discover
BARCELONA
BRENDAN SAINSBURY DAMIEN SIMONIS
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LARI
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DISCOVER BARCELONA
Day Trips (p237) Taste wine, see Roman ruins and explore monastic shrines in Catalonia’s hinterland.
Montjuïc, Sants & El Poble Sec (p213) Parks and gardens still embellish the hill that hosted the Olympics.
Park Güell & Around (p185) Gaudí’s gardens fold into the lofty hills and green spaces of Tibidabo.
L’Eixample (p151) Modernisme rules in Barća’s 19th-century ‘extension’, crowned by Gaudí’s La Sagrada Família
La Barceloneta & the Beaches (p129) Fresh seafood meets blond beaches and cutting-edge modernism on the city’s waterfront.
La Ribera (p103) Experience a culinary and nightlife renaissance in the Old City’s trendiest neighbourhood.
Barri Gótic & La Rambla (p50) Walk La Rambla, penetrate sinuous side streets, and gawp at Gothic architectural masterpieces.
El Raval (p81) This once seedy quarter has shed some but not all its edge.
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CONTENTS
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THIS IS BARCELONA 10
BARCELONA’S TOP 25 EXPERIENCES 13
BARCELONA’S TOP ITINERARIES 31
PLANNING YOUR TRIP 39
BARRI GÒTIC & LA RAMBLA 50HIGHLIGHTS 54BARRI GÒTIC WALKING TOUR 58BEST… 60DISCOVER BARRI GÒTIC & LA RAMBLA 61SIGHTS 61SLEEPING 72EATING 72DRINKING 75ENTERTAINMENT & ACTIVITIES 76SHOPPING 78
EL RAVAL 81HIGHLIGHTS 84WINING & DINING WALKING TOUR 86BEST… 88DISCOVER EL RAVAL 89SIGHTS 89SLEEPING 92EATING 95DRINKING 98ENTERTAINMENT & ACTIVITIES 100SHOPPING 102
LA RIBERA 103HIGHLIGHTS 106SINS OF GLUTTONY WALK 110BEST… 112DISCOVER LA RIBERA 113SIGHTS 113SLEEPING 120EATING 121DRINKING 124
ENTERTAINMENT & ACTIVITIES 125SHOPPING 125
LA BARCELONETA & THE BEACHES 129
HIGHLIGHTS 132BEST… 134DISCOVER LA BARCELONETA & THE BEACHES 135SIGHTS 135Port Vell & La Barceloneta 135Port Olímpic, El Poblenou & El Fòrum 139SLEEPING 141Port Vell & La Barceloneta 141Port Olímpic, El Poblenou & El Fòrum 142EATING 143Port Vell & La Barceloneta 143Port Olímpic, El Poblenou & El Fòrum 145DRINKING 147ENTERTAINMENT & ACTIVITIES 148Port Vell & La Barceloneta 148Port Olímpic, El Poblenou & El Fórum 150SHOPPING 150
L’EIXAMPLE 151HIGHLIGHTS 154MODERNISME WALK IN L’EIXAMPLE 158BEST… 160DISCOVER L’EIXAMPLE 161SIGHTS 161SLEEPING 170EATING 174DRINKING 179ENTERTAINMENT & ACTIVITIES 181SHOPPING 183
PARK GÜELL & AROUND 185HIGHLIGHTS 188PARK GÜELL 188HIGHLIGHTS 190BEST… 192DISCOVER PARK GÜELL & AROUND 193
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SIGHTS 193Gràcia & Park Güell 193La Zona Alta 193SLEEPING 202Gràcia & Park Güell 202La Zona Alta 203EATING 204Gràcia & Park Güell 204La Zona Alta 207DRINKING 208Gràcia & Park Güell 208La Zona Alta 210ENTERTAINMENT & ACTIVITIES 210Gràcia & Park Güell 210La Zona Alta 211SHOPPING 212
MONTJUÏC, SANTS & EL POBLE SEC 213
HIGHLIGHTS 216VIEWS & GARDENS WALK ON MONTJUÏC 220BEST… 222DISCOVER MONTJUÏC, SANTS & EL POBLE SEC 223SIGHTS 223SLEEPING 231EATING 232DRINKING 233ENTERTAINMENT & ACTIVITIES 234
DAY TRIPS 237HIGHLIGHTS 238MONTSERRAT 240SITGES 243Information 244Sleeping & Eating 244
PENEDÈS WINE COUNTRY 245Information 247Sleeping & Eating 247TARRAGONA 247Information 248Sleeping & Eating 248
BARCELONA IN FOCUS 251ARCHITECTURE 252FAMILY TRAVEL 255FOOD & DRINK 258FOOTBALL 261HISTORY 263MODERN ART 268SHOPPING 271SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL 274
DIRECTORY & TRANSPORT 275Accommodation 276Consulates 276Customs 276Dangers & Annoyances 276Discount Cards & Tickets 277Gay & Lesbian Travellers 277Holidays 277Internet Access 277Medical Services 277Money 278Newspapers & Magazines 278Organised Tours 278Taxes 279Telephone 280Time 280Tourist Information 280Travellers with Disabilities 281Visas 281
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TRANSPORT 281Airports 281Bicycle 281Bus 283Metro & FGC 284Taxi 284Train 284
BEHIND THE SCENES 285
INDEX 293
LEGEND 304
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BARRI GÒTIC& LA RAMBLA
p50
EL RAVALp81
L'EIXAMPLEp151
MONTJUÏC, SANTS& EL POBLE SEC
p213
LA BARCELONETA& THE BEACHES
p129PARK GÜELL& AROUND
p185
LA RIBERAp103
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SARRIÀ –SANT GERVASI
SANTANTONI
LA TORRASSA
VALLCARCA
COLLBLANC
ELCARMEL
GRÀCIA
L'EIXAMPLE
L'HOSPITALETDE LLOBREGAT
MONTJUÏC
EL POBLE SEC
SANTS
ZONAUNIVERSITÀRIA
SARRIÀ
L'ESQUERRA DEL'EIXAMPLE
SANT GERVASIDE CASSOLES
PEDRALBES
LES CORTS
TIBIDABO
VALLVIDRERA
EstadiOlímpic
Parc de laCollserola
Parcde Joan
Miró
ParkGüell
Parc de laCreuetadel Coll
JardíBotànic
Parc del'Oreneta
Parc dePedralbes
Via Augusta
Gran Via de le
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Av del Paral·lel
Av Diagonal
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C de Muntaner
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C de NumànciaAv del D octor M arañón
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Travessera
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Av de Roma
C de Balmes
C del Comte d'Urgell
C de Gavà
Av del Tibidabo
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Temple delSagrat Cor
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wwwwwwwwwwwwwBarcelona’s cutting-edge museum ensures
the city’s continued position at the vanguard of 21st-century art
MUSEU D’ART CONTEMPORANIDE BARCELONA p91
www
wwwMagnificent art in a palatial building on the hill of Montjuïc
MUSEU NACIONALD’ART DE CATALUNYA p226
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Gaudí did for gardening what he did for religious monuments in this weird, whimsical creation
PARK GÜELL p188
wwwwwwww
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wwwwwwThe symbolic nexus of Barcelona’s 20-year flirtation with decorative
Modernista architecture
LA PEDRERA p163
The famous artery through which the whole city passes at
some time or another
LA RAMBLA p61
A giant urban park on Barcelona’s view-embellished
periphery
PARC DE LACOLLSEROLA p201
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ZONA DEBANYS
PORT VELL
CAMP DEL'ARPA
EL POBLENOU
LAVERNEDA
SANTMARTÍ
SANT MARTÍ DEPROVENÇALS
LA RIBERA
EL GUINARDÓ
SAGRADAFAMÍLIA
EL FÒRUM
LA DRETA DEL'EIXAMPLE
VILAOLÍMPICA
EL RAVAL
LABARCELONETA
EL FORTPIENC
EL CLOT
CIUTATVELLA
BARRIGÒTIC
Marina
Port Vell
PortOlímpic
MEDITERRANEANSEA
PortFòrum
Riu Besòs
UniversitatPompeu Fabra
Parc deDiagonal Mar
Parc de laCiutadella
Parc delPoblenouPlatja de la
Mar Bella
Platja de laNova Icària
Platja de laNova Mar Bella
Platja deSant Miquel
Platja deSant Sebastià
Platja de laBarceloneta
Platja delLlevant
Platja deBogatell
Cementiride l'Est
Rambla de Prim
Ronda del Lito
ral
Av Diagonal
Pg de Pujades
Gran Via
de les Corts Cata
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C de Còrsega
C de Bac de Roda
C de Felip II
Pg de Calvell
C de las Navas Tolosa
C d'Aragó
C de
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IV
C de Sant Anto
ni Maria
Claret
C de Padilla
C de Josep Pla
Via Laietana
Ronda de Sant Pere
C de Salvador Esp
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C de la Marina
Av Diagonal
Av del Lito
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La Rambla
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Rambla de Guip
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Catalunya
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Museu d'Històriade l'Immigració
de Catalunya
Gaudí’s great religious building project is approaching the end of its century-long construction
LA SAGRADAFAMÍLIA p154
The works of a young master who plundered Barcelona for
his early artistic inspiration
MUSEU PICASSO p106
Once an afterthought, these municipal beaches are now
considered some of the world’s finest
BEACHES p138
The collected mementoes of a once-great seafaring empire
MUSEU MARÍTIM p89
Suspended between Port Vell and Montjuïc, the views here
are truly breathtaking
TRANSBORDADORAERI p137
P
The glorious pinnacle of one of Europe’s most complete
medieval Gothic quarters
LA CATEDRAL p54
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LEGEND
RailwaySecondary RoadPrimary RoadFreeway
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Compact Barcelona is a bright, fiery star lapped by the Mediterranean, a magnet to everyone from art-loving beach bums to business execs with a weakness for sunny downtime. It’s a city in motion, constantly reinventing itself.
Barcelona manages the trick of merging past with future into an effervescent present. At its core lies one of Europe’s best-preserved Gothic-era medieval city centres. Centuries later, that priceless heritage lent Gaudí and co the historical foundation and inspira-tion for some of their zaniest architectural creations. Their adventurousness is in the city’s DNA, and local and international architects continue to unleash their unfettered fantasies here. As a skyline symbol, Gaudí’s La Sagrada Família has stiff competition in Jean Nouvel’s shimmering Torre Agbar.
The heady mix of Gothic monuments and contemporary skyscrapers is accompanied by a bevy of world-class museums that take you from the wonders of giant Romanesque frescos to the playfulness of Joan Miró, from pre-Columbian South American gold to early Picasso.
THIS IS BARCELONA
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All that culture fuels the appetite and at times the entire city seems to be out to lunch (or dinner). Thousands of restaurants offer an incredible palette for the palate, from traditional Catalan cooking to the last word in 21st-century nueva cocina española kooki-ness. A plethora of tippling establishments and dance clubs also spreads in a hedonistic arc across the entire city – drop into century-old taverns or glam it up in bright new seaside bars.
Shoppers, meanwhile, may never make it to a museum. Phalanxes of one-off boutiques compete with armies of global-brand-name stores.
Barcelonins have a reputation for hard work, but everywhere you look people seem to be having fun. On the waterfront, rollerbladers glide past dom-ino-playing pensioners, sun-seekers, windsurfers and sailors. Skateboarders practise their art in motion outside the Macba, temple to contemporary creation, and mountain-bikers blaze trails in the Collserola park.
Barcelona is an intoxicating ride. One visit is unlikely to be enough.
‘local and international architects continue to unleash their unfettered fantasies’
MARTIN HUGHES
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