Discovering Barcelona

I’m not too sure how it manages it, but Barcelona has to be one of Europe’s most charming cities. It’s two distinct areas – the older, medieval Barri Gotic and the modern streets of the Eixample – really contrast each other and provide many opportunities to explore. Barcelona is so charming and enjoyable I spent a good deal of time walking around, and even though it was the middle of October, the weather was warm and fantastically sunny. My friends who live there say Barcelona has some of the best weather in Europe.

Barcelona truly has something for everyone. The waterfront, with it’s revamped promenade and fancier cafes and restaurants, lies to the very South of Barcelona. I didn’t get much of chance to explore this area, but I’m told in the summer the area around here, the beach and the locally loved Barceloneta are worth a visit. Directly North of here lies the charming Barri Gotic (the Gothic Quarter). This is the old heart of Barcelona and site of the city’s oldest buildings, including the cathedral and many elaborately decorated palaces. My biggest don’t-miss would be a walk around this area – it’s just big enough to be interesting, but not so big as to be overpowering. It’s winding, impossibly narrow streets, hidden palace courtyards and ancient, family-run shops captivated me for the better part of the day.

Another captivating part of the city is the area the spreads northwards from Barri Gotic – the Eixample – an area of wide boulevards and elegant turn-of-the-century architecture, including some of the more whimsical houses designed by Gaudi. Here, quite removed from other attractions, amongst the ordered, grid-planned streets you’ll find Gaudi’s unfinished, idiosyncratic wonder of a church– La Sagrada Familia. La Sagrada Familia (The Holy Family) is completely unlike any church I’ve ever seen; half sandcastle, half futurist monument and still unfinished, but definitely worthy of the special trip out to see it (metro: Sagrada Familia).

Quick Tips:

As I’ve said before, Barlecona is a city that is best explored by foot, so good maps of the city are essential. I used two maps to get my bearings – one detailed map of the Barri Gotic, and a detailed map of the streets of the Eixample. They were really useful and made walking around the city incredibly easy (and I am truly rubbish at directions). These were picked up for free from the big tourist office (Patronat de Turisme) on the Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes (metro: Placa de Catalunya). You can also get information and opening times for Barcelona’s many attractions here.

Walking around Barcelona I didn’t really get the feeling of there being a lot of visitors about, that is until I tried to visit some of the more popular attractions. Twice I had to abandon my plans because the queues were horrendous – and this was in the middle of October, hardly the peak of tourist frenzy. If you’re desperate to visit somewhere that involves queuing I suggest that you go as early, or possibly even as late, as possible. This includes the Picasso museum, Miro’s museum, Gaudi’s La Pedrera and the Sagrada Familia. Plan for it and you won’t be as disappointed as I was.

Though I arrived too late to enjoy La Sagrada Familia uninterrupted by hoards of tour buses, I did discover a great little spot to enjoy a picturesque view of the church. Around the back of the church, on the side that is altogether more modern and clean-lined, there is a fabulous little park with a lake. Walking round the lake, to the very back of the park there is a wonderful tree-framed view of the church and some generously placed benches to sit and contemplate Gaudi’s bizarre architecture.

Best Way To Get Around:

Getting around Barcelona was a doodle. Barcelona is quite a compact, relatively flat city so walking around was completely achievable. I knew I would only be there for 42 hours so walking gave me great opportunity to get a real feel for Barcelona and its people. I inherited some maps from a previous visitor. They were no more than simple maps from the tourist office, but they made getting around on my own really easy. The lovely thing about Barcelona is the variety of districts you can walk through from the wide, tree-lined streets of the Eixample to the inviting medieval alleys in the old Barri Gotic quarter.

I felt very safe walking around by myself. However, I’ve got to admit that I felt less safe when we were walking around the Born area at night. Luckily for me my friend knew where she was going, but I certainly wouldn’t want to do it on my own. Born is part of the Barri Gotic – the medieval core of Barcelona – with tall, dark buildings on each side, twisting, windy streets, very poor street lighting and few people about it wasn’t exactly the type of place lone women would want to hang about. If I had to go again by myself I’d definitely stick to the wider streets at night.

There were moments when I was grateful for the presence of Barcelona’s sparkly, new-ish and very easy to use metro. Large touch-screen computers at the entrance of each station provide tickets in several major European languages (English, French and German). A one-journey ticket costs Euro1.20, while a ten-journey ticket costs Euro6.60. The ten-journey ticket works out much cheaper per journey, but then you have to factor in whether you’ll use it and whether you can be the type of person that doesn’t lose such things (like I did!). I was encouraged by my friend to buy a ten-journey ticket, and even though I was only in Barcelona for 42hours and was quite determined to walk everywhere, I did end up using the metro quite a lot.

I loved how clean and modern the metro was. Many stations had TVs to keep Barcelona bang up-to-date with news around the world (reported in Spanish only though I’m afraid). It definitely made me wonder how London Underground manages to charge so much, yet provide so little in comparison.

My friend has been living in Barcelona for a year or so and suggested we go for tapas at the Sagardi Euskal Taberna in the old part of the city. It’s her favourite place and I can heartily pass on her recommendation – it was a great place to eat Spain’s famous tapas dishes.

The food at Sagardi was well-made by someone who obviously knows their way around a kitchen. It’s an unpretentious place, modern with a nod to the rustic, with a young crowd of people in their twenties and thirties - a place to go to with a group of friends for a relaxed night out.

Ordering and eating were unlike any other place I’ve been to. You order your glass of wine (or beer, or coke, or whatever) and ask for a plate per person, then you can start helping yourself to the food laid out along the bar. All the food is laid out on platters along the long bar area. Each tapas is held together with a toothpick – later when you’re paying you show them your toothpicks and they total up the bill.

The food was really good. It was exclusively tapas served on bread, but it was well made and there was a good variety of familiar and unfamiliar dishes. There were the more well-known tapas dishes of tortilla (potato omelette), potato croquettes and cheese stuffed peppers, and also some more unfamiliar things, like crab salad. It’s relatively easy to understand what you’re about to eat, but if in doubt you could always try asking one of the waiters – they seemed to know English well. My best tip would be to wait and see what’s coming fresh out of the kitchen. They keep the tapas coming so if there’s something you’re interested in, but it looks a little wilted, it won’t be long till they bring out another plate.

Sagardi is in the old part of town in a 16th century building. From what I could see there’s two parts to the taberna: a casual front room with a long bar and standing tables, where we ate, and a more intimate, formal back room. Out front there’s a small area where tables and chairs are set out under a patio heater, but my friend said this is very popular and very unlikely you’ll ever find a seat there. Back inside the front room there really is standing room only and we ate standing up at the counter of the bar. There were some high tables throughout room and some tall stools, but as place is very popular don’t count on sitting down to eat your tapas.

We had a long, leisurely meal, each eating about five tapas dishes with two glasses of wine and the total came to no more then 25 Euros. A really good deal and well worth a return visit.

They also have a website if you want to take a look: www.sargardi.com

Anyone interested in Antoni Gaudi, the eccentric Catalan architect, should visit La Pedrera, designed in 1905. I know there is a mass of choice of Gaudi architecture to visit in Barcelona, including his more famous Sagrada Familia, but this little gem is unmissible. It's an amazing building packed with things to see, including a thoughtful museum, stunning roof-top views and (best of all, in my opinion) the recreation of a completely furnished, turn-of-the-century apartment.

Even with my two trusty maps I found it difficult to find La Pedrera and had to ask for directions. If you look for the junction between Passeig de Gracia and Carrer Provenca you should be able to find it much easier then I did. It is quite distinctive when you do spot it. From the outside it looks like it’s curving stone edges have melted in the sun (La Pedrera is a nickname, Catalan for The Quarry or Stone Pile).

I left it a bit late so there was a queue when I got there. At busier times of the year (I went in October) I would recommend you go as early as possible. The website www.lapedreraeducacio.org has information on opening time, which seem to vary throughout the year. It cost 8 Euros to get in – a bargain when you discover all there is to see. There’s also the usual gift shop, audio tour malarkey you find at major tourist attractions, though I will say I got on fine without an audio guide and thought that the prices at the gift shop were quite reasonable (a good place to stock up on souvenirs I’d say).

After paying and admiring the beautiful courtyard you can go up to the main parts of the museum by elevator where can choose which part of the building to explore first: the rooftop, the Gaudi museum or reconstructed apartment.

I ended up going through the museum first. It’s an excellent, informative museum about Gaudi and his architecture, including architectural models of his work and displays of natural materials that inspired him. Other state-of-the-art exhibits included video consoles highlighting different aspects of Gaudi’s design throughout La Pedrera: the woodwork, metalwork and tiling.

I then wandered out onto the roof which has some excellent view of the Eixample and the Sagrada Familia. All the chimneys are elaborately decorated to the point where you have to think that Gaudi must have intended people to see and admire the details. Wandering back down to the museum I followed some signs to the floor below where the apartment was.

The reconstructed apartment was truly fascinating. Inside you could see how every detail of Gaudi’s design was beautifully planned, from the art nouveaux friezes around the windows and doors, to the elegant curved handles and the small, but-perfectly-formed laundry room. They have taken great pains to recreate every detail of a turn-of-the-century apartment – including original furniture, wallpaper and decorations.

Visiting La Pedrera was definitely a highlight for me and I would highly recommend

Parc Guell was planned by Antoni Gaudi, the same eccentric Catalan architect who designed La Sagrada Familia, La Pedrera and many other famous landmarks in Barcelona. It’s a fanciful, medium-sized park, laid out over a hill in Barcelona’s less prepossessing northern suburbs. My friend who lives in Barcelona told me it was one of her favourite places, so when I disappointingly abandoned my visit to the Picasso Museum because of long queues, I decided to take her advice.

Parc Guell is in the Northern parts of Barcelona’s outlying Eixample district and reachable by metro (Lesseps on the Green Line – L3). From the metro there are signs pointing the way to the park, but BE WARNED: Parc Guell is a good 20 minute walk, with the last 200 metres along a steep uphill. It’s not a particularly pretty walk either, most of it being along a busy, modern road.

The park itself is nothing like any other park I’ve ever been to. It was created by Gaudi for one Count Eusebi Guell, a sort of well-to-do industrialist, but the park was left unfinished. Even unfinished it has a magical charm. It unfolds over a range of tiers and terraces spaced over a relatively hilly landscape. Wide, winding pathways and narrow stone steps lead you around the various spaces. As you walk around the park you catch glimpses of Gaudi’s unmistakable style: frothing stone pillars, crumbling earth balconies, cavernous spaces and whimsical touches, like the brightly coloured, mosaic lizard at the entrance.

At the very, very top of the park is a wonderful observation terrace where you can see all of Barcelona spread out below you. Well worth the climb. Further down, almost directly above the entrance, is a brightly coloured, mosaic-covered terrace where most people stop for food, either from the café there or brought as picnics. On this terrace is also a little kiosk selling ice creams, snacks and drinks. If you were stopping for lunch I would have to recommend you take it to the top terrace with the beautiful views – much more secluded. You could even get your supplies from one of the many supermarkets on the street from the metro to Parc Guell.

There’s a small house in the park which Gaudi lived in at one time, which I learned about only after my visit. It’s been converted into a museum and I’ve been told it contains some interesting furniture designed by Gaudi. I would have loved to have seen it.

The reason I have only given Parc Guell a recommend and not a highly recommended is because I went there by myself on a cloudy day in October. I could imagine it being a great place to take children or to go to as a couple on a nice sunny day. Maybe even taking a picnic. It’s quite far out and is relatively large so I would suggest planning at least a full afternoon there.