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Barcelona · Mysteries & legends

Hidden Barcelona: skulls, martyrs and stone faces

A skull under a bridge, a square scarred by shrapnel, a barrel of broken glass, a vanished Jewish quarter and a stone face watching a street corner. True stories and legends, each in its place.

  • 6 stops
  • 1.3 km
  • 1 h 30 min
  • Free
Start with GPS Read about this stop 1
The neo-Gothic bridge over Carrer del Bisbe

The route

Stop by stop

  1. 1 The Carrer del Bisbe BridgeIt looks medieval, it's less than a hundred years old and, so the story goes, it hides a skull pierced by a dagger.
  2. 2 Plaça de Sant Felip NeriThe quietest square in the quarter still bears the scars of a bomb that killed dozens of children.
  3. 3 Baixada de Santa EulàliaA short slope and a small niche that recall Barcelona's most famous martyrdom.
  4. 4 El Call, Barcelona's Jewish QuarterA stone with Hebrew letters on a corner is almost all that remains in sight of a community wiped out in 1391.
  5. 5 Plaça del ReiOn these steps a peasant tried to kill King Ferdinand, and tradition places Columbus's triumphant return here.
  6. 6 La Carassa of Carrer dels MirallersA stone face with wide-open eyes that, so they say, pointed the way to a brothel.

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Start with GPS

Guide mode

Walk it with GPS.

Open guide mode on your phone: you’ll see your position and the distance to each stop, and we’ll let you know when you arrive. Then read or listen.

Start with GPS

  1. Turn on your location

  2. Walk to the spot

  3. Check the photo and listen

What you’ll discover

Hidden Barcelona: skulls, martyrs and stone faces

Legends with an address

Every story is tied to a bridge, a corner or a façade you can see for yourself.

Records and tradition

We clearly separate what the sources say from what popular memory tells.

Hidden details

Skulls, Hebrew inscriptions and stone heads that most people walk straight past.

Keep exploring

More routes in Barcelona

Back to Barcelona
HistoryFrom Barcino to the Crown of Aragon EssentialsEssential Barcelona: from La Rambla to the Sagrada Família