58 / 344
56
The most renowned part of the cathedral is its magnificent fourteenth-
century
cloister
, which looks over a lush tropical garden complete with soaring
palm trees and – more unusually – a gaggle of honking geese. If they disturb the
tranquillity of the scene, they do so for a purpose: white geese have been kept
here for over five hundred years, either (depending on which story you believe)
to reflect the virginity of Santa Eulàlia, or as a reminder of the erstwhile Roman
splendour of Barcelona, as geese were kept on the Capitoline Hill in Rome.
Finally, don’t leave the cathedral without ascending to the
roof
(Mon–Fri
10.30am–12.30pm & 5.15–6.30pm, Sat 10.30am–12.30pm; €2.20) – the lift
(
ascensor als terrats
) is just to the left of the crypt steps – which provides intimate
views of the cathedral towers and surrounding Gothic buildings and spires. It’s
by no means the highest view in town, but nowhere else do you feel so at the
heart of medieval Barcelona.
La Seu
BARRI GÒTIC
|
La Seu