Barcelona is planning to remake La Rambla, the shaded thoroughfare through the heart of Barcelona’s old city, as a cultural hub for local residents, taking advantage of the pandemic-induced absence of the crowds that made it almost an icon for the idea of ‘over-tourism.’
Jordi Rabassa, City Councillor for the Ciutat Vella, or Old City, told press that “The crisis has exposed the weakness of a model based on one economic sector, tourism. La Rambla is the centre of this economic monoculture, and we’re working towards bringing local people back to the city’s most emblematic street.”
In recent years, the mile-long strip from Placa Catalunya to the Columbus Monument, has been an endless run of souvenir-hawkers, packed crowds and yes, pickpockets. But it is also home to several theatres and a world-class opera house, and their ranks are to be joined by a re-opened Teatro Principal, which closed in 2006, after 403 years. Local businesspeople have raised funds to restore it as a multi-function performance space.
