Plaça del Rei: The Medieval Court of the Kings of Aragon

Why is it significant?

Step into the echoing stone enclosure of Plaça del Rei, completely surrounded by imposing medieval walls of honey-colored sandstone. This secluded square was the ceremonial heart of the Palau Reial Major, the royal palace of the Counts of Barcelona and Kings of the Crown of Aragon.

Key Facts

Open the walk

Step into the echoing stone enclosure of Plaça del Rei, completely surrounded by imposing medieval walls of honey-colored sandstone. This secluded square was the ceremonial heart of the Palau Reial Major, the royal palace of the Counts of Barcelona and Kings of the Crown of Aragon.

Look at the monumental semi-circular fan of stone stairs leading up to the corner entrance: on these very steps in April fourteen ninety-three, Queen Isabella of Castile and King Ferdinand of Aragon formally welcomed Christopher Columbus upon his return from his first voyage across the Atlantic, receiving the gifts of gold, parrots, and indigenous captives he brought back from the Caribbean.

Look up at the delicate, multi-tiered five-story stone watchtower rising into the sky: this is the Mirador del Rei Martí, built in fifteen fifty-five. Directly beneath the paving stones lies the subterranean archaeological excavation of Roman Barcino, where you can walk among the ruins of ancient dye shops and wine-making vats from two thousand years ago.

Slip through the narrow archway into the shadowy lanes of El Call, the medieval Jewish Quarter.