Living in Les Corts

Understanding life in Les Corts

Why people choose to live here

Les Corts sits between the working-class energy of Sants and the polished calm of Barcelona's upper districts, and it borrows a bit of both. The pace here is quieter than in the tourist-heavy center, yet you are never far from a metro line or a busy avenue. Squares such as Plaça de la Concòrdia give the area a genuine sense of community, with neighbors who have lived here for generations sharing sidewalks with professionals and students. Families, university staff connected to the nearby campuses, and corporate employees working along Avinguda Diagonal often choose Les Corts over the Eixample or Gràcia because it offers similar walkability with less noise and lower density.

History and architectural character of Les Corts

Les Corts began as an independent rural municipality built around farmhouses and streams flowing down from Collserola, before it was annexed to Barcelona in 1897. That agricultural past still surfaces in old masies (farmhouses) tucked between later developments. The late nineteenth century brought industry, including the Colonia Castells textile works, and workers' housing that still lines several streets. Around Plaça de la Concòrdia, noucentista mansions and the bell tower of the Església de Santa Maria del Remei mark the neighbourhood's most characterful corner, while taller contemporary buildings, some awarded FAD architecture prizes, rise along Avinguda Diagonal.