Coordinates: 41°22′29.88″N 2°9′46.99″E / 41.3749667°N 2.1630528°E / 41.3749667; 2.1630528

Avinguda del Paral·lel in 1905: a picture of what was during most of the 20th century the center of Barcelona's nightlife.

Former AEG -Barcelona Traction factory chimneys and the building of Fecsa-Endesa in Avinguda del Paral·lel

Avinguda del Paral·lel (Spanish: Avenida del Paralelo, English: Avenue of the Parallel) is one of the main streets of the city of Barcelona, dividing Ciutat Vella, Eixample and Sants-Montjuïc districts. It receives this name because it is (unlike any other street in Barcelona) parallel to the Equator. It runs from Plaça d'Espanya, where the city's exhibition halls are located, to the seafront, Plaça de la Carbonera and the passenger ship port, dividing the neighbourhood of Poble Sec, on the side of Montjuïc, from the neighbourhoods of Sant Antoni and El Raval. It was officially inaugurated on October 11, 1894.^[1]

El Paral·lel, as the avenue and also sometimes the surrounding quarter are called, is most famous for its theatres (as of 2009, there are still three in the avenue, Apolo, Condal and Victoria, but there were many more in the past), as well as cabarets and erotic shows, or the Sala Apolo. In the past it was the core of Barcelona's nightlife, with all sorts of music halls and other venues, but in the last two decades its importance has diminished greatly, in favour of the city centre and Eixample, and some urban decay is visible. El Molino, once one of the city's most renowned cabarets is, however, being rebuilt.

[edit] Other names

In addition to Paralelo, the original Spanish-language name of the street, approved in 1859, and the current name, made official in 1980, the street had other official names at different times: Marqués del Duero (in 1874, and after the Spanish Civil War) and Francisco Layret.^[2]

[edit] Transport

• There are three stations of the Barcelona Metro network at different parts of the avenue: Paral·lel, on L2 (purple line) and L3 (green line); Poble Sec, on L3; and Espanya, underneath Plaça d'Espanya, served by lines L1, L3, L8 and a number of Baix Llobregat-bound Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya commuter lines (Metro del Baix Llobregat).
• The Funicular de Montjuïc is accessed from Paral·lel station.

[edit] See also

• Avinguda Meridiana

[edit] References

1. ^ http://w10.bcn.cat/APPS/nomenclator/frcontent.jsp?idioma=0
2. ^ http://w10.bcn.cat/APPS/nomenclator/frcontent.jsp?idioma=0

[edit] External links

• Traffic surveillance at Bcn.cat
• La Meridiana i el Paral·lel, Astrogea.org