Between the business area located below Diagonal Avenue and the Montjuic Mountain, there is one of the most popular neighbourhoods of Barcelona. We are talking about Sants Neighbourhood, known for its commercial life and for constituting one of the main accesses to the City of Barcelona.
The huge and lively commercial route that joins the different areas of Sants Neighbourhood is also what all of them have in common. Several places such as Sants itself, Hostafrancs, La Bordeta or Badal are communicated by Sants Street and Creu Coberta Street.
The railway service seems to divide Sants Neighbourhood into two. However, that fact is far from affecting the area; on the contrary, it has attracted people from both sides of the City of Barcelona.
Connected to l’Hospitalet de Llobregat by Riera Blanca Street, to Les Corts by Madrid Avenue and to l’Eixample by Tarragona Street and Josep Tarradellas Avenue, Sants Neighbourhood has not always been recognized for its diversity, mirrored in the coming and going of those who live by the main street and the peace of the interior areas of the neighbourhood.
You can find little streets where parties are held and neighbourhood life with markets and single-family houses, which make Sants seem part of a little town more than a big city like Barcelona.
Sants is multifaceted and is proud to be a popular neighbourhood!
The heart of the neighbourhood
Sants itself is known to be the most important spot of all the neighbourhood. It is also the most extense and populous area of all Sants-Montjuic district.
It is named after the old entrance path to the city, built at the end of the XVIII century and extended later on by Ildefons Cerdà when he built Avenida Paralelo. However, Sants Neighbourhood best moment was during the first half of the XIX century, when the railway service was built and a number of stores were opened on Sants Street.
The history of Sants is half a century long, with a fresh beginning in 1897, when Sants became part of the City of Barcelona. The massive arrival of visitors and new residents made Sants a modern neighbourhood, although its past industrial nature still persists.
Sants is still a labour core and has always lived together with the European most important commercial route (Creu Coberta-Calle de Sants). It is also located just some blocks away from two well-known tourist attractions, Fira de Barcelona and Montjuic mountain.
The great commercial activity of the neighbourhood, especially considering Les Arenes Shopping Centre, and the modernization of Sants Station after the the arrival of AVE service, have revitalized the area during this century, a process that still has a long way to go.
Hostafrancs Neighbourhood
Between Gran Via Avenue and Sants Street, not so far away from Plaza España, we can find Hostafrancs, a neighbourhood that used to offer services to the labour force of the old industrial Sants during the mid XIX century.
A great number of workers used to live around Creu Coberta Street and Hostafrancs Market, and were frequent clients of the stores of the area. There used to be means of transport connecting the neighbourhood directly to the City of Barcelona, such as a horse tram in 1875 and an electric tram in 1904.
The streets surrounding Hostafrancs Market are worth visiting. We can explore them little by little, fon instance, visiting El Rebost d’en Triadó (C/Rector Triadó, 8) and Bodega Monumental (C/ Creu Coberta, 87). We can also unveil its “inner art” by visiting Cucut Biz Bar (C/Vilardell, 23) and Zumzeig Cinema (C/ Béjar, 53).
La Bordeta Neighbourhood
La Bordeta Neighbourhood is surrounded by Hostafrancs Neighbourhood and l’Hospitalet de Llobregat.
In its northern area, La Bordeta´s strong feature is represented by Sants Street, where the recently restored Mercat de Sants is erected.
However, the largest industrial building of the area is the old factory Can Batlló, a group of little businesses and workshops from mid 20th century that is experiencing a new phase nowadays. It is expected to welcome a new future due to the renewal of its central area, open to the public, and the building of new stores.
Not so far away from Can Batlló, Sant Medir church is considered to be the main cultural and social spot of La Bordeta. Its activity together with the urban development of the nearby Plaza Cerdá have made the neighbourhood considerably grow.
Sants-Badal Neighbourhood
On the other side of Sants, right next to Eixample and Paralelo, the neighbourhood has another special area called Sants-Badal.
Located next to CollBlanc Neighbourhood (l’Hospitalet de Llobregat) and bordered by Riera Blanca Street, Sants-Badal Neighbourhood is named after the boulevard that runs from one of its sides to the other, that is, Rambla Badal.
Rambla Badal runs above Ronda del Mig, joining Les Corts and Diagonal Avenue with “Plaza Cerdá” and Gran Via. The route breaks the communication barriers of Sants Neighbourhood and helps making it more dynamic.
We can see Sants´dynamic environment and make the best of it if we walk along its streets, on which there are excellent stores, authentic in the neighbourhood. For example, Tenor Massini Street, with seafood restaurants (Cantabria (C/ Tenor Massini, 96)), local gastronomy (Blau (C/ Tenor Massini, 61)) and the so-called Tapas (El Practic (C/Tenor Massini, 20)).
Sants Neighbourhood is a popular place for those who would like to enjoy the other side of the City of Barcelona.
This is Sants. A popular and lively neighbourhood!
