Landmarks · Barcelona
Plaça de Sant Jaume
Catalonia's government and Barcelona's city hall, face to face.
Admission and address
- Address
- Plaça de Sant Jaume
- Admission
- Free, open at all hours, no ticket. The square holds the seat of the Catalan government, in the Palau de la Generalitat on one side, and the city council, in the Ajuntament opposite. Both are working government buildings and neither is open to casual visitors; each admits the public only on a small number of announced open days, listed on their own sites, so do not build a day around getting inside. The square itself is the point, standing where the Roman crossroads did. It is also the standard endpoint for demonstrations and the setting for human tower displays at city festivals, so on those days expect it full and the streets around it closed to traffic.
- Category
- Landmarks
- Coordinates
41.38282, 2.17710
Where it is
Walk it with the guide
Plaça de Sant Jaume is one of 24 stops on Barcelona Essentials. The guide adds the story behind it, the detail worth crossing the square for, and the tip that only someone who has stood here would write down.
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Nearby on the same walk
- Barcelona CathedralTicketed
A Gothic cathedral guarded by thirteen white geese.
- Plaça del ReiFree
The medieval royal courtyard, with a Roman city buried beneath it.
- Plaça ReialFree
The one square in the old town with four matching sides — and two Gaudí lamps.
- La RamblaFree
The tree-lined promenade laid over a dried riverbed, running down to the sea.