Time Out has published a special report about Barcelona: 20 things to do in the city. We'll share this information with you in five posts, starting today.
1. Ramble down colourful La RamblaOne of the most famous boulevards in the world, La Rambla is worth a stroll d
own even if you only have one day in Barcelona. A gateway to rural Catalonia, the mile-long road bustles with tourists, artists, human statues, fortune-tellers, dancers and musicians. Vibrant flower stalls, a cultural and exhibition centre, the superb La Boqueria market, a Joan Miró mosaic, newspaper kiosks and cafés line the street. You may pay a fortune to sip a cola at a roadside café, but the people-watching opportunities will be worth the price.
2. Get up close to Gaudí's grand designs:
In Barcelona, you can gaze in wonder at Gaudí's fairytale architecture. The Sag
rada Familia is breathtaking and grotesque by turns. At first glance, it seems as though a careless giant has dripped melting wax over a Gothic cathedral, but a closer look reveals that the protuberances create a stone tapestry of Christ's life. Take the lift to the top for a breathtaking view. Park Güell is a magical place that emulates an English garden city. After seeing the gatehouses, based on designs for the opera Hansel and Gretel, you can walk up a splendid staircase, past a mosaic dragon to what once was a marketplace. Outside, climb to the heights of the park to gaze down at the magnificent panorama.
3. Hit a high note in concert:
Barcelona has its fair share of live music venues, such as Razzmatazz and
Bikini. But there are also marvellous concert halls. The Gran Teatre del Liceu is a spl endid p lace, decorated by gold leaf, plush red carpets and ornate carvings. L'Auditori is a sleek 2,400-seater venue that covers not only classical but also jazz and world music. The Palau de la Música Catalana is celebrated for its Modernista architecture, and sheer volume of musical activity. There are a cluster of music events, like the Festival Internacional de Jazz de Barcelona.
4. Picture the city of Picasso's youth:
Picasso remembered Barcelona as beautiful and bright, a city wher
e he spent his early years. Follow in the footsteps of the artistic genius by visiting the landmarks that shaped his youth. Stroll along the Calle Reina Christina and then cross over to 3 Carrer de la Mercè to see where his family lived, though the building was later destroyed. For a break, stop by the Els Quatre Gats, a café frequented by Catalonia's fin-de-siècle avant-garde. Then, head straight to the Museu Picasso , a gallery that records Picasso's formative years.
5. Pick up a platter at a pintxo bar:
Picking on pintxos, platters of bite-sized food served on bre
ad (a Basque version of tapas), is a popular culinary trend in Barcelona. Tradition calls for you to pick at the food with toothpicks, and at the end of the night you will be charged for the number of toothpicks that you have used. The Old Town Basque house Euskal Etxea invites you to savour dainty little croissants filled with jamón serano, chicken tempura with saffron mayonnaise, melted provolone with mango and ham, or a mini-brochette of pork and peppers.
Share with us: Have you been in Barcelona? What would be your "top 5" of things to do/see here?
s less populated by tourists. Scattered across the landward side are buildings from the 1992 Olympic Games, including Santiago Calatrava's Olympic needle, while facing the sea is the lighthouse and vast cemetery. The Castell de Montjuïc was the burial place for the medieval Jewish community. Energetic visitors can climb to the top of the hill, which is just a short distance from the Olympic stadium and Jardi Botànic. The Plaça Espanya provides the most popular access to the park. Here, you can visit the Pavelló Mies van der Rohe, the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya and cultural centre CaixaForum.
ic journey as well. Stroll round the leafy gardens of the Teatre Grec and then head to the Fundació Joan Miró, one of the greatest museums in the world. It's home to a collection of over 225 paintings, 150 sculptures and graphic pieces by the Spanish surrealist artist, along with a number of works by his contemporaries. Wander over to the Jardins Laribal, meticulously designed by the French landscape artist Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier. Don't miss the Tres Pins nursery, where plants are grown for the city's municipal parks and gardens, or forget to tip your hat to the bronze statue of the Italian poet Dante Alighieri in the Plaça de Dante.
have been inspired by the lower Raval, generally referred to as the Barrio Chino, a name coined by an American journalist due to its underworld feel in the 1920s. Haunted by drifters and prostitutes, the seedy ghetto forms a strangely glamorous setting for Jean Genet's existential novel The Thief's Journal (1949) and provides the backdrop for the civil war novel The Palace (1962) by Nobel prize-winner Claude Simon and The Margin by André Pieyre de Mandiargues (1967), which was made into a film.
hy, the city still manages to look good. Some scenes, of course, are more photogenic than others. To spot a few, wander through Almacenes del Pilar. Here, you'll find a glorious array of fabrics and accessories for traditional Spanish costumes on display in a Bohemian interior dating back to 1886. For mouth-watering photographs, head to the city's most central food market and gourmand's pilgrimage La Boqueria along La Rambla, where you'll discover layers of fruit and veg, olives and herbs in full colour. For a bird's eye view, ascend the Torre de Collserola, Norman Foster's galactic communications tower.
Galician restaurant Botafumeiro in Gràcia for its fantastic assortment of seafood, served by impeccably dressed waiters against a backdrop of nautical motifs. Cal Pep in the Born is known for its trifásico, a mélange of fried whitebait, squid rings and shrimps, and exquisite little tallarines (wedge clams). The Barceloneta restaurant Can Ramonet displays a spectacular haul of fresh seafood every day, which is likely to tempt you if you're piscatorially inclined.
Posts
