La Diagonal

Av Diagonal, 629

Travelling the 11 kilometres of Avinguda de la Diagonal is to take a tour through Barcelona’s incredibly diverse architecture: here masterpieces of modernism, rationalism and most innovative contemporary architecture come together. The promenade is full of shops, good restaurants and venues offering entertainment. From the buildings at the top of Diagonal you can clearly make out the sea.

An imposing avenue

This long, wide avenue flows down to the sea from one of the most splendid parks of the city, Parc de Cervantes. Here it begins next to Zona Universitària, the urban campus from the 1960s. Before arriving in the residential area, presided over by towering apartment blocks, we find the Palau Reial, the royal palace, surrounded by lush gardens. “La Diagonal”, as it is known, crosses L’Eixample: the stretch around Carrer de Sardenya is one of the city’s most important commercial hubs with shopping centres, restaurants, entertainment venues and exclusive hotels. Here there is a concentration of spectacular buildings, with Modernista gems including Casa de les Punxes, a Gothic-inspired block designed by Puig i Cadafalch; Palau del Baró de Quadras, and Casa Serra, by the same architect; and Casa Sayrach.

The new diagonal

From Plaça de les Glòries, presided over by the towering Torre Agbar, by architect Jean Nouvel, to the Fòrum, the city’s most modern neighbourhood and one end of La Diagonal, the avenue crosses the Poblenou neighbourhood, where its factory past can still be seen, and the 22@ technology district, with imposing avant-garde buildings that house innovative companies in the sector.