Built in the 1770s, this building was the former home of Manuel d'Amat, a wealthy viceroy who had made his fortune in the Americas. Set slightly back from the street, this grand structure is marked by typically Spanish top-heaviness. Inside there is a patio featuring columns, and a staircase to the right leads to the interior, most of which is not open to the public, as it is home to the city's cultural events committee.

On the left, a large space is lent to a changing calendar of exhibitions, predominantly on some aspect of Barcelona. One of the best, held in September, is the Fotomercé, amateur photographs of the previous year's Mercé festival. An excellent gift shop and cultural information point can be found on the ground floor.

This classical palace, with Baroque features, takes its name from the widow of an unpopular viceroy of Peru, who commissioned it and lived in it after its completion in the 1770s. The Virreina now houses the city cultural department, and has information on events and shows as well as strong programming in its two gallery spaces. On the first floor, Espai 2 is devoted to exhibitions of contemporary art, while the free downstairs gallery, named after local photographer Xavier Miserachs, is focused on historical and contemporary photography and also hosts Barcelona's most prestigious annual photo competition: the FotoMercè, held during the Mercè in September.

The graceful eighteenth-century Palau de la Virreina (Virreina Palace) is set back slightly from the Ramblas. Commissioned by a Peruvian viceroy, Manuel Amat, and named after the wife who survived him, its five Ramblas-facing bays are adorned with pilasters and Rococo windows. Today the palace is used by the city council's culture department, with a ground-floor shop featuring locally produced arts and crafts and souvenirs and a walk-in information centre and ticket office for cultural events.

Two galleries are used for changing exhibitions of contemporary art and photography, while in the courtyard are usually displayed the city's two official Carnival giants (gegants vells), representing the celebrated thirteenth-century Catalan king, Jaume I, and his wife Violant. The origin of Catalunya's outsized (five-metre-high) wood-and-plaster Carnival figures is unclear, though they probably once formed part of the entertainment at medieval travelling fairs. The first record of specific city giants is in 1601 – they were later used to entertain the city's orphans but are now an integral part of Barcelona's festival parades.

Palau de la Virreina is often passed by the tourist because it's not the most famous of the city sights. Although, when you travel to Barcelona, don't miss the chance to go to the Palace. It is a beautiful building and offers place for some cultural tourism in the heart of the city, near the most crowded streets of Barcelona. After your flight to Barcelona you can easily book a hotel in the area and go to the Palau de la Virreina for an hour or two. There are some beautiful sightseeing spots. The Palace isn't included in most of the tour guides of the city.

Palau de la Virreina is stored main walking street La Rambla built between 1772 and 1775. It is on La Rambla 99 next to the Boqueria market on the part of La Rambla called "La Rambla de les Flors." You can get there via direct flight to Barcelona or to Girona, Reus or Lleida–Alguaire.