Plaça Reial (Royal Square of Barcelona)

In the neoclassical style, Barcelona’s Plaza Real or Plaça Reial (in English ‘Royal Square’), received its name from King Fernando VII, the monarch who was on the throne when the construction of the square was finished.

In spite of being in one of the most central areas of the city, the square can easily go un-noticed if you’re walking along the central part of La Rambla, parallel to the square, without looking out for it.

All about the Plaça Reial of Barcelona

Various events are organised at certain times of the year, highlights of which are the market stalls that are set up on an ad-hoc basis, and live music performances during the Festes de La Mercè, who is the co-patron of Barcelona.

On Sunday mornings a little market specialising in stamp collections and coins is set up, which is a favourite with collectors. We should draw your attention to a more negative point, as the atmosphere at night-time can be somewhat dodgy, sometimes with undesirable people hanging around, so we therefore recommend taking extra care with your belongings there, especially if you don’t know the area well.

Lamp posts designed by Antoni Gaudí
If you look carefully we’re sure that your attention will be drawn to the central lamp posts in the square, which are very beautiful. It was Gaudí himself who designed the lamp posts, which were actually one of his first works of art in the city.

Restaurants, bars and cafés
With a huge amount of bars, restaurants and cafés situated underneath the large colonnade, the square always has plenty to offer by way of atmosphere. Amongst them, Les Quinze Nits restaurant without a doubt offers the best value for money. Looking at the bars, one of the best is Ocaña (which is also a restaurant), and if you’re after somewhere with live music a good option would be to go to the legendary Jamboree Jace & Dance Club and the Sidecar Factory Club, which stay open well into the night.

Font de les Tres Gràcies (Fountain of the Three Graces)
Right in the centre of the square, in the spot in which it was originally intended to erect a statue of King Fernando VII, stands a monumental fountain at which you will normally find a few tourists sitting down to rest for a while. It’s known as the Font de les Tres Gràcies (the Fountain of the Three Graces) because it’s dedicated to the three goddesses from Greek mythology, and you can see three small carvings that represent the goddesses.

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Where is the Plaça Reial? Map and how to get there

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