"El Born" means tournament, referring to medieval jousts held there, and is a barrio now again getting people's attention. Nestled within this part of the lower Barri Gòtic, one will find not only the new library project, which has yielded the old Barri de la Ribera excavation, but also a number of architectural and historical treasures. Chief among these is the Santa María del Mar church, a complicated gothic masterpiece, unique and surprising for its location, nested in a maze of medieval pathways.

Barri Gòtic, Barcelona

For the historically inclined, there is a fascinating archaeological excavation under the El Born market, which has uncovered the old Ribera neighborhood, demolished between 1716 and 1718 to make way for a grand citadel, to secure the city. The dig sheds light on a long arc of Barcelona history, having so far revealed 8,000 sq. meters of the lost Ribera barrio. The ruins are open to the public, as of May 2004. The Mercado del Born itself will be converted into a library, and a cultural center is due to open in 2006.

Some will say it's the stroll that best presents the Barri Gòtic, and so the Ribera and Born neighborhoods, to the visitor. Walk along cozy passageways, traced by centuries of footsteps and daily happenings, stop for tapas, una copa, un café or a North African dish, at one of the terrazas that burst into the street. Some will go there for champagne, for long afternoon talks, or to get a glimpse of the past.

El Born and the Barri Gòtic encapsulate what was once the thriving city itself, the enclosed, crowded marketplace, bustling with Mediterranean wares and inland foodstuffs, wary of outsiders but cosmopolitan even in feudal times, to the extent that is was useful, of course. While various barrios seem to overlap in this district, there is a wealth of textured and unexpected scenery to experience, ranging from the ancient to the medieval, even to the modernist flare of Picasso, right at the heart of it all, on the Carrer Montcada.

Walking inland, or uptown along the Vía Laietana, one passes from an array of tangled alleyways with ancient origins to a more modern urban landscape, passing the Cathedral, the Roman walls, and the indescribable Palau de la Música Catalana, all before reaching the crux of consumerist Barcelona, the landmark Corte Inglés, on the Plaça Catalunya. From there, the city spills into its 19th Century Eixample, or expansion, and one's time travel becomes less vertiginous.

If anything is to be learned by strolling the Barri Gòtic, the cobbled labyrinth of El Born/La Ribera, it's that Barcelona is a city to be discovered on foot, with small but welcome gems popping up unexpectedly, hidden away in nondescript corners, always eager to ease the traveler's thirst for ambience.