Santa Maria del Mar Basilica

This is one of the best examples of 14th-century Catalan Gothic architecture. It was designed by the architect Berenguer de Montagut and was the place of worship for shipbuilders and merchants in late medieval Barcelona. From outside it looks solid and robust, with straight lines predominating. Inside, there are three naves and an ambulatory, but no transept. The most striking feature is the towering centre nave with majestic octagonal columns. Before the church was built, in the 4th to 6th centuries, the site was a Roman necropolis, which was discovered during excavations in the 1960s.