The four columns of the Temple of Augustus, hidden in a courtyard of the Barri Gòtic in Barcelona

At number 10 Carrer del Paradís, a narrow lane behind the Palau de la Generalitat in Barcelona's Barri Gòtic, there is a doorway that promises nothing. No monumental façade, no eye-catching sign. You step into an inner courtyard and look up: four fluted Corinthian columns about nine metres high rise on a stone podium. They are what remains of the Temple of Augustus, built in the first century BC. Most tourists pass just a few metres away, queuing in front of the Cathedral or on the Plaça de Sant Jaume, without knowing it exists.

The Roman temple

The temple stood on the highest point of Barcino, the Roman colony founded on the hill of Mont Tàber, and dominated the city forum. It was dedicated to the imperial cult, that is, to the deified Augustus. When the medieval city was built on top of the Roman one, the ancient structures were absorbed into the new buildings: the columns ended up walled inside the fabric of a palace, and for centuries they remained almost invisible. Today the building houses the Centre Excursionista de Catalunya, and the courtyard where the columns stand is managed as a space of the MUHBA, the Museu d'Història de Barcelona.

A detail easy to miss: next to the entrance door, set into the floor, there is a millstone marking the highest point of ancient Barcino, Mont Tàber, just over 16 metres above sea level. It is a physical reminder of why the temple was built right here. Three of the columns are in their original position; the fourth was dismantled and for a time displayed in Plaça del Rei, then relocated here in 1956 using the recovered archaeological remains. The explanatory panels in the courtyard are in Catalan, Spanish and English, and tell the story of the site's Roman and medieval layering.

What you see

What you see, concretely: a small, dimly lit courtyard, with the four columns and the entablature above emerging from the shadow of the building. It is not large and the visit takes only a few minutes, but the effect of finding a Roman temple inside a Gothic courtyard is worth the detour. You go down three steps to reach the space of the columns; access is at street level.

Getting there

Admission is free and no booking is needed. The hours given by the MUHBA are: Monday from 10am to 2pm, Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 7pm, Sunday from 10am to 8pm; closed on 1 January, 1 May, 24 June and 25 December. Some sources list slightly different times, so it is worth checking the museum's official site before going. To get there: metro Jaume I on the yellow line (L4) or Liceu on the green line (L3), both a few minutes' walk away; alternatively, start from Plaça de Sant Jaume and turn into Carrer del Paradís. Set in the heart of the Gothic Quarter, a stone's throw from the Cathedral, it is a natural stop to slot into a walk through the medieval alleys, and it is one of the few Roman sites in the city you can enter without a queue and without a ticket.

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