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Barcelona offers a wide range of interesting options all year round and opens its doors to everyone. Make the most of the sunshine to go for a stroll and take a dip in the sea on one of the city’s accessible beaches. Experience Gaudí’s nature with your hands, add a sign-language tour or an audiodescribed show to your plans… Do you need any more ideas? You’ll find them with the SEARCH FACILITY or on the SUMMARY for accessible places of interest!

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Plaça Sant Jaume

Plaça Sant Jaume

The Plaça Sant Jaume has been the city's political centre almost since its inception. Today the Plaça Sant Jaume is an open space, a "lung" in the middle of the Gothic Quarter. The square is the site of the most important buildings in the lives of Barcelona and Catalonia: City Hall and the Palau de la Generalitat.

The current appearance of the Plaça Sant Jaume dates from 1823, a period when it was remodelled and renamed the Plaça de la Constitució. The new shopping street, the Carrer Ferran, was built at the same time and a space that had previously been small and crammed with buildings was opened out. Indeed, before this, the square had been a small area that had grown at random, and the site of the church of Sant Jaume with its cemetery. After the houses were demolished and the church was moved to Carrer Ferran, Barcelona's new political heart was created. Two imposing buildings flank the square: on one side, the Palau de la Generalitat, the seat of the Catalan Government, and on the other, Barcelona City Hall.

Both institutions existed in medieval times and are still responsible for governing the lives of Catalans and the people of Barcelona. The location of both buildings is no chance occurrence. The Plaça Sant Jaume is located at the place where the main streets of Roman Barcino converged, the Cardus (now Carrer de la Llibreteria and Carrer Call), and the Decumanus (now Carrer Ciutat and Carrer del Bisbe). This was the Roman forum, the centre of the Roman city where the Temple of Augustus once stood, the remains of which can still be admired in the neighbouring Carrer Paradís.

General details


Address: Plaça Sant Jaume (08002). Barcelona
Opening time: A consultar.

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Accessibility details


The Plaça Sant Jaume is a wide, open space, free of obstacles and architectural barriers.

This square is the starting point for the accessible guided tour Easy Walking Tour Gòtic (Gothic quarter)
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The surface of the square is a combination of setts and marble strips, making it easy for wheelchair users to pass through with relative ease. However, it is important to bear in mind that the square is right in the centre of the old town, where some of the streets are slightly sloping or have uneven surfaces.

There are two metro stations nearby: Jaume I (L4) right by Via Laietana, and Liceu (L3) on La Rambla. Both stations are wheelchair accessible.

Last update: 30/10/2023

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