Boqueria Market on La Rambla, one of the best markets in Europe, is the oldest and most complete food market in Barcelona. They offer fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, cheese, nuts and thousands of other products in open stalls beneath an ornate metal and glass roof/covering dating from 1914. Sample a chocolate truffle here, a fruit smoothie there, or stock up with provisions for a picnic in nearby Placa Catalunya. Open Monday to Saturday, 8am to 8.30pm

The old harbor stretches from the Columbus Monument at the end of La Rambla, to the Barceloneta, has an Imax cinema, the Aquarium and the Maremàgnum shops and performance spaces, among other attractions. At the 14th-century medieval shipyards, (the Drassanes Reials) is Barcelona’s Museu Marítim, and at the waterfront is the 1918 schooner, the Pailebot Santa Eulàlia, named for Barcelona’s co-patron saint. This is also the departure point for the "Golondrines" -the pleasure boats which ply the waters of Port Vell. The Columbus Monument dating from the Universal Exhibition of 1888, has a gallery with views of the sea and La Rambla from heights of 60 meters.