[1] A tree-lined pedestrian street, it stretches for 1.2 kilometres (3⁄4 mile) connecting the Plaça de Catalunya in its center with the Christopher Columbus Monument at Port Vell.

Further into the Barri Gòtic can be found the Cathedral of Santa Eulàlia and the Plaça Sant Jaume that houses the buildings of the Generalitat of Catalonia and Barcelona's City Council.

Near to the port end of the Rambla are the Royal Dockyards (Catalan: Drassanes), which house a maritime museum specifically devoted to naval history in the Mediterranean.

[2] The course of La Rambla was originally a sewage-filled stream,[5] usually dry but an important drain for the heavy rainwater flowing from the Collserola hills during spring and autumn.

[8] Over the next few centuries, La Rambla became an established center of Barcelona's urban life, serving as a long wide thoroughfare used for festivals, markets, and sports.

[9] Various conflicts over recent centuries took their toll on La Rambla's religious buildings, most notably the St. James's Night riots in 1835, when revolutionaries burned the monasteries and churches and killed a number of friars;[10] and the Spanish Civil War in 1936–39, when Barcelona came under the control of anarchists who again targeted religious buildings and personnel, as well as being damaged by artillery and air attacks on the area from pro-Franco forces.

[11] On 17 August 2017, many people were struck by a van deliberately driven down the sidewalk on La Rambla in a terrorist attack, causing 15 deaths and at least 100 injuries.

Several notable sights are also located within the promenade, including a mosaic by Joan Miró and the Font de Canaletes, a fountain and popular meeting point.

The La Boqueria market opens off the Rambla and is one of the city's foremost tourist landmarks, housing a very diverse selection of goods.

[2][13] One of the side streets, which is only a few meters long, leads to the Royal Square (Plaça Reial), a plaza with palm trees and porticoed buildings containing many pubs and restaurants, and where stamp and coin collectors gather on the weekends.

[2][15] The Rambla is the location for several of Barcelona's cultural establishments, including: In the Pla de l'Os is a 1971 pavement mosaic by Joan Miró.