Poblenou: textile mills of Pere IV to the Rambla and the old cemetery: a walk in Barcelona

Poblenou's textile past in one walk: a factory turned art museum, the Can Ricart print-works on the old Mataro road (Pere IV), the Ca l'Alier mill now used for urban innovation, then down the Rambla del Poblenou past the 1869 Alianca social club to the cemetery Bishop Climent opened in 1775.

Best time: Weekday late morning or Saturday, ending on the Rambla for lunch

The route, stop by stop

1
Museu Can Framis
Carrer de Roc Boronat 124-126 (block with Sancho de Avila and Llacuna): Fundacio Vila Casas museum of contemporary Catalan painting (opened 2009) inside the old Can Framis factory; the factory chimney still stands and Jaume Plensa's 'Dell'Arte' sculpture faces the entrance. 10 min outside, 60 min inside.
The Fundació Vila Casas shows about 300 works by Catalan painters from the 1960s to today in a late-18th-century Poblenou factory, rebuilt by BAAS Arquitectes in the middle of…
2
Can Ricart
Textile print-works founded by Jaume Ricart from 1853 beside the Mataro road (now Carrer de Pere IV); Josep Fontsere later added the clock tower. A listed national monument covering the equivalent of four Cerda blocks of sheds, streets and yards. 15 min.
3
Ca l'Alier
Pere IV 362-364: printed-cotton (indiana) mill begun in 1852-1853 by the Lucena family, now home of the BIT Habitat urban-innovation foundation. 10 min.
4
Rambla del Poblenou
The neighbourhood's own rambla, running from the Gran Via to near Bogatell beach; formerly called Passeig del Triomf. Walk down it towards the sea. 20 min.
5
L'Alianca del Poblenou
Rambla del Poblenou 42: social, theatre and choir society founded in 1869; closed at least six times under Primo de Rivera for Catalanism and a base of the 1970s fight against the plan to demolish the Poblenou. 10 min.
6
Poblenou Cemetery
Carrer del Taulat 2: opened by Bishop Climent in 1775 for hygiene reasons, ahead of the 1787 royal ban on parish graveyards. 30-45 min.
The city's oldest cemetery, rebuilt by Antonio Ginesi in 1819 with egalitarian walls of niches at the front and the bourgeoisie's mausolea at the back. Locals come to find 'El…

Walking directions

Poblenou: textile mills of Pere IV to the Rambla and the old cemetery

The route, stop by stop

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