We’d like to invite you to discover the home of the Barcelona City Council, the Casa de la Ciutat [City Hall], which is a physical space and at the same time a symbol that has been preserved over the centuries, always located in the same building at the heart of the city. Discover its halls and historic spaces.
You can choose to visit either virtually or in person.
The usual Sunday visits to Barcelona City Hall’s rooms will not be held on 6 April nor 4 May 2025.
The in-person guided tour service at Barcelona City Council take place on Sundays except those which fall on public holidays, and allow direct contact with the guide who will accompany you throughout the tour, explaining the history of the halls.
Description:
The tour will include the Gothic Façade, the Gothic Courtyard, the Saló de Cent, the Carles Pi i Sunyer or Plenary Hall, and the Saló de Cròniques.
Visits will take place on Sundays
Languages and times:
Catalan: 10.30h, 11.30h and 12.30h
Spanish: 11h and 12h
English: 10h
Duration:
1 hour
Registration:
Advance registration is not mandatory, but recommended if you want to be sure of a place on the guided tour.
You can access the building from the street c/Font de Sant Miquel.
All visitors must comply with the health and safety measures in force at any time
You need to be at the access point 15 minutes before the scheduled time of the visit.
You can take a virtual 360° tour of the City Hall at any time, and enjoy it at your own pace.
Description
Today, the Saló de Cent is a snapshot of a part of the institutional history of Barcelona’s municipal government. The way it looks now is the result of multiple changes over time.
Constructed by master builder Pere Llobet in 1369, it is one of the best examples of civil Gothic architecture in Catalonia. It is characterised by diaphanous spaces and a flat ceiling, where sections of wooden beams alternate with stone arches. The name refers to the fact that this hall was the meeting place of the Consell de Cent established by King Jaume I, although in the 14th century only three sections of beams were in existence. In 1860, the Hall was enlarged by adding two sections identical to the original three.
In 1914 there was a public competition for the decoration of the Hall of One Hundred. The winner was Enric Monserdà. On the side walls Monserdà placed some damask illustrating the history of the City embroidered in velvet, satin and gold with the coats of arms of the municipalities annexed to Barcelona which today constitute the districts within the city. The year when each was annexed can also be seen. The floor was redone with a representation of iconographic elements that identified the different city guilds that formed part of the Consell de Cent. The alabaster work-completed in 1924- that Monserdà designed for the front wall is a masterpiece that represents many of the historical moments of the City Hall.
Today, the Saló de Cent is the place where the city’s most significant events are held, such as the presentation of medals of honour, the swearing-in of councillors, the celebration of civil weddings and commemorative events.
In 1860, a room was constructed next to the Saló de Cent, where the councillors could debate the most important aspects of municipal policy.
The presidential table is surrounded by 50 wooden seats, split into two blocks, and there are two galleries, one for the public and the other for the press.
This is where the Full Council holds its plenary sessions on the last Friday of each month (except August).
Designed by Josep M. Sert in 1929, the name refers to the 14th century chronicles written by Ramon Muntaner and Bernat Desclot about the expedition of the Catalan Company led by Roger de Flor to the East. The murals depict various episodes from the battles of the Almogavers in their fight against the Turks.
It is currently used for press conferences, seminars and institutional events.
The entrance in Carrer Ciutat was built in 1399, when the Gothic façade of the City Hall was created. There was no direct entrance to the Saló de Cent from the street at that time, with access via the courtyard. This was why the City Council commissioned the master builder Arnau Bargués to create a façade for the City Hall which was in keeping with the importance of the institution and ended giving its name to the street section where it is located. This entrance is open when the City Hall holds open days
The gallery is formed by arches supported by columns with decorated capitals. The date MDLXXVII (1577) can be read on one of the capitals. The windows and gargoyles of the upper floor are also from the 16th century.
This staircase leads from the ground floor foyer to the Gothic Gallery and the Saló de Cent. It was built in 1894 by municipal architect Pere Falqués. The current design is by architect Adolf Florensa, who remodelled it in 1929.
This was built during the 1929 works and connects the space where the clerk’s office used to be with the first floor. Three large blind arches in black marble give the staircase its name: Escala Negra, meaning Black Staircase. In 1931, painter Miquel Viladrich created an oil-on-wood mural that was fitted into the three arches. The triptych is entitled Barcelona, cap i casal de Catalunya.
Located on the far right of the main façade that overlooks Plaça de Sant Jaume is the Saló de la Ciutat. The ceiling is decorated with paintings by Ricard Canals. In 1929, Canals was commissioned to paint the ceiling, which features an allegory of the 18th-century Board of Trade’s motto: “The earth gives us its fruits, and the waves of the sea give us their riches”. Sadly, the painter died before completing the work, and the hall remained unfinished until 1964, when Antoni Vila Arrufat painted a mural on the walls depicting the history of Barcelona. He portrayed the Iberians, the colony of Iulia Augusta Faventia Paterna Barcino, Barcelona under the Counts, the construction of the medieval cathedrals, Barcelona and the Principality of Catalonia and Christopher Columbus in the Saló del Tinell.
The ceremonial office of the city’s highest authority overlooks Plaça de Sant Jaume. It was decorated with a series of remarkable murals by Xavier Nogués reflecting improvements inspired by the 1929 International Exhibition. The various murals focus on typically Catalan themes, conveyed through an allegory of 19th-century Barcelona: the Indians (Catalan merchants), representing trade with the Americas; Senyor Esteve, as a symbol of the conservative, shopkeeping, hard-working and thrifty Barcelona citizen; a depiction of the play L’auca del senyor Esteve at the Liceu; the city’s industrialisation and modernisation in the 19th century; and finally, a mural portraying the influence of chivalric novels on the Catalan Renaixença.
Located on the far left-hand side of the façade that overlooks Plaça de Sant Jaume, this hall is decorated with wooden murals that tell the story of the peak period of expansion of the city of Barcelona between the 13th and 16th centuries, symbolised by the geographical distribution of the overseas consulates established by King Jaume I around the Mediterranean.
The artists were Evarist Mora, who designed the project in 1958, and Joan Garganté, who executed the marquetry.
Around a hundred different types of wood were used, and apart from the intense red, pure yellow and some of the greens, the colours are the natural ones of the woods chosen.
In 1961, painter Josep Obiols was commissioned to decorate the Sala del Bon Govern. The themes covering every surface of the walls are concord, justice, counsel, faith, integrity, work and law – inscribed along the upper section of the walls – values on which sound municipal governance must be founded.nicipal.
Saliendo de la Sala del Bon Govern y dirigiéndonos hacia la zona de Alcaldía se encuentra la Sala del Treball, que sirve de distribuidor de las dos alas de la planta noble.
El proyecto de la pintura mural es de Ramon Rogent, de 1958, pero fue llevado a cabo por su discípulo Joan Bosco Martí debido a la muerte por accidente en 1960 de Ramon Rogent.
Las pinturas murales de color y estructuras cubistas representan una alegoría que rinde homenaje a los gremios y oficios en que se ha fundamentado y consolidado la grandeza de Barcelona.
In this video, you can see how the institution has evolved since its beginnings back in the 13th century with the Consell de Cent [the Council of the One Hundred], until the City Council of today.
The seat of Barcelona City Council, the Casa de la Ciutat, is home to many different styles, and has a great diversity of architectural features, room layouts and decorative elements. Each of them marks an important period of time or a significant event in the history of Barcelona and of Catalonia.
The usual Sunday visits to Barcelona City Hall’s rooms will not be held on 6 April nor 4 May 2025.
These self-guided visits will be available every Sunday expect on public holidays. You can explore the spaces at your own pace.
Description:
You will get to visit the Gothic Patio, the Saló de Cent, the Saló de Plens (plenary hall), or Sala de Carles Pi i Sunyer, and the Saló de Cròniques.
The visits take place on Sundays.
Opening times: 10 am to 1 pm.
Participation: free admission. At very busy times the team coordinating the visits reserves the right to regulate access.
Entrance point:
Visitors should come to the entrance on C/ Font de Sant Miquel
All visitors must comply with the health and safety measures in force at any time.
