Plaça del Rei

Plaça del Rei sits at the core of Barcelona's Roman and medieval city, enclosed by the Palau Reial Major, the former residence of the Counts of Barcelona and later the Crown of Aragon, along with its grand Gothic hall, the Saló del Tinell. Tradition holds that it was here, on the palace steps, that Ferdinand and Isabella received Christopher Columbus after his first voyage in 1493, though the story's exact details are debated by historians. Reviewers describe it as an unexpectedly calm, almost empty pocket of the old city, especially compared to the crowds a few streets over on La Rambla. It's a short, free stop best combined with the adjoining City History Museum, which extends underground into excavated Roman ruins beneath the square.