Barcelona Guide
The Ramblas
Rambla Canaletes and Estudis
Heading down from Plaça de Catalunya, the first two stretches of the Ramblas are Rambla Canaletes, with its iron fountain (a drink from which supposedly means you'll never leave Barcelona), and Rambla Estudis, named after the university (L'Estudi General) that was sited here until the beginning of the eighteenth century. This part is also known locally as Rambla dels Ocells, as it contains a bird market, the little captives squawking away from a line of cages on either side of the street.
It seems hard to believe, but this part of the Ramblas became a combat zone during the Spanish Civil War as the city erupted into factionalism. George Orwell was caught in the crossfire between the Café Moka – the current café of the same name is a modern replacement – and the Poliorama cinema, now the TeatroPoliorama. This was built in 1863 as the Royal Academy of Science and Arts, and restored as a theatre in 1985.