Exiample was another one of our field trips and is home to the prettiest buildings in the city, from what I have seen. It is pretty centrally located in between the Gothic Quarter and Gracia but also a very safe area compared to the more touristy areas near La Rambla.
It is much larger than El Raval with about 267,000 people in it’s population with many of that population being Asian. It is constructed in a grid pattern which is helpful to me because I am familiar with a similar pattern after living in New York City. The grid was intended by Cerdá to be ideal for more space between buildings and more parking.
This became a higher class neighborhood for what was intended to be a mix of every class. Cerdá thought of everything necessary for the area: many markets, schools and hospitals still exist here.
On our field trip we walked up Passeig de Gracia observing all the artictecturhe of the newer city. I love this architecture because of it’s attention to detail and beautiful designs. Many buildings incorporated religious figures on the outsides of their buildings which was very interesting to me as well. We went inside the lobby of Casa Batlló and saw the beautiful designs even inside the buildings as well.
Barcelona Past and Present 