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By The Way
Detours with locals. Travel tips you can trust.
Casa Vicens facade in Gràcia.
CITY GUIDE

A local’s guide to Barcelona

Casa Vicens facade in Gràcia.
  • By Meg Bernhard
  • Photos by Javier Luengo
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In the early 20th century, Barcelona’s beloved architect Antoni Gaudí wrote that his dream was to transform his home city into a Mediterranean metropolis. He wanted to “construct beauty” that captured the essence of the natural world surrounding Barcelona: the glimmering sea to the east and the green hills to the west.

Nearly a century after his death, Gaudí’s vision has turned into reality — but at a cost. The city is now so popular that it’s overrun by tourists all year round, and locals wonder to whom Barcelona actually belongs. But if you get out of the center, the city transforms from a land of selfie-sticks to a quiet town where the mountains meet the sea.

Climb up into the city’s leafy upper neighborhoods to visit museums and monasteries; stroll for a mile up the shore to La Barceloneta or Poblenou for a glass of cava; meander from plaza to plaza in Gràcia. Your wanderings will take you to neighborhood arroces — barbecues with paella — and street fairs exploding with fire crackers. The magic of Barcelona is spontaneity. Just get out of El Gótico.

Meet Meg Bernhard

Meg has lived in and out of Barcelona since 2017. During her time in Catalonia, she’s worked as a journalist and lived on vineyards. A California native, Meg feels right at home in Barcelona, where sunshine, sea, and wine are aplenty.

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IN THE ACTION
Dreta de l’Eixample
This famous shopping district is home to Barcelona’s iconic modernista street, Passeig de Gràcia, where visitors can find high-end stores next to Gaudí’s quirky La Pedrera building. Dreta de l’Eixample was the neighborhood where the Catalan bourgeoisie settled in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, hiring the city’s best architects to show off their wealth. The neighborhood offers a range of hotels around the Plaça de Catalunya, the heart of downtown Barcelona. Find this neighborhood.
LOW-KEY
Sarrià-Sant Gervasi
Few tourists trek to this tranquil neighborhood in upper Barcelona, where the city’s wealthy residents live at the foot of the Serra de Collserola mountains. The neighborhood’s plazas, like Plaça de Sant Vicenç, look like the town square of a Pyrenees village. Visitors can stay in hotels or Airbnbs and enjoy markets, monasteries and quiet streets that ascend into the mountains. Find this neighborhood.
Neighborhoods

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Eat

BREAKFAST
Xurrería J. Argiles
Spaniards have a reputation for eating overly sweet breakfasts. Think croissants and jam, toast and Nutella, and even cookies. If you’re looking for chocolate to start your day, seek out one of these famous food trucks for churros con chocolate. Dip your fresh-fried churro into a to-go foam cup of melted dark chocolate, or try a xuxo, doughnut-like pastries covered in sugar and filled with custard.
BTW: Take your bag of hot churros and cup of chocolate to the Parc de la Ciutadella, a short walk away, for good people watching.
Xurrería J. Argiles, Carrer de la Marina, 107
BREAKFAST
Granja Petitbo
Centuries ago, before Barcelona’s scattered neighborhoods joined to form the city we know today, this building on Passeig de Sant Joan was a farmhouse that held livestock. In homage to the building’s past, this brunch spot has high, factory-like ceilings and a long wood table perfect for group brunches. When it’s nice out, start your day with a cafe con leche and a tostada or croissant on the terrace to enjoy one of Barcelona’s loveliest boulevards.
BTW: If you come on a weekend, prepare for a wait. The best time to visit is a weekday morning.
Granja Petitbo, Passeig de Sant Joan, 82
LUNCH
Zero Patatero
Menús del mediodía, which offer three courses and a drink, are a dream in Spain. At Zero Patatero, you can get a gourmet starter, main course, wine or beer, and coffee or dessert for about 15 euros, taxes included. Chef Luca Marongiu searches for small, local producers to source Zero Patatero’s plates, which range from cauliflower gnocchi to lamb terrine — depending, of course, on the season you visit. The restaurant’s walls are decorated with graffiti encouraging healthy dining and reminding customers that “you are what you eat.”
BTW: Ask your waiter where today’s ingredients come from. You’ll learn a bit about Catalan geography and ecologically friendly farming practices in the region.
Zero Patatero, Passatge Mercantil, 1
LUNCH
Grasshopper
If you need a break from jamón and queso, this tiny ramen bar in the middle of El Born is a great spot to dine midday with a friend or partner. There are no tables, just a long bar with stools along the narrow space. While you’re waiting for your ramen, with broths that have been cooked for 18 hours, order from Grasshopper’s wide selection of local craft beers. They also offer a variety of sakes to go with your ramen or dumplings.
BTW: Make sure to try a green tea truffle. They’re light and sweet.
Grasshopper, Plaça de la Llana, 9
DINNER
Bar Salvatge
This wine bar is on Carrer de Verdi, one of Gràcia’s most iconic streets. Drink a glass of natural wine on tap, made with an indigenous variety like Sumoll or Xarello, one of the three grapes used in cava. The bar also serves Catalan meat and cheese plates, a rich pan con tomaquet a la Catalana, fresh cod salad (esqueixada), and olive-oil-drizzled chocolate truffles, among other small plates.
BTW: Be on the lookout for meet-the-winemaker events, announced on the bar’s Instagram page.
Bar Salvatge, Carrer de Verdi, 50
DINNER
Gresca
Rafa and Mireia Peña are the visionaries behind this Michelin-rated, slow-food-inspired restaurant. Using only seasonal ingredients, the couple serve simple Catalan plates paired with natural wine from around the world. Gresca’s open kitchen lets you watch Rafa at work. Introduce yourself if you get the opportunity; he loves meeting folks from all over. (Gresca, by the way, means “party” in Catalan.)
BTW: Before dinner, order a glass of wine at Gresca Bar. The environment here is more laid back than the restaurant, and it’s the perfect place to wait if you don’t have a reservation.
Gresca, Carrer de Provença, 230
LATE-NIGHT
La Bodega d’en Rafel
Croquetas, pimientos de padrón, legs of ham, barrels of wine — what more can you ask of a Spanish bar? Bodega d’en Rafel is the closest you can get to a Spanish grandmother’s cooking while on vacation in Barcelona. Cheap eats and drinks make this spot a great late-night dive to tomar y picar algo — drink and snack. Try octopus croquettes, a plate of Manchego cheese, or if you’re brave, fried pig snout.
BTW: Make this bar the start to your night. The Sant Antoni neighborhood, known for its chilled-out nightlife, is full of vermuterias y cervecerías (vermouth and beer bars).
La Bodega d’en Rafel, Carrer de Manso, 52
LATE-NIGHT
Bar Brutal
Head sommelier Núria Renom defines her wine philosophy as follows: “Finish the bottle.” The wines at Bar Brutal are, as its name suggests, brutal — Spanish slang for rad or awesome — but what really makes the place special is its talkative staff. Sommeliers want you to try something new and funky, like orange wine or wine fermented from whole grapes (carbonic maceration). Bar Brutal is connected to the Italian restaurant Can Cisa, which serves small plates to go along with your wine.
BTW: Check the bar’s Facebook page for events. They often hold wine tastings, talks and parties with other natural wine organizations around Barcelona.
Bar Brutal, Carrer de la Princesa, 14
(Barcelona illustrator Agustina Gastaldi Ferrario for The Washington Post)
LOCALS THINK YOU SHOULD KNOW
  1. Catalan is not Spanish. It’s a completely different language. Do yourself a favor, and learn a few Catalan phrases: Bon día (good day), bona tarda (good afternoon) and salut (cheers).
  2. Be prepared for fire and loud noises. Catalans celebrate with bonfires, fireworks and correfocs — “fire runs” involving people dressed as devils and waving sparklers.
  3. Catalans, like other Spaniards, eat their meals late. They usually eat a large lunch between 2 and 3 p.m., and have a small dinner from 9 p.m. onward.
(Barcelona illustrator Agustina Gastaldi Ferrario for The Washington Post)

Do

Castell de Montjuïc
Perched atop Barcelona’s southernmost hill, Montjuïc is a medieval castle that had a variety of functions over the centuries: as a defensive fortress during the War of Spanish Succession, a military prison during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, and now a museum. You can visit the temporary art and history exhibitions and explore the fortress grounds, which overlook the ocean.
BTW: The best time to visit is in the late afternoon, to watch the sunset over the ocean.
Castell de Montjuïc, Carretera de Montjuïc, 66
Bunkers del Carmel
One can spend hours wandering the hills around Barcelona. For a hike with a panoramic view of the city and the Mediterranean, head to the Carmel neighborhood and visit the Bunkers del Carmel, civil-war-era barracks used to defend the city against Franco’s nationalist forces during bombardments of the city. Pack a picnic lunch, and stretch out under the pine trees during the afternoon.
BTW: It’s easiest to get here by bus, though you’ll have to walk part of the way. Catch the 92 or the 199 bus.
Bunkers del Carmel, Carrer de Marià Labèrnia, s/n, 08032 Barcelona
Joan Miró museum
This art museum dedicated to the work of Catalan modernist Joan Miró is bursting with color: bright reds, blues, greens and yellows. The Picasso contemporary painted playful works of stars, birds and women. He also sculpted abstract figures, exhibited on a third-floor terrace with views of downtown Barcelona. Make sure to see his earlier Catalan landscapes and a wall-length tapestry on the first floor.
BTW: Check out the first-floor balcony, where you can sit and enjoy the view of the city.
Joan Miró museum, Parc de Montjuïc, s/n, 08038 Barcelona
Vermutería hopping
If you’re visiting Barcelona on a Sunday, you’ll be hard pressed to find an open museum, restaurant or even grocery store because most businesses shut down so Catalans can spend the day with their families. Instead, head to neighborhoods Sant Antoni or Poble Sec during the afternoon to tomar un vermut — drink a vermouth — with friends. Crowds of Catalans gather outside bars on Sundays to chat, smoke and waste the day away over rounds of vermut, the sweet, herb-infused wine typical of Barcelona. Start at Els Sortidors del Parlament, a traditional vermut bar, and make your way around the neighborhoods.
BTW: Order a small tapa like anchovies or olives to go with your vermut.
Els Sortidors del Parlament, Carrer del Parlament, 53
Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau
A visit to Barcelona is not complete without a dip into Catalan modernisme, the late-19th-century aesthetic movement that aimed to create a Catalan nationalist art style. An exemplar of modernisme is the Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau, a hospital designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner, an independentista and contemporary of Gaudí. The hospital turned museum is decorated with nationalist symbolism and patterns modeled from the natural world.
BTW: Look out for the Catalan coat of arms hidden in spiraling towers and facades.
Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau, Carrer de Sant Antoni Maria Claret, 167
Mercat de Galvany
With fresh produce available in every neighborhood, it’s difficult to choose a single market for grocery shopping in Barcelona. But Galvany, in the Sarrià-Sant Gervasi neighborhood, is both architecturally stunning and a local favorite. Visit the 1920s-era market to buy regional cheese and fuet, dried Catalan sausages. End the shopping trip at El Café del Galvany, a bar frequented by folks from the neighborhood.
BTW: Try Catalan fuet and embutidos, sausages. The most emblematic are butifarra blanca, a soft white sausage, butifarra negra, its blood-colored counterpart, and bull negro, made with bacon and pig’s head.
Mercat de Galvany, Carrer de Santaló, 65
Meg Bernhard
Meg has lived in and out of Barcelona since 2017. During her time in Catalonia, she’s worked as a journalist and lived on vineyards. A California native, Meg feels right at home in Barcelona, where sunshine, sea, and wine are aplenty.
Javier Luengo
Javier is a contributing photographer to The Washington Post based in Barcelona.

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