La Rambla fills with flowers this weekend with the Roser festival

Starting this Friday, strolling along the Rambla one can come across buildings such as the Arts Santa Mònica, the Wax Museum, the Tablao Cordobés, the Palau de la Virreina or the Palau Moja decorated with flowers. It is one of the activities that will be organized in the artery due to the Festa del Roser, in honor of its patron saint, the Mare de Déu del Roser. The main festival coincides with the start of the renovation works, one of the great demands of merchants and residents of the area to recover the lost splendor over the years.

The celebration, organized by Amics de la Rambla, aims to highlight the architectural and cultural heritage of Barcelona's most emblematic street, making it impossible not to divert one's gaze to admire the buildings that populate it. Those who want to keep the flowers should know that it is not possible, but on Saturday they can take one. Considering that the day of the Mare de Déu del Roser is celebrated, a total of 4,000 roses will be distributed among the public. It will be in front of the Palau de la Virreina, where the offering dedicated to the patron saint will be erected, as the florists of the promenade have traditionally done.

Beyond the roses, the celebration of the Rambla, which will last throughout the weekend, will also allow visitors to discover some nearby emblematic spaces with guided tours, such as the Enric Miralles foundation, the Gran Teatre del Liceu and the old Casa de Convalescència, now home to the Institut d'Estudis Catalans (IEC). Free tickets for the Palau Güell and free trips on Las Golondrinas will also be offered. Likewise, it will be possible to enter less known and less accessible places, such as the technical area of the Barcelona Aquarium, the garden of the Ateneu Barcelonès or the Military Government of Barcelona.

In addition to visits to its buildings, guided tours will be offered to discover the history of the promenade, learning about historical figures who have been captivated by it, such as Empress Sissi or Albert Einstein, or its most literary passages. There will also be workshops, to learn about flowers with the florists of the Rambla or to decorate mobile phone cases. The day can be completed by listening to artists such as Joana Casanova or Natalia Lacunza ---Saturday, October 8--- and re-watching La rambla de les floristes, by Josep M. de Sagarra, which will be performed on Monday, October 10 at the Teatre Poliorama, the stage where it premiered in March 1935.

For those who are running late, they can stay in hostels and hotels that offer discounts and special packages for the Festa del Roser. Among them are the Mare Nostrum hostel and the Arc de la Rambla, Bagués, Continental, España, Le Meridien Barcelona, Silken Ramblas, and Yurbban Ramblas hotels. There are also restaurants that will prepare menus designed for the occasion, with prices ranging from 12 euros to 39 euros, such as Cerveseria Canaletes and the Amaya, La Poma, Moka, CentOnze, and Núria restaurants.

The culmination of the celebration will come with the presentation of the Ramblista d'Honor awards. They will be announced next Monday, October 24, in a ceremony at the Barcelona City Council.