Ciutat Vella

Ciutat Vella ("old city") is District 1 of Barcelona. It roughly covers the area inside the medieval walls plus La Barceloneta, and is bordered by Sants-Montjuïc, the Eixample, Sant Martí and the Mediterranean. It is divided into four neighbourhoods: El Raval, El Gòtic, La Barceloneta and Sant Pere, Santa Caterina i la Ribera. La Rambla runs through the district, separating El Raval from the other neighbourhoods.

The district covers about 4.4 km² and had about 109,700 residents in 2021, making it one of the most densely populated parts of the city (about 25,100 people per km²). El Raval is its largest and densest neighbourhood.

• El Gòtic holds the cathedral and many of the city's civic buildings, and is among the most visited parts of Barcelona; La Rambla is one of the city's most heavily walked streets.
• La Ribera and El Born grew as a medieval merchant and maritime quarter around the 14th-century church of Santa Maria del Mar and the Museu Picasso; independent shops and bars cluster here.
• El Raval hosts the Contemporary Art Museum (MACBA) and the Filmoteca de Catalunya.
• La Barceloneta was a working-class fishing and dock neighbourhood that became a sea-bathing destination in the 19th century and was redeveloped for the 1992 Olympics.

• Metro L3 (green) runs under La Rambla with stations at Catalunya, Liceu and Drassanes, continuing to Paral·lel.
• Metro L4 (yellow) stops at Urquinaona, Jaume I, Barceloneta and Ciutadella-Vila Olímpica.
• Metro L1 (red) serves Catalunya and Urquinaona on the district's edge; Catalunya is also served by FGC lines L6 and L7.
• Tram T4 starts at Ciutadella-Vila Olímpica.

As the district covers the city's oldest neighbourhoods, much of the housing is in older buildings on narrow streets. Barcelona's rent caps for stressed housing markets apply here as in the rest of the city; check the previous rent and reference index before signing (see our tenant rights guide). We do not cite a district-level rent figure.

The district is dense, with few large green spaces inside it; families use the Parc de la Ciutadella on the edge of El Born and the beaches of La Barceloneta. Public schools and nursery places are allocated by address through the city's admission system.