Gothic Quarter

The Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia, built between 1298 and 1448 in Catalan Gothic style, though the neo-Gothic facade dates to 1888. Dedicated to Saint Eulalia, Barcelona's co-patron saint, a 13-year-old martyr subjected to 13 tortures by the Romans in 304 AD. Her alabaster sarcophagus lies in the crypt. The cloister houses 13 white geese — one for each year of Eulalia's life. The rooftop terrace offers intimate views over the Gothic Quarter's medieval rooftops.

The cloister with the geese is free to visit and most tourists walk right past it. On Sunday mornings, locals dance the sardana (Catalan folk dance) in the square outside.

Barcelona's oldest neighborhood, built over the Roman colony of Barcino founded in the 1st century BC. Narrow medieval streets wind between buildings dating from the 13th to 15th centuries. The Placa del Rei was the royal residence of the Counts of Barcelona and where Ferdinand and Isabella reportedly received Columbus after his first voyage in 1493. Below the streets, the MUHBA museum preserves an extensive Roman archaeological site including a fish-sauce factory and laundry. Many 'medieval' facades actually date to a 1920s renovation.

Carrer del Bisbe's photogenic Gothic bridge is actually from 1928, not medieval. The real medieval treasure is the tiny Placa de Sant Felip Neri with its Civil War shrapnel scars.