1.6. Are the Galactic bulge and bar the same

An overview is given of the results obtained about Galactic Structure studies towards the Galactic Centre from star counts. The results indicate the presence of an old metal-rich population (Z = 0.005–0.08; t = 13–15 Gyr), presumably the old Galactic Bulge. In addition, a younger, less metal-rich population was found (Z = 0.005-0.03; t = 8–9 Gyr), likely related to the tri-axial bar found in other studies. In Baade's Window a ratio bulge/bar stars of approximately 1/2 was obtained from star counts.