Last day for terraces on La Rambla: restaurateurs at breaking point over the works

The terraces on the Rambla will disappear from Monday because of the works. Restaurateurs fear a drastic drop in income. The City Council is negotiating new locations. The sector is on edge. What will happen to tourism?

This Sunday marks the end of an era on Barcelona's Rambla: it will be the last day on which bars and restaurants may set up terraces in the central part of the promenade. From Monday, the City Council will temporarily suspend the licences of premises affected by the third phase of the refurbishment works.

The restaurant sector is already anticipating a hard blow. Business owners warn that takings will fall noticeably, since most customers, especially tourists, prefer to sit on terraces rather than inside the premises.

The refurbishment aims to triple the space for pedestrians in the central stretch of the Rambla. To achieve this, the council is negotiating with hospitality businesses to relocate the terraces between the tree pits, rather than placing them in front of the trees as they have until now.

The director general of the Gremi de Restauració, Roger Pallarols, highlights the good rapport with the City Council and is confident of reaching an agreement in the coming weeks. However, Amics de la Rambla acknowledges that the negotiation is complex, although it values the municipal proposals to minimise the negative impact on the sector.

Meanwhile, uncertainty is taking hold of restaurateurs, who watch the Rambla transform and wonder whether tourism will respond in the same way without the iconic terraces at the heart of the promenade.