La Rambla de las Flores, within the emblematic Ramblas of Barcelona

The colors and fragances of the flower shops and its plants and trees give La Rambla de las Flores (the Rambla of Flowers) its name and its special charm.

Officialy, its name was Rambla of Sant Josep because a convent with the same name was located where now is La Boqueria, which disappeared in 1839. Despite of that, we all know it as Rambla de las Flores because during XIX century it was the only place in Barcelona where you could buy them.

Apart from the Boqueria market, a main point of this area is Palau Now (new palace). It is a intelligent building that has 11 undeground floors completely robotized which parks the cars by itself. The structure has a modern physiognomy that includes a grinding wheel in the facade from where you can see the views of the Pi Church and the gothic tower. All together creates a beautiful contrast.

At street level of the intelligent building you can find the administration of loterry called Sort (luck). It is managed by the Valdés Family and they have given many important prizes to the city since 1905, when it was founded.

Still inside the Palau Now, there is also a place for playing videogames. It is called Kingdom of the Electronic Games and there you can run crazy races, drive spaceships or kill some aliens, for example.

Let's go now a little higher and we will find and old and beautiful house called Josefa Nadal. It has a lot of romantic inscriptions on its facade and it is and emblematic place of this promenade.

Due to its location, La Rambla is also used in January 5th to celebrate the Carnival of the parades of the Three Wise Men, in this tradition, kids and parents come to see the Wise Men the night before they come to the houses to give their presents. La Rambla must be seen during its casual days, on holidays people crowd it almost to the limit and it is normal to see famous people who walk through it to inspire themselves as the famous writer Terenci Moix used to do.

El Mercat de la Boqueria (The Boqueria Market) is the most famous market of Barcelona and its entry is located in La Rambla de las Flores. Like a city, this market has its own allies and neighbourhoods. The fish shops, the fish neighbourhood, the meat neighbourhood, the butcher's shops, the vegatable shops, the vegetable neighbourhood, etc. All of them are located according to the type of food they offer.

The place where the market was built is where a convent dedicated to Saint Josep was before. The first stone of the market was put the day of Saint Josep in 1840. In 1913 the market was covered and, just a few years ago, the columns that sorround it recovered all its beauty.

When the curiosity is satisfied or once the shopping is finished, spending some time in the eating city is worthy. The library is a must see place and you should also visit one of the market bars such as the emblematic Pinotxo, where the owners and the employees will treat you as kings or queens of the market.

Outside the market there are many kinds of people, since the modest habitants to the chef of the restaurant or even celebrities like Manuel Vázquez Montalbán or Joan Manuel Serrat, the singer wrote about the mood and the environment of the city in his songs.

Finally, there are plenty of things to see and to visit apart from the market. In La Rambla de las Flores you can also enjoy the modernism, fantasy, colours and forms insipired in natural elements that can be seen in the facade of Figueretes, an old shop house of soup pasta. Today it has turnet ino the pastisserie Escribà. Because, at the end, what feels better than a good sweet?