The areas of lower La Rambla and El Raval are to be enjoyed day and night but with "heads-up" caution literally. If Barcelona has a down-side where tourists need to be aware, these are it!

The beautiful Placa Reail, also with Gaudi's influence all over it, is probably the most risky place in the city...and more than just because of all the alternative types who hang out here. Drug dealers heavily frequent the area as do undercover officers...but don't take that as a green light for safety. People here survive by preying upon and taking advantage of others. My own NYC Spanish Harlem ghetto-based opinion of Placa Reail is that any tourist should not be deprived the opportunity to walk thru this courtyard simply to see and enjoy. But unless dining at one of the many restaurants or staying in a hotel, anyone that lingers here...day or night, is simply asking for trouble no two ways about it!

The Placa Reail crowd also heavily "works" La Rambla and more from just drug dealing. As written, Barcelonans flood the streets between 8-10p.m. Especially on La Rambla, the crowds are thick, the entertainers and over-all atmosphere are a good distraction for letting one's guard down and enjoying oneself...though it's highly risky. During my 10-day stay, I saw three seperate after-dark muggings/purse snatchings on La Rambla and in Placa Reail. (Almost puts NYC to shame!) I'm not going to lecture, but take heed and act accordingly. Pay attention, try to blend in, yada yada.

El Raval appears worse than it actually is. This large area is the community for new immigrants; mostly those from Morocco, other African countries while there's also a strong presence of people from the Dominican Republic. As you might expect, the area is more run down, less clean and apparent of a less primitive way of living compared to other parts of the city. The area is VERY interesting to see and take-in if your a multi-cultural freak like myself, but I recommend doing this in the day time. When the sun goes down, the area drastically changes as the dwellers simply take to the streets which might prove intimidating. A block south of Restaurante Pollo Rico, there were many prostitutes, street types and such that most wouldn't care to encounter, though I felt like it was another day back home!

The other "thieves" to be aware of along La Rambla are shopkeepers from India trying to hawk tourist junk for outrageous prices not including a more than doubled VAT tax. They're rude, aggressive - you know the rest. Once you've been in one shop, you've been in them all since they carried the same knock-off merchandise made at home in Asia. Foreign capitalism tainting authentic culture at it's best/worst.

La Ramblas is the one of the most famous streets in Europe and will be a highlight of Barcelona. There is more life down La Ramblas than there is in most countries and it will be a street you will come back to again and again as you wander through Barcelona. There is enough on this street to keep you interested for hours and one of the pleasures of living is to sit at a cafe table with a sangria on a sunny day and watch the passing show.

The best way to reach it is from Placa de Catalunya. This elegant square is flanked by the cream coloured balconied buildings on its west side and the gunmetal sheen of El Corte Ingles on its east. This is the hub of Barcelona with hundreds of people coming and going (ye gods, the Catalans are good looking). It is worth a look for the statues and fountains in its centre and at its southwest reach is the start of La Ramblas.

This tiled streets stretches 1 1/2 miles down to the Port Vell. It used to follow the course of an old river, hence its kinks and turns, before being paved over in the 19th century. Cars are forced down one lane on either side and so the central area is full of promenading people and palm trees. The start of La Ramblas is a wrought-iron fountain which stands there unmoved by the mass of humanity moving around it. Even for ten o'clock in the morning it was a hell of a show...

The upper La Ramblas holds a pet market. I took a close look at the stalls and they revealed cage upon cage of songbirds, rabbits, hamsters, tortoises and tanks of fish. They must be very hot in the Spanish heat. Not far away were performance artists who came to life when a few pesetas were dropped in the tin. Nearby were flamenco dancers which were attracting a crowd with their clicking castenets.

After the pet market comes the flower market whose wares could be smelt from yards away. From here the streets branch off into the Barri Gotic and the Placa Reial and La Ramblas was crowded with newstands, restaurants, cafes where tired tourists were enjoying a paella. Then it covers pavement artsts and trinket stalls before it finally opens out at the harbour. The great soaring Monument de Colom (rather like Nelsons column) points out to see and the glittering harbour is now at your feet. My favourite story about the statue was when the 1898 war between America and Spain broke out over Cuba, a crowd gathered angry at Colombus for discovering America....

I can guarantee that each day that you spend of your holiday in Barcelona, you will find excuse after excuse to start or finish your day along La Ramblas...

take some time to take in the sights that require no entrance fees. a statue of christopher columbus points outward over the water, toward the americas(?) and is surrounded by regal lion statues. take a sunset ferry ride from the port and watch the city diminish in the distance (and bring a sweater!). stroll along the moll despanya. it's all free!

i had the good fortune to stumble into town the weekend of this annual event, which poured through the city with musical and staged events, dancing and revelry and culminated in a parade that streamed through the streets of barcelona with floats and participants wearing giant papier-maché heads depicting historcial events and personnages. onlookers were supplied with bags of confetti to throw at the parade as the participants glided by. the most beautiful moment took place when paper flower votive holders were distributed to the crowd and hundreds of couples took to the open square-cum-dance floor and waltzed with lit candles in hand. it was ephemeral!

Ah, strolling the Ramblas, Barcelona's famed pedestrian boulevard that cuts through the heart of the old quarter & is alive w/ activity day & night--an experience to delight the senses. Sarah Andrews, resident of Barcelona & writer for the Associated Press said, "Las Ramblas is like looking through the wrong end of a telescope. The city is reduced to one slightly out-of-whack focal point, & all that makes up Barcelona is squashed into a thin line that runs from the city center to the sea." Fragrant flowers abound, music fills the air, living "sculptures" catch the eye, tapas (appetizers) lure you to stop awhile & indulge, oil paintings dare you to touch them gingerly. There's no place like the Ramblas! Wander...experience...breathe in the culture.