Barcelona Neighbourhoods - Eixample

Eixample literally means the widening of the city or extension beyond the boundries of the old town. Ildefont Cerdá was the main designer of the area, which has a grid-like appearance and a few main thoroughfares, such as Gran Via which crosses the whole of the city from left to right, and Diagonal from North west to South East being the main avenues.



Eixample is made up of blocks, or "manzanas" on the grid, often comprising of 20 or more individual apartment buildings. The octagonal bocks give natural light and although it was rumoured that Eixample was frowned upon by the locals until the birth of the traffic light, it remains Barcelona's biggest neighbourhood and also houses many of the main tourist attractions of the city - 5 of the 9 UNESCO World Heritage Sites Barcelona boasts.

The neighbourhood is split up into left and right either side of Passeig de Gracia, and each is simply known as Eixample dreta (right) or Eixample Esquerra (left). Public transport within the neighbourhood is extensive, with all metro lines crossing this part of the city along long stretches, as well as the Barcelona tram covering most of Diagonal, too.

Eixample carries a lot of the city's traffic, and large avenues such as Gran Via and Aragon, are a constant source of traffic, meaning noise pollution is frequent. Also, due to the preference of natural light in Barcelona, those properties facing the sea generally have more hours of daylight than those facing Tibidabo at the back - and an obvious preference for higher floored apartments is preferred whenever considering renting or buying an apartment.

The modernista movement in Barcelona means that Eixample houses some fantastic buildings and was an innovative neighbourhood at its conception - the first elevator in Barcelona was installed in Rambla Catalunya. Eixample also houses the "manzana de discordia" or block of discord, which is one of the smallest spaces in the city where you can find Modernista architecture in all it's fantastic and varied forms within such a small space. Many apartments have original tiled floors which are restored and kept as additional makeweights when dealing in property, as well as the decorative crowns on ceilings, original wooden doors and window frames and certain balconies.

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