural path which followed the route of the Camí Ral, or royal road, into Barcelona, surrounded by wheat fields, vineyards and allotments. With the passage of time and subsequent changes to the area, the old path is now a glittering shopping street – the Carrer de Sants – with top-class retail outlets.
The old part of Sarrià, with its small squares and main street, the Carrer Major, perfectly mirrors the history of the neighbourhood, where nearly every house and building reveals the origins of what was once one of the most prosperous villages on the Barcelona plain.
The squares were built as a result of the development of the former village of
Gràcia and have become the focus of recreational and social life for locals and visitors in
Barcelona alike. The neighbourhood is dotted with over 15 of them, places which afford light and shade, where people can meet and chat: colourful spaces which appear, almost by surprise, among the narrow streets.
