What to do in El Born
El Born can be read in its street names: Sombrerers, Argenteria, Vidrieria are the trades that were practised there six hundred years ago. It is a place to walk without a map, through lanes that open onto Santa Maria del Mar, and to look into the old market, which stopped being one in 1971 and now shows the neighbourhood buried underneath. If you have a few hours, this is somewhere to walk slowly and step into whatever turns up.
At Waltru we use El Born as a practical name for exploring what is on in Sant Pere, Santa Caterina i la Ribera, one of the four neighbourhoods of Ciutat Vella.
Standing out this week: exhibitions and courses
Where to start
- 'Painting and Drawing' Workshop — Cercle Artístic de Sant Lluc
- 'Mirades de Gegant, 110 anys dels Gegants de Sant Roc de la Plaça Nova' Exhibition — La Casa dels Entremesos-Centre de Producció i Difusió de Cultura Popular Tradicional de Barcelona
- 'The Invention of Time' Exhibition — Centre Martorell d’Exposicions
What's on today
- 'Barcelona i el cel: globus, aeroplans i fotografia' Exhibition — Sala d'Exposicions
- "the New FuTure" Exhibition — MOCO Museum
- 'Illustration' Workshop — Cercle Artístic de Sant Lluc
- Exhibition "Contemporary Figurative Art" — Museu Europeu d'Art Modern
- 'The House of Sand' Exhibition by Guillermo Lorca — Museu Europeu d'Art Modern
This weekend
- Antifascist Varieties Exhibition — Centre de les Arts Lliures
- 'The Entrance to a Forest' Exhibition — Centre de les Arts Lliures
- "Saturday Classics" Concert Series — Museu Europeu d'Art Modern
- "Friday Blues" Concert Series — Museu Europeu d'Art Modern
- Club dels llunàtics i llunàtiques Discussion Series — Hivernacle
- Lecture Series 'Camins del món. Viatges, sabers i connexions' — Museu Etnològic i de Cultures del Món *c. Montcada
- 9th Edition of the 'Zero3. Acomiadem l'estiu al Casc Antic' Series — Biblioteca Francesca Bonnemaison, Centre Cívic Convent Sant Agustí, Arxiu Fotogràfic i Centre Cultural Euskal Etxea de Barcelona
- 437th Sant Roc Festivities — La Casa dels Entremesos-Centre de Producció i Difusió de Cultura Popular Tradicional de Barcelona
Coming up
- 'Mixed-media Urban Sketching' Workshop — 10 September 2026 · Cercle Artístic de Sant Lluc
- "Ryan Adams" Concert — 13 October 2026 · Palau de la Música Catalana
- Concert "Cantúria Cantada" by Carles Santos — 3 December 2026 · Petit Palau
- Extraordinary Concerts — 28 September 2026 · Palau de la Música Catalana
- 'Introduction to Intaglio Printmaking (Etching and Sugar Aquatint)' Workshop — 1 October 2026 · Cercle Artístic de Sant Lluc
- 21st International Putxinel·lis Festival — 9 October 2026 · La Puntual. Putxinel.lis de Barcelona
- Show "El futuro como trabajo escénico" by Sofía Asencio Aznar — 17 October 2026 · Teatre
- 'Marta Povo. The Poetics of Light' Exhibition — 26 November 2026 · Sala d'Exposicions
See the neighbourhood's full programme
While you are here
If you are spending a few hours in el Born, these places are worth discovering too.
- Moco Museum
- Casa dels Entremesos
- Museum of World Cultures
Waltru can combine them with the plan you already picked and help you decide what to do before or after. Complete my plan in Waltru
Get to know El Born
From medieval guilds to the 1714 dig, in three steps.
This was the quarter of the guilds and of medieval sea trade: its street names —Sombrerers, Argenteria, Vidrieria— are still the trades once practised there.
Santa Maria del Mar was raised in the 14th century by the neighbourhood's own residents, and is the purest example of Catalan Gothic.
The old Born market closed in 1971 and is now an archaeological site: under its floor lies the Ribera quarter razed in 1714 to build the Ciutadella fortress.
What its programme is like
- A programme mostly in the evening Most of the activity happens in the evening: 66%.
- Mostly music and courses Music and courses account for 88% of what happens in the area.
- Spread across many venues 23 venues with a programme of their own.
- 25% of what is scheduled here is free.
- Within Ciutat Vella, it ranks 2nd of 4 by volume.
- 165 events scheduled in the area over the measured period.
Based on 165 events between 2026-06-10 and 2027-09-08.
Venues with a programme: Palau de la Música Catalana · Centre Cívic Convent de Sant Agustí · La Casa dels Entremesos-Centre de Producció i Difusió de Cultura Popular Tradicional de Barcelona · La Puntual. Putxinel.lis de Barcelona · Cercle Artístic de Sant Lluc · Museu Europeu d'Art Modern · Passeig dels Til·lers - Parc de la Ciutadella · Carrer del Comerç
Neighbourhoods next door: Gothic Quarter · El Raval · La Barceloneta · Eixample