Once the rambling course of a stream, the Rambla has become the busiest street in Barcelona and a much-admired example of urban landscape design. Trees and flowers give something of the character of a public garden but it is the markets and the central location which attract the crowds. In preparation for the 1992 Olympics the Rambla was extended into and across the Old Port, making contact with the sea and giving the space another traditional garden element (water).