The Royal Shipyards of Barcelona (Drassanes Reials) began building galleys in the 14th century for the Crown of Aragon as the maritime empire extended as far as Greece and the Barbary Coast. The Gothic structure is one of the few medieval shipyard to have survived. You can visit the cathedral-like building in its present-day reincarnation as the recently renovated Barcelona Maritime Museum, which has the largest maritime collection in southern Europe, ship models of all kinds and a full-scale replica of the Royal Galley of Don John of Austria, built in Barcelona in the 16th century. Free on Sundays after 3 p.m.

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