Among the secret places to visit in Barcelona, we highly recommend you to go explore the beautiful Sant Felip Neri square. We truly believe that some of the best places to visit in Barcelona are not included in the classic Barcelona guides. For sure Sagrada Familia or Park Güell are great places you can’t miss during your visit, but Barcelona hides some other beautiful secret spots worth a visit!
A secret square hidden in Barcelona
One of the best things of this Barcelona attraction is the surprise factor: when you explore this square for the first time, you have no idea about what you are going to find at the end of those pretty narrow streets. In fact, Sant Felip Neri square is really close to one of the top Barcelona attractions as it is Barcelona Cathedral which is always crowded, but that doesn’t stop the square to lose its magic and peacefulness.
And you can start feeling those emotions once you leave the main street and its crowd and you turn right to meet that narrow street. You slowly lose the whistles from the crowd and walk along those streets. And when you are about to arrive to the square, you realize why this spot is among the best places to visit in Barcelona.
Solitude, peace, silence, nostalgia… Far away from the crowded city you will feel the magic hidden in this spot since the moment you arrive there. Cause sometimes the simplicity accompanied with authenticity is what make our bodies connect with magic places like this one.
A square in Barcelona with history
Besides its emotional aspect, this square also hides a really tragic episode from the Catalan history. The 30th of January 1938, during the Spanish Civil War, a bomb dropped by Franco’s air force killed 30 children. After this attack, when survivors went to help the wounded people, a second bomb killed 12 more people. And nowadays the tragedy can still be noticed in Sant Neri’s church walls, since they look seriously damaged from those attacks.
And this tragic story contributes to make this place one of the top Barcelona attractions worth visiting. Specially for the dramatic history episode this square hides on its walls.
Sant Felip Neri square today
But that tragic episode has not stopped this magic place from attracting happiness and inspiration. Actually, children from the Primary School Sant Felip Neri which was built in 1959, bring life to each corner of this place. They play football and the most varied games. They sit together and share their stories. Just spending a few seconds observing their attitude of simply being a child and you realise how they make possible the impossible: to replace the tragedy picture with a new one of happiness and life.
Additional information
How to arrive: Sant Felip Neri square is very close to Barcelona Cathedral. You can arrive there by taking the metro L3 (Liceu stop, green line) or L4 (Jaume I stop, yellow line).
Let yourself get lost along those narrow streets that let to this magic square. And the feelings you get is what makes this unique and hidden spot one of the best places to visit in Barcelona. Make sure you include Sant Felip Neri square among the Barcelona attractions you want to visit.