In the 2000 or so years since the Romans settled here, the area around this often-remodelled square, which started life as the forum, has been the focus of Barcelona’s civic life – and it's still the central staging area for Barcelona's traditional festivals. Facing each other across the square are the Palau de la Generalitat, seat of Catalonia’s regional government, on the north side and Barcelona's Ajuntament on the south.
Behind the Ajuntament rise awful town-hall offices built in the 1970s over Plaça de Sant Miquel.