About this experience
Raval is the most sinister yet at the same time the most captivating district of Barcelona. It's not just about walking through it, it's about absorbing it - seeing, hearing, smelling the local scents. And finally, it's about touching it. Through tactile sensations, we gain additional information about an object. I offer a 'touching' tour of Raval. In two hours, you will be able to touch the most iconic things in this district.
Raval
Once located outside the city wall, it was a place where those who were not allowed into the city stopped - robbers, thieves, the sick, the lepers. Later, in the 18th-19th centuries, sailors from trade ships that docked at the local port liked to spend time here.
Raval turned into a gathering place for prostitutes, drug dealers, whole gangs of robbers were constantly hanging around here. Serial killers lived here. Informal youth liked to party here. The rebellious spirit of Raval attracted the attention of creative people - poets, artists, writers. This district was loved to be visited by Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso, Antoni Gaudi, Salvador Dali...
Program
Our route will start from the top of the famous Las Ramblas, where the Canaletes fountain stands. According to legend, it captivates those who dare to draw water from it and drink it. Then we will touch the wall of the former brothel, which Picasso himself often visited. Now, one of the world's best bars is housed in this building.
We will see the building that housed a shelter for abandoned children for many years. There is still a window through which women handed over their babies to the care of the state. We will touch the very door through which tens of thousands of mothers knocked to get rid of their children.
We will walk around the temple, inside of which Napoleon set up a hospital for his wounded soldiers, and lean against the door that this French conqueror leaned against many times. We will touch an ancient American typewriter, on which girls from the local shelter were taught to work two centuries ago. We will also walk up the stairs that King of Spain Carlos IV walked on, who organized the House of Mercy in Barcelona. On the way, we will look at the 'Mirror of Barcelona' - one of the most unusual modern buildings.
We will peek into the windows of the apartment and lean against the wall of the house where the 'Barcelona vampire' lived and drank blood for many years. I will tell you all the most interesting things about these places. I can't fit all of our plans into the description, but I will also add that we will sit at that same table in one of the local bars, at which Ernest Hemingway loved to write his stories. Right there, Pablo Picasso, Garcia Lorca, Salvador Dali repeatedly drank absinthe. And Woody Allen shot a scene for his film 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona' here.
