La Rambla is a long pedestrian street in central Barcelona, connecting Plaça Catalunya in its center with the Christopher Columbus Monument at Port Vell. La Rambla forms the boundary between the neighbourhoods Barri Gòtic to the east and El Raval to the west.
La Rambla can be crowded during the tourist season. Its popularity with tourists affected the character of the street, which has shifted in composition to pavement cafes and souvenir kiosks.
La Rambla can be considered a series of shorter streets, each differently named, hence the plural form Les Rambles ( original Catalan form; in Spanish it is Las Ramblas).
To the north of La Rambla lies Plaça de Catalunya, a large square in central Barcelona that is generally considered to be both Barcelona's city center and the place where the old city and the 19th century-built Eixample converge.
To the east of La Rambla is the Barri Gòtic or Gothic Quarter, the heart of the old city of Barcelona. The Barri Gòtic retains a labyrinthine street plan, with small squares and streets, many of which connect onto the Rambla. One of the larger of these squares is the Plaça Reial, a lively 19th century square with tall palm trees and street lamps designed by Antoni Gaudí, which opens down a short entrance passage off the Rambla dels Caputxins. Further into the Barri Gòtic can be found the Cathedral of Santa Eulàlia and the Plaça Sant Jaume that houses the buildings of the Generalitat of Catalonia and Barcelona's City Council.
To the west of La Rambla is the rather different El Raval quarter. Outside the city's earliest walls, this area was originally the site of various religious and medical institutions. Later factories grew up along with housing for the workers, whilst the proximity to the port led to the area becoming known for its nightlife and clubs, as well as prostitution and crime. Today the area still retains a degree of 'edge', but it also home to several important buildings, including Gaudí's Palau Güell, which is only a few steps down the Carrer Nou de la Rambla from the Rambla dels Caputxins.
At the southern end of the Rambla is the Christopher Columbus Monument and the Port Vell, the old port of Barcelona, now largely given over to pleasure craft. Near to the port end of the Rambla are the Royal Dockyards (Catalan: Drassanes), which house a maritime museum specifically devoted to naval history in the Mediterranean.
Extensions at either end of the Rambla also carry the name Rambla, but are not normally considered part of La Rambla itself. To the north, the Rambla de Catalunya extends into the Eixample district. To the south, construction of the Maremàgnum in the early 1990s resulted in a continuation of La Rambla on a wooden walkway into the Rambla de Mar harbor.
Sights
The tree-lined central promenade of La Rambla is crowded during the day until late in the night. Its origins as a watercourse are reflected in the paving design, which appears to ripple like water. Along the promenade's length are kiosks that sell newspapers, souvenirs and flowers, street traders, performers, and pavement cafes and bars. Several notable sights are also located within the promenade, including a mosaic by Joan Miró and the Font de Canaletes, a fountain and popular meeting point.
Along la Rambla are historic buildings such as the Palace of the Virreina and the Liceu Theater (Spanish: Liceo), in which operas and ballets are staged. The La Boqueria market opens off la Rambla and is one of the city's foremost tourist landmarks, housing a very diverse selection of food.
One of the side streets, leads to the Royal Square (Plaça Reial), a plaza with palm trees and porticoed buildings containing many pubs and restaurants, and where stamp and coin collectors gather on the weekends.
Culture
The Rambla is the location for several of Barcelona's cultural establishments, including:
the Gran Teatre del Liceu, or simply Liceu, is Barcelona's opera house, opened in 1847.
the Teatre Principal, is the oldest theater in Barcelona, founded in 1568 and subsequently rebuilt several times since.
the Centre d'Art Santa Mònica is a public museum of contemporary art located on the Raval side of Rambla de Santa Mònica, with regular exhibitions of international artists.
the Palau de la Virreina, a Baroque palace, hosts museum exhibitions and cultural events.
In the Pla de l'Os can be found a pavement mosaic created in 1971 by the famed artist Joan Miró.

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