About this place
Hidden behind an archway off the Rambla, the Plaça Reial is one of the most elegant and lively squares in Barcelona. Laid out in the mid-nineteenth century on the site of a demolished convent, it is a perfectly uniform rectangle of honey-coloured neoclassical buildings, their ground floors wrapped in a shady arcade. Tall palm trees sway around a central fountain of the Three Graces. The square's special claim to fame stands on either side of the fountain: two ornate lampposts, crowned with winged helmets and coiling serpents, which were among the very first public commissions of a young architect named Antoni Gaudí, the genius who would go on to design the Sagrada Família. Today the square buzzes with restaurants, bars and music, a favourite meeting place by day and night.
Key facts
- 1848 year — The square was built on the site of a demolished Capuchin convent
- 2 lampposts — Ornate lamps in the square were early works of a young Antoni Gaudí
- 1879 year — Gaudí completed his lamppost design here, one of his first public commissions
📍 Carrer de Colom, 08002, Barcelona