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Eixample · 10

Sant Antoni

Sant Antoni grew around the iron market that Antoni Rovira i Trias opened in 1882 beside the old city wall, and its streets are now being rebuilt around it as a pedestrian superilla.[1][2][3][4]

The Mercat de Sant Antoni is a Greek cross of four long iron-framed bodies on 112 cast-iron pillars, and its roof was re-clad in glazed ceramic during the refurbishment.[1][2][5]

The neighbourhood's name comes from a 15th-century convent of Sant Antoni Abat beside the wall, where one of the busiest roads out of the city began. When the iron market went up almost no house stood around it; the stalls surrounding it settled into a large fair and gave character to the neighbourhood that grew up there.[6]

Sant Antoni (neighbourhood 10) highlighted. Other neighbourhoods in Eixample: la Dreta de l'Eixample, l'Antiga Esquerra de l'Eixample, la Nova Esquerra de l'Eixample, el Fort Pienc, la Sagrada Família.

Where the name comes from

Etymology: certain[6]

The name comes from the convent of Sant Antoni Abat, raised in the 15th century beside Barcelona's wall. The road to Fraga, one of the busiest, started from the same spot and led to the Creu Coberta before reaching the village of Sants.[6]

The Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes (from Plaça d'Espanya to Plaça de la Universitat), the Ronda de Sant Antoni, the Ronda de Sant Pau and the Avinguda del Paral·lel.[7]

Before the neighbourhood

The Encants market, marginal and outside the walls, goes back to the mid-13th century; around 1850 it moved to Carrer del Consolat.[6]

When Rovira i Trias built the great iron market between 1872 and 1882, almost no house stood around it, and it served the working-class Raval.[6]

How the streets were made

The Mercat de Sant Antoni fills an entire block: a Greek cross of four elongated wings on 112 cast-iron pillars, with two-colour glazed ceramic tiles (garnet and cream) and decorative iron arches.[1][2]

The 1929 International Exposition shaped the neighbourhood: the shacks between the Paral·lel and the Gran Via were cleared and Avinguda de Mistral, an old medieval road out of the city, was laid out; it has been pedestrian-only since 1995.[6][7]

Dates that changed it

  1. 15th century the convent of Sant Antoni Abat is raised beside the wall; the neighbourhood takes its name from it.[6]
  2. 1882 Antoni Rovira i Trias's Mercat de Sant Antoni is inaugurated by mayor Rius i Taulet.[1][2]
  3. 1929 the International Exposition clears the shacks between the Paral·lel and the Gran Via and lays out Avinguda de Mistral.[6]
  4. 1936 the Sunday market for second-hand cultural goods is already operating at the market.[1]
  5. 1995 Avinguda de Mistral becomes pedestrian-only.[7]
  6. 2009 on 10 October the stallholders move to a provisional market and the refurbishment begins.[5][1]
  7. 2018 on 23 May the renovated Mercat de Sant Antoni reopens.[5][1]
  8. 2026 works begin to make the Comte Borrell and Parlament superilla permanent; completion was expected in June 2027.[3][4]

People behind the buildings

Antoni Rovira i Trias

He designed the Mercat de Sant Antoni, built between 1872 and 1882 in iron and brick on a Greek-cross plan. The 21st-century refurbishment was awarded to the Ravetllat-Ribas studio on 19 December 2007.[1][2][5]

Institutions

Mercat de Sant Antoni

Three markets share the building: the food market, the Encants, which the refurbishment brought inside the building, and the Sunday market of books and cultural goods, kept in the same area.[5][1]

Struggles that left a mark

Shopkeepers and the superilla works

Demand: When the works began in June 2026, shopkeepers on Comte Borrell told Betevé they did not know how sales would go and worried about surviving a year of works; another acknowledged that traffic calming had improved the area.[3][4]

Outcome: Works under way; completion expected June 2027

What can still be seen

Mercat de Sant Antoni

A 19th-century iron-architecture building, catalogued as a local heritage asset. Beneath the market lie archaeological remains of the 17th-century Baluard de Sant Antoni, part of the city's walls.[1][2][5]

What disappeared

The shacks and the Paral·lel venues

For the 1929 Exposition the shacks between the Paral·lel and the Gran Via were cleared. Of the Paral·lel's golden age, Teatre Talia (1900) closed in 1987 and the Gran Price, which hosted everything from boxing to political rallies, was demolished in 1973.[6]

The neighbourhood today

Sant Antoni had 38,978 residents in 2026, a density of 484.8 inhabitants per hectare, a €26,589 mean census-section income in 2023, an area of 80.4 hectares, and 29.0% of residents held non-Spanish nationality. Density and centrality make every street or shop change highly visible.[8][9]

Non-Spanish nationality (2026): 29%

What is changing

The superilla is made permanent

The temporary traffic calming on Comte Borrell and Parlament, in place since 2017, is becoming a permanent design. According to Betevé (26 June 2026), works began that month on Comte Borrell between Manso and the Paral·lel and on Parlament between Viladomat and the Ronda de Sant Pau, and were expected to last a year, until June 2027. The crossing of the two streets is to become a central square with more trees, renewed irrigation and lighting, and play areas. Some shopkeepers told Betevé they feared a year of uncertain sales.[3][4]

What the guides leave out

The Sunday market

The Sunday market of second-hand cultural goods has operated since 1936; according to Viquipèdia it was important for selling censored books under Franco.[1]

Read it on foot

Start: Sant Antoni (L2) · End: Avinguda de Mistral[7]

Walking (excluding stop time): 12 min · 930 m · Estimated visit (with stops): 40 min

The geometry follows the pedestrian network between the three marked points, but it has not been verified as step-free. The superilla works may affect passage along Comte Borrell and Parlament. The approach from public transport is not included in the stated distance.

Sant Antoni (neighbourhood 10) highlighted. Other neighbourhoods in Eixample: la Dreta de l'Eixample, l'Antiga Esquerra de l'Eixample, la Nova Esquerra de l'Eixample, el Fort Pienc, la Sagrada Família.

1
Mercat de Sant Antoni
Mercat de Sant Antoni, Carrer del Comte d'Urgell 1
Walk the length of one of the four long bodies of the Greek-cross plan and look at the cast-iron pillars and arches that carry the roof.[1][2][5]
Rovira i Trias designed it and it was inaugurated in 1882; after a refurbishment begun in 2009, it reopened on 23 May 2018 with the Encants inside and the Sunday book market in the same area.[1][2][5]
Coordinates
41.37863, 2.16205 · OpenStreetMap
2
Comte Borrell / Parlament
Carrer del Comte Borrell amb Carrer del Parlament
330 m · 4 min
Look both ways from the crossing of the two streets: it is the point the project turns into a central square, with works under way since June 2026.[3][4]
The temporary calming dates from 2017; the permanent project plans a second row of trees, panot paving next to the buildings, granite on the former roadway and granite of another colour in loading zones.[3][4]
Coordinates
41.37710, 2.16330 · OpenStreetMap
3
Avinguda de Mistral
Avinguda de Mistral
600 m · 8 min
Walk it end to end: a straight street for pedestrians only, with the blocks of the neighbourhood on either side.[6][7]
An old medieval road out of the city, it was laid out for the 1929 Exposition, when the shacks between the Paral·lel and the Gran Via disappeared; it has been pedestrian-only since 1995.[6][7]
Coordinates
41.37690, 2.15770 · OpenStreetMap

Sources for this page

Dates, figures and historical claims are linked to the records used for this page.

  1. [1] Viquipèdia (2026). Mercat de Sant Antoni. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  2. [2] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Mercats (n.d.). Mercat de Sant Antoni. Accessed: 2026-10-09.
  3. [3] Betevé (2026-06-26). Inici de les obres de consolidació de la superilla de Sant Antoni, amb dubtes entre els comerciants. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  4. [4] 3Cat (2025-05-14). Fi de l'urbanisme tàctic a la superilla de Sant Antoni: així quedarà l'espai. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  5. [5] Ajuntament de Barcelona, Mercats (2026). Refurbishment Mercat de Sant Antoni. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  6. [6] Ajuntament de Barcelona, Districte de l'Eixample (2026). Història de Sant Antoni. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  7. [7] Viquipèdia (2026). Sant Antoni (Barcelona). Accessed: 2026-10-03.
  8. [8] Open Data BCN (2026). Padró municipal. Accessed: 2026-07-16.
  9. [9] CartoBCN (2006+). Límits de barris. Accessed: 2026-07-16.
  10. [10] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2026-01-01). Padró municipal d'habitants (pad_mdbas) — població per barri. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
  11. [11] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2021). Densitat de població per barri. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
  12. [12] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2023). Renda disponible de les llars per persona. Seccions censals. Accessed: 2026-07-17.

Last reviewed: 3 October 2026 · 12 sources consulted

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