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2014/2015 

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STUDENT GUIDE 

THE INSIDER’S GUIDE TO EXPERIENCING BARCELONA

Contents 

The best of 

Barcelona 

Time Out Barcelona Student Guide 

2014/2015 

Features 

12 Secrets of Barcelona 

Get to know the city with some inside info 

16 Barcelona bucket list 

20 things you have to do before you leave 

20 BCN innovation 

An overview of the city’s high-tech economy 

22 Vermouth! 

Few cultural recycling exercises have been 

as successful as that of vermouth in BCN 

28 BCN masterpieces 

10 works that no visitor should miss 

Sections 

32 Things to Do 

35 University Info 

52 Cinema 

54 Theatre 

56 Music 

60 Clubs 

64 LGBT 

66 Art 

68 Books 

72 Food & Drink 

78 Shopping & Style 

82 Top 10 

Can you handle a gig 

a night from Monday 

to Sunday? If you’re 

looking for a thriving 

live music scene, 

you’ve come to the 

right place. Don’t 

forget local bands, a 

phenomenon in the 

city, page 56 

JORDI PIZARRO 

Barcelona is not 

Chicago. But we’re 

getting there: our list 

of gourmet burgers 

is nearly ready to 

rival the best. 

Hamburgers, like 

rock and roll, are 

in here to stay, 

page 74 

La Rambla insider’s guide to the 

shops, restaurants, cafés and bars on 

a street unlike any other, page 32 

We asked our 

readers to tell us the 

most special places 

to shop. Here are 

your winners. The 

best shops the city 

has to offer: fl owers, 

clothes, furniture, 

gardening, gifts..., 

page 78 

MARIA DIAS 

It’s a pleasure to 

meet up with friends 

at midday for tapas 

and conversation, a 

glass of vermouth in 

hand. And now it’s 

easy to do with an 

ever-growing number 

of bars serving up 

the aperitif, page 22 

Our cover 

IRISNEGRO 

Via Laietana, 20, 1a planta | 08003 Barcelona | T. 93 310 73 43 (redaccio@timeout.cat) 

Publisher Eduard Voltas | Finance Manager Judit Sans | Business manager Mabel Mas | Editor-in-chief Andreu Gomila | Features & web editor María José Gómez | Art 

director Diego Piccininno Design Eduard Forroll, Anna Mateu Mur | Student Guide editor Braden Phillips Picture editor Maria Dias | Writers Maria Junyent, Josep Lambies, 

Ricard Martín, Marta Salicrú, Eugènia Sendra; Josep Maria Sarri & Aleix Cabau (listings) | Catalan website Pol Pareja | Spanish website Erica Aspas | English website Jan 

Fleischer | Contributors Marcelo Aparicio, Laia Beltran, Javier Blánquez, Òscar Broc, Ada Castells, Nick Chapman, Irene Fernández, Ivan Giménez, Maria Gorgues, Joana 

Hurtado, Eulàlia Iglesias, Ricard Mas, Iván Moreno, Jordi Nopca, Martí Sales, Carla Tramullas, Montse Virgili | Advertising T. 93 295 54 00 | Mercè Llubera mllubera@ 

timeout.cat | Núria Gómez ngomez@timeout.cat | Pere Ribalta pribalta@timeout.cat | Carme Mingo cmingo@timeout.cat | Marketing Clara Narvión cnarvion@timeout.cat | 

Advertising designer Xavi Laborda | Published by 80 MÉS 4 Publicacions Time Out Barcelona Student Guide Published under the authority and with the collaboration of 

Time Out International Ltd, London, UK. The name and logo of Time Out are used under license from Time Out Group Ltd, 251 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 7AB, UK 

+44 (0)20 7813 3000. | All rights reserved throughout the world. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form 

or by any means, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of Time Out Group Ltd. © Copyright Time Out Group Ltd 2014 

BCU-Welcome Barcelona Global Design Development, SL – GdD® 

Impressió Litografia Rosés 

Distribució S.A.D.E.U. 

Dipòsit legal B13743-2014 

ISSN 2339-9872 

Supported by 

Time Out Barcelona Student Guide 2014/2015 www.timeout.com/barcelona 3

The hot 

seat 

Claudia Llosa 

film director, 

38 years old 

Com es 

diu ‘WTF’? 

How did you end up in 

Barcelona? 

It was fate. My father had 

talked to me about the city 

when I was small – ‘It’s the city 

of youth’. I came here to do a 

master’s degree in 

screenwriting. Then I tried to 

make films in Peru, but it was 

like trying to be an astronaut. 

You must have had a romantic 

image of the city. Did the 

reality match up to your 

expectations? 

Yes, for me, since I was so 

young, it offered an explosive 

sense of freedom. It’s a city 

that has never told me ‘go 

away’. 

Your uncle, Mario Vargas 

Llosa, lived here too. Do you 

share the strong opinions he 

has expressed about 

Catalonia? 

Well, everyone has their own 

opinions, and I respect them. 

But if you live in Catalonia, you 

see things differently. I have 

the greatest respect for what’s 

happening here, the demand 

for the right to decide. 

You’re an urbanite, but you’ve 

made films in the Andes and 

in close contact with nature. 

Nostalgia for your roots? 

I have had a strong 

relationship with the Andes 

since I was small. In my family, 

we thought it was important to 

know your own country before 

going on to discover the rest of 

the world. 

You’ve just released Aloft, 

with Jennifer Connolly. How 

was your first foray into the 

world of Hollywood? 

It’s an independent film, with 

US actors and producers, but 

with Spanish money, made as 

a co-production with Canada 

and France. And it’s been 

wonderful. Working on a 

project with such generous 

actors is a life-changing 

experience. 

What was the biggest 

challenge? 

At first, funding, and once we’d 

got that, nature: filming in 

extreme situations, on ice…. 

But all in all, it was an absolute 

pleasure. 

Interview: Jordi Bianciotto 

Photo: Iván Moreno 

Jan Fleischer 

English web editor 

Starting out, 

getting by 

Packing to move to Barcelona, I 

burst into tears when my bag 

wouldn’t zip. My own mother 

laughed at me as she unpacked 

half my stuff, promising they had 

toothpaste and sunscreen over 

there. But what if they didn’t have 

Crest or Coppertone? They 

didn’t. What if there was no 

peanut butter (there wasn’t) or ... 

ranch dressing?! These are the 

fears of every American leaving 

star-spangled shores. My British 

and Irish friends have similar 

tales of woe. No Marmite, no 

Boots two-for-one, no driving on 

the left. 

‘Culture shock,’ they’ll all say. 

Yeah, yeah, the money’s 

different, as is the language 

(wait, TWO languages?), and you 

don’t know what a mailbox looks 

like (Big Bird) or where to buy 

stamps (in the tobacco shops, 

where else?). But shopping for, 

say, eggs, socks and AAAs can’t 

be so bad. Just go to Barcelona’s 

version of Target. Or Tesco. That 

even sounds Spanish. 

But you’ll find no such beast. Be 

patient, young readers. You’ll 

soon learn big words like 

ferreteria, farmàcia and fruiteria. 

The key is not to panic. It’s all 

part of becoming your own 

person, away from home 

comforts. Sure, when you go 

back you’ll be so happy to cross 

the threshold at Target, you might 

shed a tear. Perhaps you’ll drop 

to your knees before the Marmite 

products in Tesco. But the place 

will look a little different. The 

people will sound a bit strange. 

And you’ll find yourself spreading 

tomato and oil on your toast 

instead of butter and jam. 

4 www.timeout.com/barcelona Time Out Barcelona Student Guide 2014/2015

Barça 

& BCN 

The city and football club 

share more than a century 

of common history 

Canaletes Fountain 

Barça fans converge here, 

at the top of La Rambla, to 

celebrate titles. It began in 

1930, when La Rambla 

newspaper (today’s Bar 

Nuria) posted football 

results in the window: fans 

came to fi nd out -- and 

celebrate – if Barça had 

won. They’ve been coming 

ever since. 

Solé Gymnasium 

Over a century ago, on November 

29, 1899, a dozen men gathered 

here (half Catalans and half 

foreigners), at Carrer de Montjüic 

del Carme, No 5, at the corner 

of Pintor Fortuny, to found F.C. 

Barcelona. Today you can 

visit the spot and admire 

the plaque that 

commemorates 

the historic event. 

The Camp Nou Experience 

Only the Sagrada Familía and the 

Salvador Dalí Theatre-Museum 

in Figueres topped Camp Nou 

and the F.C. Barcelona 

Museum as a tourist draw in 

2013. The two are the ground 

zero of any Barça pilgrimage. 

Europe’s largest stadium with a 

capacity of over 99,000, Camp 

Nou will get a facelift in 2017, 

including covered seating for 

105,000 spectators, but will 

remain open to visitors. The 

museum is state-of-the-art, 

with giant interactive touch 

screens and a vast collection of 

football memorabilia. The 

latest attraction is the Messi 

exhibit, opened in 2013, which 

pays homage to Barça’s 

diminutive star. 

Plaça Sant Jaume Canaletes is the place 

for popular fetes of Barça triumphs, but this 

square -- the city’s political heart -- once held 

the offi cial event. Players gave the trophy to 

Catalonia’s political leaders on the Town Hall 

balcony. Very moving for all, but crowds forced 

a move to Camp Nou. 

Camp de Les Corts Barça’s stadium from 1922 to 

1957. Soon after it opened, Barça fans jeered the 

Spanish national anthem, resulting in a six-month 

closure. Les Corts held a special place in Catalan 

hearts, but it was razed and replaced by Camp Nou. 

Lies to tell tourists 

American film director Joe Dante modelled the creatures in 

his movie Gremlins on Snowflake, the popular albino gorilla 

that lived at the Barcelona Zoo for 40 years. 

BCN LOVES... 

Feasting on long spring onions 

(calçots) cooked on an open grill. 

Peel off the burnt skin, dip in 

romesco sauce, and devour. 


BCN 

survival 

guide 

A guide to keep you on 

your toes in the city 

What you need to know 

The bureaucratic steps to setting up a life in Barcelona, the transport options, 

how to validate a degree, and where to learn Catalan or Spanish. 

What do I need to open a bank 

account? 

You need a passport or foreign 

ID number (NIE) (for the NIE, go 

to the police station in Rambla 

Guipúscoa, 79) and a letter of 

acceptance from the host 

university or research centre, or 

any document that proves you’re 

studying or doing research at a 

centre in Catalonia. 

Why do I need to register and 

where do I have to go? 

The registration allows you to 

become a resident of the city of 

Barcelona. Everyone, with or 

without residence permits, has to 

register. You need to prove local 

residency by law -- the Aliens Act -- 

and it allows you to gain access to 

public services (education, health, 

etc). To register, go to a Citizen 

Service Centre, or call 010. 

How can I access the public 

health system? 

The health card allows you to 

access the services of the 

public health system. All people 

registered, with a residence 

permit, can get the health card. 

You should go to the Centre for 

Primary Care (CAP) in your 

neighbourhood. You can also 

call 902 111 444. 

Which card do you recommend 

to travel by public transport in 

Barcelona? 

The most popular integrated 

travel cards (for travelling by 

metro, bus, FGC, tram and 

Renfe) are: 

CONVERSATION GUIDE APP 

In English, Spanish, French, 

German, Italian, Portuguese... 

T-10: A multi-person travel 

card allowing 10 journeys to be 

made on all operators in the 

Integrated Fare System (IFS). A 

multi-person travel card is valid 

for 10 intermodal journeys from 

one to six zones. In the case of 

one-zone cards, passengers 

have 75 minutes between the 

first and last validation when 

changing lines or mode of 

transport. 

T-Mes (monthly travel card): 

A holder-specific travel card 

allowing unlimited journeys to 

be made for one month on all 

operators in the IFS. An 

individual non-transferable 

travel card valid for an unlimited 

number of journeys in 30 

consecutive days from the first 

validation. T-Mes cards must be 

used in conjunction with a valid 

ID such as a national ID 

document, NIE or any ID issued 

by integrated fare system 

operators. 

T-Jove (young person’s travel 

card): Under-25s can use this 

card to make unlimited 

journeys over 90 days on all 

operators in the IFS. A 

personalised travel card valid 

for an unlimited number of 

journeys in 90 consecutive 

days from the first validation 

for under-25s providing proof 

of age by means of a valid 

national ID document, NIE or 

passport. 

T-50/30: An individual 

travel card valid for 50 

intermodal journeys in 30 

consecutive days from the first 

validation. In the case of onezone 

cards, passengers have 

75 minutes between the first 

and last validation when 

changing lines or mode of 

transport. This time increases 

by 15 minutes for each zone. 

(See www.tmb.es.) 

Where I can get my foreign 

degree approved/validated? 

You should go to the High 

Inspectorate Area of 

Education in C/Bergara, 12, 

1st floor. Barcelona. Tel. 93 

520 96 03. 

Where can I learn Catalan? 

Consorci per a la Normalització 

Lingüística (CpNL): http:// 

www.cpnl.cat/cursos-catala/ 

Intercat: www.intercat.cat 

Parla.cat: www.parla.cat 

UPF Idiomes: http://www.upf. 

edu/pei/ 

Where can I learn Spanish? 

Escola d’Idiomes Moderns-UB: 

http://eim.ub.edu/ 

UAB Idiomes: http://www.uab. 

cat/servei-llengues/ 

Merit School UPC: http://www. 

meritschool.com/upc/ 

UPF Idiomes: http://www.upf. 

edu/pei/ 

USEFUL PHONE NUMBERS 

Emergencies: 112 

Fire brigade: 080 

Health emergencies: 061 

Civil Guard: 062 

Duty courts: 

93 567 31 40 

Duty pharmacies: 

93 481 00 60 


Safety 

tips 

Every big city has its 

risks. While there’s no 

need to be paranoid, it 

is a good idea to be 

safe. Here’s a guide to 

what to look out for and 

what to do in case you 

need help. 

Before starting out on your big 

Barcelona adventure, you may 

want to gather practical 

information just in case you run 

into problems. For example, 

take the phone number of your 

country’s embassy or 

consulate, and any 

numbers you might 

need to cancel 

credit cards or 

handle medical 

emergencies. 

During your stay, 

there are many 

things that you 

can do to keep 

yourself safe: 

When making 

reservations or renting 

accommodations it’s best to 

use the services of institutions 

and organisations dedicated to 

that purpose, as recommended 

by Barcelona Centre 

Universitari. 

If you use public transport, 

be sure to keep an eye on your 

personal belongings. 

If you travel by car, take the 

appropriate safety measures. 

And it’s always a good idea not 

to stop for strangers. 

Try your best to park in 

crowded and well-lit locations. 

Avoid showing your cash in 

public and, if possible, carry a 

small amount. 

In crowded areas, it’s a 

good idea to carry your handbag 

or camera strapped across your 

chest. 

In restaurants and bars, do 

not hesitate to ask for the price 

of the food and drinks to avoid 

surprises when you pay. 

You may 

come across 

people who will 

try to divert your 

attention with 

various excuses 

(alerting you about stains on 

clothes, selling flowers, asking 

for your signature, etc.). Do your 

best to avoid them, as they 

could be pickpockets. 

If you plan to go somewhere that 

may be crowded, you might want 

to strap your bags and/or 

cameras across the front of your 

torso, rather than your back. It’s 

also important that you use a 

secure closure, including locks, 

zips, etc., ensuring that they’re 

always properly closed. 

You may also find people in 

the street who will solicit your 

participation in forms of 

gambling that appear easy to 

win. Remember that these 

people run their games 

If you are the victim of a crime, 

ask for help from any police 

officer. You can also call 112. 

This number applies to all 

emergency services: you can 

call to request police, an 

ambulance or the fire brigade. 

There is no cost to call, the 

number works 24 hours a day, 

and you can even call from 

places without mobile coverage. 

Keeping it safe on Barcelona’s 

streets and beaches 

‘professionally’, with the aim of 

earning money through 

dishonest means. Such activity 

is illegal and is prosecuted by 

the police as fraud. 

On the beaches it is essential 

to respect the indications of 

flags that alert the public to the 

conditions in the water and the 

degree of danger. In general, if 

you want to enjoy a pleasant 

stay without having to worry 

about your belongings, take 

vonly what is strictly necessary 

along with you. 

10 REASONS 

TO STUDY IN 

BARCELONA 

1. BEACH AND MOUNTAINS 

You can take a dip in the Med 

and hike up Montserrat in one 

weekend. Every week feels like 

you’re exploring a new city. 

2. HISTORY 

They still have castles (like 

Castell de Montjuïc), and 

ancient Roman ruins still stand. 

3. GETTING AROUND 

It’s easy to get to most places 

in the city within 30 minutes, 

and the metro runs all night on 

Saturdays. 

4. THE FESTIVALS 

There are loads of fun, quirky 

festivals to celebrate, with crazy 

floats and human towers. 

5. FOOTBALL (AKA SOCCER) 

Barça matches are such a blast! 

6. TRAVEL 

All of Europe is just a short, lowcost 

flight away. 

7. THE LOCALS 

The Catalans are a gorgeous, 

very friendly bunch, and it’s great 

to be included in a culture with so 

much pride in their region. 

8. THE FOOD 

Paella, calçots, fideuà – it’s fun to 

eat things you can’t pronounce. 

Barcelona is very into tapas, so 

can try a bit of everything. 

9. COLOURFUL CURRENCY 

The euro is used all over Europe, 

and it comes in pretty colours. 

10. ‘INTERCAMBIOS’ 

Everyone wants to practise their 

English, so you can improve your 

Spanish or Catalan by doing a 

language exchange. 

–By Nicole Crifase (University 

of Illinois intern at Time Out 

Barcelona) 


Get this! 

www.timeout.com/barcelona 

Book the best 

restaurants 

Try new places, and enjoy a wide 

range of choices and top dishes. 

IVAN GIMÉNEZ 

Download our app 

You’ll discover places and geolocate 

them in the city 

Restaurants, bars, cinemas, music venues – the best of 

Barcelona in your mobile phone. Everything is accesible in 

English. You can download the app via Google Play or the 

Apple Store. 

Buy your tickets 

Theatre, film, dance, festivals, 

concerts, kids shows... 

You can also buy tickets to the biggest events in the city through our 

website, whether you’re after concerts, festivals, films or other 

cultural events. What’s more, you can get discounts, get your tickets 

early and take advantage of special offers. 

Find out top ideas for exploring outside Barcelona: where to eat, 

what to do... at www.timeout.com/barcelona/getaways. 

Explore the bustling and varied neighbourhoods of Barcelona 

at www.timeout.com/barcelona/by-area. 


Cities are like people 

in that you never really 

get to know them fully, 

they can let you down, 

or they can surprise you 

when you least expect 

it. To introduce you to 

Barcelona, we’ve come 

up with this list of secret 

spots you’ve got to 

discover. From here, the 

relationship can only grow. 

By Martí Sales & Maria Junyent 

Photos Maria Dias 

PROUST’S MADELEINE, 

BARCELONA STYLE 

Let’s take a moment to give thanks for 

Barcelona’s real bread bakeries – the new 

ones, like Baluard in Barceloneta, or 

Barcelona-Rekyavik, with loaves worth their 

weight in gold; and the old ones, like Mistral 

on Ronda Sant Antoni, or the Forn Roura in 

Sant Gervasi, with probably the best white 

loaves in the city: great thick, chewy slices, 

densely textured and flavoursome, as good 

toasted as fresh. A world away from the 

sliced loaves you’ll find in the city’s 

supermarkets, Can Roura’s bread is a 

delicacy that whisks Barcelonans straight 

back to the suppers of childhood. 

Forn Roura 

Calaf, 15 (Sant Gervasi) 93 209 1769 

LET’S GET ORGANISED 

At the heart of the Sants district you’ll find La 

Ciutat Invisible (The Invisible City), a selforganising 

co-operative that works to 

promote political and social change. They 

have a fantastic bookshop and a great range 

of humorous agitprop T-shirts, they’re 

involved in graphic design and 

communication, participate directly in issues 

affecting the neighbourhood, and have 

published books like Que Pagui Pujol!, the 

story of punk in ’80s Barcelona. La Ciutat 

Invisible is a template for citizens’ projects: 

instead of giving up and being trampled on, 

they favour wide-ranging, constructive 

activism, with contagious ideas and 

enthusiasm. 

La Ciutat Invisible 

Riego, 15 (Sants) 93 298 99 47 

laciutatinvisible.coop 

INSIDE BELLESGUARD 

At the foot of Tibidabo stands the house 

Gaudí designed for his personal friend, the 

merchant Jaume Figueras; it’s a fascinating 

building that was closed to the public until 

September 2013. For many years it has been 


HILLTOPS: 360º VIEWS 

Barcelona has seven hills, or turons – 

Modolell, Monterols, Putxet, Creueta 

del Coll, Rovira, Peira Carmel and La 

Muntanya Pelada, the highest and 

most impressive of them all. From the 

top of La Muntanya Pelada (‘The Bare 

Mountain’), after you’ve climbed the 

green, undeveloped slopes, you’ll find 

a vantage point with uninterrupted 

360-degree views of the city – a unique 

perspective guaranteed to take your 

breath away. 

FOIX DE SARRIÀ 

Their delicious crema cremada nougat 

is a life-changing experience! 

Pl. de Sarrià, 12-13 

93 203 04 73 

the home of the Guilera family, who recently 

decided to share it with visitors, while 

remaining permanent residents. With views 

of Barcelona spread out beneath it, this is a 

site that has seen human lives come and go. 

Long before Gaudí made his designs a reality, 

Martí the Humane, the last monarch of the 

House of Aragon, built his palace here – and 

later, Serrallonga, the legendary Catalan 

bandit, is said to have used the ruins as a 

hideout. 

Torre Bellesguard 

Benedetti, 16 (Sant Gervasi) 93 250 40 93 

www.torrebellesguard.cat 

CHRISTMAS ALL YEAR ROUND 

Christmas in Catalonia means torró, the 

traditional nougat that comes in more 

varieties than there are presents under the 

average Christmas tree. But one of the most 

exquisite of all must be the torró de crema 

cremada – based on crême brulée – made at 

Can Foix in Sarrià. This shop, which first 

opened in 1886, already has a claim to 

fame: J.V. Foix, the son of the founder, 

became one of Catalonia’s most important 

20th-century poets. But the torró de crema 

cremada is something else: every bite 

explodes on the palate like a bomb of pure 

pleasure. It’s rich, ultra sweet and extremely 

addictive. 

Foix de Sarrià 

Pl. de Sarrià, 12-13 (Sarrià) 93 203 04 73 

OFF-PISTE 

It’s often when you take a wrong turn that 

you end up finding what you were really 

looking for. It’s good to get lost once in a 

while. And you need to brave some 

aromatic alleyways if you want to find 

places as vibrant and interesting as La 

Virgen or 23 Robadors. Both are in the 

Raval, and both are places where things 

happen – wild jam sessions, film 

projections, flamenco. While a storm of 

gentrification and prettification rages 

unabated outside, this is where 

Barcelona’s real underground survives. 

La Virgen (Despacho Cultural) 

De la Verge, 10 (Raval) 

23 Robadors 

Robadors, 23 (Raval) 

MUSIC AND THE CITY 

Indigestió is a professional non-profit 

organisation that has been working to 

promote alternative music in Barcelona since 

1995, writes Jordi Oliveres, the driving force 

behind the project, on their website. They 

publish magazines like Nativa, put on 

concerts like Hipersons, and promote 

‘spaces for reflection’ like the Indigestió 

Forums, which this year brought together 

luminaries of the city’s music scene to talk 

about ways of bringing music and musicians 

closer to society. Their work is essential if we 

are to renew ideas and debates about culture 

and the city. 

www.nativa.org 


LA VIRGEN DESPACHO CULTURAL 

One fine day in the old warehouse 

of the bar where the Manchester 

now thrives, four friends decided to 

remodel it and turn it into a place with 

happenings including performances, 

poetry, exhibitions and live music. 

de la Verge, 10 

DAMN FINE COFFEE 

It’s not unusual to order a coffee in one of 

Barcelona’s hundreds of local cafés and be 

served a cup of brownish, dirty-looking water 

that smells burnt and – should you unwisely 

force it down – sends you staggering to the 

nearest WC. But there are still traditional 

establishments that take pains to serve a 

decent – and even a magnificent – cup of joe. 

One of these is Cachitos. Señor Paco, a 

waiter of the old school, explains that making 

good coffee isn’t easy: it’s about the quality of 

the water and the raw material, the pressure, 

the coffee machine, and the way these key 

elements are combined. They use dryprocessed 

beans from Cafés Bou, and a La 

Speziale espresso machine, lovingly 

maintained. The results are outstanding: an 

inch of delicious coffee, the black pearl of the 

barrio – for only €1! Quite the bargain. 

Los Cachitos 

Rda. de Sant Pau, 4 (Raval) 93 329 28 11 

loscachitos.com 

NOT GAY AS IN HAPPY BUT QUEER AS IN 

F*** YOU! 

Over the last 20 years, Barcelona’s gay scene, 

which once fought for LGBT rights in a festive 

atmosphere, has been consumed by an allpowerful 

money-making machine. 

Superficiality, dumbing-down and even 

discriminatory attitudes are all criticisms that 

have been levelled at Barcelona’s ‘Gaixample’ 

district. Fortunately, at the heart of the district 

you’ll find the headquarters of the Col·lectiu 

Gai de Barcelona, an alternative, activist 

association where everyone is welcome, the 

beers are cheap, and you don’t need a gym 

membership and a designer T-shirt just to start 

up a conversation. The group is also one of 30 

associations and businesses that sponsor 

Barcelona’s Gay Pride Parade, which takes 

place in June every year. 

Col·lectiu Gai de Barcelona 

Passatge Valeri Serra, 23 (Eixample Esquerre) 

93 453 41 25 

www.colectiugai.org 

TEMPLES OF FINE DINING 

On C/Gignàs, in one of the old city’s many 

hidden corners that make time stand still, 

you’ll find Ca l’Agut, a restaurant that dates 

back a whopping 90 years to 1924. In the 

’50s and ’60s, it was a popular hangout for 

the bohemian set, and numerous painters 

traded their work for meals with friends. 

Those paintings remain today. This jewel 

serves home-made food as tasty as it is 

reasonably priced. For only €12 you can feast 

on a dish of lentils followed by roast turbot 

and spuds that would make the angels sing. 

And further down the menu there are frogs’ 

legs, crisp fried aubergine, and pigs’ trotters 

stuffed with botifarra sausage – glorious local 

delicacies. The service is friendly and 

attentive, the dining space roomy, the walls 

covered in paintings. Unsurprisingly, there are 

locals who eat here every day. 

Agut 

Gignàs, 16 (Gòtic) 93 315 17 09 

www.restaurantagut.com 


TORRÓ AT CAN FOIX 

Their delicious crema cremada nougat 

is a life-changing experience! 

Plaça de Sarrià, 12-13 

93 203 04 73 

COFFEE AT LOS CACHITOS 

Black magic at the crossroads of Poble 

Sec, Sant Antoni and the Raval. 

Ronda Sant Pau, 4 

93 329 28 11 

HOSPITAL VISITING 

And no, we don’t mean a morning watching 

the comings and goings in the emergency 

room. The Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant 

Pau, a UNESCO World Heritage site built by 

modernista architect Lluís Domenech i 

Muntaner between 1905 and 1930, has 

reopened its doors to the public. Forget the 

impersonal feel of modern hospitals, the offwhite 

walls and cold fluorescent lights. 

Domènech i Muntaner’s hospital was 

inspired by the techniques of the most-up-todate 

hospitals in Europe at the time, filtered 

through his own highly aesthetic vision. He 

transformed what could have been routine 

functionalism into a garden city of genuine 

beauty, divided into 12 pavilions that are 

connected by underground passageways, 

which are now a part of the guided tour. A 

major landmark on the map of Barcelona’s 

modernista heritage, the Hospital Sant Pau 

is only a ten-minute walk from the Sagrada 

Família. 

Hospital de Sant Pau 

Sant Antoni Maria Claret, 167 (El Guinardó) 

www.bcn.cat/visitsantpau 

INCOMPARABLE ALLIOLI 

Allioli is a simple emulsion of garlic and olive 

oil, but in his gastronomic memoir El que hem 

menjat (‘What We Have Eaten’), Catalan writer 

Josep Pla wrote that this crude, rustic, 

quintessentially Mediterranean sauce was a 

staple of peasants and fishermen, village inns 

and taverns; giving energy at the end of the 

working day; warming the body in winter; and, 

with a good wine, exciting the imagination and 

stimulating conversation. We couldn’t agree 

more. There are bad ones and great ones, but 

the latter are a perfect complement, as in the 

case of the allioli at Can Lluís. This well-known 

restaurant has a secret, like someone who 

keeps the crown jewels in a salt-cellar: it has 

the best allioli in town – dense, an almost 

transparent gold in colour, with a subtle extra 

something that sets eyelids a-flutter. A 

warning: you’ll want to slurp up every drop, but 

then not even your mother will dare kiss you. 

Can Lluís 

Cera, 49 (Raval) 

93 441 11 87 

THE BRAVEST POTATO 

They’re legendary but disputed, they 

generate love and hate, their fans are always 

defending them.... This is the charm of a 

place that for years has had a reputation for 

making the best patatas bravas in Barcelona 

and that, in fairness, out of respect for the 

legend and despite the controversy, we can’t 

leave off any list of the best bravas in town. 

Far from the lovely contemporary versions 

taking the tapa to a new level, those from 

Bar Tomàs are a portion of asymmetric, oily 

potatoes, perfect to combine with a dish 

from this spot with undeniable charisma. 

Bar Tomàs 

Major de Sarrià, 49 (Sarrià) 

93 203 10 77 


BCN BUCKET LIST 

20 THINGS YOU HAVE TO DO BEFORE YOU LEAVE 

By Jordi Nopca Photos Ivan Giménez 

Horta Labyrinth 

When you need an escape, get lost 

in this maze of sculpted shrubbery 

Whether you’re in town a 

few months or a lifetime, 

there are certain places 

you just can’t miss. Use 

this guide to discover 

the different faces of 

Barcelona in an original 

way, giving you a few tasty 

stories to tell as well. 

1 Head to the bar Heliogàbal (Ramon i 

Cajal, 80) for a night, looking like a modern 

creature and talking about extravagant and 

unknown music, literature and films. 

2 Reach the centre of the Horta Labyrinth, 

escape and get to Plaça Eivissa. Along the 

way, you have to search for some of the 

historical farmhouses, such as Can 

Mariner, which currently hosts the district’s 

library (Vent, 1). To finish the journey, it’s 

essential to have an aperitif at Quimet 

(Plaça Eivissa, 10). 

3 Eat tapas in the bar L’Electricitat (Sant 

Carles, 15). With no time to digest the 

tapas, hurry off to catch one of the 

traditional Barça-Espanyol derbies at the 

emblematic Can Ganassa (Plaça de la 

Barceloneta, 4). Don’t forget to book in 

advance. 

4 Take a walk early in the morning through 

the old town streets. If you’re lucky, you 

can see Sant Felip Neri square without 

photographers looking to immortalise its 

sad beauty, scarred by the bombs of the 

Civil War. 

5 Go to the MACBA, ready to face 

contemporary art. Have a couple of beers 

before – or after (that bit we’ll leave to your 

discretion) – in the bar Horiginal 

(Ferlandina, 29) or a whimsical sandwich at 

the Fidel Bar (Ferlandina, 24). 

6 Discover the oldest part of the district 

of Les Corts: Plaça Can Rosés, Passatge 

Tubella, Plaça de la Concorde and the 

district of Camp de la Creu, where the 

main streets are Montnegre and Morales. 

A good way to cap off this walk is with 

dinner at Tast de Vins (Morales, 30) 

where you can enjoy grilled meat, game, 

generous salads, and trinxat, a dish 

made from potatoes, cabbage and pork. 

7 Soak up the freaky popular culture in the 

Rincón del Artista (Nou de la Rambla, 

105). The walls are covered with 

photographs of the hundreds of local 

illustrious visitors, from Sara Montiel to 

Carmen Mairena, through the port slyness 

of Llàtzer Escarceller. 


Montjuïc 

Where nature and 

culture meet -- with great 

views of the city to boot 

with a bit of grace, you need to have an 

innate talent. 

12 Take a walk to Plaça Raspall in the 

Gràcia neighbourhood – Europe’s smallest 

square. Have a drink at Resolís (Tordera, 

28-30), the ideal bar for connecting with 

neighbourhood’s illustrious Gypsies. 

Quimet 

An essential resting 

place for an aperitif 

13 Enjoy the mix of nature and culture on 

Montjuïc mountain. You can visit the 

Botanical Garden, the surroundings of the 

Olympic Stadium, and the Miró Foundation, 

or try a cable car ride if you’re not afraid of 

heights. The bravest can seek out the 

corners where, at night, it’s a dogging and 

cruising free-for-all. 

14 Take the train to Les Planes and have a 

barbecue outdoors, surrounded by 

hundreds of others happily consuming 

grilled meats and drinking wine with the 

gusto of a partying Dionysus. 

CaixaForum 

A cool museum located 

in an old textile factory 

15 Take part in a rehearsal of the 

Barcelona Castellers. They meet every 

Tuesday from 7.30pm to 9.15pm at C/ 

Bilbao, No 212-214, and they’re always in 

need of volunteers willing to take up some 

of the basic tasks of building these human 

towers. 

16 Go to the City of Theatre, in Poble-sec, 

have a drink in the Institut bar – surrounded 

by future actors and the occasional 

already-popular star – and then, with your 

energy restored, take in one of the Teatre 

Lliure’s forays in the dramatic arts. There 

are surtitles in English every Saturday. 

Wait! There’s more! 

1 

The CCCB has opened its lookout 

the first Sunday of every month to 

celebrate its 20th anniversary. 

Enjoy the views and other events. 

2 

F.C. Barcelona is a religion. Watch a 

match in a Gràcia bar to see how 

locals pay their respects. 

3 

Rub a tomato over a good slice of 

bread or toast, add olive oil and 

salt. That’s pa amb tomàquet, 

Catalonia’s national treat. 

8 Spend an evening in Barcelona’s casino 

and bet against any of the gamblers 

waiting – with their expressionless faces – 

for Lady Luck to smile upon them. 

9 Try a kitsch architectural route. A good 

start would be the Gran Via 2 shopping 

centre – papier-mâché neoclassicism – 

followed by a visit to the Bosc de les 

Fades, where you should be careful not 

to be transformed into a fairy or a goblin, 

and then top off the experience in Poble 

Nou with a gawk at the hotels that look 

like they’re something out of a sciencefiction 

film. 

10 Travel in one of the line 10 metro 

trains: the feeling is wild, both because of 

the absence of a driver and the interesting 

characters the line attracts. 

11 Go to the bar Los Juanele (Aldana, 4), 

where you’ll learn that to dance Sevillanas 

SCOTT CHASSEROT 

17 Visit some of the least obvious 

modernist buildings: the Museu de 

Zoologia (Passeig de Picasso); the Casa 

Garriga Nogués, where currently you can 

find the Francisco Godia Foundation 

(Diputació, 250); the Palau Montaner 

(Mallorca, 278); and the former 

Casaramona factory, home of the 

CaixaForum (Ferrer i Guardia, 6-8). 

18 Eat a durum sandwich along the Rambla 

del Raval. Afterwards, to aid digestion, it’s 

a long-upheld tradition to go for a drink in 

Bar Marsella (Sant Pau, 65). 

19 Take a stroll around the neighbourhood 

of La Ribera. You can begin at the Santa 

Maria del Mar church, continue along 

Passeig del Born, go up C/Rec, and head 

over to the Centre Cívic Convent de Sant 

Agustí (Comerç, 36), where there are often 

small-scale concerts and plays in an 

intimate setting. 

20 Go to the Centre Cívic La Sedeta 

(Sicília, 321) and dare to play dominoes or 

Parcheesi with one of the groups of 

octogenarians who lay claim to the 

premises during the day. 


CALLING ALL STUDENTS: BARCELONA AND CATALONIA WANT YOU! 

The top politicians responsible for university education in Barcelona explain why 

it’s worth studying in the city and what students can bring to the local culture. 

ANTONI CASTELLÀ 

GERARD ARDANUY 

PHOTOS: MARIA DIAS 

Antoni Castellà, Secretary of 

Universities of the Government 

of Catalonia, is all for foreign 

students coming over to study. 

He’s proud to inform us that four 

Catalan universities are among 

the world’s top 100 higherlearning 

institutions that are 

under 50 years old with a high 

level of internationalization. 

How high is high? According to 

Castellà, 30 percent of students 

in masters programmes are 

foreign, and doctoral studies 

include a whopping 40 percent. 

He believes that students from 

abroad studying here enriches 

the system by allowing for the 

contrast of different cultures 

and languages. 

Castellà highlights excellent 

science programmes among the 

reasons students come here to 

study. Other ingredients that 

attract and retain talent, he 

says, are the quality of life and 

great cultural offerings. When 

asked to describe Catalan 

culture in one sentence, 

Castellà replied, ‘Catalan 

culture represents the synthesis 

of reason, work and the strength 

of the Calvinist vision of 

northern Europe with the most 

Mediterranean traditions of getup-and-go 

and creativity.’ 

And Castellà has a couple of 

cultural tips for students’ free 

time. In the city, visit the 

cloisters of Sant Pau del Camp, 

a Romanesque construction 

that’s part of an old Benedictine 

monastery, smack in the middle 

of the Raval district (Sant Pau, 

101). As for outside Barcelona, 

the Secretary recommends the 

three fishermen’s huts still 

standing in Cala S’Alguer 

(Palamós). ‘It’s one of the few 

traditional sites remaining on 

the Costa Brava where you can 

watch the sun rise with old 

fishermen singing habaneras 

and remembering when Catalan 

writer Josep Pla used to stay 

there.’ Sounds glorious. 

Councillor of Education and 

Universities of the Government 

of Barcelona, Gerard Ardanuy, 

wants students considering 

studying in Barcelona or 

Catalonia to be aware of the 

incredible variety of education 

programmes the university 

system has to offer. He believes 

a good education at all stages is 

something anyone studying here 

will enjoy. Though Ardanuy 

recognises that the universities 

could be more ambitious in 

seeking foreign talent, he also 

believes that international 

students could help out in that 

capacity, investigating all the 

options available to them and 

then choosing to study in 

Barcelona or Catalonia. 

We asked Ardanuy the same 

question we’d asked Antoni 

Castellà: How would you 

describe Catalan culture in one 

sentence? His answer: ‘Ancient, 

open and varied, in an 

extraordinary symbiosis 

between the traditions of the 

Mediterranean Sea and the 

interior of the mountain areas.’ 

It’s an ideal mixture for anyone 

who appreciates history and 

tradition, the fusion of old and 

new, and the beauty and majesty 

of nature the region has to offer. 

One area in particular Ardanuy 

recommends when exploring 

Catalonia is along the Costa 

Brava. ‘These steep pathways 

along the coastline link small 

coves that are quite different 

from Barcelona’s sprawling 

beaches,’ he says. But what 

about when you’re in Barcelona? 

Ardanuy shared a secret spot, 

the ‘Interior d’Illa’ (hidden 

gardens inside a city residential 

block) Clotilde Cerdà Gardens in 

the Eixample district, not readily 

found in guidebooks, and which 

the city has just decorated with 

artwork from the Escola 

Massana, Barcelona’s 

municipal art and design centre. 

We’re on our way over now. 



BARCELONA 

INNOVATION 

Catalonia has always been characterised by the 

enterprising, dynamic and embracing spirit of 

its people. These qualities have given life to a 

high-tech economy focused on mobile phones, 

food sciences, urban sustainability, supercomputing 

and biotechnology. 

By Braden Phillips 

1 

MOBILE PHONE TECHNOLOGY 

Named Mobile World Capital for the sevenyear 

period until 2018, Barcelona has 

become a hub for technology development, 

transfer and dissemination for the mobile 

phone industry. As host of the premier 

industry event, the city has gained an edge in 

growing new companies, especially in 

sectors like e-commerce and digital gaming. 

King.com, Ubisoft and Omnidrone are a few 

outstanding local names. Initiatives are 

underway to stay out front, including the 

Mobile World Hub, a programme that 

nurtures international innovative start-ups 

in Barcelona. Chosen companies receive a 

€50,000 grant to launch their projects. 

GSMA Barcelona 93 233 39 77 

SMART CITIES 

Barcelona also holds the top global event for 

smart cities stakeholders, the Smart Cities 

Expo World Congress, which has helped 

make it a leader in the movement to 

incorporate technology to make cities run 

better and more sustainably. From a new and 

more efficient bus network and a bikesharing 

project to an electric mobility plan 

and new sensors that measure everything 

from air contamination to traffic congestion, 

the city is transforming itself into an urban 

lab. And there’s the 22@ innovation district, 

an impressive marriage of smart urban 

planning and entrepreneurial innovation. 

Smart City Expo 93 233 20 00 

GASTRONOMY & FOOD INDUSTRY 

Barcelona and its surrounding areas are 

world-renowned for food and the culture of 

eating. In recent years, a new wave of 

experimental chefs, led by names like 

brothers Ferran and Albert Adrià, the Roca 

brothers, Carme Ruscalleda and others who 

have made it a foodie mecca. But there’s 

also a high-tech food industry at work behind 

the tinsel of Michelin stars; in a word: pork. 

There are over six million pigs in Catalonia, 

Telling facts 

1 

Knowledge-intensive businesses 

represent 49 percent of the 

occupational base of Barcelona. 

2 

The Mediterranean Diet, a staple 

of Barcelona kitchens, was added 

to UNESCO’s Intangible Heritage 

List in 2010. 

3 

The Media-ICT building , located 

in 22@ and designed by Enric Ruiz 

Geli, is a groundbreaking example 

of smart design in architecture. 


LEADING RESEARCHERS 

2 

CARLA TRAMULLAS 

1. MareNostrum supercomputer 2. REEM, 

humanoid made by PAL Robotics 3. Bernard 

Benbassat’s cuisine 4. Reactable, made by Music 

Technology Group (Universitat Pompeu Fabra) 

3 

4 

CARLA TRAMULLAS CARLA TRAMULLAS 

MANEL ESTELLER 

He is one of the world’s top researchers in 

epigenetics, or the way our bodies modify 

their genetic make-up and impact growth. 

EDUARD BATLLE 

Director of the Oncology Program at IRB 

Barcelona, he is at the forefront of efforts to 

find the cells that trigger colon tumours. 

nearly one per inhabitant. Pork-based 

products are Catalonia’s fifth-biggest export, 

worth over €22 million. Olive oil and cava are 

two other big exports. These two sectors – 

haute cuisine and food production – come 

together at the city’s annual food fair, 

Alimentaria, the biggest in Spain. 

Alimentaria Barcelona 93 452 1800 

MARENOSTRUM 

Barcelona’s MareNostrum, Spain’s most 

powerful supercomputer and the 29th most 

powerful in the world, is busily crunching data 

at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia 

(UPC). With a calculation capacity of over 94 

trillion operations per second, the IBM-built 

computer provides modelling and computing 

services for various fields, from health 

research to astrophysics. One stand-out 

project is a 3-D map of the Milky Way. The 

computer is housed in a former medieval 

chapel, prompting Fortune magazine to say, 

‘MareNostrum is not the most powerful 

supercomputer in the world, but it is the most 

beautiful.’ Open for public tours. 

Barcelona Supercomputing Centre 

93 413 77 16 

BIOMEDICINE 

The Barcelona area is home to 90 percent of 

the life sciences sector in Catalonia, a group 

of 512 companies. It has become one of 

Southern Europe’s main biotech hubs, with 

20 percent of all Spanish companies in the 

sector. Catalonia stands out for its strengths 

in oncology research. This has led to a 

unique initiative for the application of 

personalised medicine in cancer, the 

Barcelona Patient Cancer Platform (BPCP), 

which improves the diagnosis and treatment 

of cancer. Also, near Barcelona, investigators 

have access to the ALBA Synchrotron, which 

uses magnets to generate a bright 

synchrotron light used for research in 

medicine and life sciences, and other fields. 

Biocat 93 310 33 30 

JOSEP M. GATELL 

Headed development of a therapeutic vaccine 

at Barcelona’s Hospital Clinic that slows the 

growth of HIV in some patients for a year. 

CARLES LALUEZA-FOX 

Sequenced the genome of a 7,000-year-old 

caveman and made a surprising discovery: he 

had dark skin and blue eyes. 


It’s a pleasure to meet up with friends at midday for tapas 

and conversation, a glass of vermouth in hand. And now it’s 

easy to do with an ever-growing number of bars and taverns 

that want to make this tradition the best part of the day. 

By Xavi Sancho & Òscar Broc Photos Cristina Reche 

A GOOD FRIEND 

If it’s true that 

vermouth is the 

rashness, then 

the syphon is 

the sense, 

providing that 

touch of soda 

that dilutes the 

potency of the 

alcohol. 

Hippocrates is said to be the inventor of 

vermouth, back in the year 460 BC, one of 

the best periods for alcoholic beverages 

in human history. This wise man managed 

to concoct his brew by crushing various 

fl owers – including wormwood, the same 

plant used in making absinthe – in wine. 

Later, in the Middle Ages, one of the worst 

periods for everything, it was called herbal 

wine. Then, in the 18th century, 

Piedmontese masters perfected the 

methodology and recipe, approximating 

the drink consumed today. It turned out 

that one of those clever Italians ended up 

on Catalan soil. His name was Flaminio 

Mezzalama and he brought with him the 

vermouth made by Martini & Rossi. The 

success was such that a few years later 

there were already illegal shops 

appearing in the city where they sold 

forged bottles of the brand. 

The first half of the previous century was 

the era of splendour for vermouth, and the 

gastronomc ritual developed to go with it, 

which gave a local character to a beverage 

that was soon being produced in places 

like El Maresme and Reus. But by the end 

of the ’80s, when the city was fully given 

over to the creed of ‘modernity or death’, 

vermouth and the wine bars devoted to its 

consumption became a nostalgic refuge 

for apostates in the religion of progress. 

But with the arrival of the ’90s, the old was 

suddenly called ‘vintage’, and everyone 

succumbed to the wonders of recycling 

and attitudes of ironic nostalgia. 

Now in the new century, Barcelona is 

showing increasing symptoms of fatigue 

with its image as a designed, modern and 

strenuously cosmopolitan place. And with 

that we arrive at the first decade of the 

21st century, when modernity is suffering 

some of its worst press. So, it’s not 

surprising that wine bars and the vermouth 

they serve are once again an essential part 

of leisurely dining, especially for part of a 

new generation that grew up with the overly 

designed and, as a result, has come to 

appreciate the more authentic. 

Now it’s not only the elders who are 

keeping the spirit of the vermouth tradition 

alive; the young have also been known to 

partake of the old ways with a care rarely 

seen before. Wine bars in danger of 

closing have returned as meeting points 

for a clientele showing their identity cards 

for the first time. Dotted all around the city 

are smaller cellars with the spirit of the 

European coffeehouse, traditional cuisine 

and vermouth on tap, spaces that host the 

vermouth-concert, live alternative rock 

accompanied by canned muscles.... It’s 

the perfect storm. The ritual is clearly as 

much a part of the appeal as the drink 

itself. Few cultural recycling exercises have 

been as successful as that of vermouth in 

Barcelona. Here’s a guide to where to get 

yours. 


BODEGUETA CAL PEP 

You don’t have to go down to 

Barceloneta for good fish tapas. 

On the corner of Sants market, 

the tiny bar Bodegueta de Cal 

Pep offers a range of marine 

snacks that you just can’t 

refuse: sea snails, crab, razor 

clams, goose barnacles, dried 

tuna and other delicacies such 

as peperini (peppers stuffed 

with anchovies or cheese) and 

Torta del Casar soft cheese. 

Àngel has kept the spirit of this 

place, which opened 20 years 

ago, alive while adapting it to 

modern times. For gourmets of 

the aperitif. 

Canalejas, 12 (Sants) 

LA PEPITA 

You won’t find anyone called 

Pepita behind the counter or at 

the bar. But you will find Sofia 

and Andreu, the owners of this 

place with unusually long 

operating hours. Eat when you 

want: breakfast, lunch (special 

menus available at €8-€12), 

snacks and dinner, where the 

star turns are the pepitas, 

inspired by the famous pepito 

pork cuts, from the classic loin 

to some surprising creations. La 

Pepita is also a bar with a 

predilection for gin and tonics 

(they’ll make you a half-measure 

for €4) and their house 

vermouth, made up of gin, 

orange and soda. 

Còrsega, 343 (Gràcia) 

MORRO FI 

For some time now, the Morro Fi 

blog has been considered an 

essential website for those who 

aspire to keeping their 

stomachs happy. These onetime 

explorers of anchovy and 

secallona (Catalan cold 

sausage) havens have set up 

their own oasis. Working in a tiny 

space, Marcel serves the 

aperitifs he’s always wished he 

could have found in bars in days 

gone by. Marcel’s draught beers 

hide a secret you’ll discover only 

if you pay close attention to the 

hands of the man known as the 

Rimbaud of the beer tap. Two 

fingers of poetic justice – that’s 

what you’ll find in each glass. 

Consell de Cent, 171 

(Eixample Esquerre) 

LA TIETA 

Chickpeas with prawns, tasty 

potato omelette, mushrooms 

with garlic and parsley, amazing 

olives – the problem is knowing 

where to start. La Tieta is just a 

place with a marble bar that 

offers good wine, bottles of 

vermouth and an endless flow of 

draught beer. You won’t find any 

classics on the wine list – this 

week they’re in love with 

Mallorcan wine, and next week 

they’re crazy about Galician wine. 

There’s nothing unusual here, no 

secret, just good traditional food 

made from fresh ingredients and 

with skill and enthusiasm. 

Blai, 1 (Poble-sec) 

L’AVI MANEL 

The main feature of the Bodega 

L’Avi Manel is a 

large mural of 

grape harvests, 

in the same 

brown tones as 

the wine from Gandesa. The 

property was built in 1960, and 

the proprietors have managed to 

highlight the new while still 

showing their love for the old. As 

you walk in, you can’t help but 

notice the giant barrels on your 

L’AVI MANEL’S 

INVENTION 

The clam juice inside the 

pipette lends a 

spectacular contrast to 

the bitterness of the 

vermouth. 

LA PEPITA 

right; they’re full of wines from 

the Penedès, Rioja and Priorat 

regions. (They also offer various 

brands of Catalan cavas.) To your 

left are barrels of sweet wines, 

and dusty bottles (among them 

Pujol rum for making ‘café 

cremat’) and the latest names in 

beer. The snack menu runs the 

gamut from traditional vermouth 

accompaniments to a bit more 

modern tastes such as hummus 

with anchovies and vegetable 

fajitas. You’ll find that the 

clientele is equally varied. 

Consell de Cent, 416 

(Eixample Dret) 

BAR SECO 

This bar belongs to the slow food 

movement – they use local, 

sustainable produce to make the 

dishes for a menu that’s quite 

short,but more than sufficient to 

satisfy hungry bellies. Their 

organic patatas bravas are rightly 

renowned. As is the outdoor 

terrace, just in front of the 

Montjuïc air-raid shelter. 

Pg de Montjuïc, 74 (Poble-sec) 

IRENE FERNÁNDEZ 


TARANNÀ 

Tarannà is a special place. The 

light is magnificent in the 

afternoon, no joke. When night 

falls, there’s nothing like 

ordering one of the many beers 

on the menu to go with an 

organic chicken and avocado 

sandwich, a favourite. 

Breakfast, vermouth, lunch, 

gorgeously sweet snacks, 

dinner and quality drinks. The 

combination of versatility, 

modernity, quality and 

simplicity, and surprisingly 

attentive and fast service make 

it impossible not to be seduced 

by this oasis. The ideal is 

served up once again in Sant 

Antoni. This must be love. 

Viladomat, 23 (Sant Antoni) 

CASA MARIOL 

At the Casa Mariol Wine Bar, 

which is part of the bodega of 

the same name, you’ll have the 

chance to get to know Suau, 

which is a version of a drink (a 

blend of soda and coffee) that 

was popular in the Ribera de 

l’Ebre region decades ago. You 

can also taste cask wines from 

the Ebre, accompanied by a 

nice clotxa (bread stuffed with 

herring, onions, tomatoes and 

garlic), and then top it all off 

with delicious cakes from Batea 

(a town also in the Ebre). 

Rosselló, 442 (Eixample Dret) 

QUIMET I QUIMET 

Packed to the rafters with dusty 

bottles of wine, this classic but 

minuscule bar makes up for in 

tapas what it lacks in space. 

The specialities are conservas 

(shellfish preserved in tins), 

which aren’t always to non- 

Spanish tastes, but the 

montaditos (sculpted tapas 

served on bread) are 

spectacular. Try salmon 

sashimi with cream cheese, 

honey and soy, or cod, passata 

and black olive pâté. Get there 

early for any chance of a 

surface to put your drink on. 

Poeta Cabanyes, 25 

(Poble-sec) 

BAR CALDERS 

For all Pere Calders fans – God 

has heard your prayers. The culde-sac 

named after the writer 

has recently become home to 

one of the loveliest spots in 

Sant Antoni. They have books 

by the Catalan author, the 

draught beer flows freely and 

there’s a selection of tapas that 

sends shivers of pleasure 

through the district. Obviously, 

MINGUS 

the best thing to try is the 

vermouth. They stock four 

brands, but if you want to try a 

Priorat, then you should go 

for the one from Falset. 

Incidentally, the outdoor terrace 

is one of the district’s best-kept 

secrets, and another reason 

you’ll just keep coming back. 

Parlament, 25 (Sant Antoni) 

LA PLATA 

Also known locally as ‘Los 

Pescaditos’ for their delicious, 

freshly-fried fish. They serve 

Perucchi vermouth, one of the 

oldest brands in Catalonia. A 

Sunday aperitif here will make 

you feel like a king. 

Mercè, 28 (Gòtic) 

MINGUS 

The Mingus is just as much of a 

rarity among the tourist bars in 

the Gothic quarter as the jazz 

musician Charles Mingus was, 

a black man who dared to play a 

white man’s instrument back in 

the day. Compared to all the 

plastic tapas in the surrounding 

bars, the Mingus produces 

tasty meatballs and an amazing 

ensaladilla rusa. And there’s 

great beer on tap. 

Comtessa de Sobradiel, 9 

(Gòtic) 

CARLA TRAMULLAS 

LOLITA 

When Albert Adrià – Ferran 

Adrià’s brother – left his tapas 

bar Inopia, his partner Joan 

Martínez turned it into the Lolita 

tapas bar. Safe to say, 

everything changes, and yet it 

stays the same. This usually 

crowded bar serves aubergine 

with cane molasses, all kinds of 

edible delights with the 

vermouth, and delicious treats 

such as squid croquettes and 

chicken strips in bread crumbs. 

Tamarit, 104 


ES XIBIU 

The friends who launched Red 

Rocket Bar have also got a 

pintxos bar going in C/Blai: Es 

Xibiu benefits by having a 

Mallorcan in co-owner Bel, as 

well as a selection of pintxos 

(similar to tapas, mounted on 

small pieces of bread) with an 

unbeatable value for the money 

as well as a dish of the day. Be 

sure to try the Mallorcan 

speciality drink, palo amb sifó. 

Saturdays at lunchtime mean 

vermouth hour with music spun 

by the best rock ’n’ soul DJs on 

the national scene. 

Blai, 48 (Poble-sec) 

ELS SORTIDORS 

DE PARLAMENT 

Lovers of good wine and tapas 

will be happy here: they offer a 

stunning selection of wines 

from around the world, with a 

good range of wines from 

Catalonia, all at shop prices 

and with a corkage charge of 

€4. They also have six different 

beers on tap. Propped against a 

barrel, you can enjoy a drink 

with selected cured meats 

and tinned products, and 

unusual tapas such as the 

quail egg omelette with black 

truffle oil. 

Parlament, 51 (Sant Antoni) 

EL XAMPANYET 

The eponymous bubbly is 

actually a pretty low-grade cava, 

if truth be told, but a drinkable 

enough accompaniment to the 

house tapa, a saucer of 

Cantabrian anchovies. Lined 

with coloured tiles, barrels and 

antique curios, the bar chiefly 

functions as a little slice of 

Barcelona history, and has been 

in the hands of the same family 

since the 1930s. 

Montcada, 22 (Born) 


VERMOUTH 

CLASSICS 

SIMPLE PLEASURES 

Anchovies, olives 

and vermouth on 

tap: the simple 

ingredients of the 

perfect snack for 

generations of 

Barcelonans. 

LA BODEGA DEL TANO 

Sitting at one of the marble 

tables of this Gràcia wine bar, 

gobbling up anchovies as if there 

was no tomorrow and asking for 

one quinto (small bottle of beer) 

after another, you cannot avoid 

the collection of clocks that 

adorn the space. Old clocks are 

ideal metaphors for the passage 

of time and places that are 

stuck in it. But metaphors are 

for cowards, and the fifth quinto 

is what separates the boys from 

the men. Waiter! 

Bruniquer, 30 (Gràcia) 

LA MONUMENTAL 

It happens a lot in American 

sports. The Dodgers left 

Brooklyn for Los Angeles. The 

Grizzlies left Vancouver and 

landed in Memphis, where that 

species of bear doesn’t exist, by 

the way. But it also happens in 

Barcelona’s league of wine bars. 

La Monumental was located next 

to the Monumental bullring, but 

moved to Hostafrancs, keeping 

a part of the original spirit and 

expanding the space with a huge 

dining room. They still serve the 

famous Tere mussels, of course. 

Creu Coberta, 87 (Hostafrancs) 

CA LA PAQUI 

This is a wine bar that should 

be loved as much for its meals 

as its clientele, combining local 

regulars with many others from 

around the city, who almost 

seem like they come from a 

different time zone. 

Sant Joan de Malta, 53 (Clot) 

BODEGA DEL POBLET 

It’s right next to the Sagrada 

Família, but the Bodega del 

Poblet resists the invasion. The 

dining room at the back pays 

homage to the Republic, with 

its exhibition of posters, along 

with a parade of bottles and 

soda siphons. Any tourists who 

happen in are probably looking 

for Starbucks, but end up happily 

sipping a vermouth instead. 

Sardenya, 302 (Eixample Dret) 


They’re not in the Prado, the Louvre or the MoMA: they’re masterpieces of 

world art and they’re right here in Barcelona. Joana Hurtado and Ricard 

Mas have selected the works that no visitor to the city should miss. 

Photos Iván Moreno 

Who leaves Paris without paying 

a visit to the Mona Lisa? And 

yet plenty of people pass 

through Barcelona without 

seeing the great Pantocrator by the Master 

of Taüll. Barcelona may not have anything on 

the scale of the Louvre, but its many 

museums and foundations contain works 

that bear comparison with the best in the 

world, and attract visitors from all over. 

The Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya 

(MNAC) has one of the finest collections of 

Romanesque art anywhere, centring on 

spectacular mural paintings dating from the 

11th to the 13th centuries. The murals were 

removed whole from churches around 

Catalonia between 1919 and 1923, to save 

them from damage or looting, and carefully 

reconstructed in the museum. The MNAC’s 

stunning Gothic and Modernista galleries, 

representing two of the region’s richest and 

most interesting artistic periods, are no less 

impressive. If the MNAC’s Gothic galleries 

leave you wanting more, the Fundació Godia’s 

small but remarkable medieval collection 

comes highly recommended. To bring the 

story up to date, the Museu d’Art 

Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA) 

specialises in Spanish and Catalan art 

created since 1945. There’s also Can Framis, 

a brand-new museum given over to the Vila 

Casas Foundation’s collection of 

contemporary art. In combination, these 

provide a general overview of Catalan art from 

its roots right up to the present day. 

For those who want a fuller appreciation of 

20th-century art, four of the greatest artists 

of the period – Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, 

Antoni Tàpies and Joan Brossa – have strong 

connections to Barcelona, and each is 

represented by significant collections in the 

museums and foundations that bear their 

names. So as not to overwhelm you, we’ve 

narrowed down this ample field, focusing on 

painting and sculpture on display in 

permanent collections. Barcelona’s 

museums concentrate on Catalan art, and 

this selection reflects that. These are the 

most representative works of artists who 

have left their mark on the region’s culture. 

The lark’s wing ringed in 

the blue of gold meets the 

heart of the poppy asleep 

on the field studded with 

diamonds, 1967 

Oil on canvas. 195 x 130 cm 

JOAN MIRÓ (1893 – 1983) 

Many of the works on display at the 

Miró Foundation belong on these 

pages. So why this one? Because few 

express so perfectly the artist’s desire 

to ‘achieve the maximum intensity with 

the minimum means’. In his later 

period, Miró painted enormous 

canvases, stripping down and 

simplifying his style, intensifying his 

use of colour, and condensing his 

personal visual language. As always 

with Miró, the subject of the painting is 

not represented literally: instead it is 

suggested by a constellation of 

symbols. The landscape genre 

provided a framework for many of 

Miró’s works, but in this case the 

format is vertical rather than horizontal, 

almost suggesting a bird’s-eye view. 

FUNDACIÓ JOAN MIRÓ 

On loan from Gallery K.A.G. 


Apse of St Clement 

de Taüll, 1123 

Fresco transferred to canvas. 620 x 360 x 180 cm 

MASTER OF TAÜLL 

This outstanding Romanesque piece is 

arguably the most emblematic artwork 

in the city. The largest work in this 

selection, it is also the oldest, although 

it radiates a raw modernity. The power 

of these colours and geometric forms 

has influenced 20th-century artists 

from Picasso to Picabia. While 

contemporary viewers may struggle to 

identify biblical scenes, the image 

retains its aura of power. 

The jagged crack that crosses the 

main image like a lightning bolt, as if 

illustrating the inscription Ego sum Lux 

Mundi (I am the Light of the World), also 

suggests a root, and the physical 

uprooting of the mural itself, which was 

transported from the remote Valley of 

Boí in the Catalan Pyrenees. 

MNAC 

Acquired between 1919 and 1923. 


The Wait (Margot), 1901 

Oil on card. 69.5 x 57 cm 

PABLO RUIZ PICASSO (1881 – 1973) 

For some a master, for others a monster, 

Picasso’s influence dominates the 20th 

century. His early years were characterised 

by his voracious appetite for new styles, 

which he assimilated and mastered with 

dizzying speed, before surging forward again. 

But who was Margot? Who is she waiting for, 

leaning on her elbows, her glittering eyes halfclosed. 

Also known as ‘The Morphine Addict’ 

or ‘Pierreuse’ (slang for prostitute), this is a 

vivid image of Picasso’s first contact with the 

bohemian nightlife of Paris. The brushstrokes 

modelling the face are curt and energetic; in 

the background they are looser, conjuring the 

kaleidoscope of the night. Mixing the 

influences of the pointillists Toulouse Lautrec 

and Van Gogh, it’s the work of a young 

Picasso taking his first steps towards 

recognition outside Spain. 

MUSEU PICASSO 

Acquired in 1932 by the Junta de Museus. In 

1963, when the Picasso Museum opened, it 

became part of the permanent collection. 

Sock, 2010 

Mixed media. 2.85 m 

ANTONI TÀPIES (1923 – 2012) 

Antoni Tàpies made few public 

sculptures, but Sock is – or could have 

been – the exception. In 1991, as one 

of Catalonia’s most prestigious living 

artists, he was invited to create a 

sculpture for the huge oval hall inside 

the museum that bears his name. But 

the prospect of an 18 metre holey sock 

caused such an outcry that the project 

was axed. In 2010, the Tàpies 

Foundation presented a 2.85 metre 

version of a work that pays tribute to 

everyday items. Turning a humble, 

functional sock into a monumental 

sculpture invites reflection on the 

hidden power of ordinary objects, but 

also on the artist’s experience of old 

age, a time when straightforward 

actions – like putting on a sock – 

become a reminder of mortality. 

Fundació Antoni Tàpies 

Donated by the artist in 2010. 


Also not to 

be missed 

The Spanish 

Wedding, 1870 

MARIÀ FORTUNY (1838 – 1874) 

Though he died at 36, Fortuny is 

considered the greatest Spanish 

painter of the 19th century after Goya. 

The state funded his early studies in 

Rome, and commissioned large-scale 

paintings of the Spanish-Moroccan War 

of 1859. His travels in Northern Africa 

made a huge impact, turning him into 

one of Spain’s greatest Romantic 

painters of the Orient. After 1866 he 

turned to scenes of Spanish manners 

and customs, such as this one, set in a 

richly decorated 18th-century sacristy. 

The Spanish Wedding shows off 

Fortuny’s technical virtuosity, his 

mastery of light, and his fascination with 

costume and period details. Considered 

the finest example of his mature style, 

The Spanish Wedding catapulted its 

author to international fame. 

MNAC 

Acquired by public subscription in 1922. 

Cactus Man I, 1939 

St Mary Magdalene, 

around 1470 

Tempera on wood. 144 x 73 cm 

JAUME HUGUET (1412 – 1492) 

Virginal she may not be, but with her 

worldly and direct gaze, Mary 

Magdalene is, in this case, painted as a 

lady of the royal court, with the 

attributes of the Virgin Mary. She sits 

on her throne, resplendent in the robes 

of a queen, holding a rosary, within a 

gilded frame with fine fluted columns in 

the purest Catalan Gothic style. 

The painting confers an air of regal 

mystery beyond that of her simple halo. 

The light around her face and smooth 

folds of her robes show the influence of 

Italian naturalism, while the meticulous 

detail draws on the Flemish tradition. 

The elegance, fragility and refinement 

of his work have earned Huguet a place 

as one of the greatest Catalan Gothic 

painters. 

FUNDACIÓ FRANCISCO GODIA 

Work acquired by Francisco Godia. 

JULI GONZÁLEZ (1876 – 1942) 

A starkly dissected body erupts into 

spikes, as World War II breaks out in 

Europe. Juli González was a leading 

figure in the Parisian avant-garde, and a 

pioneer of the use of welding and cutting 

techniques to create sculptures in iron. 

This fragmented figure, undergoing 

its symbolic metamorphosis, breaks 

with traditional ideas of symmetry, 

creating an interplay of contrasting 

forms and suggesting a new concept of 

volume. In González’s cubist 

investigations he sliced and folded 

sheet metal, using iron bars to ‘draw in 

space’ and create the wiry artworks that 

won him international fame. 

MNAC 

Donated by Roberta Gonzalez, the 

artist’s daughter, in 1972; became part 

of the collection in 1973. 

We Can Stop AIDS, 1989 

KEITH HARING (1958 – 1990) 

In 1989, a year before his death of AIDSrelated 

illness, pioneering grafitti artist 

Keith Haring came to Barcelona to paint 

a striking mural on a wall in the Raval, 

then a rough area known for its drug 

culture. The spot suited his message, 

‘Together We Can Stop AIDS’. The mural 

was not preserved to make way for an 

urban renewal project, but a full-scale 

tracing was done. Now it’s back for all to 

see, reproduced by the MACBA. 

C/Ferlandina and Plaça Joan 

Corominas. 


Things to Do 

Things to Do 

The best of La Rambla 

Our insider’s guide to the shops, restaurants, cafés and bars 

from a street that’s unlike any other. By Eulàlia Iglesias 

1. The antidote to 

plastic paella 

You don’t have to be a food critic 

to feel disappointed by the fare 

along La Rambla, dominated by 

reheated tapas and prefab 

paella. But Amaya keeps the best 

traditions of Basque cooking 

alive, and has the cachet of being 

the oldest working restaurant on 

the street. 

AMAYA. La Rambla, 20-24 

2. Back to the ’70s 

You could sit at one of Bar 

Cosmos’s metallic bar fronts for 

hours, watching the comings 

and goings of the regulars. It’s 

as if refugees from the ’70s 

were drawn to the only café in 

town that has preserved the 

look and feel of the decade. And 

just as you’re imagining Pasolini 

dropping in for a coffee, the 

waiter slams down your order 

of fried fish to bring you back 

to the present. 

COSMOS. La Rambla, 34 

3. A taste of Galicia 

A well-kept secret – unless you 

happen to have Galician 

relatives – Barcelona’s Galician 

Centre was established 70 

years ago, in one of the 

magnificent apartments of the 

Güell family residence. As well 

as the library and the majestic 

hall for members’ activities, the 

CGB has a bar and restaurant 

where you can try fantastic 

Galician cooking at extremely 

reasonable prices. 

CENTRO GALEGO DE 

BARCELONA. 

La Rambla, 35-37, 1st floor 

4. A photographers’ mecca 

Arpí has been a specialist 

photography shop for so long 

that they have a small museum 

on the fifth floor dedicated to 

their founder, Salvador Serra, 

with a collection of historical 

pieces. 

ARPÍ. La Rambla, 38-40 

5. The temple of song 

Put your preconceptions aside: 

a night at the opera can cost 

less than tickets to see the ‘in’ 

band of the moment. So why not 

pay a visit to Barcelona’s great 

opera house? 

EL LICEU. La Rambla, 51-59 

6. Star-whats? 

Barcelona has allowed so many 

of its historic cafés to be 

destroyed that the survival of 

Cafè de l’Opera in its current 

location on La Rambla for 

almost 100 years is a real cause 

for celebration. Elegant mirrors 

engraved with feminine figures 

reflect the constant flow of 

customers at the tables – 

tourists, opera-goers, locals, 

nighthawks and bohemians. 

CAFÈ DE L’ÒPERA. 

La Rambla, 74 

7. Pure refreshment 

Known for years as ‘Los 

Italianos’, now re-christened 

Maximum, this is where some 

of the finest ice creams in the city 

have been served since 1940. 

MAXIMUM 1940. La Rambla, 78 

8. Suits you, Sir 

Like all the best tailors, Tristany 

Xancó always has a tape 

measure at hand to take his 

customers’ measurements. 

While some of La Rambla’s 

other classic menswear 

establishments – like Modelo, 

run by the Pantaleoni family, or 

Canuserua Bonet – have been 

replaced by chain stores and 


Editor 

Maria Junyent 

mjunyent@timeout.cat 

@junyjuliol 

souvenir shops, at Xancó you 

can still buy made-to-measure 

shirts in a modernista shop 

that’s almost 200 years old. 

We’re looking forward to their 

bicentenary. 

CAMISERIA XANCÓ. 

La Rambla, 78 

9. Classy croissants 

For decades, the Antiga Casa 

Figueras, probably the prettiest 

modernista shop in the city, was 

a pasta-maker. In the ’80s it was 

acquired by the Escribà family, 

who restored it and turned it into 

a branch of their patisserie 

empire: now the cakes on 

display are as delicate and 

elaborate as the mosaics on 

the façade. 

PASTISSERIA ESCRIBÀ. 

La Rambla, 83 

10. The best market in 

the world 

Encircled by the neoclassical 

Plaça Sant Josep, the Boqueria 

has become the most 

flamboyant and busiest market 

in the city, bringing together longterm 

residents and newcomers, 

vendors of local produce and 

importers of exotic delicacies, 

chefs in search of the finest 

ingredients and tourists in 

search of a sandwich. For the full 

sensory experience, have a 

meal at El Quim or Bar Pinotxo, 

while watching the sea of faces 

pass by, Dating back to 1217, 

the Boqueria is Barcelona’s true 

centre of gravity. 

MERCAT DE SANT JOSEP ‘LA 

BOQUERIA’. 

La Rambla, 89 

11. The oldest tunes in town 

Sheet music for flute, harp, 

organ – classical or modern: if 

Casa Beethoven doesn’t have it 

in stock, they’ll find it for you. 

Hidden round the corner from 

the Palau de la Virreina, this is 

one of the city’s musical 

treasures, a fixture since 1880. 

A little further up the street, at 

No 129, the Musical Emporium 

has been selling instruments for 

over a century. 

CASA BEETHOVEN. 

La Rambla, 97 

IVÁN MORENO BCN TURISME 

Things to Do 


Things to do 

Things to Do 

Modernism 

Sagrada Família 

Barcelona’s most visited site, 

the Sagrada Família is expected 

to be finished by 2026. A ticket 

allows you to wander through 

the interior of the church, with its 

unorthodox tree-like columns. 

You can also see the museum, 

which explain’s the history of the 

basilica and Antoni Gaudí’s 

creative process. 

Mallorca, 401 

www.sagradafamilia.cat 

Sagrada Família (L2,L5) 

La Pedrera 

The last secular building 

designed by Gaudí, the 1912 

Casa Milà (popularly known as 

La Pedrera, ‘the stone quarry’) 

is the culmination of the 

architect’s experimental 

attempts to re-create natural 

forms with bricks and mortar 

(not to mention ceramics 

and even smashed-up cava 

bottles). 

Provença, 261-265 

www.lapedrera.com 

Diagonal (L3,L5); Provença (FGC) 

Park Güell 

Gaudí designed Park Güell to 

emulate the English garden 

cities admired by his patron 

Eusebi Güell: a self-contained 

suburb for the wealthy. The idea 

never took off – either because it 

was too far from the city, or just 

too radical – and the Güell family 

gave the park to the city in 1922. 

Gaudí’s imagination is once 

more on display -- as are 

panoramic views of the city. 

Carrer d’Olot 5 

www.parkguell.es 

Lesseps, Vallcarca (L3) 

History 

Museu d’Història de 

Barcelona 

The three stories of the Museum 

of the History of Barcelona 

document the city’s Roman 

roots. Stretching from Plaça del 

Rei to the Cathedral are some 

4,000sq m (43,000sq ft) of 

subterranean Roman 

excavations, all discovered by 

accident in the late 1920s when 

part of the Gothic Quarter was 

dug up to build Via Laietana. 

Pl. del Rei 

www.museuhistoria.bcn.cat 

Jaume I (L4) 

Museu d’Història de 

Catalunya 

An overview of Catalunya, from 

the Lower Paleolithic era to Jordi 

Pujol’s proclamation as 

President of the Generalitat in 

1980. There are two floors of 

text, film, animated models and 

reproductions, such as a 

medieval shoemaker’s 

shop. Hands-on 

activities, such as 

trying to lift a knight’s 

armour, add pizzazz 

to dry early history. 

Plaça de Pau Vila, 3 

www.mhcat.cat 

Barceloneta (L4) 

El Born Centre Cultural 

The old Born market has 

reopened as a cultural centre 

focusing on life in the city before 

and after the siege of 1713-14. 

Inside the market, built in 1876, 

are the archaeological remains 

from 1700. You can walk around 

and visit the ‘De les pedres a les 

FUN WITH A VIEW 

Tibidabo 

This hilltop fairground, dating from 1889, has invested 

millions to modernise, including an 80km-per-hour 

rollercoaster, but it still retains a nostalgic charm with 

its house of horrors, bumper cars and Avió, the world’s 

first popular flight simulator when it was built in 1928. 

persones’ (‘From Stones to 

People’) exhibition and 

archaeological sites (by 

reservation only). 

Pl Comercial, 12 

elborncentrecultural.bcn.cat 


Fashion 

Find Barcelona’s 

major festivals 

and events at 

timeout.com/ 

barcelona 

080 

Running over five days, 080 

gives the Barcelona fashion 

scene a biannual shot in the 

arm, thanks to the 

support of the 

Generalitat de 

Catalunya. It 

primarily showcases 

local designers, from 

up-and-coming 

ateliers such as Natalie 

Capell and Miriam Ponsa to 

globally big-hitting brands like 

Custo, Mango and Desigual. 

www.080barcelonafashion.cat 

Beaches 

Platja de Sant Sebastià 

More than a kilometre of sand 

and sea within walking distance 

of the city centre. The part 

farthest to the southwest, at 

the foot of the Hotel Vela, has a 

view of the entire Barcelona 

coastline, from the three 

chimneys to the huge solar 

panel in the Fórum grounds, 

plus the Olympic Port and 

Barceloneta Beach in 

between. 


Platja del Bogatell 

Like most of the Barcelona 

coastline, the beach at Bogatell 

was completely overhauled 

during the 1980s, and these 

days it’s one of the most 

popular. According to the city, 

the average age of the Bogatell 

beachgoer is the oldest of all 

the beaches: 38. A good 

number of them (30 percent) 

are visitors. 

Bogatell (L4) 

Running 

Marató de Barcelona 

The Barcelona Marathon is a 

popular classic on the world 

marathon calendar. Begun in 

1977, it follows a flat and 

scenic route through the city. 

Length: 26.2 miles (49.195 km) 

When: March 2015 

La Milla de Sagrada Familia 

The annual Sagrada Família 

Mile is a sprint that goes one 

and a half times around the 

iconic basilica. 

Length: 1 mile (1.609 m) 

When: April 2015 

La Cursa de Bombers 

The Firefighters’ Race, 

organised by city firefighters 

and sponsored by Nike, began 

as a protest against working 

conditions for Barcelona 

firefighters. More than 24,000 

runners take part. 

Length: 6 miles (10 km) 


La Cursa del Corte Inglés 

This free race through the city, 

which starts and ends at the 

Corte Inglés in Plaça Catalunya, 

is the largest in Europe (72,047 

runners in 2013). 

Length: 6.1 miles (10.766 km) 



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to 

Welcome 

Barcelona! 

We draw talent, we shelter and we help out

Descubre Barcelona. Una ciudad cosmopolita, dinámica y mediterránea. Conócela desde el mar, en autobús, en 

transporte público, a pie o desde las alturas, disfrutando de la observación atenta de su arquitectura y del ambiente 

de sus calles y plazas. Existen muchas maneras de conocer la ciudad, y Turisme de Barcelona te ayudará a visitarla; 

no dejes de ir a nuestras oficinas de información o consultar nuestra web. 

Discover Barcelona. A cosmopolitan, dynamic, Mediterranean city. Get to know it from the sea, by bus, on 

public transport, on foot or from high up, while you enjoy taking a close look at its architecture and soaking up the 

atmosphere of its streets and squares. There are countless ways to discover the city and Turisme de Barcelona will 

help you; don’t forget to drop by our tourist information offices or visit our website. 

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(BCU) te damos nuestra más cordial 

bienvenida a Cataluña y a su capital, Barcelona, 

y deseamos que tengas una muy 

buena estancia. Sabemos que adaptarse 

a una nueva ciudad, a unas nuevas costumbres, 

a otra lengua, etc., es apasionante 

y es mucho mejor si cuentas con ayuda. 

 

universidades, Ajuntament de Barcelona y 

Generalitat de Catalunya vamos a apoyarte 

en todo lo posible. Acompañarte en todo 

el proceso y orientarte de manera personalizada 

es nuestro objetivo. En nuestra 

página www.bcu.cat encontrarás toda la 

información que necesites. 

Barcelona Centre Universitari 

El BCU, de acuerdo con el Plan Estratégico 

Metropolitano de Barcelona, tiene como 

misión impulsar, coordinar y dirigir todas 

las acciones que la Generalitat de Catalunya, 

el Ajuntament de Barcelona, las universidades 

de Barcelona (Universitat de 

Barcelona, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 

Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, 

Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Universitat 

Ramon Llull, Universitat de Vic-Universitat 

Central de Catalunya, Universitat Internacional 

de Catalunya y Universitat Abat 

Oliba CEU) consideren oportunas para la 

promoción de Barcelona como centro universitario 

internacional. 

Welcome 

Barcelona Centre Universitari (BCU) 

warmly welcomes you to Catalunya 

and its capital, Barcelona, and wishes 

you the best of stays. We are aware of 

how exciting it must be to get used to a 

new city, new traditions and a new language 

- and how easier it should be if 

 

universities welcoming service, the Barcelona 

City Council and the Government 

of Catalunya, we’ll support you whenever 

possible. Our goal is to walk you 

through the whole process and give you 

personalized guidance. In our webpage, 

 

information. 

Barcelona Centre 

Universitari (BCU) 

BCU’s mission, in accordance with the 

Barcelona Metropolitan Strategic Plan, 

is to boost, coordinate and run all efforts 

the Government of Catalunya, the Barcelona 

City Council and the universities 

in Barcelona (University of Barcelona, 

Autonomous University of Barcelona, 

Polytechnic University of Catalunya, 

Pompeu Fabra University, Ramon Lull 

University, University of Vic-Central University 

of Catalunya, International University 

of Catalunya and Abat Oliba CEU 

University) consider to be convenient for 

the promotion of Barcelona as an international 

university centre. 

BCU’s main goals are: 

 

modation for all students, researchers, 

lecturers and congress attendees. 

 

tended to culturally and socially integrate 

any temporary visitor the city of 

Barcelona may welcome, all within the 

 

Also, in our “Agenda”, we suggest you 

several leisure and culture activities 

through an updated list and special discounts 

for all our users: 

http://agenda.bcu.cat 

www.bcu.cat|37

BCU’s location 

BCU is located in the heart of the Gràcia 

neighbourhood. It is a pleasant spot at 

street level which you can personally visit 

so that our specialists can advise you and 

speed your procedures up, in your language 

or in a common language. 

 

 

 

Arriving in Barcelona 

What you ought to do after arriving in 

Barcelona is to relax and to enjoy your 

 

best city to study, teach or investigate in 

in the Mediterranean. Nevertheless, you 

must keep in mind those aspects of daily 

life (health, phones, safety, etc.) you need 

to have resolved in an effective manner 

so that you can carry out your everyday 

activities with the most peace of mind. 

Check out the “Welcome” section on our 

website. 

For instance, do you need accommodation? 

If so, we encourage you to get in 

touch with the specialized service BCU offers 

you: Resa Housing. If you have special 

necessities, reduced mobility, or you’re 

 

service will provide you with answers. 

How do you legalize your stay in Barcelo- 

 

 

the university or research centre you have 

opted to choose. 

www.bcu.cat 

Barcelona’s Vocational & 

Educational Training studies 

Barcelona is an educational model, not 

only for its university studies but also for 

 

 

 

 

 

schools, both public & private funded, 

embrace a total of 30.766 students, of 

which almost 62% are within the Higher 

 

 

 

http://www.fundaciobcnfp.cat/ 

index.php/ca/ 

Los principales objetivos del BCU son: 

 

 

profesores universitarios y congresistas. 

 

nadas a la integración cultural y social de 

cualquier visitante temporal a la ciudad 

de Barcelona relacionado con el ámbito 

 

Asimismo y desde nuestra “Agenda”, ofrecemos 

las mejores opciones culturales y 

de ocio, con un listado actualizado y descuentos 

especiales a todos nuestros usuarios: 

http://agenda.bcu.cat 

Espacio del BCU 

El BCU está ubicado en el corazón del barrio 

de Gràcia. En un agradable espacio a 

pie de calle, te ofrecemos la posibilidad de 

venir personalmente para que nuestros 

especialistas te orienten y agilicen tus trámites, 

en tu idioma o en un idioma común. 

C/ Torrent de l’Olla, 219 

08012 Barcelona 

Tel: (34) 932 389 049 

Llegada a Barcelona 

Lo primero que tienes que hacer al llegar 

a Barcelona es relajarte y disfrutar del en- 

 

del mediterráneo para estudiar, enseñar o 

investigar. No obstante, recuerda aquellos 

aspectos relacionados con tu vida cotidiana 

(sanidad, telefonía, seguridad, etc), que 

 

para poder desarrollar tu actividad diaria 

con la máxima tranquilidad. Echa un vistazo 

al apartado “Welcome” en nuestra web. 

Por ejemplo, ¿necesitas alojamiento?, te 

recomendamos que contactes con el servicio 

especializado que te ofrece el BCU: 

Resa Housing. Si tienes necesidades 

especiales, movilidad reducida, o buscas 

piso en una localización concreta, nuestro 

servicio te ofrecerá soluciones. 

¿Cómo regularizar tu estancia en Barcelona? 

Fácil, encontrarás los mejores aseso- 

 

de la universidad o del centro de investigación 

al que hayas decidido ir. 

Barcelona y la Formación Profesional 

Barcelona es un referente mundial en Educación, 

no solo a nivel universitario sino 

también en el sector de la Formación Profesional. 

La ciudad cuenta con 91 centros 

que imparten unos 154 ciclos formativos 

38|www.bcu.cat

de 21 familias profesionales distintas, así 

como Enseñanzas Artísticas y de Deportes. 

Estos centros, pertenecientes tanto al sistema 

público como al privado-concertado, 

acogen un total de 30.766 alumnos, de 

los cuales el 62% se engloban dentro del 

segmento de Enseñanza Superior. La familia 

profesional más demandada es la de 

Sanidad, seguida de Servicios Socioculturales 

y a la Comunidad y la de Informática 

y Telecomunicaciones. 

http://www.fundaciobcnfp.cat/index. 

php/ca/ 

Servicio de alojamiento del BCU 

Resa Housing, la central de alojamiento 

del Barcelona Centre Universitari, es un 

servicio gestionado por Resa, que tiene 

una bolsa de alojamiento con pisos en 

Barcelona y en su área metropolitana. 

¿Qué ofrecemos? 

Puedes consultar, gratuitamente, toda 

nuestra oferta a través de la página 

www.resahousing.com, que se actualiza 

diariamente. En ella podrás ver las fotos de 

los pisos y el mapa de localización, entre 

otras informaciones prácticas, y reservar 

lo que te interese, en línea o, si lo deseas, 

 

Nuestros pisos o habitaciones cumplen 

todas las garantías de calidad, seguridad 

e higiene. Todos están amueblados y totalmente 

equipados (ajuar de cocina y ropa 

de casa). ¡A punto para entrar a vivir! 

1. Te ayudamos en la búsqueda de pisos y 

habitaciones. Analizamos tus necesidades 

y tu presupuesto. 

2. Damos información detallada de cada 

alojamiento: residencias, hoteles, etc. 

4. Ofrecemos atención personalizada a 

estudiantes, profesores e investigadores. 

5. Acompañamos a las personas interesadas 

a visitar los pisos. 

6. Gestionamos contratos de alquiler, 

adaptados a cada necesidad: por temporada, 

para una estadía corta, etc. 

7. Tenemos un servicio de reservas en línea. 

Documentación necesaria 

Para acceder a nuestro servicio debes: 

1. Ser miembro de la comunidad universitaria 

catalana o de un centro de investiga- 

 

esta condición será necesario que presentes 

documentación que lo acredite. 

2. Presentar la fotocopia del pasaporte o 

documento nacional de identidad o NIE. 

‘s 

Accommodation Service 

Resa Housing, Barcelona Centre Universitari’s accommodation headquarters, is a 

service managed by Resa, who have their own lodging database, which features 

 

¿What is our offer? 

You can look our offer over on our website (www.resahousing.com), free of charge. 

 

as well as other practical information. You’ll be able to book whatever interests you 

 

 

and fully equipped (kitchen trousseau and bedding). Ready to be inhabited! 

1. 

budget. 

2. We provide you with detailed information regarding every type of lodging: dorms, 

hotels, etc. 

4. We offer personalized attention to all students, lecturers and researchers. 

5. 

6. 

7. We have an on-line reservation service. 

www.resahousing.com (34) 932 389 072 

Required documents 

In order to gain admission to our service 

you must: 

1. Be a member of either the Catalan university 

community or a research centre. 

In order for us to make sure you comply 

with this condition you will have to give us 

documents which prove it. 

2. Provide us with a photocopy of your 

passport, identity card or NIE. 

 

 

 

E-mail: info@resahousing.com 

www.resahousing.com 

Horario: de lunes a jueves de 09.30 a 

13.30 h y de 15.30 a 17.30 h. Viernes 

de 09.00 a 14.00 h. 

 

 

www.bcu.cat|39

Integrated Universities of BCU 

 

 

All universities in Barcelona have their respective International Relations Area, in 

charge of promoting the international mobility of the university community (not 

only students, but also lecturers, researchers and administrative and service staff) 

either for people who want to embark upon a stay abroad and for those who are 

 

preparations of your stay so that you can enjoy it as much as possible. In order to 

process your stay in a university in Barcelona it is mandatory for you to get in touch 

 

Universidades que integran el BCU 

Las universidades de Barcelona, su área 

 

Todas las universidades de Barcelona 

disponen de su respectiva Área de Relaciones 

Internacionales, encargada de promover 

la movilidad internacional de toda la 

comunidad universitaria (no sólo alumnos, 

sino también profesorado, investigadores 

y personal de administración y servicios), 

tanto por lo que respecta a la acogida de 

visitantes como a personas que quieren 

www.bcu.cat 

realizar una estancia en el extranjero. Estas 

áreas y el Barcelona Centre Universitari 

trabajan de forma conjunta para facilitar 

la preparación de tu estancia y para que 

puedas aprovecharla al máximo. Para tramitar 

la estancia en tu universidad en Barcelona 

es imprescindible que te pongas en 

 

As secure as if you were at home 

www.bcu.cat 

Europ Assistance offers you an insurance policy with every 

assurance you need in the event of unforeseen circumstances. 

Although you are far from home, you will enjoy peace of 

mind and support, covered by guarantees that include: 

Medical expenses in Spain: up to 15,000 euros 

Transportation to your country of origin 

Compensation for lost classes 

Baggage insurance: up to 600 euros 

And if you’re planning a trip abroad you can get the 

BCU OUT POLICY. 

Focus on your studies and let us take care of the rest 

www.europ-assistance.es / 902 197 791 

BCU IN POLICY 

www.bcu.cat 

Follow us: 

The information contained on this page does not constitute a contract. If you would like information about general terms and conditions, please contact BCU and EAE. Europ Assistance España, 

S.A. de Seguros y Reaseguros. Madrid Companies Register. Page 35,694, Sheet 80, Volume 4,526. Tax I.D. no. (CIF): A-28461994 

40|www.bcu.cat

UB|UNIVERSITAT DE BARCELONA 

 

tres that are distributed in six campuses all of them within the city 

 

 

 

continuing education programme courses, both on-campus and 

 

 

 

 

worldwide, including the League of European Research Universities 

(LERU), the COIMBRA group (CG), and the International Re- 

 

 

 

 

institution in Spain, and one of the most important in Europe, 

thanks to its commitment the UB has been highly rated in most 

of the international rankings nowadays. 

 

2 

of services. 

Fundada en 1450, la Universidad de Barcelona comprende 

19 centros distribuidos en seis campus todos ellos localizados 

dentro del área metropolitana. Ofrece 68 titulaciones de grado, 

138 másteres universitarios, 73 programas de doctorado, 

367 másteres propios y de posgrado, y más de 400 cursos de 

formación continua, tanto presenciales y como a distancia. La UB 

cuenta con el mayor número de estudiantes de las universidades 

públicas españolas, con más de 81.000 estudiantes matriculados; 

anualmente se producen más de 550 tesis doctorales. 

La UB es miembro de las redes universitarias más relevantes 

a escala internacional, como la Liga de Universidades de 

Investigación Europeas (LERU), el grupo de COIMBRA (CG) o la 

red International Research Universities Network (IRUN). La UB se 

 

extranjeros, que abarcan 126 nacionalidades diferentes. 

La Universidad gracias a su objetivo en ser un centro intensivo de 

investigación es una referencia a nivel español y un referente muy 

importante en Europa, posicionándose en la actualidad, de forma 

muy destacada, en los principales rankings internacionales. 

 

extraordinario y de cualidad y el Servicio de Deportes cuenta con 

100.000 m 2 de instalaciones. 

Student Support Service (SAE) 

C/ Adolf Florensa, 8 - 08028 Barcelona 

Tel.: (34) 933 556 000 

Horario de atención presencial y telefónica: de 9 a 18h, de 

lunes a viernes 

Buzón electrónico: http://www.ub.edu/sae/contacte/bustia.htm 

www.ub.edu/sae 

 

Pavelló Rosa (recinte de la Maternitat) 

Travessera de les Corts, 131-159 - 08028 Barcelona 

Tel.: (34) 934 035 380/(34) 934 035 562 

Fax: (34) 934 035 387 

relacions.internacionals@ub.edu 

www.ub.edu/uri/ 

University of Barcelona 

International 

Summer 

School 

www.ub.edu/international 

www.ub.edu 

www.bcu.cat|41

UAB| 

 

comprehensive, dynamic and modern public university, 

committed to society and to the environment, located in a 

campus that provides all the services for academic, leisure 

and everyday life. 

Opened to the world and with a genuine academic 

 

 

 

 

 

 

degrees. 

Favored by the growing impact of the research, the constant 

improvement of the quality of teaching and the ability to 

attract international talent, the UAB holds a leading position 

in the most prestigious international university rankings: QS 

 

 

 

 

Strongly committed to international projection, the UAB 

participates in a wide range of international projects and 

student exchange programs in Europe, Asia, America, and 

Africa. 

La Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) es una 

universidad moderna, pública, dinámica y pluridisciplinar, 

comprometida con la sociedad y el medio ambiente y 

ubicada en un campus que ofrece todos los servicios para 

el estudio, el ocio y el día a día. 

Abierta al mundo y con un ambiente académico auténtico, 

acoge a 45.000 estudiantes, de los cuales el 16% son 

internacionales. Ofrece 85 titulaciones de grado, 116 

programas de máster y 79 programas de doctorado. La 

oferta 100% en inglés de la UAB incluye 27 másteres 

 

Primaria, y más de 150 asignaturas de otros grados. 

Gracias al creciente desarrollo de la investigación, la 

acreditada calidad de su enseñanza y la habilidad para 

la atracción de talento internacional, la UAB se encuentra 

bien posicionada en los rankings internacionales más 

prestigiosos: QS World University Ranking, la primera en 

España y la 177 del mundo; Academic Ranking of World 

Universities (ARWU), posición 201-300; QS top 50 under 

50, 9a posición a nivel mundial, 2a a nivel europeo, y 

primera en España. 

Con una fuerte vocación internacional, la UAB participa 

en un amplio espectro de proyectos internacionales y 

de intercambios académicos en Europa, Asia, América y 

África. 

www.uab.es 

CONTACT THE UAB/CONTACTA CON LA UAB - Information Service/Punto de Información 

Plaça Cívica - 08193 Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès) - Tel.: (34) 935 811 111 - informacio@uab.es 

Opening hours: Mondays to Fridays from 10:00 am to 7 pm/ Horario de atención: de lunes a viernes de 10:00 a 19:00 

www.uab.es 

 

R Building, Plaça Cívica 

Tel.: (34) 935 812 210 

international.welcome.point@uab.es 

International Relations Area - 

Exchange Unit/Área de Relaciones 

Internacionales – Unidad de intercambios 

 

Tel.: (34) 935 868 499 

erasmus@uab.es - internacional.propi@uab.es 

42|www.bcu.cat

| 

Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech 

(UPCarchitecture, 

engineering and technology 

multidisciplinary, international and prestigious, and can be 

oriented towards professional skill building or specialisation 

 

bachelor’s or master’s degree at the UPC and over 2,680 

doctoral students are opting for one of a range of academic 

 

68 bachelor’s degrees, 73 

university master’s degrees and 50 doctoral programmes. 

On a map in which there are no barriers to knowledge, the 

University acts as a magnet for international students and 

has established itself as the Spanish university with the most 

international students on its master’s and doctoral degrees. 

A total of 26 master’s degrees are taught entirely in English. 

 

technological innovation projects, patenting and business 

creation, and strategic alliances with prestigious research 

centres and universities. 

La Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech 

(UPC) es la universidad de referencia en los ámbitos de la 

arquitectura, la ingeniería y la tecnología. Ofrecemos una 

formación multidisciplinaria, internacional y de prestigio, 

orientada a la capacitación profesional o la especialización 

investigadora. Actualmente, 31.214 estudiantes de grado 

y máster universitario y 2.680 doctorandos y doctorandas 

optan a diferentes itinerarios académicos y profesionales. 

La oferta académica del curso 2014-2015 incluye 68 

grados, 73 másters universitarios y 50 programas de 

doctorado. En un mapa sin fronteras, la Universidad es 

un polo de atracción para estudiantes de otros países y 

se ha consolidado como la primera universidad española 

en número de estudiantes internacionales de máster 

y doctorado. Así, un total de 26 másteres se imparten 

totalmente en inglés. 

La UPC es reconocida por su liderazgo en proyectos 

de investigación e innovación tecnológica, creación de 

empresas y patentes, así como por sus alianzas estratégicas 

con prestigiosas universidades y centros de investigación. 

Institutional Relations and 

Internationalisation Bureau/Gabinete 

de Relaciones Institucionales e 

Internacionalización 

Tel.: (34) 934 137 505 

international@upc.edu 

www.facebook.com/UPCInternational 

www.upc.edu/sri 

General Information/Información General 

MASTER’S DEGREES/MÁSTERS UNIVERSITARIOS 

Tel.: (34) 934 016 200 

info@upc.edu - Twitter: @BarcelonaTech 

mastersdegrees.upc.edu 

mastersuniversitarios.upc.edu 

DOCTORAL PROGRAMMES/DOCTORADOS 

Tel.: (34) 934 016 114 

escola.doctorat@upc.edu - Twitter: @doctoratupc 

doctorat.upc.edu 

www.upc.edu 

www.bcu.cat|43

| 

www.upf.edu 

UPF is a young, public and modern university founded in 

 

universities. UPF structures its studies on three main 

, closely interconnected and structured 

under three campuses: Social sciences and humanities, 

 

and Communication and information technologies, 

Communication-Poblenou campus. UPF is committed to 

offering a high-quality teaching model and an outstanding 

research with international projection, the three axis of the UPF 

model. UPF’s teaching model is based on a comprehensive 

education and a student-centred learning. Nowadays, the 

success of this model is proved by different indicators as, 

for example, the high demand of UPF studies, the rates of 

achievement among its students or the excellent rates of 

graduates employment and satisfaction. Excellence results 

in research are possible due to the high competitiveness of 

UPF lecturers and researchers. In that sense, the University 

model is primarily based on a policy of being an institution 

that is open to the world, incorporating prominent national 

 

the result of a strategy focused on establishing a policy 

and the 

. 

Besides, it also promotes international mobility (incoming 

and outgoing), includes the use of English in several courses 

and it is committed to consolidate a multilingual campus 

with three languages -Catalan, Spanish and English- used in 

all spheres of university life. 

Facts & Figures/Dimensiones de la UPF 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

La UPF es una universidad joven, pública y moderna, creada 

en 1990 con voluntad de convertirse en una universidad 

de referencia en Europa. Estructura sus estudios en torno 

a tres ámbitos de conocimiento: las ciencias sociales y 

humanas, en el campus de la Ciutadella; las ciencias de 

la salud y de la vida, en el campus del Mar, y las ciencias 

y tecnologías de la información y la comunicación, en el 

campus del Poblenou. La UPF imparte una docencia de 

calidad y realiza una investigación de excelencia con 

proyección internacional, los tres ejes del modelo UPF. 

Basa su docencia en una formación integral y cercana al 

estudiante. En la actualidad son numerosos los indicadores 

que acreditan el éxito de este modelo, como la elevada 

demanda de los estudios de la UPF o el elevado porcentaje 

de éxito, satisfacción e inserción laboral de estudiantes y 

graduados. La investigación de excelencia es posible por 

la alta competitividad de los profesores e investigadores 

de la Universidad, que siempre ha apostado por una 

política de contratación de profesorado abierta al talento 

 

Universidad es la suma de una estrategia que se centra en 

el establecimiento de una política de alianzas con una red 

de socios preferentes y en la captación de profesorado 

con una trayectoria de proyección internacional y que, 

al mismo tiempo, promueve las experiencias con socios 

extranjeros o en el extranjero, incorpora el inglés a la oferta 

docente y apuesta por construir un campus multilingüe 

con tres lenguas vehiculares, el catalán, el castellano y 

el inglés. 

General information/ 

Información general 

Punto de Información al Estudiante 

C/ Ramon Trias Fargas, 25-27 - 08005 Barcelona 

C/ Roc Boronat, 138 - 08018 Barcelona 

C/ Dr. Aiguader, 80 - 08003 Barcelona 

Tel.: (34) 935 422 228 

http://www.upf.edu/bibtic/en/serveis/pie/ 

44|www.bcu.cat

URL| 

Ramon Llull University (URL) is located in Barcelona and 

 

Christian values, promoting a public service. Its primary 

aim is to provide quality education focussed on the person 

in response to society’s needs. 

 

tradition and prestigious academic and research 

institutions [IQS, Blanquerna, La Salle, the Faculty 

 

 

Ebre Observatory, Borja Institute of Bioethics, Vidal i 

 

 

most innovative universities in Catalonia and in Spain as 

a whole, promoting individuals’ intellectual and personal 

growth. 

 

is increasingly important. Its member institutions are 

making great efforts to attract the best global talent 

through recruitment policies, targeted at key international 

markets, and they foster relationships with more than 

 

with which they hold agreements and collaborative 

programmes. URL also has 200 internship agreements 

 

 

 

 

 

are the following: Arts and Humanities, Science, Health 

Sciences, Social and Legal Sciences and Engineering and 

Architecture. 

General information 

C/ Claravall, 1-3 - 08022 Barcelona 

Tel.: (34) 936 022 200 

Fax: (34) 936 022 249 

info@url.edu 

www.url.edu 

La Universidad Ramon Llull (URL), con sede en Barcelona, 

es una universidad privada sin ánimo de lucro de inspiración 

humanista y cristiana, que promueve un servicio público. Su 

principal objetivo es proporcionar una formación de calidad, 

centrada en la persona y que dé respuestas a las necesidades 

de la sociedad. 

La URL, de organización federal, está integrada por once 

instituciones de enseñanza superior e investigación de gran 

tradición y prestigio [IQS, Blanquerna, La Salle, la Facultad de 

Filosofía, ESADE, Facultad de Educación Social y Trabajo Social 

Pere Tarrés, Turismo Sant Ignasi, Observatori de l’Ebre, Institut 

Borja de Bioètica, Institut de Salut Mental Vidal i Barraquer 

y la Escuela Superior de Diseño ESDi (centro adscrito)]. Es 

una de las universidades más innovadoras de Catalunya y del 

Estado español, que promueve la formación intelectual y el 

crecimiento personal. 

La dimensión internacional de la actividad universitaria de 

la URL es cada vez más importante. Las instituciones que la 

integran realizan grandes esfuerzos para captar el mejor talento 

mundial a través de políticas de reclutamiento, dirigidas a los 

principales mercados internacionales, y potencia la relación 

con más de 440 centros universitarios y de investigación de 

todo el mundo, con los cuales tiene establecido convenios y 

programas de colaboración. También tiene subscritos 200 

convenios de prácticas con empresas Internacionales. La URL 

cuenta en la actualidad con más de 17.300 alumnos, un 10% 

de los cuales son estudiantes extranjeros regulares. 

En el curso 2014-2015, la URL ofrecerá 36 grados, 54 

másteres universitarios, 11 doctorados y 206 títulos propios 

en las áreas de estudio de Artes y Humanidades, Ciencias, 

Ciencias de la Salud, Ciencias Sociales y Jurídicas e Ingeniería 

y Arquitectura. 

 

C/ Claravall 1-3 - 08022 Barcelona 

Tel.: (34) 936 022 231 

Fax: (34) 936 022 249 

vicerectorat.rrii@url.edu 

http://www.url.edu/en/international-and-mobility 

www.url.edu 

www.bcu.cat|45

UVIC-UCC| 

www.uvic.cat 

Open to the world and focusing on all-round training, the 

University of Vic – Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC) 

 

Business, Health, Biosciences, Engineering, Humanities and 

Communication. In its city–university environment UVic-UCC 

attaches great importance to the teacher-student relationship, 

integrated training and employment prospects. 

At the University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia we defend 

values associated with the unity of all knowledge and training 

based on science, research and technological innovation to 

enhance progress and quality of life. 

By choosing to study or do research in Vic you will have an 

experience of quality and university life in a town on a human 

scale. 

 

UVic-UCC activities: teacher mobility and exchange schemes, 

postgraduate courses, research, continuing education and 

international cooperation projects. 

UVic-UCC has exchange agreements with universities and 

 

multilingual training, key to increase mobility of university 

students and staff, and the study of language and culture an 

excellent vehicle for gaining a wider awareness of today’s world. 

UVic meets the needs of international students through the 

International Relations Unit and Student Services. Contact our 

team at: relin@uvic.cat 

Abierta al mundo, y enfocada al servicio integral de los 

estudiantes, la Universidad de Vic imparte estudios en los 

ámbitos de las Ciencias de la Educación, la Empresa, la 

Salud, las Biociencias, las Ingenierías, las Humanidades y la 

Comunicación. Situada en un entorno de ciudad universidad, 

pone énfasis especial en la relación profesor-estudiante 

pensando en la formación global y la inserción profesional. 

La Universidad de Vic - Universidad Central de Cataluña 

mantiene vivos los valores de la unidad del saber, de la 

formación humana por la vía de la adquisición de la ciencia, de 

la práctica de la investigación y de la innovación tecnológica 

al servicio del progreso y de la calidad de vida. 

 

la calidad educativa y de vida de una ciudad universitaria a la 

medida humana. 

El Campus Internacional es la marca que aglutina el 

conjunto de actividades de la UVic-UCC dirigidas a un público 

internacional: programas de movilidad e intercambio de 

profesores, programas de máster y de posgrado, actividades 

de investigación, cursos de formación continuada y proyectos 

de cooperación internacional. 

La UVic-UCC tiene subscritos acuerdos de intercambio con 

universidades e instituciones de 40 países de todo el mundo. 

La UVic considera la enseñanza multilingüe clave en la 

movilidad de estudiantes y personal universitario, y el estudio 

de idiomas y cultura un excelente modo de conocer mejor el 

mundo que nos rodea. La UVic atiende las necesidades de los 

estudiantes internacionales a través del Área de Relaciones 

Internacionales y de los Servicios al Estudiante. Puedes 

contactar con nuestro equipo a través de relin@uvic.cat. 

Área de Relaciones Internacionales 

C/ Sagrada Família, 7 - 08500 Vic 

Tel.: (34) 938 816 176 

relin@uvic.cat 

La UVic-UCC en Barcelona 

C/ Pintor Fortuny, 10 - 08001 Barcelona 

Tel.: (34) 936 764 271 

relin@uvic.cat 

46|www.bcu.cat

UIC| 

 

 

of offering comprehensive quality education and promoting 

research designed to serve society. With its close ties to 

the business world and international dimension, the UIC 

 

the ESARQ School of Architecture, and more than 60 

postgraduate programmes on its campuses in Barcelona 

and Sant Cugat del Vallès. 

 

 

 

 

agreements, UIC students are able to do internships at 

 

for each degree programme and students are encouraged 

to study abroad. 

La Universitat Internacional de Catalunya (UIC) es una 

universidad privada que nació en 1997 con el compromiso 

de ofrecer una formación integral de calidad y promover la 

investigación para ponerla al servicio de la sociedad. Ligada al 

mundo empresarial y con un marcado carácter internacional, 

imparte 13 grados – desde siete facultades y la Escuela 

Técnica Superior de Arquitectura (ESARQ-UIC)- y más de 60 

programas de postgrado en sus dos campus, ubicados en 

Barcelona y Sant Cugat del Vallès. 

La UIC fomenta al máximo las competencias de su alumnado, 

coaching para los 

alumnos de los últimos cursos. La Universidad mantiene, 

además, una estrecha relación con la empresa, y gracias a 

unos 2.000 convenios de prácticas su alumnado puede hacer 

prácticas en organizaciones de prestigio. Se imparte inglés 

 

prácticas en el extranjero. 

Información general para estudiantes 

CAMPUS SANT CUGAT 

C/ Josep Trueta, s/n 

08195 Sant Cugat del Vallès 

Tel.: (34) 935 042 000 

c/e: info@uic.es 

CAMPUS BARCELONA 

 

C/ Immaculada, 22 

 

C/ Terré, 11-19 

Tel.: (34) 932 541 800 

c/e: info@uic.es 

www.uic.es 

UIC 

UNOS 60 PROGRAMAS 

DE POSTGRADO 

www.mastersuic.es 

UIC 

OFERTA DE GRADO 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

www.grausuic.es 

www.uic.es 

www.bcu.cat|47

STUDENT RESIDENCE HALLS 

BARCELONA 

info@melondistrict.com Tel: +34 93 217 88 12 

Aquí es donde comienza la experiencia... 

Instalaciones modernas y de alta calidad · habitaciones 

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en empresas de la zona · recepción 24 horas y la máxima 

seguridad. 

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Here is where the experience begins... 

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Melon District Poble Sec | Av. Paral·lel, 101 Melon District Marina | C/ Sancho de Ávila, 22

UAO CEU|UNIVERSITAT ABAT OLIBA CEU 

 

university in 2003, is one of three universities within the 

Fundación San Pablo CEU, an educational institution that has 

 

 

Catalan university market, with degrees and double degrees 

in several disciplines. In addition, opting decisively for the 

internationalization of the courses, the University also offers 

several degrees as bilingual degree modalities. 

Aware of the importance it has for the professional 

future of its students, the University has developed a 

teaching methodology based on a program of individual 

tutorials, small-group lectures, excellent practical training, 

personalized teaching, entrepreneurship and international 

mobility with internships abroad, among others, with a view 

to giving a better transition to the business world both inside 

and outside the country. 

 

and professional excellence, as well as to a comprehensive 

education of its students. 

Information Service/Servicio de 

Información y Orientación Académica 

C/ Bellesguard, 30 - 08022 Barcelona 

Tel.: (34) 932 540 900 

futurosalumnos@uao.es 

www.uaoceu.es 

International Relations Service/Servicio 

de Relaciones Internacionales 

 

Tel.: (34) 932 540 918 

internacional@uao.es 

La Universitat Abat Oliba CEU, constituida en universidad 

privada en el 2003, es una de las tres universidades 

promovidas por la Fundación San Pablo CEU, institución 

educativa con más de 75 años de experiencia en el ámbito de 

la enseñanza. 

 

en el mercado universitario catalán con grados y dobles grados 

en diversas disciplinas. Además, en una apuesta decidida por 

la internacionalización de los estudios, la universidad también 

ofrece diversos grados en la modalidad bilingual degree. 

Consciente de la importancia que tiene sobre el futuro 

profesional de los estudiantes, la universidad ha desarrollado 

una metodología docente basada en un programa de tutorías 

individualizadas, clases con grupos reducidos, excelente 

formación práctica, enseñanza personalizada, emprendeduría 

y movilidad internacional con prácticas en el extranjero, entre 

otras, para la mejor formación de cara a la incorporación al 

mundo profesional dentro y fuera del país. La Universitat Abat 

Oliba CEU está comprometida con la excelencia académica y 

profesional, así como con la formación integral de los alumnos. 

www.uaoceu.es 

www.bcu.cat|49

Muntaner 

Muntaner 

Balmes 

Rambla Catalunya 

Passeig de Gràcia 

Via Laietana 

Passeig Sant Joan 

Hospital 

Vall d’Hebron 

Parc 

Cervantes 

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Universitat 

TRAMVÍA BLAU 

Abat Oliva 

TIBIDABO 

Torre 

Bellesguard 

main University Campuses. 

Av. Dr. Marañón 

Campus 

Nord 

IESE 

Ronda de Dalt 

Av. d’Esplugues 

ESADE 

Universitat 

Politècnica 

de Catalunya 

Av. Pedralbes 

Passeig Bonanova 

ESADE 

Passeig Bonanova 

Via Augusta 

Ronda de Dalt 

IESE 

IQS 

Universiat 

researchers and university professors. 

Internacional 

de Catalunya 

Hospital 

Sant Joan de Deu 

CSIC 

PEDRALBES 

Palau 

Reial 

Monestir 

Pedralbes 

Av. J.V. Foix 

SARRIÀ- SANT GERVASI 

Hospital 

Teknon 

Ronda del General Mitre 

URL 

La Salle 

La Salle 

Balmes 

Av. Tibidabo 

Parc del Putxet 

Biblioteca 

Jaume Fuster 

Hospital 

Quirón 

Parc Güell 

Ronda de Dalt 

Parc del Guinardó 

Ctra. de Collblanc 

LES CORTS 

Av. de Joan XXIII 

Camp 

Nou 

Hospital 

Dexeus 

Gran via Carles III 

Hospital 

de Barcelona 

Numància 

Av. Diagonal 

L’Illa 

Turó 

Parc 

Plaça 

Francesc Macià 

Travessera de Gràcia 

Balmes 

Via Augusta 

Av. Princep d’Asturies 

Gran de Gràcia 

GRÀCIA 

Plaça 

Revolució 

Travessera de Gràcia 

Hospital 

Sant Pau 

Ronda del Guinardó 

R 

MONTJUïC 

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SANTS 

Carrer de Sants 

Carrer l’Estadi 

Estadi 

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MNAC 

R 

Parc de 

L’Espanya Industrial 

Tarragona 

Plaça 

Espanya 

POBLE SEC 

EIXAMPLE 

ESQUERRA 

Pau Claris Via Laietana 

Carrer Aragó Carrer Aragó 

Av. Paral·lel 

IDEC 

Passeig Sant Joan 

Carrer Marina 

Av. Meridiana 

Av. Meridiana 

Universiat 

Casa 

Batlló 

de Barcelona 

Les Arenas 

La Monumental 

Plaça 

Gran via de les Corts Catalanes Tetuan 

Gran via de les Corts Catalanes Gran via de les C 

Fira BCN 

Torre 

Calatrava 

Parc de 

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Fundació 

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CIUTAT 

VELLA 

Parc 

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Funicular 

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CCCB 

Biblioteca 

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Filmoteca W de Catalunya 

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UB 

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Las Ramblas 

Platja Sant Sebastià 

Plaça Reial 

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R 

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World Trade Center 

Esglèsia 

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Casa de 

les Punxes 

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Palau 

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Santa Catalina 

BORN 

PORT VELL 

Aquàrium 

IMAX 

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R 

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R 

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R 

POBLENOU 

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UPF 

Ronda Litoral 

Par 

San 

Platja

Barcelona with kids 

Don’t miss... 

CosmoCaixa 

The standout exhibit of 

CosmoCaixa, one of the biggest 

science museums in Europe, is 

the Flooded Forest, a living 

reproduction of a flora- and 

fauna-filled corner of Amazonia, 

with glass walls that allow you to 

see underwater. Other elements 

include the Geological Wall and 

the Matter Room, which explains 

natural history (sometimes not 

very helpfully). But the 

installations for children are 

excellent: the Planetarium 

targets kids aged five to eight, 

and the wonderful Clik (ages 

three to six) and Flash (seven to 

nine) introduce children to 

science through games. Toca 

Toca! (‘Touch Touch!’) educates 

children on which animals and 

plants are safe and which 

should be avoided. 

Isaac Newton, 26 

http://obrasocial.lacaixa.es/ 

nuestroscentros/ 

cosmocaixabarcelona/ 

cosmocaixabarcelona_ca.html 

Tibidabo (FGC) 

Barcelona Zoo 

The dolphin shows are the big 

draw, but the decently sized zoo 

has plenty of other animals, all 

of whom look happy enough in 

reasonably sized enclosures. 

Favourites include giant hippos, 

rhinos, sea lions, elephants, 

giraffes, lions and tigers. 

Among the child-friendly 

features are a farmyard zoo, 

pony rides, picnic areas and two 

excellent playgrounds. If all that 

walking is too much, there’s a 

zoo ‘train’. 

Parc de la Ciutadella 

www.zoodebarcelona.cat 

Arc de Triomf (L1) 

Aquarium 

Barcelona’s Aquarium is home 

to more than 11,000 animals 

representing 450 species -- 

what you would expect from the 

world’s largest Mediterraneanthemed 

marine attraction. There 

are fish of mind-boggling shapes 

and colours, and an 80m-long 

underwater tunnel with sharks 

and rays swimming 

overhead. Check the 

website for details of 

activities, such as 

swimming with 

sharks, and the 

chance to spend the 

night in the tunnel. 

Older children will enjoy 

Planet Aqua – a split-level 

circular space with Humboldt 

penguins. 

Moll d’Espanya 

www.aquariumbcn.com 

Drassanes (L3) 

Museu de la Xocolata 

What kid could resist an entire 

museum dedicated to 

chocolate? Barcelona has its 

very own, run by the provincial 

guild of cake makers, telling the 

story of chocolate from its 

earliest origins to its arrival in 

Europe and its current status as 

the ultimate feel-good treat. But 

let’s be honest: no chocolatethemed 

attraction would be 

complete without a chance to 

get your hands on the stuff and 

taste it. Check the extensive 

range of workshops available on 

their website. 

Comerç, 36 

www.museuxocolata.cat 

Arc de Triomf (L1), Jaume I (L4) 

Let’s play 

Find out where 

to enjoy the city 

with your kids at 


barcelona 

MACBA 

Every weekend, the MACBA 

offers an ongoing programme 

targeted at families, which 

combines tours of the 

exhibition galleries 

with workshops. 

Depending on the 

time of year, the latter 

vary from exposing the 

youngest participants 

to the range of materials 

used in contemporary art to a 

workshop on film animation, 

aimed at children over eight 

years old. 

Plaça dels Àngels, 1 

www.macba.cat 

Sant Antoni (L2), Universitat 

(L1,L2), Catalunya (L1,L3;FGC). 

Fundació Joan Miró 

The bold colours and simple 

shapes used by Catalan artist 

Joan Miró are very appealing to 

children, which makes the 

Fundació Joan Miró a good 

museum for kids. On weekends 

there are kids-oriented tours, 

workshops on subjects that 

change every month, and a 

children’s theatre series 

that runs from October 

until May. 

Parc de Montjuïc 

www.fundaciomiro-bcn.org 

Espanya (L1,L3;FGC) 

MNAC 

Would your little ones like to be a 

fairy for a day, learn the 

sculptor’s trade, dress up as 

fantastic beasts or be a 

detective and solve a robbery? 

These are some of the activities 

for kids available at the MNAC. 

The offerings vary month to 

month. Reservations are 

required. 

Parc de Montjuïc 

www.museunacional.cat 


Puppets 

La Puntual 

La Puntual opened as a puppet 

theatre in 2005, and offers a 

regular season of traditional 

puppet theatre. Best for younger 

kids, but the shows aim to 

entertain everyone with puppet 

shows and Chinese shadow 

plays. Director Eugenio Navarro 

is a veteran of the art form. 

Allada Vermell, 15 

www.lapuntual.info 

Jaume I (L4) 

Things to Do 

CHILD-FRIENDLY PLACES TO EAT Restaurants, cafés and fun places to feed the kids 

PUDDING 

Parents can have pastries or 

sandwiches, while the kids get 

eye-candy decor and books, games, 

chalkboards and even iPads. (Pau 

Claris, 90. T. 93 676 10 25) 

SEMPRONIANA 

Saturday afternoons they host 

Patacutxi, a cooking workshop for 

the little ones, ages 4 to 10, while 

parents dine and relax. (Rosselló, 

148. T. 93 453 18 20) 

IDÒ DO BALEAR 

Good Balearic food in three formats: 

restaurant, gourmet products and 

bread shop. Kids have a space too, 

with big tables and chalkboards. 

(Viladomat, 43. T. 93 423 96 27) 

BREAD & CIRCUSES 

The first ‘made in the USA’ sandwich 

shop in town features 10 sandwiches, 

all chock-full of fixings and made with 

high-quality bread. (Blasco de Garay, 

59. T. 661 04 55) 


Cinema 

Editor 

Josep Lambies 

jlambies@timeout.cat 

@joseplambies 

them over 10 days. This festival 

offers a great panorama of the 

best contemporary auteur 

cinema. It only started in April 

2011, but despite being the 

youngest entry in our top five, 

it’s already considered one of 

the best film fests in Barcelona. 

Cinema 

Barcelona’s 

best film fests 

If you’re a cinephile, these are the 

five yearly events you can’t pass 

up. By Josep Lambies 

In-Edit 

If you’re a melomaniac or a film 

buff, you have to take a look at 

In-Edit’s programme. This 

festival is dedicated to only one 

genre: the music documentary. 

But lest you confuse specificity 

with superficiality, know that this 

is where we first saw Searching 

for Sugar Man and Twenty Feet 

from Stardom. It might be 

thanks to its one-track mind that 

In-Edit is Barcelona’s most 

successful festival. The 12th 

edition opens at the end of 

October. Don’t miss it! 

Mostra de Cine de Dones 

Nowadays it’s not unusual to 

see a woman shooting a film. In 

Catalonia, we have a whole new 

generation of women in filmmaking 

– look at what Mar Coll 

or Neus Ballús have been doing 

lately. But we can tell you for 

sure that 22 years ago it wasn’t 

the norm at all. That’s when this 

festival was born, as a way of 

reclaiming the forgotten work of 

the film industry’s female 

pioneers. Still going, its aim is to 

show the best films made by 

women from around the world. 

You’re not likely to find starlets 

teetering along a red carpet in 

Barcelona, dressed in designer 

labels, and surrounded by 

droves of paparazzi and 

journalists. If you’re looking for 

the Spanish version of the 

Hollywood Walk of Fame, you’re 

better off heading north, to San 

Sebastián, or maybe south, to 

Málaga. But if what you’re after 

are good, quality films, you 

needn’t go anywhere else. Feast 

your eyes on our list of the best 

of the local film festivals. These 

are five annual events you won’t 

want to miss. 

Sitges Film Festival 

It’s not Sundance or Venice, but 

we’re justifiably proud of hosting 

one of the freakiest film festivals 

ever organised, held every 

October only 30 minutes away 

from Barcelona, in the lovely 

beach town of Sitges. This the 

place where the best (and, let’s 

face it, the worst) horror and 

fantasy movies are premiered, 

where you can spend the whole 

night in a non-stop marathon of 

B-movies or even take part in the 

famous Zombie Walk, a ghoulish 

parade of the living dead who 

take over the streets for a night. 

If you want to go unnoticed, be 

sure to wear the scariest mask. 

Festival D’Autor 

You can’t go on expecting that all 

those films screened in Cannes 

you’ve been told about will be 

shown in cinemas to the likes of 

the general public. Luckily, you 

have the chance to see all of 

L’Alternativa 

This festival is paradise for real 

cinephiles, and highly regarded 

by those who try to avoid the 

mainstream at any price, and by 

those who are searching for 

more challenging experiences at 

the movies. In November, at 

the Centre de Cultura 

Contemporània de Barcelona 

(CCCB), L’Alternativa brings us 

all those independent and 

experimental films that 

unfortunately wouldn’t fit 

anywhere else. A whole new 

world waiting to be explored. 


Cinema 

Original-language 

cinemas 

Verdi 

The five-screen Verdi and Verdi 

Park (see below) have 

transformed this corner of 

Gràcia with a diverse 

programme of independent, 

mainly European and Asian 

cinema. At peak times, chaos 

reigns; arrive early and make 

sure you don’t confuse the 

queue to enter with the one to 

buy tickets. Lots of good nearby 

eateries for pre- or post-movie 

food and drink. 

Verdi, 32 

www.cines-verdi.com 

Fontana (L3) 

Verdi Park 

The little brother of the Verdi, 

this four-screen annex on the 

next street has smaller screens 

but the same solid art house 

programming. 

Torrijos, 49 

www.cines-verdi.com 

Fontana (L3) 

Renoir Floridablanca 

Renoir Floridablanca screens 

up to eight independent 

American, British and Spanish 

films in their original language 

every day. Though programming 

tends towards the higher-end, 

you’ll still find the occasional 

Hollywood blockbuster. 

Floridablanca, 135 

www.cinesrenoir.com 

Urgell (L1), Universitat (L1,L2) 

Icària Yelmo 

This large multiplex has all the 

atmosphere of the near-empty 

shopping centre that surrounds 

it. But what it lacks in charm, it 

makes up for in choice, with 15 

screens offering blockbusters 

as well as mainstream foreign 

and Spanish releases. 

Weekends are usually seatspecific, 

so queues tend to 

move slower; it’s worth booking 

your seat online for the hot 

tickets before you go. 

Salvador Espriu, 61 

www.yelmocines.es/cinesbarcelona/peliculas-encartelera-icaria-3d 

Ciutadella/Vila Olímpica (L4) 

Boliche 

The films in this four-screen 

cinema are projected in their 

original versions and subtitled in 

Catalan. 

Diagonal, 508 

93 218 17 88 

Diagonal (L3,L5) 

Maldà 

Centrally located in the Gothic 

Quarter, small and cheap, this 

cinema usually shows two 

different original-language indie 

and art-house films for one 

price. There are late-night 

sessions on Friday and 

Saturday, and on Wednesday 

they offer reduced-price tickets. 

Pi, 5 

www.cinemamalda.com 

Catalunya (L1,L3;FGC), 

Liceu (L3) 

Balmes Multicines 

The most recent -- 

and very welcome -- 

addition to the 

original-language 

landscape, this is a 12-screen, 

state-of-the-art cinema with big 

comfortable seats and stadium 

seating that guarantees a good 

view, unless Pau or Marc Gasol 

ON LOCATION IN BARCELONA 

Perfume (2005) 

The film ‘Perfume: History of a Murderer’, based on 

the 1985 novel, is one of the most famous movies 

filmed in Barcelona. The Gothic Quarter and other 

parts of the city provided the ideal natural setting to 

re-create the back streets of 18th-century Paris. 

Read reviews 

and see what’s 

showing at 


barcelona 

is sitting in front of you. Tickets 

are usually €9, but on 

Wednesdays the price is cut to 

€3.90, and Thursdays you can 

get in for €5. 

Balmes, 422-424 

www.grupbalana.com/salas. 

asp?ID=8 

El Putxet, Av Tibidabo (FGC) 

Indie cinemas 

Zumzeig 

Esteban Bernatas hears ‘You’re 

crazy’ a lot. That’s what people 

say when he talks about his 

project: Cine-Zumzeig Bistro 

(Béjar, 53), a projection room 

and bar of the district of Sants, 

five minutes’ walk from 

Plaça Espanya. Is there 

anything more noble 

than trying to help 

small independent 

productions find an 

audience? 

Béjar, 53 

932 09 08 97 

Tarragona (L3) 

Méliès 

This small, two-screen venue is 

the nearest that Barcelona 

comes to an art-house cinema, 

with an idiosyncratic roster of 

accessible classics alongside 

more recent films that aren’t 

quite commercial enough for 

general release. This is the 

place to bone up on your Wilder, 

Antonioni, Hitchcock and 

others, with up to eight films 

per week. 

Villarroel, 102 

www.meliescinemes.com/ 

Urgell (L1), Hospital Clínic (L5) 

Cinemes Girona 

Opened in 25-year-old renovated 

movie houses in 2010 with the 

mission of becoming a 

multicultural space, the cinema 

projects European and 

international films, holds 

festivals and live cultural 

events, and offers movies for 

children and young people. 

Girona, 175 

www.cinemesgirona.cat/ 

Universitat (L1, L2), 

Verdaguer (L4,L5) 

Alternative cinema 

Filmoteca de Catalunya 

The government-funded 

Filmoteca is a little dry for some 

tastes, offering comprehensive 

seasons of cinema’s more 

recondite auteurs alongside 

better-known classics. 

Overlapping cycles last two or 

three weeks, with each film 

screened at least twice at 

different times. Books of 10 and 

50 tickets bring down the price 

per film to a negligible amount. 

The ‘Filmo’ also runs an 

excellent library of film-related 

books, videos and magazines. 

Plaça Salvador Seguí, 1 

www.filmoteca.cat 

Liceu (L3) 

Xcentric (CCCB) 

The aim of Xcentric is to promote 

greater awareness of 

experimental and documentary 

film, and those videographic 

projects that seek to challenge 

the medium in new ways. It also 

holds special tributes to littleknown 

or forgotten film-makers. 

Montalegre, 5 

www.cccb.org/xcentric/en/ 

Catalunya (L1,L3) 

Cinema 


Theatre 

Editor 

Andreu Gomila 

agomila@timeout.cat 

@andgomila 

Hamlet speaks Catalan 

Don’t sweat the language – there’s no better way to immerse yourself in 

local culture than to take in a play in Catalan. By Andreu Gomila 

Theatre 

SERGI BELBBEL 

JORDI GALCERAN 

ESTEVE SOLER 

PAU MIRÓ 

GUILLEM CLUA 

HELENA TORNERO 

MARTA BUCHACA 

PERE RIERA 

They’re in their 30s and have 

projects on the go in theatre 

capitals like New York, London 

and Milan. They’ve spent a 

lifetime in the theatre, watching 

the best productions, and 

absorbing lessons from the likes 

of Neil LaBute, Simon Stephens 

and David Harrower. They even 

tasted success in their 20s with 

small plays staged in off- 

Barcelona venues. And now, at a 

time when directors are no 

longer in the spotlight, 

playwrights like Pere Riera, Pau 

Miró, Jordi Galceran, Marta 

Buchaca and Jordi Casanovas 

are the ones to watch. 

Guillem Clua, whose plays 

Skin in Flames and The Taste of 

Ashes premiered in the US, says, 

‘We’re living our finest moment 

as playwrights with respect to 

international opportunities, and 

we’ve got to take advantage of 

that. There are several exciting 

voices outside Barcelona, such 

as Esteve Soler, and this is 

happening because we don’t sit 

around contemplating our navels 

or talking about marital 

problems or issues out of our 

reach. We talk about what 

happens on the street, what’s in 

the papers. Today our audience 

is global,’ he says. This season 

Clua’s productions in Barcelona 

MERCAT DE LES FLORS 

Barcelona’s house of dance is Mercat 

de les Flors, now one of the most 

fashionable spots in the city. Have a 

look at its international programme. 

Movement is a universal language. 

LET’S DANCE 

are La terra promesa (The 

Promised Land) and the musical 

73 raons per deixar-te (73 

Reasons to Leave You). 

All these playwrights come 

from the biggest Barcelona 

drama factory, the Sala Beckett, 

a 60-seat theatre in Gràcia that 

ANTIC TEATRE 

If you want to discover new body 

languages in the most affordable way, 

stop by this theatre-bar in the city 

centre. An enormous outdoor terrace 

leads to a tiny, and very cool, theatre. 

10 years ago devoted a full 

season to the theme of 

Barcelona and, two years later, 

to Catalan drama. With that first 

season on Barcelona, new 

authors erupted onto the scene. 

Pau Miró premiered Plou a 

Barcelona (It’s Raining in 

Barcelona), which won the critics 

circle best new play award and 

travelled to Italy, to be staged by 

the Teatro Uniti company. And 

his Els jugadors (The Players) 

won the Ubú prize (the Italian 

Oliviers) for best foreign play. 

Two years ago, the Catalan 

National Theatre (TNC) gave a 

few playwrights the chance to 

stage their new work in one of 

the biggest theatres in town – 

with 900 seats, the TNC is 

normally reserved for big 

productions by Shakespare or 

Lorca. It was a sign of a healthy 

future: local playwrights can 

draw an audience. In Barcelona, 

not only does Hamlet speak 

Catalan, but the most popular 

plays are written in Catalan too. 


Theatre 

International 

theatre 

Teatre Lliure 

The Teatre Lliure in Gràcia was 

growing to such an extent that 

in 2001 a new theatre was 

opened on Montjuïc, in the 

former Palacio de la Agricultura 

built for the 1929 World’s Fair. 

This newer venue has two 

spaces: the Teatro Fabià 

Puigserver, with a capacity for 

nearly 800, and the Espai 

Lliure, which can hold about 

200. The bigger space serves 

as a multi-purpose room, and 

the smaller is ideal for seeing 

performances close-up. Note 

that all the performances in the 

main building have English 

surtitles every Saturday. 

Teatre Lliure: Montjuïc. 

Pg. Santa Madrona, 40-46. 

www.teatrelliure.com. 

Poble Sec (L3). 

Teatre Nacional de Catalunya 

The Generalitat-funded theatre, 

designed by Ricardo Bofill in a 

neo-classical style, boasts a 

vast airy lobby and three 

fabulous performance spaces. 

Director Xavier Albertí Belbel 

has opted for a good mix of 

contemporary and classical 

pieces, divided between a main 

stage and smaller stage. Works 

by new writers are normally 

performed as well. 

Teatre Nacional de Catalunya. Pl. 

de les Arts, 1. www.tnc.cat. 

Glòries (L1). 

Teatre Romea 

The Teatre Romea was 

originally a private theatre way 

back in 1863. Nearly a century 

later, in 1981, it was taken over 

by the Generalitat, fulfilling the 

role of the National Theatre 

until the current Teatre 

Nacional de Catalunya was 

created. A new management 

phase began in 1999 under 

Grup Focus, and since then the 

theatre has become a space 

dedicated to contemporary 

artistic works, with a company 

of its own to boot. 

Teatre Romea. Hospital, 51. 

www.teatreromea.com. 

Liceu (L3). 

Teatre Tívoli 

The Tívoli is another of the city’s 

grand centenarians. The original 

space opened in 1849, and 

since 1918 it’s been standing 

proudly in its current residence, 

boasting a ‘neo-rococo’ style 

featuring rich mouldings and 

lavish golden plant motifs to 

complement the lush reds of the 

seats and curtains. These days 

the theatre is known for its 

eclectic programme 

including comedy 

shows, plays, 

classical ballet, 

dance and concerts. 

Teatre Tívoli. Casp, 8. 

www.grupbalana.com. 

Catalunya (L1,L3). 

Dance 

L’Antic Teatre 

This place has the ramshackle 

look of associations for countercultural 

events. The theatre’s 

mission is to support and build 

the capacity for experimentation, 

creation, production, exhibition, 

promotion and dissemination of 

professional artists. They also 

work on researching new body 

SACRED MONSTERS 

Khan & Galván 

World-renowned British choregrapher Akram Khan and 

21st-century flamenco maverick Israel Galván return 

to Mercat de les Flors on a tour of ‘Torobaka’, their 

must-see show, described as ‘an exploration of the 

origins of voice and of gesture’. From October 3 to 5. 

For theatre 

productions in 

English, head to 

timeout.com / 

barcelona 

language and movement, and 

new drama. L’Antic Teatre is an 

old, recycled space, but it has 

one of the best interior patios 

you’ll find. 

Antic Teatre. Verdaguer i Callís, 

12. www.anticteatre.com. 

Urquinaona (L1,L4). 

Mercat de les Flors 

British theatre director Peter 

Brook is credited with 

transforming this former 

flower market into a 

venue for the 

performing arts in 

1985, when he was 

looking for a place to 

stage his legendary 

production of the 

Mahabharata. After 

decades of fairly diffuse 

programming, the Mercat has 

finally focused in on national and 

international contemporary 

dance, and offers a strong 

programme that experiments 

with unusual formats and mixes 

in new technologies and live 

music. It also supports emerging 

dancers. 

Mercat de les Flors. Lleida, 59. 

www.mercatflors.cat. 

Poble Sec (L3). 

JEAN-LOUIS FERNANDEZ 

Comedy 

Club Capitol 

This house of laughter is home 

to Catalan and Spanish comedy. 

What better way to learn the 

local languages and discover 

how the city’s heart beats than 

with comedy shows by local 

heroes Carlos Latre, David 

Guapo, Toni Moog, Berto 

Romero and Andreu 

Buenafuente, among others. 

Club Capitol. La Rambla, 138. 

www.grupbalana.com. 

Catalunya (L1,L3). 

Festivals 

Temporada Alta 

A festival of performing arts that 

takes place in the cities of 

Girona and Salt – one hour by 

train from Barcelona – during 

October, November and 

December. Described as the 

‘best festival in Spain’, it has 

become a benchmark event, 

where you can catch 

productions by Thomas 

Ostermeier, Guy Cassiers, 

Propeller Theatre, Teatro Uniti, 

Cheek by Jowl and Krystian 

Lupa. 

Various venues. 

www.temporada-alta.net/en. 

October and December 2014. 

Sâlmon 

A two-week dance festival that 

brings in performances from 

around Europe, focusing on the 

fresh, the new and that which 

dares to go against the current. 

Mercat de les Flors. Lleida, 59. 

www.mercatflors.cat. Poble Sec 

(L3). From November 29 to 

December 7, 2014. 

Grec Festival 

Named after the city’s Greek 

amphitheatre (Teatre Grec) that 

forms such an integral part of its 

programming, this is the major 

cultural festival of the year. It 

gathers dozens of shows from 

around the world in dance, 

music, theatre and circus. Some 

theatre performances are in 

English, with Catalan surtitles. 

Various venues. http://grec.bcn. 

cat/en/. July 2015. 

Theatre 


Music 

the Arctic Monkeys to 

Bananarama. Together with 

Apolo, Razzmatazz rules the 

city’s clubbing scene, so if it’s 

nightlife you’re after, this is 

where it’s at, kids. 

Almogàvers, 122 

T. 93 272 09 10 

www.salarazzmatazz.com 

Music 

Best live music venues 

Can you handle a gig a night from Monday to Sunday? If you’re 

looking for a thriving live music scene, you’ve come to the right 

city. By Ricard Martín & Maria Junyent 

Sala Apolo 

The Apolo is the pulsing heart of 

Barcelona’s indie clubbing 

scene and a concert venue for 

live music of all genres. New and 

established names from the 

worlds of pop, rock, folk and 

electronic music hit its two 

stages every night of the week – 

the owners don’t seem to have 

grasped the concept of a day off. 

Check their website for full 

details of upcoming gigs. With 

an average of 10 shows a 

week, you’re pretty much 

guaranteed to find something 

that rings your bell. 

Nou de la Rambla, 113 

T. 93 441 40 01 

www.sala-apolo.com 

Razzmatazz 

We’ll go out on a limb here: this 

beast of a club with its five 

SALA APOLO 

separate spaces is one of the 

best – if not the best – in 

Barcelona. You’ll find rock and 

indie at Razz Club, techno and 

house in The Loft, techno-pop in 

Sala Lolita, electro and pop in 

the Pop Bar, and electro-rock in 

the Rex Room. As well as DJs, 

the club hosts gigs and largescale 

live concerts that attract 

hugely diverse crowds. 

Everyone’s played here, from 

BARTS 

Located right on the Avinguda 

Paral·lel, one of the city’s most 

theatrical thoroughfares, 

Barcelona Arts on Stage 

(BARTS) is a multi-disciplinary 

performance space with a 

finger in every pie. You’ll find 

theatre, circus, dance, standup, 

magicians and of course 

live music of all kinds, from 

mega-concerts to intimate solo 

shows. The venue formerly 

known as Arteria Paral·lel has 

reinvented itself as the 

epicentre of several citywide 

music festivals, including the 

Estrella Damm Jazz Festival. 

The programme also includes 

concerts as part of the BCN 

Guitar Festival. 

Avinguda del Paral·lel, 62 

T. 93 324 84 92 

www.barts.cat 

Sidecar Factory Club 

In a corner of Plaça Reial, slapbang 

in the middle of the old city, 

you’ll find this underground 

temple to indie rock. Twenty-five 

years after opening, it’s in fine 

fettle, with a daily programme of 

DJs and gigs, and a dependable 

crowd of discerning regulars 

who you’ll find propping up the 

bar week in, week out. Located 

in a space where the contact 

between bands and audience is 

almost physical, Sidecar has 

helped launch new bands and 

welcomed back established 

acts. And they say the cellar 

walls still echo with the 

carousing of sailors from the 

US Fleet looking for serious 

R&R on dry land. 

Pl. Reial, 7 

T. 93 302 15 86 

www.sidecarfactoryclub.com 


Editor 

Marta Salicrú 

msalicru@timeout.cat 

@salicrunette 

Jamboree 

A jazz institution, Jamboree has 

done more than most to put 

Barcelona on the concert circuit 

for the biggest names in 

international jazz. The venue has 

seen performances from jazz 

giants of the stature of Bill 

Coleman, Kenny Drew, Chet 

Baker, Lou Bennet, Stéphan 

Grappelli, Kenny Clarke, Ornette 

Coleman and Dexter Gordon. A 

jamboree is a rowdy, boisterous 

gathering, so it’s an appropriate 

name for a jazz venue that has 

been a meeting place for artists 

and intellectuals ever since it 

opened – a driving force in the 

cultural history of the Plaça Reial. 

For those who want to continue 

the party, it’s a short stagger 

across the square to Sidecar. 

Pl. Reial, 17 

T. 93 319 17 89 

www.masimas.com/jamboree 

Luz de Gas 

If you haven’t been to Luz de 

Gas, you haven’t been out in 

Barcelona: it’s a bona fide 

classic. Located in what was 

once the Belle Epoque cabaret, 

it has hung on to the elegantly 

theatrical décor, with tasselled 

chandeliers and velvet curtains. 

A pillar of the live music scene, 

Luz de Gas draws a diverse 

crowd. Along with concerts from 

international groups, every night 

features a session from one of 

their resident bands playing jazz, 

disco, pop, rock or soul. 

Muntaner, 246 

T. 93 209 77 11 

www.luzdegas.com 

night. But regardless of what’s 

on, Heliogàbal is one of those 

places it’s hard to leave when 

the concert’s over – whether it’s 

because you’re deep in 

conversation in the tiny patio 

space, or because you can’t get 

through the crowd to the door. 

Ramón y Cajal, 80 

www.heliogabal.com 

BeCool 

Sala BeCool is where 

Barcelona’s novelty-hungry 

music lovers go to find out 

what’s happening in cities like 

London and Berlin. Since the 

venue opened, the owners have 

stayed true to their philosophy 

of programming DJs and cuttingedge 

groups in an intimate 

space with audience and artist 

in close proximity. You won’t find 

a regular crowd – instead it 

varies from one gig to the next, 

depending on who’s headlining. 

Pl. Joan Llongueras, 5 

T. 93 362 04 13 

www.salabecool.com 

Bikini 

There are six different dance 

nights every week, from hip hop to 

pop hits to Latin dance in this 

timelessly stylish nightclub. Bikini 

is a legend of the Barcelona 

nightlife scene. Although the main 

room is better known as a disco 

than a concert venue, you’ll find 

at least a couple of gigs here 

every month. 

Diagonal, 547 

T. 93 322 08 00 

www.bikinibcn.com 

HELIOGÀBAL 


ROCK ’N’ ROLL NIGHTS 

SALA ROCKSOUND 

A small but mighty temple of rock 

’n’ roll in all its incarnations. Sticky 

bar and no-nonsense patrons. 

Almogàvers, 116. 

Facebook: rocksound.almogavers 

MAGIC CLUB 

The City Council demoted this rockonly 

dance club from live music 

venue, but it’s still going strong. 

Passeig Picasso, 40. T. 93 310 12 

67. www.magic-club.net 

Music 

Heliogàbal 

One of Gràcia’s musical 

mainstays, the Heliogàbal 

Cultural Association was formed 

in 1995 to promote art and 

culture in the district, and since 

2001 they’ve focused their 

efforts on exhibitions, music 

and poetry. The intimate space 

hosts singer-songwriters and 

groups with an indie vibe from 

Barcelona, the rest of Spain and 

abroad, with a weekly live jazz 

BECOOL 

HEY HO! BAR 

Rowdy skater vibe featuring 

punk rock, hardcore and metal. 

Lots of baseball caps 

and tattoos. Mina, 3. 

Facebook: heyhobar.barcelona 


Music 

Music 

TOP 3 CONCERTS 

NOVEMBER 18 

SHARON JONES 

Months after beating cancer, Sharon 

Jones is touring again. Last January 

she released her sixth album with 

the Dap-Kings, ‘Give the People What 

They Want’, and now the soul queen 

is returning to Barcelona for her first 

concert since 2010. 

Palau de la Música 

NOVEMBER 8 

LADY GAGA 

Pop diva Lady Gaga is back for the 

third time at the Palau Sant Jordi in 

Barcelona as part of her ArtRave: 

The Artpop Ball, the tour in support 

of her third album, ‘Artpop’ (2013). 

Barcelona is her only stop in Spain. 

Palau Sant Jordi 

OCTOBER 14 

KYLIE MINOGUE 

Last seen here in 2011, Australian 

pop star Kylie Minogue will return 

touring her new album, ‘Kiss Me 

Once’ (2014), and a new style since 

signing with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation and 

working with the likes of MNEK. 

Palau Sant Jordi 

Pop festivals 

Primavera Sound 

Barcelona’s Primavera Sound is 

one of the world’s premier music 

festivals. For a week in May, the 

festival presents 300 acts, from 

electronica to soul to post punk. 

Primavera Sound attracts more 

and more fans from North 

America and beyond. In the 

2014 edition some 40 percent 

of attendees came from abroad. 

Late May 2015 

Parc del Fòrum 

www.primaverasound.es 

El Maresme/Fòrum (L4) 

Cruïlla 

Cruïlla began quietly in 2008 

before launching into something 

special two years later. It now 

attracts thousands of music 

fans lured by an eclectic and 

genre-crossing line-up of great 

bands and musicians in an 

outdoor setting for two days. 

July 2015. Parc del Fòrum 

www.cruillabarcelona.com 

El Maresme/Fòrum (L4) 

BAM 

BAM is a four-day annual indie 

music festival that forms part of 

the citywide celebration La 

Mercè. The event consists of 

more than 100 free, open-air 

concerts around Barcelona. 

Late Sep 2014. Various venues 

BCN Guitar Festival 

Now in its 25th year, the BCN 

Guitar Festival has expanded to 

include not only classical guitar 

and established virtuoso 

performers, but alternative 

bands and musicians too. 

Feb-Jun 2015. Various venues 

www.theproject.es 

Festival del Mil·lenni 

The Millennium Festival has 

become one of Spain’s most 

diverse music festivals, with 

artists ranging from local folk 

rock outfit Manel and German 

singer Ute Lemper to eclectic 

flamenco singer Miguel Poveda 

and Bosnian musician and 

composer Goran Bregovic. 

Nov 2014 – May 2015 

Various venues 

www.festival-millenni.com 

Pròxims 

This mini festival focuses on 

Catalan bands, including folk, 

rock and pop acts, whether the 

language is Catalan, Spanish or 

English. The concept of 

proximity, beginning with the 

source of the music, extends to 

the intimacy of the venue and 

the introduction of new music. 

July 2015 

CCCB, Montalegre, 5 

Universitat (L1,L2), Catalunya 

(L1,L3) 

www.proxims-barcelona.com 

Electronic music 

festivals 

Sónar 

Sónar is a must for anyone into 

electronic music, urban art and 

media technologies. Sónar by 

Day takes place in the trade fair 

area at Plaça Espanya and 

comprises multimedia art, 

conferences, exhibitions and 

market labs where the latest in 

digital music technology is 

demonstrated. Sónar by Night is 

out in the vast hangars of the 

site in Hospitalet. DJ sessions 

keep you moving day and night. 

Mid-June 2015 

Fira Barcelona Gran Via 

Espanya (L1,L3) 

http://sonar.es/en 

Mutek 

The International Festival for 

Digital Creativity and Electronic 

Music, which began in Montreal 

in 1999, has been making 

waves in Barcelona for the past 

five years. There’s a Digi_ 

Section daytime conference 

programme (Q&A sessions, 

workshops, etc.) and electronic 

music every night. 

Mid-March 2015. Various 

venues. www.mutek.org 

Lapsus 

Lapsus is a two-day festival of 

avant-garde electronic music, 

featuring national and 

international artists. 

Early April 2015 

CCCB 

Universitat (L1,L2) 

http://www.cccb.org/en/ 

musica_i_art_escenic-lapsus_ 

festival-45547 

DNit 

Experimental electronica is 

featured at CaixaForum in this 

festival that takes place the last 

Friday of each month from 

October to December. 

CaixaForum 

Av. Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia 6-8. 


Hip hop festival 

Hipnotik 

Hipnotik Festival is Barcelona’s 

leading grafitti, breakdance and 

hip hop festival. The one-day 

event offers concerts by some 

of Spain’s top DJs along with 

conferences and workshops. 

Sep 14 

CCCB, Montalegre, 5 

Universitat (L1,L2), Catalunya 

(L1,L3) 

hipnotikfestival.com 

Jazz festival 

Festival Internacional de Jazz 

de Barcelona 

One of Europe’s most wellrespected 

jazz festivals has 

grown to embrace everything 

from bebop to gospel, around a 

core of mainstream performers. 

Oct 10 – Nov 30 2014 

Various venues 

www.theproject.es/ 

ca/f-63/45-VOLL-DAMM- 

FESTIVAL-INTERNACIONAL-DE- 

JAZZ-DE-BARCELONA. 

Folk Festival 

Tradicionàrius 

Festival Tradicionàrius, the most 

important traditional music 

festival in Catalonia, presents 

about 50 folk and world music 

concerts around the city. 

Jan – Apr 2015. Various venues. 

www.tradicionarius.cat 

Chanson festival 

Barnasants 

A singer-songwriter festival 

offering some 100 big and small 

concerts around Barcelona. 

Jan – Apr 2015. Various venues. 

www.barnasants.com 


Music 

Music & film 

In-Edit Beefeater Festival 

The Beefeater In-Edit music 

documentary film festival 

celebrated its 10th anniversary 

last year, drawing 30,000 

filmgoers, its biggest audience 

to date. The event has grown in 

popularity every year. 

Late Oct 2014. Various venues. 

www.in-edit.org 

Flamenco festival 

Ciutat Flamenco 

A benchmark festival of 

contemporary flamenco in 

music and dance that 

celebrates the art form while 

challenging its conventions with 

creative new interpretations. 

Late May 2015. Mercat de les 

Flors, Lleida, 59 

www.mercatflors.cat 


OPERA 

Siegfried 

Yes, it’s more than four hours long. That said, Siegfried, 

the third in Wagner’s four-part Ring Cycle, is mythic 

storytelling, and the Liceu is an ideal spot to see it. The 

Forest Murmurs in Act II is an enchanting piece of opera 

music. Liceu. March 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 2015. 

Classical music 

L’Auditori 

The main hall at L’Auditori is 

home to the city orchestra, OBC; 

a more intimate chamber space 

features contemporary and 

world music, while a third space 

offers experimental and 

children’s works. 

Lepant, 150 

www.auditori.cat 

Marina (L1) 

Palau de la Música 

This stunning concert hall is as 

captivating as the music it 

hosts. The Palau has an eclectic 

programme that has welcomed 

everything from traditional 

Catalan music to Patti Smith. 

Other greats who have 

performed here include Ravel, 

Duke Ellington and Pau Casals. 

Palau de la Música, 4-6 

www.palaumusica.cat 

Urquinaona (L1,L4) 

Music 


Clubs 

Editor 

Ricard Martín 

rmartin@timeout.cat 

@RicardMartn 

Clubs 

IVÁN MORENO 

bRuna vs. John Talabot 

These two homegrown electronic music composers are driving trends rather than 

following them by creating dance music with a heart. By Javier Blánquez 

If electronic music makes you 

think of directionless youth and 

crude dance rhythms, try 

listening to what two producers 

from Barcelona are doing. We’re 

talking about the big winner of 

2012, John Talabot, and another 

rising star, bRUNA, who released 

his second album last year after 

a three-year silence. 

Now in their 30s, these artists 

of synthetic sound understand 

that music made with machines 

has to convey emotions, not just 

make people dance. 

‘I don’t understand the 

superficiality of certain music,’ 

says bRUNA – real name, Carlos 

Guajardo. ‘I think that music has 

to know how to awaken the most 

intimate sensations.’ 

Talabot -- born Uri Riverola -- 

has been giving shape to his 

definition of house music: slow, 

meandering, expansive, with an 

old-school analog sound, which 

mixes a certain ragged 

formalism with experimental 

warmth. What he does and what 

he plays is the sound of today, 

Music has 

to awaken 

the most 

intimate 

sensations 

the launching pad for electronic 

music. As a local talent, Talabot’s 

rise is unprecented -- no Catalan 

producer has ever dazzled the 

international electronica world 

as he has, gathering prestige and 

fans, driving a trend rather than 

following it. 

bRUNA is a trailblazer in his 

own right too. He’s not a player 

in Barcelona’s nightlife – ‘I 

don’t go out much,’ he laughs – 

but he is probably the most 

honest and unique of the local 

electronic producers. He has 

published little, partly due to his 

full-time job in a law office, and 

what he does gets the care of a 

perfectionist. 

His latest album, Thence, is a 

tribute to the music of his youth. 

‘I have influences from acid 

house and eurobeat, and the 

megamixes of those radio DJs 

like Quique Tejada, mixed with 

pop and experimental dance 

music that came after with 

artists like Orbital and Aphex 

Twin,’ he explains, ‘and the new 

album is a happy tribute.’ 

With Fin (Permanent 

Vacation, 2012), Talabot 

produced an album which 

landed on all the best-of lists 

that matter. Last year, his label, 

Winter, released a juicy maxiremix 

of songs by The xx. Then 

DJ Kicks, the prestigious mix 

series, released the John 

Talabot Edition, which weaves 

together a collection of new 

tracks with a murky sound and 

slightly edgy atmosphere. 

Talabot blurs the line between 

brightness and messier sound 

options, and has become a 

leader in his camp, paving the 

way for other producers. 

bRUNA wants to keep growing 

and listens closely to other 

musicians. ‘They have put their 

life into it... The memories are 

recorded in the music forever.’ 

His is the other path of 

electronic music in Barcelona, 

the one that circulates, not by 

night, but by day, and that 

doesn’t disappear at dawn, but 

lasts forever. 


Clubs 

Top clubs 

Sala Apolo 

This concert hall/nightclub is 

the city’s paradigm of indie 

clubbing and good live music in 

an informal atmosphere. Artists 

new to the scene as well as 

acclaimed pop, rock, folk and 

international electronic music 

stars grace the stage daily. 


T. 93 441 40 01 

Paral·lel (L2,L3) 

Razzmatazz 

This monster of a club with five 

spaces is one of the best – if not 

the best – in town, the 

playground of young Barcelona. 

There’s indie rock in Razz Club, 

tech-house in The Loft, technopop 

in Lolita, electro-pop in the 

Pop Bar and electro-rock in the 

Rex Room. Along with DJ 

sessions, the club also brings in 

live concerts. 

Almogàvers, 122 

T. 93 272 09 10 

Marina (L1) 

Ker Club 

Ker Club isn’t a nightclub with a 

cocktail bar – it’s a luxury 

cocktail bar with a nightclub. As 

owner Juan Arnau says, ‘Ker is a 

club made with over-25s in mind 

who grew up with electronic 

music and don’t want to go back 

to rock but who want a more 

sophisticated electronica, with 

soul and funk roots.’ 

Tarragona, 141 

Tarragona (L3) 

BeCool 

This uptown venue has brought 

us everything from the latest in 

Berlin’s minimal techno scene 

to London’s hottest new bands. 

After the live shows, the crowd 

throbs to sophisticated 

electronica and bizarre 

attendant visuals. Upstairs, in 

the Red Room, DJs playing indie 

pop-rock provide an alternative 

to the pounding beats below. 

Pl. Joan Llongueras, 5 

T. 93 362 04 13 

Hospital Clínic (L5) 

CDLC 

The Carpe Diem Lounge Club is 

at the forefront of Barcelona’s 

see-and-be-seen celeb circuit. 

But mere mortals can mingle 

too, enjoying funky house and a 

busy terrace to discuss who’s 

going to finance their next drink 

and how to chat up the Barça 

player who just walked in. 

Pg. Marítim, 32 

T. 93 224 04 70 


Sidecar 

This below-ground temple of 

indie rock is 25 years old and 

still fit as a fiddle, with a different 

session every day and the 

confidence in knowing that the 

hip and happening will be there 

at least once a week. 

Pl. Reial, 7 

T. 93 302 15 86 

Liceu (L3) 

Opium 

Opium Mar is a restaurant with 

terrace as well as a nightclub for 

the beautiful people looking for 

a modern ambience with a touch 

of opulence. Next to the Hotel 

Arts and practically on the 

Barceloneta beach. 

Pg. Marítim de la Barceloneta, 34 

T. 902 267 486 

Ciutadella/Vila Olímpica (L4) 

Karma 

Neither age nor status are social 

barriers at Karma, a classic rock 

bar that lies under Plaça Reial. It 

keeps close to classic rock 

coordinates, with a timid foot in 

electronic music. One of the 

best places in Barcelona for a 

drink, a dance and a flirt. 

Pl. Reial, 10 

T. 93 302 56 80 

Liceu (L3) 

Clubs 


Clubs 

Clubs 

El Club Latino 

The dean of Barcelona’s 

theatres, El Teatre Principal on 

La Rambla opened a dance club 

that ignites after the dinner 

theatre crowd moves on. It’s a 

separate space, with live music 

and DJ sessions in various 

genres, and plenty of dancing. 

Teatre Principal 

La Rambla, 22 

T. 93 412 31 29 

Drassanes (L3) 

Burlesque 

El Molino 

After renovations in 2010, this 

grand dame has returned to her 

former glory. El Molino (‘The Mill’ 

– think Moulin Rouge) was the 

best-known theatre of the 

Paral·lel area, poking fun at the 

censorship of the time. It’s still a 

cabaret, burlesque and music 

hall, but it also offers theatre 

and flamenco performances. 

Vilà i Vilà, 99 


Taboo 

If you’ve got a yen for burlesque, 

head to the monthly Taboo 

nights at Sala Apolo, Here you’ll 

find quality performers plus the 

live band Mambo Jambo. It’s the 

perfect venue for the fun 

nostalgia of burlesque, with its 

lavish curtains, balcony and 

cosily-lit private tables. 

Sala Apolo 


T. 93 441 40 01 


The best sessions 

make way for the next 

generation. 

Sala Apolo 


T. 93 441 40 01 


Nasty Mondays 

Fight the Monday blahs by letting 

it all hang out at Sala Apolo, with 

a differently themed party every 

day of the week (Nasty Mondays, 

Crappy Tuesdays... You get the 

idea). 

Sala Apolo 


T. 93 441 40 01 


L’Orgie 

Club Astoria packs ’em in on 

Saturdays for a sizzling party 

with a theatrical ambience -- 

you’re surrounded by actors, 

acrobats, singers and dancers 

who will get your head turning all 

night. An ‘Ibiza-style’ night out. 

Club Astoria 

París, 193 

T. 93 414 63 62 


Plástico 

What began as a little bar in the 

Raval, Plástico is now one of the 

hottest Wednesday-night spots. 

From the hands of Jordi Gelpi 

and Josep Xortó (leader of the 

band Stand Up Against Heart 

Crime), the session brings in 

noted guests such as musician 

and drummer Arnau Obiols or 

fashion photographer Gerard 

Estadella as DJs. 

Sidecar Factory Club 

Pl. Reial, 7 

T. 93 302 15 86 

Liceu (L3), Jaume I (L4) 

62 www.timeout.com/barcelona Time Out Barcelona Student Guide 2014/2015 

Nitsa 

Sala Apolo brings you terrific 

electronica hand-picked by its 

gurus DJ Fra, William Dafoe and 

Kosmos. Downstairs you’ll find 

the best pop-rock club in town, 

with your hosts DJs Coco, 

Graham and Pegatas living it up 

with loud guitars. Nitsa is like 

the Guardiola Barça of 

nightclubs; the world’s finest 

have helmed its decks and still 

do. Some of us burned through 

our share of nights in the 

legendary ’90s. Now it’s time to 

Pigs & Diamonds 

Like every Wednesday for the 

last few years, City Hall presents 

this session dedicated to rock, 

the ’80s and ’90s, and modern 

rhythms. Go early and you can 

have a peek at the club, usually 

a temple of electronica, which 

still looks like the old Teatro 

Barcelona, with light bulbs, 

stage and velvet curtains. 

City Hall 

Rambla de Catalunya, 2-4 

T. 93 238 07 22 

Catalunya (L1,L3)

LGBT 

Editor 

Josep Maria Sarri 

jmsarri@timeout.cat 

@jmsarri 

Daytime fun in 

the Gaixample 

Presenting three spots that 

want to breathe life into the 

city’s gay neighbourhood when 

the sun’s up. By J.M. Sarri 

LGBT 

BIM BAR 


Unless you’re in the mood for 

shopping, there aren’t many 

places open while the sun’s 

shining in the Gaixample. For a 

long time, going for a stroll 

around the neighbourhood 

before the night’s events got 

underway was a depressing 

experience. Not a single café had 

its doors open, not one barman 

was pouring anyone an aperitif. 

Fortunately, this has changed in 

recent months and, despite 

economic hard times, some 

interesting spots have dared to 

roll up their blinds outside the 

usual timetable. These three 

neighbourhood spots are hoping 

to find their place in the sun 

during lean times. 

Drag queen café 

Of the three, Bim Bar 

(Casanova, 71) is the newest 

and the gayest. Run by the same 

folks who brought you Bim Bam 

Bum right next door, this café 

and wine bar opened last year 

with a colourful party. Your man 

in charge is Carlos Leal, a young 

Venezuelan who’s been living in 

Barcelona for eight years. By 

night he’s transformed into Luna 

Diva, a potty-mouthed drag 

queen who works weekends 

next door. There’s a comfy sofa 

area near the entrance, several 

tables and a big bar. They’re 

open for lunch from Monday to 

Saturday, and there’s always 

something to nosh, especially 

salads and smoothies. It’s all 

very healthy fare, including the 

waiters, hired – no one’s denying 

it – in part for their good looks, 

and their eagerness to chat with 

the clientele. Once darkness 

falls, Bim Bar moves its 

espresso machine to the side to 

make way for the cocktail 

shakers and blenders until 

midnight. To keep things lively, 

Luna Diva herself is sometimes 

wont to serve a drink or two 

behind the bar at weekends. 

The double entendre 

Not far from Bim Bar, on the 

same street but closer to Gran 

Via, is Neo (Casanova, 46). An 

idea brought to fruition by a 

Turkish-born businessman, the 

café opened in March 2013. 

And although in the first few 

months it shared the same 

nights-only hours as many an 

Eixample establishment, Neo is 

now open every morning. When 

it’s closed, you’ll know it by the 

big ladybird (or ‘ladybug’, 

depending on which side of the 

Atlantic you’re from) painted on 

the shutter door. (‘Ladybird’ is 

‘mariquita’ in Spanish, or 

‘marieta’ in Catalan, but both 

words also refer to gay man, 

along the lines of ‘fairy’ or 

‘queen’, used as a term of 

endearment by those with good 

intentions.) Once inside you’ll 

see a large table where you can 

share lunch with friends and 

strangers you’d like to be 

friendly with, and an enormous 

bar where, at night, you can 

enjoy a tipple. A bit farther inside 

is where they keep more tables 

to sit and have a meal. The 

kitchen serves up set lunches 

and dinners at reasonable 

prices (the set dinner menu at 

the weekend is a mere €14.50). 

Open all day ... and night 

And fi nally, we come to the place 

that’s actually been around the 

longest: the Osbar (Diputació, 

225). If you know a bit of Catalan 

or Spanish, or if you just fancy 

’em furry, you’ll know that ‘ós’ 

and ‘oso’ mean ‘bear’, but that’s 

not where this bar gets its name. 

The ‘Os’ in this case comes 

from the name of the man in 

charge, Óscar Verde. Open since 

November 2012, Osbar has a 

generous schedule. During the 

week the doors open at 7.30am 

and the morning is spent serving 

breakfast. Later you can have 

lunch or a cup of coffee, and at 

night it’s also a cocktail bar until 

the other side of midnight, and 

even later at weekends. The 

walls show off mini exhibitions 

by emerging artists, and in the 

afternoon, they organise 

activities such as getting 

together to play board games – 

in English. 


LGBT 

Top 10 parties 

¡Que trabaje Rita! 

This party now stands on its own 

feet in Barcelona as a truly 

don’t-miss monthly date. The 

organisers are ambitious and 

huge fans of the element of 

surprise, so it’s not unusual for 

them to pack the two rooms at 

Sala Apolo for 11-hour sessions 

or to pop up with special editions 

an extra night of the month. 

One Sunday a month. 

Sala Apolo (Nou de la Rambla, 

113). Paral·lel (L2,L3) 

Churros con chocolate 

They play everything from 

obscure Spanish pop sounds to 

the latest Kylie tracks. It’s a fun 

and constantly changing 

session with a diverse audience 

where anything goes and where, 

above all, good vibes rule. 


Sala Apolo (Nou de la Rambla, 


Ká 

Sandro and Jon are friends who 

met 10 years ago and started 

throwing house parties where 

everyone ended up showing off 

their wares in wigs and heels. In 

April 2013 they moved their 

once-private soirées to a cocktail 

bar. Ká is an explosive session 

that has already made its way 

through two venues and is now a 

monthly party at Plataforma. 


Plataforma (Nou de la Rambla, 


POPair 

A beard is the key into this party 

thrown by a big player in 

Barcelona’s nightlife, the robust 

DJ Albertoto. With the help of his 

family and a few friends, he puts 

on this alternative session that 

for everyone from the bear world. 

‘We started POPair to fight 

against Barcelona’s gay nightlife 

going stale and to break 

stereotypes,’ says Albertoto. 

First Friday of each month. 

Sala Instinto (Mèxic, 7). 


La Rebujito 

Its main feature is that there’s 

usually a happy hour starring the 

rebujito, a typically Andalusian 

drink, just the tonic to get any 

party going. And we can tell you 

firsthand that at La Rebujito, it 

does just that. 

One Saturday a month. 

Cabaret Berlín (Bailèn, 22). 

Tetuan (L2) 

Somoslas 

Ferran Camarasa, the man 

behind logistics and artist 

hospitality for both Nitsa Club 

and Primavera Sound, is also the 

creator of this session that he 

modelled on what was going on 

in Berlin and that brings together 

any lesbians and gays who want 

a place to play. 

One Friday a month. 

La [2] de Apolo (Nou de la 

Rambla, 113). Paral·lel (L2-L3) 

La Melon 

The organisers are committed to 

their cause: throwing a party for 

young lesbians just starting to 

go out and eager to have fun 

dancing to commercial house 

music with a Spanish pop hit 

thrown in now and then. They 

also do theme nights, where the 

clientele dons costumes. 

First Saturday of each month. 

Upload (Poble Espanyol, Plaça 

Major, 9). Espanya (L1,L3;FGC) 

Abolladas 

Girls curious about and open to 

all kinds of music, take note: the 

Razzmatazz Pop Bar hosts this 

party called Abolladas, born 

from the ashes of My Lovah 

Cindy, a session aimed at indie 

lesbians and lesbian-friendlies. 


Razzmatazz (Almogàvers, 122). 

Marina (L1) 

Twin Pigs 

DJ Rebote and Borja Pony are a 

couple of creatures of the night. 

Since March 2014 they’ve 

changed the programming 

slightly to a Sunday ‘tea dance’ 

based in Poble-sec in the 

legendary Plataforma. You’ll find 

all types who are up for it, 

dancing to the beat of some 

tasty electronica. 


Plataforma (Nou de la Rambla, 


El Club de JuanPe 

His name is Juan Pedro del 

Moral, but everyone knows him 

as JuanPe. We know him as a 

member of the Nancys Rubias, a 

Spanish pop, glam and 

electronica band; the close 

friend of fellow Nancy, Mario 

Vaquerizo; and dressmaker to 

Spanish singer Alaska (of 

Fangoria) since the 1980s. 


Razzmatazz (Almogàvers, 122). 

Marina (L1) 

Indie clubs 

La Bata de Boatiné 

Your best bet when you choose a 

night out in La Bata de Boatiné 

is to let yourself be seduced by 

the ambience, meaning be open 

to making some new friends 

whether you want to or not, 

because most of the patrons 

have never heard of the concept 

of personal space. 

Robadors, 23. Tue-Sat 8pm-3am. 

Liceu (L3) 

La Casa de la Pradera 

This friendly local gay bar has a 

varied clientele and a fun, 

relaxed atmosphere. They serve 

good beer and a free tapa with 

every drink. On Friday and 

Saturday nights they have a DJ, 

while in the evening there’s 

always a fun, lively atmosphere 

at the bar. 

Carretes, 57. Daily noon-1.30am; 

Fri, Sat open until 3am. Sant 

Antoni (L2) 

The biggest festival 

Circuit 

The Circuit Festival has grown so 

popular that it now stretches 

over 10 days and encompasses 

three festivals in one: Circuit for 

gay men, Girlie Circuit, and 

Circuit Bear. Each has its own 

specifi c programme of after-dark 

clubs, parties and shows but 

share many of the daytime 

events. Among them is Water 

Park Day, when some 10,000 

participants take over the Illa 

Fantasia water park, outside 

Barcelona. 

August 2015. Various venues. 

GAY-FRIENDLY 

RESTAURANTS 

BENCH 

A seductive modern ambience 

with innovative Mediterranean 

cuisine and a full slate of gin and 

tonics. Try the pumpkin cream soup 

with orange zest or the sticky rice 

with squid and aioli sauce. 

(Aribau, 33) 

CASTRO 

Still ahead of the crowd as far 

as gay restaurants go, Castro 

serves imaginative dishes such as 

kangaroo with eucalyptus sauce 

and blackberry tartlet, or venison in 

balsamic vinegar, all served by eyepleasing 

staff. (Casanova, 85) 

LA BAMBO 

Once a cocktail bar for women 

and host to an after-hours party 

called Butch, La Bambo has 

reinvented itself as an easy-on-thewallet 

tapas bar looking to pull in a 

more diverse clientele. But the girls 

still reign here. (Diputació, 206) 

LGBT 


Art 

Editor 

Eugènia Sendra 

esendra@timeout.cat 

@twitternom 

To keep up with the growth 

of its collection, the museum 

has absorbed four adjacent 

medieval stone palaces over 

the years, two of which are 

dedicated to temporary 

exhibitions. 

Art 

Picasso’s first home 

The institution, which turned 50 last year, was the first Picasso 

museum to open while the artist was alive. By Braden Phillips 

It’s hard to imagine that creative 

giants like Pablo Picasso had 

formative years. Where did the 

teenage Picasso study? What 

did he paint? Did his work show 

signs of what was to come? The 

answers to those questions can 

be found at Barcelona’s Picasso 

Museum in C/Montcada. 

Picasso moved to Barcelona’s 

La Ribera neighbourhood with 

his family in 1895, at the age of 

14, and after intervals spent in 

Madrid and Paris, he left the 

Catalan capital definitively for 

Paris when he was 23. During 

those years, he attended the La 

Llotja art school, rented his first 

studios (not far from where the 

museum stands now) and found 

a home among the Catalan 

avant-garde, frequenting the 

Quatre Gats tavern which served 

as the nerve centre at the time 

and where he held his first solo 

exhibition. 

Established in 1963, the 

museum – which celebrated its 

50th anniversary last year – is 

the first Picasso museum to be 

opened in the world while the 

artist was still alive, proving the 

Visitors learn 

how the artist 

evolved in his 

youth, from 

1890 to 1904 

depth of his connection with 

Barcelona and its influence 

on his work. 

The museum owed its birth to 

the friendship and shared vision 

between Picasso and Jaume 

Sabartés. A Barcelona native 

who met the artist in 1899, 

Sabartés later became 

Picasso’s personal secretary in 

Paris. In consultation with the 

painter, Sabartés laid the 

foundation of the museum by 

donating his personal collection 

of 574 mostly early Picassos, to 

which the Barcelona Museums 

of Art added a small donation of 

their own (most notably, 

Harlequin, 1919). 

On March 9, 1963, the 

Sabartés Collection was 

opened in the Palau Aguilar, 

so-called because Picasso’s 

opposition to the Franco regime 

made it impossible to open a 

museum bearing his name. 

Since then the museum’s 

permanent collection has grown 

to 4,249 works, many of them 

added by Picasso himself (in 

1970 he gave the collection his 

family held in Barcelona – some 

920 works, made up of oil 

paintings and drawings from his 

childhood and youth). 

MUSEU PICASSO / HERNÁNDEZ 

Las Meninas A to Z 

Visitors will not find the 

blockbuster Picassos here. Nor 

will they find hits like Les 

Demoiselles d’Avignon (1907) 

or the first Cubist paintings from 

the time (many of them done in 

Catalonia), or his collage and 

sculpture works. 

But the museum does provide 

an unequaled presentation of 

Picasso’s development from 

1890 to 1904, from deft preadolescent 

portraits to sketchy 

landscapes to the intense 

innovations of his Blue Period, 

his first personal style. 

And there are still plenty of 

great Picassos to see, led by the 

Las Meninas, a series of 58 

paintings done in 1957 that 

analyse, reinterpret and 

re-create the famous painting 

by Diego Velázquez. 

Picasso donated the series 

to the museum in 1968, in 

homage to Sabartés, who died 

that year. 

Along with the formative 

works, Las Meninas is the other 

singular aspect of the museum 

– the only complete series by 

the artist that remains together. 

In each of these Picasso 

paintings, it’s fascinating to 

observe which elements of the 

Velázquez Las Meninas Picasso 

kept and which he altered. 

There’s a comparison chart 

in Room 16 that may help, 

showing which characters were 

inspired by which (including the 

dog, of course). 

Finally, a glimpse at the work 

and life of the mature Picasso 

is offered by 40 ceramic works, 

donated by his widow 

Jacqueline Roque in 1982. In 

that same year, Roberto Oterpo 

gave 80 photographs of the 

older artist and his milieu. 


Art 

Best museums 

MACBA 

Art is taken seriously here. In 

other words, if you’re willing to 

tackle shows that waver 

between the brilliant and the 

baffling, and, most important, if 

you’re prepared to do your 

reading, a trip to the MACBA can 

be very rewarding. The 

permanent collection is rooted 

in the second half of the 20th 

century, featuring media, sound 

and performance art from the 

’60s and ’70s. Events include 

affordable (or free) concerts, 

conferences and cinema. 

Plaça dels Àngels, 1. 

www.macba.cat 

Sant Antoni (L2) 

MNAC 

This is the place for a smart 

overview of Catalan art from the 

12th to the 20th centuries. The 

highlight is the Romanesque 

collection. Extraordinary 

Romanesque murals from 10thcentury 

churches in the 

Pyrenees were removed and put 

on display here to keep them 

from falling into ruin. Also 

unmissable is the Modernista 

collection, which includes 

Ramon Casas’ mural of himself 

and Pere Romeu on a tandem 

bike, which hung in Els Quatre 

Gats. The rich collection of 

decorative arts includes 

original furniture from 

Modernista houses. 

Parc de Montjuïc. 



CaixaForum 

This masterpiece of industrial 

Modernisme (a former yarn and 

textile factory), designed by Puig 

i Cadafalch, holds three 

impressive spaces for 

temporary exhibitions – often 

among the most interesting 

shows to be found in the city. 

Av. Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia, 

6-8. www.lacaixa.es/obrasocial 


Fundació Vila Casas 

At the end of the 18th century, 

Can Framis was a factory in 

Poblenou. In 2009 it was 

converted into a museum of 

contemporary painting. The 

walls display some 300 works 

by Catalan native or resident 

artists, dating from the 1960s 

to the present day. The Espai AO 

holds temporary exhibitions. 

Roc Boronat, 116-126. 

www.fundaciovilacasas.com 

Glòries (L1) 

Fundació Suñol 

Opened in 2007, the 

foundation’s two floors house 

the contemporary art collection 

of businessman Josep Suñol. 

There are 100 works on 

show at a time from an 

archive of 1,200 

pieces, including 

painting, sculpture 

and photography. The 

collection includes 

historic – and 

predominantly Catalan and 

Spanish – artists of the avantgarde, 

Picasso, Miró and Pablo 

Gargallo, with international input 

from Giacometti, Man Ray and 

Warhol. Works are arranged by 

style, colour or even mood. 

Passeig de Gràcia, 98. 

www.fundaciosunol.org 


CONTEMPORARY ART 

Art & Language 

This exhibition at the MACBA will feature an extensive 

selection of works from the Art & Language Collection 

of Philippe Méaille. Linked with conceptual art over a 

40-year period, these artists challenged the existing 

vocabulary of art history. Sep 19, 2014 – Apr 12, 2015 

Find the mustsee 

exhibitions 

on in the city at 


barcelona 

Fundació Antoni Tàpies 

The artist Antoni Tàpies set up a 

foundation in this, the former 

Montaner i Simon publishing 

house, in 1984, dedicating it to 

the study and appreciation of 

contemporary art. The museum 

also highlights the work and life 

Tàpies himself, who died in 

2012, with exhibitions, 

symposiums, lectures and 

film screenings. 

Aragó, 255. 

www.fundaciotapies.org 

Passeig de Gràcia (L2,L3,L4) 

Fundació Joan Miró 

This light and airy 

museum houses more 

than 225 paintings, 

150 sculptures and 

all of Miró’s graphic 

work, plus some 

5,000 drawings.The 

permanent collection 

contains Miró’s trademark use 

of primary colours and simplified 

organic forms, as well as the 

large, black-outlined paintings 

from his final period, and works 

with political themes. 

Parc de Montjuïc. 

www.fundaciomiro-bcn.org 


Fundació Foto Colectania 

The Fundació Foto Colectania is 

a private non-profit which 

opened in 2002 with the aim of 

disseminating photography and 

collecting through exhibitions, 

activities (conferences, 

seminars, trips) and the 

publication of catalogues. 

Julián Romea, 6. 

www.colectania.es 

Gràcia (FGC) 

Must-see 

exhibitions 

Picasso/Dalí, Dalí/Picasso 

The Picasso Museum in 

Barcelona and Dalí Museum in 

St. Petersburg (Florida, USA) will 

join forces to create a 

blockbuster show, featuring 

rarely loaned works from more 

than 25 international art 

museums and private 

collections. The exhibition 

seeks to re-read the relationship 

between these two artists. 

March 19, 2015 - June 28, 2015 

Museu Picasso. Montcada, 15- 

23. www.museupicasso.bcn.cat 

Jaume I (L4) 

Carol Rama 

The MACBA will present an 

exhibition of work by the 

remarkable Italian artist Carol 

Rama (1936–2006). Selftaught, 

she explored many 

styles and is regarded as a 

precursor of such artists as 

Cindy Sherman, Kara Walker, 

Sue Williams and Kiki Smith. 

Oct 31, 2014 – Feb 22, 2015 

MACBA. Plaça dels Àngels, 1 

www.macba.cat 


Carles Casagemas. L’artista 

sota el mite 

This MNAC exhibition 

celebrates the work of an artist 

who died at the age of 21. 

Close friends with Picasso, 

with whom he went to Paris, 

Casagemas has become a 

mythical figure as a result of his 

suicide, which has left his work 

unjustifiably neglected. 

Oct 30, 2014 – Feb 22, 2015 

MNAC. Parc de Montjuïc. 



Art 


Books 

Editor 

Josep Lambies 

jlambies@timeout.cat 

@twitternom 

FACTS 

LOVERS DAY 

Coincidentally, UNESCO made April 

23 World Book Day since it’s the 

anniversary of both Shakespeare’s 

birth and death, and of the death of 

Cervantes. But Catalonia’s tradition, a 

version of Valentine’s Day, is unique. 

Books 

Sant Jordi: a book and a rose 

On April 23, Barcelona’s streets fill with the scent of roses and 

freshly-printed books to celebrate St George. By Maria Junyent 

Sant Jordi (aka Saint George) is 

the patron saint of Catalonia, 

and although his saint’s day 

isn’t a public holiday, it’s always 

a celebration. Don’t expect 

saints clutching swords or 

dragons dripping blood: it’s a 

day for lovers, authors, booksignings 

and rose stalls. 

The tradition 

Tradition dictates a rose for her 

and a book for him. But 

nowadays the rules are more 

flexible – women like to read too! 

Getting your hands on a rose 

couldn’t be easier. In fact, it’s 

hard to find a corner in the city 

that hasn’t been invaded by 

impromptu stalls. There are 

clubs and associations, 

charities and professional 

florists, students raising money 

and people making a little extra 

cash. For book-givers, the prize 

is a spanking-new first edition 

signed by the author. It seems 

every writer in Spain – and a 

It’s a day for 

lovers, authors, 

book-signings 

and rose stalls 

on every corner 

smattering of foreign authors – 

spends the day being herded 

round signing sessions in the 

temporary marquees lining the 

main streets. 

A mass celebration 

There’s more to the day than 

books and roses, mind you. 

Barcelona welcomes spring with 

a flurry of artistic expression. 

Balconies are draped with 

Catalan flags, and crowds stroll 

the avenues, while restaurants 

are booked out by couples 

seeking a romantic table for 

two. La Rambla reaches full 

capacity. Plaça Catalunya 

becomes an open-air stage 

with a continuous programme 

of music and other acts. 

Literature comes alive, with 

poetry recitals and readings – 

this is also UNESCO’s World 

Book Day, and the day chosen to 

celebrate the anniversary of the 

deaths of both William 

Shakespeare and Miguel de 

Cervantes. Theatre tickets are 

half price, as are roses at the 

end of the day – the ideal time 

for absent-minded lovers to 

make a last-minute purchase. 

MORE ROSES THAN BOOKS 

The day is doubly special for vendors 

of books and flowers. Catalans buy 

some 1.5 million books, equal to 

around 8 percent of yearly book sales, 

and 6 million roses, or about 40 

percent of yearly rose sales. 

GET A SIGNATURE! 

Lining up to have a book signed by a 

favourite author is a Saint George’s 

Day tradition. Amazon.es has now 

updated it to the times: selected 

writers send digital dedications 

directly to their Kindle readers. 


Books 

Literature festivals 

BCNegra 

It’s a dark and stormy night. 

Barcelona is breathing like she 

smoked a lot of cigarettes and 

then exhaled the smoke over the 

barrel of a gun. It’s February, 

when the city forgets why anyone 

love her, turning a cold shoulder 

on all and sundry. The only way 

to keep warm on the mean 

streets is a festival of the dark 

side of literature. Talks, 

roundtables and prizes, and all 

of it as black as noir. 

Feb 2015. Various venues. 

www.bcn.cat/bcnegra 

Primera Persona 

The Primera Persona (First 

Person) Festival is dedicated to 

writers of literature and music 

who employ the first person 

singular and their own 

experience as raw material for 

their work. In 2014 the festival 

was even bigger, with more 

performances, shows, concerts 

and monologues than in the two 

previous editions. 

Early May 2015 

www.cccb.org 

Kosmopólis 

This biennial festival of the word 

brings to the city the latest 

innovations in all phases of 

literary creation: its production, 

publication and distribution, as 

well as the trends that are 

shaping its future. The festival 

features symposia, interviews, 

workshops and more. 

April 22 – June 18, 2015 

www.cccb.org/kosmopolis 

elborncentrecultural.bcn.cat 

Món Llibre 

Món Llibre (Book World), the 

festival of children’s and young 

adult literature, is the annual 

meeting point for families with 

children and young adults up to 

18 years old. The event, held 

mid-April, fills three venues -- the 

MACBA, the CCCB and FAD -- 

with more than 50 free activities 

(workshops, theatre, exhibitions 

and shows). 

www.macba.cat 

www.cccb.org/ca 

www.fad.cat 

BCN Poesia 

This poetry festival started in 

1393 as the courtly Jocs Florals 

(Floral Games), named after the 

prizes: a silver violet for third 

prize; a golden rose as second; 

and, naturally, a real flower for 

the winner. The games died out 

in the 15th century but were 

resuscitated in 1859 as a 

vehicle for the promotion of the 

Catalan language. Prizes went 

to the most suitably florid 

paeans to the motherland; 

these days, Spanish is 

permitted, as are Basque and 

Galician. In fact, you’ll hear a lot 

of languages at the International 

Poetry Festival. 

Mid-May 2015 

www.bcn.cat/barcelonapoesia 

Saló del Còmic 

The Fira Barcelona trade fair 

zone hosts everything for the 

comic enthusiast, from videos 

to conferences and, of course, 

collectibles. It’s a dream come 

true every May for the 

thousands of comic fans, many 

dressed as their favourite 

comic book characters, who 

descend on the complex to 

immerse themselves in the 

countless exhibitions, 

conferences and workshops 

centred on the world of graphic 

novels and comics. 

May 2015. Fira de Barcelona, 

Av. Reina Maria Cristina 

Espanya (L1) 

www.ficomic.com 

Bookshops 

El Corte Inglés 

The biggest department store 

group in Europe (think of it as a 

Spanish Harrods), this all-in-one 

emporium sells pretty much 

everything, including books in 

English. The flagship location is 

in Plaça Catalunya. 

Plaça de Catalunya, 14. T. 93 306 

38 00. Catalunya (L1,L3) 

FNAC-Triangle 

The most centrally located 

temple of cultural consumption 

in the city, with books (including 

an English-language section), 

CDs, movies, cameras, 

computers and other 

electronics, it’s also a main 

location for ticket sales. 

Plaça de Catalunya, 4. 

T. 93 344 18 00 

Catalunya (L1,L3) 

La Casa del Llibre 

The Bertrand is now the Casa 

del Llibre in Rambla de 

Catalunya, one of the largest 

bookshops (including a good 

English-language section) in the 

city, with an open, airy ambience 

and spaces for presentations 

and activities. 

Rambla de Catalunya, 37. 

T. 902 006 110 


Second hand 

Mercat de Sant Antoni 

For collectors or the curious, this 

Sunday market features stall 

after stall of second-hand 

books, CDs, DVDs, comics and 

collectible ephemera of every 

description, from vintage 

magazines to trading cards. 

Most corners are occupied by 

mums and dads with their kids 

hotly trading cards from 

DragonBall manga series or the 

SANT ANTONI 

LA CALDERS 

The newest of the 

great BCN bookshops 

(Passatge Calders, 

9), it sets the 

standard in the hot 

neighbourhood of 

the moment. 

READ LIKE A LOCAL 

Best bookshops in town 

GRÀCIA 

TAIFA 

Open every day (Verdi, 12), it is an 

institution of the printed word, with 

a really great cinema section. 

LA CENTRAL DEL 

RAVAL (ELISABETS, 

6) IS PROBABLY 

THE COOLEST 

BOOKSHOP IN 

THE CITY 

LA BARCELONETA 

NEGRA Y CRIMINAL 

Specialists in the crime novel, and 

the organisers of the city’s noir 

festival, located at Sal, 5. 

Spanish Football League. 

Sun 8:30am to 2:30pm. 

Corner of Comte d’Urgell and 

Tamarit. Sant Antoni (L2) 

Mercat Encants Vells Fira 

de Bellcaire 

The Encants market is one of 

the oldest markets in Europe, a 

space for vendors of secondhand 

goods and collectors to 

find items outside of 

conventional shops. It now 

occupies a 35,000-squaremetre 

space and boasts more 

than 300 stalls in a gleaming 

new edifice, a work by architect 

Fermín Vázquez. 

Glòries (L1) 

English language 

bookshops 

BCN Books 

This two-storey bookshop has a 

very decent fiction and classics 

section, and an especially good 

selection of books in English 

dedicated to Catalunya and 

Barcelona. 

Roger de Llúria, 118. 

T. 93 457 7692 


EIXAMPLE DRET 

DOCUMENTA 

First in the Barri 

Gòtic and now in 

the Eixample (Pau 

Claris, 144), it still 

has a ’70s glamour 

to it, thanks to the 

charisma of owner 

Josep Cots. 

Books 


Books 

Books 

La Central 

La Central del Raval has a small 

but eclectic selection of English 

books, which is only one reason 

to go. The other is the charm of 

browsing in a restored 17thcentury 

chapel, which adds 

a special tranquility to the 

experience. It also has a 

lovely café with a reasonable 

set menu. 

Mallorca, 6. T. 93 487 50 18. 


Laie 

Laie is one of the top bookshops 

in town among the literati and 

those looking for the latest in 

literary publications from 

Catalonia, Spain and abroad. 

They have an immense 

collection of fiction (including 

local and foreign literary 

magazines), works on 

philosophy, history and social 

sciences, art and architecture. 

Cinephiles and music 

aficionados can also satisfy 

their cravings. 

Pau Claris, 85. T. 93 302 73 10. 

Urquinaona (L1,L4) 

Altaïr 

Every aspect of travel is covered 

in this, the largest travel 

bookshop in Europe. You can 

pick up guides to free eating in 

Barcelona, academic tomes on 

geolinguistics, handbooks on 

successful outdoor sex and CDs 

of tribal music. Of course, all the 

less arcane publications are 

also here: maps for hikers, 

travel guidebooks, multilingual 

dictionaries, travel diaries and 

equipment such as mosquito 

nets. 

Gran Via, 616. T. 93 342 71 70 


Comics 

Continuarà Comics 

This two-floor temple to the 

comic is already a Barcelona 

classic along with Norma 

Comics. The first floor is 

dedicated to Spanish and 

European comics along with 

merch for mythomaniacs of Star 

Wars and other fantasy sagas. 

The second floor is all about 

Japan and the States, featuring 

manga and anime, as well as a 

space dedicated to US comics 

with vintage editions going back 

to the 1920s and up to the 

1980s. 

Via Laietana, 29 

T. 93 310 43 52 

Jaume I (L4) 

Fatbottom 

Keep your eyes open wide as 

you enter into this little cave of 

illustrated books and graphic 

novels, with adventure stories 

ranging from bears hunting 

salmon to the latest graphic 

novels from the hottest 

authors of the 

moment. This is 

Fatbottom, the 

graphic bookshop 

with probably the 

best selection in town, 

featuring everything 

from the classic comic 

book to pure artistic illustration. 

Lluna, 10. 

T. 93 179 89 57 


Gigamesh 

Its motto is vice and subculture, 

and it’s fair to say the place 

more than fulfills its mission: 

SECOND-HAND FAIR 

Sant Antoni 

Opened in 1936, this Sunday market features stall 

after stall of second-hand books, CDs, DVDs, comics 

and collectibles of every description, from vintage 

magazines to postcards. Patient hunting will yield lots 

of books and magazines in English. (See page 69) 

Find out about 

everything there 

is to do in 

Barcelona in 

timeout.cat 

Gigamesh Bookstore is one of 

the cornerstones of geek culture 

in Barcelona, a top-drawer 

source of science-fiction, horror, 

fantasy, whether in book or 

comic form, with a great 

catalogue of books in English. 

No less important is its own 

pocketbook edition: they were 

the first to publish Game of 

Thrones – quite a few years 

back now. 

Bailén, 8. 

T. 93 246 63 59 


Norma Comics 

It doesn’t matter if you 

grew up worshipping 

Stan Lee or Frank 

Miller, following the 

sagas of Godzilla or 

Star Wars, or if you can 

argue till you’re blue 

over the work of Art 

Spiegelman, Daniel Clowes or 

Jacques Tardi. Norma Comics is 

a comic aficionado’s paradise, 

whichever genre, character or 

artist you’re devoted to. With 

another floor for cinephiles and 

window displays that aren’t 

afraid to put Jack Skellington 

right next to Spriou. Holy battle 

of good versus evil! 

Passeig de Sant Joan, 9. 

T. 93 244 84 23. 


Vértice Comics 

Another veteran in the Eixample 

Esquerra, this shop specialises 

in comics from the States, and 

has been sharing its passion for 

the graphic novel for more than 

15 years. They also have an 

extensive collection of Spanish 

comics, and you can even shop 

online, without ever leaving the 

comforts of all your ongoing 

video game competitions. 

Calàbria, 195. 

T. 93 410 11 13 

Entença (L5) 

Kids 

Abracadabra Llibres 

Besides books in Spanish and 

Catalan, you’ll find a wide 

selection of books in English, 

French, German, Italian, Dutch 

and Portuguese. They’ve also 

got educational toys and unique 

objects for kids. The shop 

boasts an independent space 

intended for children’s 

workshops, storytelling and 

exhibitions as well. It’s a place 

that acquires good books made 

with detail and love. 

General Álvarez de Castro, 5. 

T. 93 310 14 10 

Urquinaona (L1,L4), Jaume I (L4) 

Casa Anita 

A place made for kids and teens 

but still fun for adults, where you 

can spend hours discovering the 

marvels between the covers of a 

book. You can ask for help from 

the bookseller, listen to 

recommendations from other 

customers or just explore freely, 

picking up whatever catches 

your eye. But the apple of Casa 

Anita’s eye is hidden in a bunch 

of wine boxes – the picture 

books, with fiction separated 

from non-fiction, of course. 

Self-edited books, origami 

and puppets have also found 

a place here. 

Vic, 14. 

T. 93 237 60 02 

Gràcia (FGC), Diagonal (L3,L5), 

Fontana (L3) 



Food & Drink 

Editor 

Ricard Martín 

rmartin@timeout.cat 

@RicardMartn 

Food & Drink 

Three aces 

In the shadow of the big-name chefs with their Michelin stars and international 

reputations, three young cooks are making their mark. By Ricard Martín 

Among chefs, a 33-year-old is a 

promising youngster. But a 

handful of genuinely youthful 

cooks are doing amazing things 

in Barcelona – and they’re not 

even out of their 20s. 

Antonio Romero 

Grandma’s cooking, simmering 

stock pots and all, has never 

looked as contemporary as it 

does at Suculent. Antonio 

Romero, 26, from Nules in 

Valencia, was commissioned 

by tapas maestro and co-owner 

Carles Abellán to update the 

spirit of the classic Barcelona 

eating house. The young chef 

completed his culinary studies 

in Lleida, and in 2009 worked a 

stage at El Bullí. When El Bullí 

closed, he worked with Juan 

Mari Arzak and in Valence 

(France), at the triple-starred 

Pic. That’s when he got the call 

from Abellán – and earlier this 

year he reached the finals of 

the Chef of the Year contest at 

the Girona Forum. 

Sergio Humada 

At 28, this San Sebastián 

native is resident chef at Via 

Veneto, the Catalan temple to 

haute cuisine with a history 

going back almost 50 years. 

Humada is the son of Basque 

chef Juan Mari Humada, who 

among other achievements 

won a Michelin star and 

became one of the fathers of 

modern Basque cuisine as a 

pioneer of pintxo-style tapas. 

His son has worked at Can 

Fabas, Mugaritz, and Celler de 

Can Roca. After travelling all 

over Spain, he touched down at 

the Hotel Alma in Barcelona, 

and found the freedom to 

develop his highly personal 

style. ‘When I’m allowed to do 

what I want, my Basque side 

2 

1. Romero, cooking up classics with top training 2. Humada, fresh Basque cuisine 

for the people of Barcelona 3. Guerola, taking a bite out of the best bakery treats 

1 

3 

IVAN GIMÉNEZ 

IVAN GIMÉNEZ 

comes out. Fish dishes, confits 

... my cooking is based on a few 

ingredients carefully put 

together. And most of all, it’s 

to be enjoyed. I like giving 

everything an unexpected 

twist, to get the exact flavour 

I’m looking for.’ 

J. M. Rodríguez Guerola 

To have achieved as much as 

this young chef has by the age 

of 28 is no mean feat. Guerola 

is bright, creative and 100 

percent Catalan. Born in Sants 

– a Barcelona neighbourhood 

that boasts many a traditional 

cake shop – his first contact 

with the world of baking was 

making torrijas at his 

grandparents’ weekend 

cottage. But it was as a 16- 

year-old working at Miramar 

under Paco Pérez that he 

acquired a real passion for 

patisserie. There followed 

stages at Hofmann, Balaguer, 

Torreblanca and Fauchon, but 

he acknowledges Pérez as his 

mentor. La Pastisseria 

Barcelona, which he runs with 

his father, should be garnering 

the same media attention as a 

newly Michelin-starred 

restaurant. Guerola puts his 

philosophy into practice 

without contraints: ‘Lightness 

of touch, individual portions, 

always focusing on high-quality 

produce, a reasonable price 

point, and well-defined 

flavours.’ 

SUCULENT 

Rambla del Raval, 43 

T. 93 443 65 79 

VIA VENETO 

Ganduxer, 10 

T. 93 200 72 44 

LA PASTISSERIA DE BARCELONA 

Aragó, 228 

T. 93 451 84 01 


Food & Drink 

Delectable rice dishes all year round 

1 2 

3 

IVAN GIMÉNEZ 

SCOTT CHASSEROT 

IVAN GIMÉNEZ 

In Catalonia, rice dishes are for 

summer. But its ability to absorb 

flavours makes rice perfect for 

seasonal delicacies as well. 

1. With cod belly 

La Barraca has a serious 

paella-making duo in the 

kitchen. Xavier Pellicer is their 

expert adviser – there three 

days a week in full kitchen rig – 

while chef Rafa de Valicourt 

has left the world of luxurious 

uptown hotels to return to 

Barceloneta. A highlight is 

arròs a la cassola, a type of 

Catalan paella with artichokes, 

sausages, wild mushrooms 

and cod belly. The gelatinous 

cod bellies hold it together with 

a wonderful stickiness, held in 

check by lightly sautéed 

cuttlefish. The secret? A drizzle 

of cod juice to add flavour. 

Price: €18.50 

2. With shellfish and baby 

broad beans 

Marc Singla is another topclass 

cook who’s decided to 

focus on paellas and other rice 

dishes. At La Mar Salada, his 

seasonal rice dishes take their 

cue from Barceloneta’s own fish 

market – a romantic idea that 

many invoke, but their 

produce really comes from 

the wholesale market, 

Mercabarna. ‘At 4am we go to 

the auction and work with what 

we find.’ Whether they bring 

back langoustines or prawns, 

they cook it with baby broad 

beans and artichokes. Sounds 

simple, but they’re working with 

a fantastic fumet – 15 kg fresh 

fish to 40 kg stock. 

Price: €19-€22 

3. The lobster house 

Welcome to one of the popular 

and few terraces on the 

seafront. Excellent fish, rice 

dishes (especially the lobster 

one) and a delicious tataki by 

Ibiza-born chef Jordi. Lobster is 

the house speciality: the secret 

lies in the crab, which adds to 

the seafood flavour of the 

broth, and a touch of anise that 

is typical to Ibizan cuisine. The 

seafood, and mixed and black 

paellas are also a big draw. 

Price: €21.80. 

–Ricard Martín & 

Marcelo Aparicio 

LA BARRACA 

Passeig Marítim, 1 

T. 93 224 12 53 

LA MAR SALADA 

Passeig de Joan de Borbó, 58 

T. 93 221 21 27 

CAVAMAR 

Vila Joiosa, 52-54 

T. 93 225 71 64 

Food & Drink 

GOOD FOOD ON A BUDGET 

LLUÍS DE LES 

MOLES 

Down a little street 

near Plaça Catalunya 

you can enjoy a lunch 

menu with more than 

the usually limited 

selection. Their timbal 

(pie) of potato and botifarra 

negra (black sausage) is a classic. 

Open only for lunch, and a 

drink is not included. 

de les Moles, 25. T. 93 317 58 66 

GELIDA 

One of those bar-restaurants 

that are few and far between 

nowadays, ideal for tight 

budgets and good eaters. The 

fork breakfast is a memorable 

experience. And at lunchtime, 

get ready for a communal meal 

with some delicious starters and 

main dishes. The capipota, shoulder 

and cod are excellent. Wash it all 

down with a fine wine from Gelida. 

Diputació, 133. T. 93 453 79 97 

BIOCENTER 

A pioneer among the city’s vegetarian 

restaurants, it has the feeling that 

it’s not just for vegetarians, but for 

anyone who wants to eat healthily, 

with generous portions and at a good 

price. Lunchtime features 

a self-service salad bar 

(not just lettuce nd 

tomato), followed by 

a main dish. 

Pintor Fortuny, 25. 

T. 93 301 45 83 

ESCAIRÓN 

Escairón is remarkable for its Galician 

entrecot (sirloin steak) and caldo 

gallego (Galician broth). Jorge and 

Pilar make you feel at home, while the 

clientele are mostly regulars. Other 

main dishes include barbecue, 

stews, and the eponymous 

dessert, Escairón (crème 

caramel with a kind of nougat 

ice cream). Unforgettable fried 

potatoes join the meat dishes. 

Fontrodona, 5. T. 93 442 93 29 


Food & Drink 

Burgers: A patty for everyone 

Barcelona is not Chicago. Yet. But we’re getting there: our list of 

gourmet burgers is nearly ready to rival the best. By Ricard Martín 

Hamburgers, 

like rock and 

roll, are in 

Barcelona 

to stay! 

CREATIVE PATTIES! BORN IN THE USA VEGGIE BURGERS 

Food & Drink 

OVAL 

They have their recipes, but you can make 

up your own premium and original burger. 

València, 199. 

EL CLUB DE LA HAMBURGUESA 

They offer a range of classic burgers, 

with some fresh and surprising twists. 

Valldonzella, 3. 

CAT BAR 

Their trademark is a vegan burger 

imported from Scotland. And crisp, 

delicious fries. Bòria, 17. 

SANTA BURG 

Alain Guiard makes burgers of almost 

everything, but his terrific beef is worth a 

bite. Vallespir, 51. 

BERNIE’S 

Their trademark is premium Basque 

Country beef cooked with an American 

grill. Yum. Via Laietana, 20. 

WOKI ORGANIC MARKET 

This is every vegan’s dream: a quinoa 

burger covered with crunchy sesame. 

Ronda Universitat, 19. 

€12–€25 

€12–€15 

€6–€12 

LA ROYALE 

Top chef Paco Pérez rules an amazing 

deluxe burger joint with worldwide 

premium meat. Plaça Camp, 5. 

HARD ROCK CAFÉ 

Monster-sized, topped with bacon, onion 

rings and lots of greasy stuff. Sacrilicious! 

Plaça Catalunya, 21. 

BACOA 

All of their burgers are righteous, but the 

veggie burger is famous and tasty! 

Ronda Universitat, 31. 


Food & Drink 

ART OR FOOD? 

Four dishes that raise culinary skill to sublime heights 

SUNOMONO OF FRESH 

ALGAE AND MOLLUSKS 

‘Pure Japan, but with everything good 

from the Mediterranean.’ That’s how 

Albert Raurich defines the dish. With 

a base of cucumber and wakame, the 

fresh algae joins the tasty mollusk 

that’s inside a soup with part vinegar 

and part yuzu juice. Dos Palillos 

(Elisabets, 9). T. 93 304 05 13 

FINE HERBS OMELETTE 

The dish that best exemplifies the 

work of Rafa Peña is a fine herbs 

omelette, with tarragon, chives and 

parsley, where the skin of the tortilla 

is replaced by an Iberian bacon wrap, 

and the stuffing is a perfect scrambled 

consistency, lovingly topped with 

tomato. Gresca (Provença, 230). 

T. 93 451 61 93 

PEAS WITH SAUSAGE 

Faithful to the principle of ‘not using 

fire and letting nature express itself 

in the dish,’ Chef Raül Balam has 

conceived this stew: peas that have 

cooked 30 minutes with leeks, bacon 

and perol sausage. Then, savour with 

a pod of baby peas and sweet peaflower 

petals. Moments (Passeig de 

Gràcia, 38). T. 93 151 87 81 

EGG WITH ASPARAGUS 

Jordi Cruz points to the deconstructed 

egg as a product of R&D. After 

many experiments, they managed 

to achieve the spherification of a 

solidified yolk at 67 degrees. Made 

with a Berga egg, served on lemon 

peel, with butter and teaspoon of 

caviar. Àbac (Av. de Barcelona, 1. 

T. 93 319 66 00) 

THE BOTTOM LINE Barcelona boasts 20 restaurants with one Michelin star, and 4 restaurants with two stars 

Food & Drink 


Food & Drink 

Food & Drink 

Catalan cuisine 

7 portes 

The eponymous Seven Doors 

open on to as many dining 

salons, all kitted out in elegant 

19th-century décor. Longaproned 

waiters bring regional 

dishes, including a stewy fish 

zarzuela with half a lobster, a 

different paella daily (shellfish, 

for example, or rabbit and 

snails), a wide array of fresh 

seafood, and heavier dishes 

such as herbed black-bean stew 

with pork sausage, and orujo 

sorbet to finish. Reservations 

are available only for certain 

tables; otherwise, get there 

early. 

Pasaje Isabel II, 14. 

T. 93 319 30 33. 


Agut 

Barcelona has a wealth of 

eateries that have improved 

over the years. Many are back 

on the map after having been 

forgotten, and some have the 

added bonus of having 

modernised without going over 

the top, to catch up with the 

demand for the quality products 

that their clients want. One such 

case is Agut. 

Gignàs, 16. T. 93 315 17 09. 

Drassanes (L3), Jaume I (L1) 

Bar Velódromo 

This classic serves quality 

dishes from early morning until 

the wee hours. With Jordi Vilà 

(one of the city’s masters in the 

kitchen) at the helm, they 

produce an endless succession 

of dishes and tapas that will 

teach you about Catalonia’s 

gastronomic heritage. The full 

menu is available all day, so if 

you fancy some Iberian ham or 

capipota at 7am, or a croissant 

for a midnight snack, just say so. 

Muntaner, 213. T. 93 430 60 22. 


Freixa Tradició 

The return of Josep Maria Freixa 

to his family home, now that 

Ramón has gone off to enjoy 

fame in Madrid, has resulted 

in an authentic festival of 

traditional cuisine: pig’s trotters 

with prunes and pine nuts, 

cuttlefish with artichokes, and 

perhaps the finest macaroni in 

Barcelona. 

Sant Elies, 22. T. 93 209 75 59 . 

Sant Gervasi (FGC) 

Gaig 

It’s currently all the rage for 

Barna’s top chefs to set up 

more-affordable offshoots, and 

this one is under the guiding 

hand of Carles Gaig. The Fonda 

Gaig schtick, like that at Petit 

Comitè, is a return to 

grandmotherly Catalan basics, 

and the favourite dish here is 

the canelons – hearty, steaming 

tubes of pasta filled with 

shredded beef and topped with 

a fragrant béchamel. The 

various dining rooms manage 

to be both modern and 

wonderfully comfortable. 

Còrsega, 200. 

T. 93 453 20 20. 


Casa Lepoldo 

Rosa Gil, the heart and soul of 

this lovely eatery, has carried 

out a veritable revolution here, 

and with excellent results. The 

cuisine has improved – which is 

NIKKEI 

Peruvian avant-garde 

Gastón Acurio, the Ferran Adrià of South America and 

the driving force behind Peru’s culinary revolution, has 

set up shop in Barcelona. Tanta (Còrsega, 235. T. 93 

667 43 72) is an excellent setting for introducing 

quality Peruvian cuisine to the city. 

really saying something. They 

have two standout dishes: the 

capipota and the oxtail. 

Sant Rafael, 24. 

T. 93 441 30 14 


Wine bars 

Bar Nostàlgic 

Although located in the 

fashionable Sant Antoni market 

area, this bar does not mimic 

the Nordic aesthetic of most 

new local establishments. They 

serve a good selection of 

wines, particularly from 

Catalonia, plus they have good 

beer on tap and an impressive 

list of gins, malt whiskies and 

special rums. Gin and tonics, 

spritz ... they make it all, 

including tapas to please even 

the most sybaritic palates. 

Viladomat, 38. Sant Antoni (L2) 

Can Cisa/Bar Brutal 

This restored neighbourhood 

bar combines a classic bodega 

at the entrance with a wine bar 

at the back. They stock 300 

wines, all from organic or biodynamic 

producers around the 

world, without chemicals or 

additives, at accessible prices. 

Princesa, 14. T. 93 319 98 81. 

Jaume I (L4) 

Casa Mariol 

At the Casa Mariol Wine Bar, 

which is part of the bodega of 

the same name, you’ll have the 

chance to get to know Suau, 

which is a version of a drink (a 

blend of soda and coffee) that 

was popular in the Ribera de 

l’Ebre region decades ago. You 

can also taste cask wines from 

the Ebre, accompanied by a nice 

clotxa (bread stuffed with 

herring, onions, tomatoes and 

garlic), and then top it all off with 

delicious cakes from Batea (a 

town also in the Ebre). 

Rosselló, 442. 

T. 93 436 76 28 

Sagrada Família (L2,L5) 

Magatzem Escolà 

It looks like a hoarder’s paradise 

of wine bottles, but the shop’s 

staff know exactly where 

everything is. You’ll find a great 

variety of products, which is the 

result of a company that really 

knows its business and has 

spent more than half a century 

dedicated to wine distribution. 

Watch out for their wine tasting 

and cocktail events. 

Comercial, 13. 

T. 93 167 26 55 


Monvínic 

This is one of the largest 

information centres for wine not 

only in Europe but the world over. 

It is also a wine bar and 

restaurant. The latter – which 

focuses on traditional cuisine 

with a creative touch – is 

excellent, by the way. 

Diputació, 249. 

T. 93 272 61 87 


Seafood 

Els pescadors 

Josep Maulini and his wife have 

turned this into a lovely spot, 

combining antique furniture with 

modern décor, and retaining its 

air of a small-town bar. One 

delicious recommendation: 


grilled sardines in sauce, though 

they don’t always have them. 

Rice dishes are a staple on the 

menu, and never disappoint. 

Plaça Prim, 1. 

T. 93 225 20 18. Poblenou (L4) 

Rías de Galicia 

This restaurant is the setting for 

the Iglesias family’s wonderful 

relationship with the finest 

seafood. The menu includes 

Cantabrian lobster with garlic, 

John Dory and txangurro crab 

cannelloni. And when it’s in 

season, they have the exquisite 

Bordeaux lamprey. 

Lleida, 7. T. 93 423 45 70. 


Tabarca Langosta’s Club 

Tino Martínez, sailor and chef 

extraordinaire, has opened an 

unusual restaurant in Barcelona 

specialising in lobster: he has 

recovered the recipes of the 

lobster fishermen from the island 

of Tabarca, and he does so with a 

menu that includes lobster and 

rice cooked in the lobster stock. 

Comte Borrell, 160. T. 661 074 

704. Universitat (L1,L2) 

Pizza 

La Bella Napoli 

Is there anyone who doesn’t 

know about these 

wonderful pizzas? Get 

yours in the authentic 

Italian atmosphere, 

with noisy, cheerful 

waiters. Book a table 

if you’re going at the 

weekend. 

Margarit, 14. T. 93 442 50 56. 


Piazze d’Italia 

A temple of southern Italian 

cuisine with an innovative and 

provocative twist. The pizza chef 

makes the dough spin and 

dance above his fingertips 

before transforming it into an 

exquisite crust. Dare to try their 

sweet Nutella pizza, which is 

completely over the top, but not 

to be missed. 

Casanova, 94. T93 323 59 77. 

Rocafort (L1) 

Tapas 

Book your 

favourite 

restaurants at 


barcelona 

Bar del Pla 

Positioned somewhere between 

a French bistro and a tapas bar, 

the Bar del Pla serves tapas and 

small plates (divine pig’s 

trotters with foie, outstanding pa 

amb tomàquet). Drinks include 

Mahou on tap (a fine beer, often 

ignored here because it’s from 

Madrid), plus some good wines 

by the glass. 

Montcada, 2. 

T. 93 268 30 03. 

Jaume I (L4) 

El Jabalí 

This deli bar, which is 

reminiscent of Paral·lel in its 

heyday, is a great place to eat 

wonderful tapas – try the patatas 

bravas, the chicken salad and 

the cured sausage – 

while sipping on good 

wine. It’s also a nice 

place to sit on the 

terrace and do some 

serious peoplewatching. 

Ronda Sant Pau, 15. 

T. 93 441 10 82. 


Food & Drink 

La Bricciola 

A real Italian trattoria with good 

pizzas and fantastic pasta. 

Features a good wine list and 

some great Italian grappa. 

Olzinelles, 19. T. 93 432 19 33. 

Mercat Nou (L1) 

Murivecchi 

This restaurant-trattoria is a 

direct relative of Un Posto al Sol 

on C/Urgell, and they both make 

really good pizzas. 

Princesa, 59. T. 93 315 22 97. 

Jaume I (L4) 

Tapas 24 

Another nu-trad tapas bar 

focusing on quality produce. 

Among the oxtail stews, fried 

prawns and cod croquettes, 

however, fans of chef Carles 

Abellan will also find playful 

snacks more in keeping with his 

signature style. The McFoie 

Burger is an exercise in fast-food 

heaven, as is the bikini, a small 

version of his take on the ham 

and cheese toastie. 

Diputació, 269. T. 93 488 09 77 



Shopping & Style 

Shops with charm 

We asked our readers to tell us the most special places to 

shop in Barcelona. Here is a selection of those gems. 

By Eugènia Sendra Photos Maria Dias 

TEALOSOPHY 


ROLLITOASÍ 

OLOKUTI 

Hivernacle 

One of the treasures of the Sants 

district, which could easily go 

unnoticed if it weren’t for a shock 

of green leaves poking out the 

skylight of a one-time meter-box 

factory. Hivernacle can supply all 

your indoor and outdoor 

gardening needs, from plants 

and seeds, to soil, tools and 

accessories. But their latest 

project is even more ambitious: 

made-to-measure urban 

allotments, available to rent. 

Melcior de Palau, 32 (Sants) 

T. 93 491 21 78 

www.hivernacle.net 

Oslo 

The Oslenyes, as the creative 

team behind the Olso project 

call themselves, run a busy 

space that showcases the work 

of some 40 artists and artisans 

from the Gràcia district. But this 

is more than a shop; it’s a haven 

for anyone who wants to get into 

the current craze for DIY 

crafting. They run courses on 

creating dress patterns, making 

jewellery using the lost wax 

method, and altering your own 

clothes. 

Torrent de l’Olla, 164 (Gràcia) 

T. 93 105 64 37 

www.oslobarcelona.com 

Dadaflor 

Flower arranging can be an art 

form, and Dadaflor exists to 

prove just that. Run by artist/ 

florist Marta Arnau, the shop 

sells flowers of all kinds – freshly 

cut or dried ones, as well as 

artificial flowers made of fabric 

or plastic – but it is also a gallery 

where flowers, combined with 

other materials, become the 

basis for works of art that are 

both creative and challenging. 

Provença, 181 (Eixample 

Esquerre) 

T. 93 453 51 95 

www.dadaflor.com 

Tealosophy 

Breathe it in: the aromas of this 

tea shop are definitely not to be 

missed. You’ll find more than 70 

varieties of single-estate teas 

and refined blends that go far 

beyond the standard 

classification of red, black and 

green, and are created by owner 

Inés Barton, herself a tea 

connoisseur. She recommends 

the Barcelonando, a blend of 

green tea and toasted crema 

catalana. There’s always time 

for tea! 

Bonavista, 3 (Gràcia) 

T. 93 415 49 06 

www.tealosophy.com 

Number Shoes 

The footwear fanatics at Number 

Shoes didn’t want to fall out of 

step with trends in New York, 

London and Paris, so they 

decided to bring the hottest new 

styles from the fashion capitals 

straight to Barcelona. They 

stock shoes from Opening 

Ceremony, Swear, B Store, Ksubi 

and Reductions, and their 

generous selection covers all 

the bases, whether you’re 

looking for vertiginous heels, 

shoes with character, or 

timeless classics. 

Espaseria, 7 (Born) 

T. 93 319 88 51 

www.numberbcn.com 

Mar de Cava 

Furniture and exclusive designer 

names are the stock in trade of 

Mar de Cava. But with its stark 

contrasts and strange 

harmonies, the shop also finds 

room for more-affordable little 

treasures, including clothes 

(from local designers including 

El Colmillo de Morsa and 

Montse Liarte), jewellery from 

Domingo Ayala and the perky, 

irrepressible cushions of Donna 

Wilson. 

València, 293 (Eixample Dret) 

T. 93 458 53 33 

www.mardecava.com 

Casa Anita 

A children’s bookshop that’s a 

treat for adults too, with helpful 

staff and occasional book 


Editor 

Eugènia Sendra 

esendra@timeout.cat @ 

eugeniasendra 

#1 

Our readers’ 

top pick 

CASA ANITA 


events in the lovely patio at the 

back. The jewel in the crown is 

their selection of picture books, 

from popular kids’ titles in 

different languages to stunning 

pop-up books and gorgeous art 

editions that are surely far too 

good for grubby little fingers. 

You’ll also find books for adults 

and teenagers, and gifts 

including mobiles, T-shirts, 

toys and games. 

Vic, 14 (Gràcia) 

T. 93 237 60 02 

Cap Problema 

Brompton’s folding bikes have 

taken the world of urban cycling 

by storm, establishing 

themselves as the number one 

choice for anyone who wants to 

move around the city in a 

healthy, sustainable way, without 

worrying about how they’re going 

to lock up their bike. The good 

people at Cap Problema are 

specialists in this English make. 

Plaça dels Traginers, 3 (Gòtic) 

www.capproblema.com 

Blau Cel Dona 

Ladies who love their creams 

and treatments will adore Blau 

Cel Dona (‘Blue Sky Woman’), 

a beauty salon that does 

everything from shellac 

manicures and pedicures to 

facial and body treatments with 

products from Nature Bissé and 

Thalgo. Ask about the make-up 

workshops, and learn just how 

to bring out those beautiful 

eyes. 

Provença, 163 bis 


T. 93 453 38 13 

blauceldona.com 

I Love Kutchi 

Bright colours, laughter and 

kutchi-kutchi. If you’re still a 

child at heart, pop in to I Love 

Kutchi. This Barceloneta gift 

shop masquerading as a 

haberdashery stocks 

accessories and decorations for 

the whole family. You can get 

yourself or your loved ones a 

thermal pillow, an iPhone case 

made in eye-catching fabric, a 

notebook with a silkscreened 

cover, or a roll of decorative 

washi tape. 

Andrea Dòria, 41 (Barceloneta) 

T. 680 719 779 

www.ilovekutchi.com 

Rollitoasí 

The Sant Antoni neighbourhood 

is full of quirky corners, and 

Rollitoasí is a perfect example. 

Here you’ll fi nd embroidered 

necklaces and brooches with 

vintage ornaments made by 

Mallorcan designer Nataline 

alongside colourful shoes, 

bright print bags and slyly 

humorous mugs by Mr 

Wonderful and other designers. 

Travessera de Gràcia, 141 

(Gràcia) T. 93 426 90 10 

www.rollitoasi.com 

Olokuti 

‘Eco-friendly, organic, fair’ is the 

mantra with which Olokuti has 

been defending fair trade and 

the environment for 10 years 

now, at its original location in 

Gràcia (and now in the Las 

Arenas shopping centre too). As 

well as the garden hidden in the 

back of the shop, they have an 

impressive selection of 

products, perfectly balancing 

responsible consumerism and 

originality. 

Astúries, 36-38 (Gràcia) 

T. 93 217 00 70 

www.olokuti.com 

Turquesh 

Vintage ’70s eyewear straight 

from the USA, Italian labels like 

Mimmina and Gian Marco 

Ventura, retro silk scarves, and 

bags that are obscure little 

objects of desire. Turquesh is a 

must for all of vintage and 

second-hand fashion fanatics. 

While you’re there, don’t miss 

the mini art pieces on show, 

such as Carles Piera 

Claramunt’s lightbulb 

sculptures. 

Sepúlveda, 100 (Sant Antoni) 

T. 93 124 21 64 


Trends 


The shopping list 

Whether you’re looking for handcrafted 

items or top design, opt for 

natural fibres! By Eugènia Sendra 

THE ZEN GARDEN 

Designer Martín Azúa loves to join 

craft and design. His signature 

collection of fl oor coverings is 

produced in workshops in Murcia. 

The road to relaxation starts with 

his Dhiana straw rug (€810). 

www.martinazua.com 

Twin ballerinas 

Camper and Pretty Ballerinas: 

two brands of shoes with three 

generations of families behind 

them. Each from a 

Mediterranean island, Mallorca 

and Menorca, respectively, and 

between them, the sea, the 

backdrop to a working day where 

the creative teams of both 

companies came together to 

collaborate and share ideas. The 

result? Two pairs of ballerina 

flats that are neither 100 percent 

Camper nor 100 percent Pretty 

Ballerinas, but somehow 

manage to be both things at the 

same time. In blue-grey leather 

with details in fluorescent pink, 

one pair combines the signature 

Camper zig-zag laces with Pretty 

Ballerinas’ Marilyn shape, while 

the other combines the Pretty 

Object of desire 

Ballerina body with the classic 

Camper sole. These fraternal 

twin ballerinas (€140) transmit a 

blithe Mediterranean spirit, and, 

needless to say, are made with 

top design and comfort in mind. 

You can find them in select shops 

as well as online. –Laia Beltran 

www.camper.es 

www.prettyballerinas.es 

SHAPE ACCORDING TO VIKA GAZINSKAYA 

She is the tsarina of feminine shapes and naif prints, her collections 

earning a place in Paris. Now comes a collaboration with &OtherStories. 

Vika Gazinskaya is fi nally accessible (dress €95). www.stories.com 

ORGANICALLY LIGHT 

The sandals called the Barcelonas, from 5:AM 

(€170 at DeUbieta), are clean and light. The 

local company used only organic materials for 

this debut collection. www.fi veamshoes.com 

ODE TO PAPER 

One day cardboard will 

get respect. It’s used to 

make furniture, household 

containers, and accessories 

like those from La Varieté, 

designer of cardboard and 

polypropylene bags (€29). 

www.lavariete.net 


Style 

Your inspiration 

Photographer Martina Matencio, the soul of Luna de Marte, 

makes second-hand wear look first-class. By Eugènia Sendra 

Never a bad 

hair day 

BCN 

CLASSICS 

Martina Matencio goes through 

phases, like the moon. In the 

waxing phase is Luna de Marte, 

the second-hand clothing line 

with a retro air and walletfriendly 

prices that gets the 

photogenic treatment in her 

hands. Also known artistically 

as Lovenenoso, Matencio 

specialises in atmospheric 

portraits that seduce 

beholders with natural light 

and the fragility of the 

models. Now Matencio is 

heading toward a full 

phase. Her final project 

at Serra i Abella 

photography school 

brought her closer to 

social photojournalism, 

and the result, titled 

‘Home’ (‘Man’ in Catlan), 

explores daily life in a centre 

for children with disabilities. 

Matencio says she likes to 

show what many of us never 

see, even if the result isn’t 

always easy to look at. But as 

the moon continues to wax and 

wane, Matencio juggles work as 

a photographer and as a stylist, 

along with the latest project of 

launching the Luna de Marte 

online shop. And it all began as 

a bit of fun between friends. 

www.lunademarte.com 

GET HER LOOK! 

AMERICAN APPAREL 

The American brand’s trousers 

are her favourites. 

www.americanapparel.net 

ASOS 

The photographer shops for shoes 

in this online store. 

www.asos.com 

MARIA DIAS 

IN THE HALF-LIGHT 

Whether clients of Luna de Marte or 

not, there is a growing following of 

portraits by Lovenenoso, who likes to 

play with shadows and lighting faces 

with the sun’s rays. 

THE LADY OF THE RINGS 

Rings are her trademark accessory. 

The one that never comes off has 

family history behind it: she bought 

it for her mother with her fi rst wages 

when she was just 16. 

NEVER WITHOUT MUSIC 

Sigur Rós is on at some point while 

she’s working. And one of her tattoos 

– she gets a new one with every big 

phase in her life – is the fetus from 

their ‘Ágætis Byrjun’ album. 

It’s time for a ritorno all’antico, 

like during the Renaissance, or 

because, to paraphrase 

Giuseppe Verdi, looking back is a 

way to move forward. Pascual 

Iranzo has always looked to the 

future without forgetting his 

roots, which is why he’s still 

holding forth at his traditional 

men’s hairdresser’s in C/Sants, 

where his father, Pascual Iranzo 

Gascón, worked as a barber. This 

space, set up in 1924, still 

operates like a classic barber 

shop. Is it possible to follow 

family tradition and break it at the 

same time? Definitely, in ‘an 

experiential interactive 

hairdresser’s when the individual 

is seen in relationship to his 

personal image,’ says Iranzo. 

This man in constant reflection 

has helped the craft evolve and, 

starting with the famous shop on 

C/Tuset (1960), has opened 

three establishments in 

Barcelona. He defines himself as 

a ‘specialist in personal image 

and body expression’. Is he the 

21st-century Barber of Seville? 

No. Thanks to the red light that 

illuminates his salons, he’s more 

The Knight of the Rose. 

–Maria Gorgues 

Iranzo 

Sants, 445 T. 93 449 81 32 

MARIA DIAS 



Top ten 

1 

Juanola mints 

Born in 1906 in the Gràcia 

district, Juanola mints have 

spared millions from the 

horrors of bad breath and 

coughing attacks during plays 

and concerts. These little 

white saviours have caused 

many a row: when you offer one 

to a friend, they always end up 

with a handful. Best to let it be, 

as it’s bad form to quibble. 

2 

T-11 metro ticket 

A nifty case of the sharing 

economy before it became a 

buzzword. Once you’ve used up 

the 10 trips on your T-10 card, 

you leave it at your last stop, 

where someone else can use it 

in the time remaining for a 

transfer. They get a free ride 

while you get to do your good 

deed for the day. 

3 

Marquina cruet 

What’s more annoying than a 

slippery cruet? That must have 

been Rafael Marquina’s pet 

peeve when he came up with 

his no-drip cruets in 1961. Still 

a godsend for butterfingers, 

they’re also easy to refill. 

4 

Ictineo submarine 

Hey, we don’t just putter around 

in the kitchen. Also among our 

top inventions is a submarine! 

Invented by Narcís Monturiol, 

from Figueres, the craft was 

tested in Barcelona in 1859, 

and Elizabeth II promised to 

finance it. We’re still waiting on 

that check from Madrid. 

5 

Chupa Chups 

Chupa Chups have been lifting 

spirits since 1958, when the 

company’s founder bought the 

patent of a sweet already being 

made in Barcelona. His big 

idea was that eating sweets 

stuck on a stick would keep 

Barcelona 

top ten 

Local 

inventions 

kids’ hands and everything 

they touch sticky-free. The rest, 

as they say, is history. Fun fact: 

master of surrealism Salvador 

Dalí himself designed the logo. 

6 

Shell-free seafood paella 

Keeping fingers unmessy has 

been a focus for Barcelona 

inventors. In the early 20th 

century, Mr Parellada had the 

idea of serving paella without 

the shells. He preferred not to 

peel prawns, pull out small 

bones and dig out of shells in 

10 

9 

5 

front of the ladies he dined with 

at 7 Portes and Suís, so he 

coined a version that had all 

the fish but none of the mess. 

7 

Sagrada Família 

The great Barcelona 

ecclesiastic tourist invention. 

This architectural wonder 

looked like it was never going 

to be finished, but lately it’s 

coming along rather quickly. 

Once built, will the tourists lose 

interest? Not likely, unless the 

builders start un-building. 

8 

‘Xava’ talkin’ 

In the Catalan capital, the only 

natives who pronounce all the 

letters and sounds in a word 

are priests and a few 

professors of the Catalan 

language. Everyone else talks 

‘xava’, a word that began as 

slang for ‘guy’, but has come to 

mean ‘slang’ itself. Do those 

more-open vowels disliked by 

priests and professors stem 

from the city’s anarchist past? 

9 

The Bonamusa chair 

Designed by Antoni Bonamusa 

and Figueras International for 

the UN’s Human Rights and 

Alliance of Civilizations Room, 

which also features a stunning 

ceiling designed by Miquel 

Barceló (Mallorca, 1957). As 

far as human rights goes, we 

got the design part right. 

10 

The Barceloneta bomb 

Hold on, this bomb is explosive 

in taste only. The famous tapa 

invented in Barceloneta, one of 

the most heavily bombed areas 

of the city during the Civil War, 

is a spicy potato-and-meat 

treat. In less politically correct 

times, there were three 

variations, depending on how 

spicy you wanted it: the lady, 

the queer and the macho man. 

–By Ada Castells

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