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The Passeig de Grącia is Barcelonas most elegant avenue and one of the best architectural walks in the city. The quality and quantity of modernist buildings is unrivalled, not only in Barcelona but in any city of the world. It is the defining avenue of the 19th century Eixample, a grid like "extension" to the city that was planned by engineer Ildefons Cerdą whose original plan was observed, but not in its entirety. Cerdąs plan called for impressive inner squares and gardens for each city block and these were never built.
The Passeig de Grącia was from the beginning designed to be Barcelonas Grand Avenue. Its origins can be traced back to Roman times when it was a path that linked to the Via Augusta. In medieval times the citys door to this road was the Portal dels Orbs (blind peoples gate), today the Portal del Angel pedestrian shopping area.
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