Barcelona Guide
Sant Pere
Mercat Santa Caterina
Opening time: Mon 8am–2pm, Tues, Wed & Sat 8am–3.30pm, Thurs & Fri 8am–8.30pm
Telephone: 933 195 740
Website: www.mercatsantacaterina.net
At the very heart of Sant Pere is the Mercat Santa Caterina, whose splendid restoration has retained its original nineteenth-century balustraded market walls and added slatted wooden doors and windows and a dramatic multicoloured wave roof. During the renovation work, the foundations of a major medieval convent were discovered on the site – parts of the medieval walls are visible behind glass at the rear of the market. Santa Caterina is one of the best places in the city to come and shop for food, and its market restaurant and bar are definitely worth a special visit in any case.
Just to the north, the three old main streets, carrers de Sant Pere Més Baix (lower), Mitja (middle) and Alt (upper), contain the bulk of the district's finest medieval buildings and the nicest shops. They converge to the east at Plaça de Sant Pere, site of the much-restored church of Sant Pere de les Puelles, one of the oldest in the city, rebuilt in 1147 on tenth-century foundations. It's been destroyed and burned too many times since to retain any interior interest, and the high-walled facade – although it looks medieval – is a twentieth-century renovation.