Barcelona Guide
Barri Gòtic
Plaça de la Seu
The cathedral square, Plaça de la Seu, is a regular weekly venue for the dancing of the sardana, the Catalan national dance (every Sat at 6pm, Easter to Nov). Anyone can join in. Meanwhile, in front of the cathedral, the wide, pedestrianized Avinguda de la Catedral hosts an antiques market every Thursday, and a Christmas craft fair every December.
Stand back to look at the cathedral buildings and it's easy to see the line of fortified Roman towers that stood originally on this spot, before being incorporated into the later medieval buildings. One such tower formed part of the cathedral almshouse (La Pia Almoina), now the Museu Diocesà, with exhibition space spread across four floors, and with views over the cathedral square from the top. The impressive permanent collection is of religious art, artefacts and church treasures from around Barcelona, notably a series of frescoes of the Apocalypse (1122 AD) from Sant Salvador in Polinyà and a series of graphic retables, including one of St Bartholomew being skinned alive.
On the other flank of the cathedral are two more late-medieval buildings closely associated with it. The Casa de l'Ardiaca (once the archdeacon's residence, now the city archives) encloses a tiny cloistered and tiled courtyard with a small fountain. To the right of the badly worn Renaissance gateway on c/de Santa Llúcia look for the curious carved swallow-and-tortoise postbox. The Palau Episcopal, just beyond at the western end of c/de Santa Llúcia, was the bishop's palace and built on a grander scale altogether. Though you're not allowed inside, you can go as far as the courtyard to see the fine outdoor stairway; there's a patio at the top with Romanesque wall paintings.