Barcelona will reduce and redistribute the terraces on La Rambla

BarcelonaFewer tables, rearranged to create more pedestrian space. Barcelona City Council wants to take advantage of the construction work planned throughout 2026 on this iconic Barcelona promenade to reorganize the tables of bars and restaurants, creating 33% more space for pedestrians. The council presented a preliminary plan on Tuesday, agreed upon with the Restaurateurs' Guild and the Friends of La Rambla, to free up 1,436 square meters of the current layout, primarily in the central section. Raquel Gil, the City Council's Head of Economic Development, acknowledged that this will involve "the removal of tables" from some terraces, but the exact number is still being negotiated to "minimize the impact on businesses."

Work on this central section begins on January 19th, which will require the temporary removal of some of the outdoor seating areas. Their licenses will be reinstated once the work is complete. To create this new space, the renovation plan involves relocating the tables between the tree pits and other street furniture, rather than in front of them as they are now. By moving the outdoor seating areas further towards the edge of the promenade and clearly defining their boundaries, they estimate that the available space for pedestrians will increase from the current 3.6 meters (2.4 meters in the busiest sections) to 9.2 meters; that is, three times more than it is now.

Currently, 30% of the establishments on La Rambla are bars and restaurants. A total of 62 have been counted, half of which have terraces. Work on this central section began at the end of November and has already resulted in the removal of some terraces and kiosks between Plaça Catalunya and Carrer de Santa Anna i Bonsuccés. One of the points included in this preliminary agreement is that the closure of these terraces will be phased in. "The goal is for them to be without terraces for the shortest time possible," said Roger Pallarols, representative of the Gremi de Restauradors (Restaurateurs' Guild). "We have a responsibility towards these businesses; we must guarantee their survival, and on that we all agree: an empty Rambla is not La Rambla," he emphasized. At this point, neither the City Council nor the Gremi de Restauradors has specified how the reduction will be implemented. "We are analyzing practically table by table, operator by operator," Gil explained. "We can't give figures on how many tables or terraces will be eliminated, because we are currently working on that," Pallarols detailed, explaining that they are trying to ensure the adjustments are proportional for all businesses. For the time being, the City Council does not intend to grant any more terrace licenses; instead, once the works are finished, the current licenses will be returned to the establishments that already have them.

A new image for terraces

Another objective included in this preliminary agreement is to "improve the image of terraces." Pallarols explained that the goal is not to unify or "turn all terraces into clones," but rather to find an aesthetic that incorporates common elements and enhances the current image. Throughout this process, the agreement includes sharing the changes with the sector and jointly defining the key design elements.

The path to defining what the new Rambla of Barcelona will look like is not easy. Besides the terraces, it's also necessary to define the uses to which this space will be allocated. "The negotiation is difficult because space is limited. There are many terraces, and each one asks for space for what they want: strolling, tables, culture..." says Àlex Balletbó, president of the Amics de la Rambla (Friends of the Rambla). "But there's one thing everyone agrees on: too much of a good thing is overwhelming," he concludes.