The City & The History
Barcelona got, doubtless thanks to the Olympic Games 1992, its exit in
the tourist world. Not only did the city picture and structure change,
by opening the city towards the sea, but also the Catalan people changed.
During the last years, the city has become a very attractive place to
travel to in Europe. It is an open and flexible city, filled with culture
and street life. Here you will find the contrasts, the humane relations,
the traditions and the joins in life.
The metropol is today "a sea of small villages", with their
plazas and churches, with their markets and also with their different
way of living and talking. Before each quarter in the city was its own
village and with the increase and development of the city, the villages
have grown together and become the Barcelona we see today.
The best way to discover Barcelona is without question by foot and the
street you just must "taste" is Las Ramblas. The most famous
pedestrian street in Barcelona goes from Plaza Catalunya down to the sea,
where Cristoffer Columbus proudly stands looking over the sea. Las Ramblas
is a mix of artist actions, live statues, sale of news papers, flowers
and birds. Further down the artists sell their drawings and their handcraft.
Las Ramblas is with right called the pulse of Barcelona, because here
you can feel the breath of the city. Everyone staying for a while or living
in Barcelona will sooner or later pass by this street.
Ciutat Vella is a fantastic example of Barcelona going against the popular
and commercial development of shops. Instead they keep the original shops.
News and old stuff get together here, as well as beautiful things and
ugly things, expensive things and cheap things. You will never get bored
shopping in Barcelona. And everywhere you will hear the music of musicians
on the street, artists painting and everywhere you will find a bar where
you can take a coffee and just have a look of the street life of Barcelona.
The history of Barcelona is long and very interesting and the most fantastic
is how much the middle age culture is still kept in Ciutat Vella, for
example big parts of the city wall. The most exiting way to discover the
history of Barcelona is to walk around the street of the Old Town, the
Gothic Quarters. Besides the Cathedral and the home of the Bishop, we
recommend Plaza San Jaime, where the Government of Catalonia is. To learn
more about the Catalan history, visit the Historic Museum, Palau de Mar,
Plaza de Pau Vila 3 (Port Vell).
Restaurants & Bars
If your purpose is to do a tasting tour of the brilliant gastronomy in
the Catalan capital, Barcelona, you will need to take you time during
at least a week. The street is overfloading of nice and good restaurants.
The prices varies from 18 € for a table full of tapas to between
30 € - 60 € per person in the most exclusive restaurants.
The Tapas Bars
To eat tapas ("tapeo") is not only a way of tasting a little
bit of everything and share between the friends. It is a way of relationship,
a part of the social life that is so important for every Spanish person.
La Estrella de Plata,
C/. Plaza de Palau 9 (Ciutat Vella)
Comerç 24,
C./ Comerç 24 (Ciutat Vella)
Casa Pepe, Pza Bonanova
4 (Sarrià)
Ciudad Condal, Rambla
de Catalunya 18 (L'Eixample)
El Xampanyet, Calle
Montcada 22 (Ciutat Vella)
La Bodegueta, Rambla
de Catalunya, 98-100 (L'Eixample)
Santa Maria, C/ Comerç
17 (Ciutat Vella)
On Calle Mercé
there are several tapas bars with its origen from Asturias and Galicia.
Visit La Socarrena (Mercé 21), La Plata (Mercé 28), Bar
Celta (Mercé 16) and specially O'Pescador (Mercé/Simó
Oller).
The best cafées
The street cafées exists on every street and at every corner and
is a nice environment to rest the hurting feet after a shopping trip along
the streets of Barcelona.
Caelum, C/ De La Palla
8 (Ciutat Vella)
Café de l`Opera,
Las Ramblas 74 (Ciutat Vella)
Café Schilling,
Ferran 23 (Ciutat Vella)
Café Zurich,
Plaza Catalunya 1
The Lunch Restaurants
Since Barcelona is a hectic business city there are hundreds of very good
lunch restaurants in every corner. The habitants are most of the time
very lojal to their neighbourhood and they always go to the same restaurant.
The lunch is very important in Spain, it always contains in 3 dishes,
almost always with wine and water, but of course, here the lunch is 2
hours long, so why not enjoy it?
Agua, Paseo Maritimo
de la Barceloneta 30 (Port Olimpic)
Hostal de la Rita,
C/. Aragó 279 (L'Eixample)
Tenorio, C/. Paseo
de Gracia 37 (L'Eixample)
La Tramoia, Rambla
de Catalunya 15 (L'Eixample)
The classical
Senyor Parellada,
C/ Argenteria, 37 (Ciutat Vella), tfn +34 93 310 5094.
Els 4 Gats, C/ Montsio
3 (Ciutat Vella), tfn +34 93 302 4140-
Set Portes, Passeig
Isabel II (Ciutat Vella), 14, tfn +34 93 319 2950.
Trendy
A Contraluz, C/ Milanesat
19 (Sarrià)
Tragaluz, Paseo de
Concepcion 5 (L'Eixample)
El Japonés,
Paseo de Concepció 5 (L'Eixample)
El Mercante di Venezia,
C/. José Anselmo Clavé 11 (Ciutat Vella)
Exclusive / Exprimental Catalan kitchen
Barcelona has, since several years ago, improve their fame in the gastronomic
world and especially the Catalan kitchen is today known to be the most
interesting and different in Spain. In Barcelona you can find several
exclusive restaurants where you can try the most delicious dishes with
inspiration from Catalan, Japanese and French kitchen. The prices are
between 36 and60 € / person.
Casa Leopoldo, San
Rafael 24 (Ciutat Vella)
Hofmann, C/. Argenteria
74-78 (Ciutat Vella)
Abac, Rec 79-89 (Ciutat
Vella)
Can Gaig, Paseo Maragall
402 (Horta)
Neichel, Beltran i
Róspide 16 (Sarrià)
Night Life
The night life in Barcelona is vibrating, bubbling, flexible and maybe
even chocking. It is like everything is acceptable and it is not strange
if a persons comes into a place with green hair, a or if you see a drag
queen among the people. Here are places for all kind of people and maybe
the best thing with Barcelona is that all kinds of people can actually
meet on the same dance floor.
Bars
Dry Martini, Aribau
162 (L'Eixample)
Gimlet, Rec 24 (Ciutat
Vella) and Santaló 46 (Sarrià)
Café Schilling,
Ferran 23 (Ciutat Vella)
Margarita Blue, C/.
José Anselm Clavé 6 (Ciutat Vella)
Rita Blue, Plaza Sant
Agusti 3
Discoteques
Luz de gas, Muntaner
246
Mirablau, Pza Dr Andreu
2
Otto Zutz, Lincoln
15 (Sarrià)
La Paloma, Tigre 27
(Ciutat Vella)
La Fira, Provença
171 (L'Eixample)
Baja Beach Club, Paseo
de la Barceloneta 34 (Port Olimpic)
Maremagnum, Port Vell.
Jazzclubs
Jamboree, Plaza Reial
17 (Ciutat Vella)
Harlem Jazz Club,
Comtessa de Sobradiel 8 (Ciutat Vella)
Jazzman, C/. Roger
de Flor 238 (Gracia)
La Boite, Diagonal
477 (L'Eixample)
Little Italy, Rec
30 (Ciutat Vella
Culture & Attractions
Architecture
Barcelona is doubtless today a very important reference in the international
architect and design world. From the spectacular buildings of the genius
Gaudí to the elegant artist Antonio Miró, the city has kept
a design and architectural area of high quality. Gaudí has, by
his fantastic house façades, succeeded to give Barcelona a design
name in the world. Many of his masterpieces is today the most attractive
culture attractions in the city.
Casa Mila (La Pedrera),
Paseo de Gracia - Calle Rossellón.
Casa Batlló,
a little further down the street Paseo de Gracia.
Sagrada Familia, Gaudís
masterpiece.
Parc Guëll, incredible
park.
Architecture in Barcelona is, however, not only Gaudí. Some examples:
Casa Amatller, (beside
Casa Batlló onPaseo de Gracia) and Casa Terrades (Avda Diagonal
416-420) by the architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch.
Palau de la Musica,
modernist masterpiece by the architect Domenech i Muntaner.
Montjuïc, the
mountain that closes the south access, nice views. Sport area during the
Olympic Games 1992.
Port Olimpic with
restaurant, bars, beaches, etc.etc.
Museums
Fundacion Joan Miró,
Parc de Mont Juic, Pza Neptu, Mont Juic.
Fundacion Antoni Tapiés,
C/ Aragon, 225.
MACBA, the Modern
Museum of Barcelona in the Raval Quarters.
Picasso-muséet,
C/ Montcada, 15.
Pueblo Español,
mini-villages in Montjuïc.
Museu Nacional d'Art
de Catalunya (MNAC), Mirador del Palau 6 (Montjuïc)
Shopping
Among all the streets in the Old Town and Gracia Quarters you can find
shops you never have seen before. Some shops is specialized in extreme
platform shoes or underwear, other sell strange decorations for the house.
The shops normally close around 21.00 with a lunch break between 14–16:30,
but there are also several shops (fashion shops and shopping centres like
L´Illa on Avenida Diagonal and Boulevard Rosa at Paseo de Gracia
55) that has opened during the whole day. Shoes are cheap in Barcelona
and there are two streets where the shoe shops are in row: Visit Avda.
Puerta del Angel and Calle Pelayo, where you also find many shops with
youth fashion.
Design / decoration
The offer of exclusive decoration and design shops is enormous, especially
along the street "Consell de Cents"(L’Eixample). Calle
Palla and Calle Banys Nous (Ciutat Vella) have become one of the most
important street where you find antiquario shops. Take your time and enjoy
the enormous and various offer. Shops that should be mentioned:
B.D. Ediciones de
Diseño is a magnificent interior shop in an old building by the
famous architect Domenech i Muntaner. The shop is specialized on exclusive
design furniture’s C/. Mallorca, 291-293.
Vincon, Paseo de Gracia,
96, is the most famous design shop in Barcelona with the latest for the
home.
Camilla Hamm down
in the Born quarters, C/. Rec, avantgardistic modern furniture and decorations
items.
La Perla Gris that
has fantastic textiles, near Plaza de Pí (Ciutat Vella).
Sala Gaspar, classical
design shop on Consell de Cent 323.
Sala Dalmau, well
known design and furniture shop, Consell de Cent 349.
Edicions T, Consell
de Cent 282, and Carles Tache, Consell de Cent 290, run by the children
of the famous artist Tápies.
Sala Joan Prats, Barcelona
maybe oldest antic shop, on Calle Petritxol.
Nomada’s, import
from the Africa kontinent, all kinds of stuff, from furniture to mystic
masks. C/. Palla (Ciutat Vella).
Zeta the city’s
most known "underground design" with sale of gifts and decorations
items. C./ Avinyo, 22 (Ciutat Vella).
2 BIS here you find
small items for your home, decoration and exclusive design sculptures
in a wonderful mix, C/. Bisbe 2 (Ciutat Vella), the street between the
Cathedral and Plaza Sant Jaume.
Fashion
Exclusive clothes shops you find on Paseo de Gracia (L’Eixample)
and surroundings. A walk on Avda Portal del Angel and C/. Portaferissa
(Ciutat Vella) gives you a fantastic offer of youth fashioin for all tastes.
Calvin Klein, Calvins
own very good looking shop. Avda. Diagonal, 484 (L’Eixample).
Furest, the best shop
for male clothes, Paseo de Gracia 14 (L’Eixample).
La Gralla, is a big
gallery with young and trendy international fashion. C/ Portaferissa (Ciutat
Vella).
Massimo Dutti, Pza
de Catalunya, just beside Sephora. Good looking and trendy clothes to
good prices.
Sephora, is just under
Café Zurich with a gigantic offer of perfume and cosmetics. Plaza
de Cataluña.
Zara, is Spain’s
answer to Hennes & Mauritz . Zara has male-, female- and children
fashion, simple and practical clothes to good prices. Paseo de Gracia
16 (L’Eixample).
Music
A music city has of course a good selection of music shops:
FNAC, the shopping centre with international press, music, books and IT.
Plaza de Cataluña.
El Corte Inglés, famous ware house with a good music department.
Avenida Portal del Angel.
Overstocks, C/. Tallers 9 and Discos Edison’s, Riera Baixa 10, they
say that what you don’t find here is not to find any other place.
Delicatessen
Finally, if you wish to take some Catalan sweets with you home, you should
visit some of the delicatessen shops. If you are looking for wine from
Catalonia or Spain, go in to a special “Bodega”, where you
can taste the wines and also get some home made “tapas”.
Planelles Donat, has the best “turrón” in Barcelonas,
Spanish nougat. The shop has existed since 1850. Avda. Portal del Angel
7 and 25.
Specialist shops
Solingen has a fantastic offer of knives of every size and shape. It is
on Plaza del Pí (Ciutat Vella).
Puzzlemania is the shop for you who likes puzzles. C/. Diputación
(L’Eixample).
Comics – big offer of cartoon from the whole world. with everything
that has to do with cartoons, from books to clothes, Via Layetana 29.
Les Mil i Una Nines, here you find exclusive doll models by Philip Heath,
Götz, Anna Mitrani and Silvia Nattarer. C/. Ramón y Cajal
(Grácia).
Fun for kids
Zoo, is located in the big Parc Ciutadella, between Arc Triumf and Port
Olimpic, and it is said it is the biggest zoo in the country. It has put
its name on the map thanks to “Copito de nieve" (The Snowflake),
an albino gorilla that has grown up on the Zoo i Barcelona. The zoo shows
all kinds of animals from the whole world and you can enjoy dolphins,
lions, giraffes, etc.
L'Aquarium, Maremagnum (Port Vell), invites you to “dive”
into the sea water by taking a walk under the water where the fishes are
swimming above your head (tunnels in a huge aquarium). There are also
a department where the children can play and discover the maritime live
on their own.
Tivoli Tibidabo, on the top of the Tibidabo-mountain. With fantastic views
over the city, this entertainment park invites with all the normal ingredients
that a park should have.
Excursions outside Barcelona
The Costa Brava coast is along the north coast of Barcelona and it takes
between 40 and 90 minutes to go with car. We recommend to visit the many
small fishing villages, like for example Begur, Tossa de Mar, Llafranc,
Tamariu, L'Escala and Pals.
Montserrat is a mountain, about 40 km from Barcelona, with dramatically
rock formations and a middle age monastery.
Sitges, popular tourist resort with many small street and long beaches,
located around 40 km from Barcelona.
Golf
Real Club de Golf El Prat, 36-holes with four different routes. Located
just by the sea, 7 km from Barcelona airport and 21 km from the city centre.
Open all year around and with all necessary service. It is a very popular
court, so make sure you have booked in advance. Green fee: 84,48 €
(weekends 168,96 €). Tfn: +34 93 379 0278. Fax: +34 93 370 5102.
Club de Golf Terramar, 18-holes in Sitges. Open all year around (closed
Tuesdays from October to June). Book in advance. Green fee: 55 €
(weekends 80 €). Tfn: +34 93 894 0580. Fax: +34 93 894 7051.
Club de Golf Vallromanes, 18-holes, located north of Barcelona, on the
way between El Masnou and Garanollers, km 7,5 (motorway Barcelona-Mataró,
exit nr 6 Alella). Green fee: 72 € (weekends 120 €). Tfn: +34
93 572 9064, Fax: +34 93 572 9330.
Club de Golf Sant Cugat, is a popular 18-hole court, in Sant Cugat del
Vallès, 20 km outside Barcelona. Book in advance. Green fee: Mon
50 €, Tue-Fri 65 € (weekends 130 €). Tfn: +34 93 674 3908
or +34 93 674 3958. Fax: +34 93 675 5152.
Club de Golf Llavaneres, 18-hole court in Sant Andreu de Llavaneres, 34
km north of Barcelona (motorway Barcelona-Mataró, exit 17). Open
all year (closed Mondays from 15/9 to 10/7). Tfn: +34 93 792 6050. Fax:
+34 93 795 2558.
Transport
Buses and subway
The bus and subway system is very well planned, good informed and easy
to use. There are integrated tickets that is valid both on buses and subway,
also the trains going outside the city. Either you can by a 10-travel
ticket (5,60 €) or a one-day-card (4,20 €) that gives you the
right to travel how much you wish during 24 hours. For more information,
go to the information desk on the Sants Station.
To drive
Barcelona is a very hectic traffic street and it gets easily traffic jams
during the day, but generally it is quit easy to drive in the city, thanks
to the straight one-way streets. Just be careful with the scooters. They
seem to be thinking they are the only ones on the streets..
Taxi costs
Taxi is not expensive, a normal trip within the city area costs between
3 and 6 €. If you order the taxi by phone, the extra fee is around
2 €, however the best way to find a taxi is out on the street, you
can see the yellow-black cars everywhere.
