Gothic Quarter Facts

How old, how high, how much and how many. These are the Gothic Quarter's numbers, from the Roman founding to the rules a guide works under today, with the figures worth knowing before you make a Gothic Quarter reservation.

The Gothic Quarter in numbers

Roman Barcino, in figures

• Founded: the first century BC, as the Roman colony of Barcino.
• Site: Mons Taber, a small hill whose highest point carried the temple.
• Temple: dated to the first century BC; four columns survive, nearly nine metres high, with Corinthian capitals.
• Industry: a second-century laundry and dye house, a third-century garum factory and a winery, excavated under Plaça del Rei.

The temple stood at the axis of the forum, the town's arcaded main square and market. The columns were restored in the early twentieth century, and in the mid-century a column that had stood in Plaça del Rei was set back among them.

Barcelona Cathedral, in dates and prices

The Gothic Cathedral stands on the site of a fourth-century basilica and a Romanesque cathedral consecrated in 1058. Work on the present building began on 1 May 1298 and took about 150 years; the front was closed with a plain wall in 1417 and the cloister finished in 1448. The façade and side towers were paid for by Manuel Girona and completed in 1913.

• Cultural visit: €16; €14 for students up to 25 and large or single-parent families; €8 on group tickets.
• Free: visitors with a disability of 33% or more.
• Weekday hours: 9:30 to 18:30, last entry 17:45.
• Sunday hours: 14:00 to 17:00, last entry 16:30.

The Barcelona History Museum, in figures

• Founded: 1943, on Plaça del Rei.
• Ticket: €7.30, covering every MUHBA site except Park Güell.
• Free entry: under-16s, the first Sunday of the month, and Sundays from 15:00.
• Plaça del Rei hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 10:00 to 19:00.

The rules for guided groups, in figures

Barcelona limits guided tourist groups in Ciutat Vella to 20 people. Guides may not use loudspeakers, and radio headsets are encouraged instead. The rules have applied since March 2023, and in August 2024 the district extended them to 2028, together with a ban on organised alcohol routes between bars.

The Gothic Quarter in the Civil War

The air raid on Sant Felip Neri came on 30 January 1938, while children were sheltering in the church. Shrapnel marks remain on the church façade.

Getting around, in minutes

Jaume I (line L4) is the metro stop for Plaça del Rei and the Cathedral side, and Liceu (line L3) opens onto La Rambla on the western edge. From Plaça de Catalunya, lines L1 and L3, you reach the Cathedral in about ten minutes on foot. Walking times between the squares, and every nearby stop, are on the Gothic Quarter map.

Facts about the tours themselves

These are the figures that decide which walk fits your day. Every price is per person.

Where each tour starts is on the meeting points page.

Facts, answered