A guide by Aroi
• Bohemian San Tropez atmosphere in Cadaqués, former artistic refuge to Dali and Picasso
• Calella de Palafrugell for its postcard prettiness and the havanera (sea shanty) concerts every July, without forgetting the Costa Brava Jazz festival perched on top of a cliff in a botanical garden
• Medes Islands by kayak with a tutor-guide where you’ll be able to check out the local fauna. Just as long as you want to (you don’t have to know how to) row and don’t mind falling out (you do have to know how to swim!)
• Little gems of sheltered and untouched coves in Pas, Moll Grec and the my favourite la Fosca in Palamós
• La Cerdyana, pijolàndia (yuppyville) or area of outstanding beauty, you decide
• Vall d’Aran, beautiful landscape, Romanesque churches, great skiing and extremely cold
Many of the buses in Barcelona are wheelchair-friendly. The driver sees you and sends out an electric ramp to access the bus. These run on the two 'tourist' routes which link many sites of interest. Beware the steep hill up to Parc Guell!
Many of the buses in Barcelona are wheelchair-friendly. The driver sees you and sends out an electric ramp to access the bus. These run on the two 'tourist' routes that link many sites of interest. Beware the steep hill up to Parc Guell!
White-hot lighting, the most fought-over sofas in the city and a deliciously eclectic selection of music at the hands of the connoisseur DJ. Opened five years ago for an Almodovar after-party, this micro-club down a back alley from Plaça Reial has an original door philosophy: you get a card, let’s say a queen of hearts when you come in and you exchange it for another card, let’s say an ace of spades when you buy a drink – you can only leave the club if you have this card.
Carrer Nou de Zurbano 3, 08002; tel: 00 34 93 317 61 24; nearest metro: Liceu
This restaurant serves a generous three-course lunchtime menu for €18 including wine, water and bread. Plenty of choice including, on our visit, clams with artichoke hearts in herb sauce, oxtail in piquant sauce, grilled dorado, and lasagne. Very smart place where locals eat. Downstairs bar food is the same but 10% cheaper.
c/ Pau Clarís, 169, just around the corner from La Pedrera and Passeig de Gracia metro;
tel: 93 215 30 47
Forget what they say about Belgium, this is the best place to come for chocolate in Europe. An old-fashioned chocolatier that has occupied the same corner of the the Barri Gotic since 1827, it's not a cheap treat, but it's ideal if you want to take something delicious home. Try the dark chocolate with almonds.
Carrer del Pi, 16; Tel: 93 320 03 42
Can't decide what to eat in this gourmet city? Try Txapela, a busy taberna in the heart of Barcelona offering a varied selection of exquisitely presented, succulent, tiny bites, displayed around the semicircular bar. The tablemat placed in front of you gives each a Basque name, a number and a description in Catalan with photo and price and you just give the number or point.
Demand is incessant, so everything is freshly prepared. Try Arantxa - a small brochette of prawns, bacon and mushrooms; or Gros - a mini-entrecote with Roquefort sauce; or any of the other 49 on offer. Since most cost 1.10 euros and the dearest 1.65, the only difficulty is choosing which to have next. Great Spanish wines and ice-cold beers, too. The bar is large, the welcome enthusiastic, the atmosphere convivial and the experience memorable.
Passeig de Gracia 8-10; tel: 93 412 02 89;
nearest metros: Cataluna, Passeig de Gracia;
www.txapela.angrup.com/english/index.htm
Origen 99'9% is a relatively new franchised chain of restaurants in Barcelona. They offer typical dishes from Catalonia cooked with local ingredients. The menu comes in the form of a magazine, a brochure you can take home. Each dish is described with a photograph and a short passage. The menu-magazine also has a few articles, recipes and background stories of some selected dishes.
The portions at Origen 99'9% are cheap and small, slightly larger than tapas. In a party of three, for instance, four or five main dishes would be recommended, so you can share and taste the different foods.
The dishes are cooked in a traditional, rustic way, and if you’ve got local friends and have eaten at their house you’ll recognise many of the dishes they may have cooked for you.
If you’ve never tried Catalan cuisine, you can be sure that at Origen you will get the real thing.
Amongst the favourites are toasted bread with tomato (pa amb tomàquet, similar to the Italian bruschetta), escalivada (roasted peppers and aubergine), meatballs with squid and stuffed calamari. There is a wide variety of dishes: meat, fish and seafood, and vegetarian. You will also have a wide choice of tasty desserts, these are of normal size.
Main web page: www.origen99.com/web
1) Passeig del Born, 4
08003 Barcelona
Phone: 93 295 66 90
(behind the church of Santa Maria del Mar)
Tube stations: Barceloneta or Jaume I, both L-3
2) c/ Enric Granados, 9
08007 Barcelona
Phone: 93 453 11 20
Fax: 93 453 11 20
Tube station: Universitat L-1
3) c/ Ramon y Cajal, 12
08012 Barcelona
Phone: 93 213 60 31
Fax: 93 241 17 86
4) c/ Muntaner, 409
08021 Barcelona
Phone: 93 201 45 79
Fax: 93 241 17 86
This menswear shop stocks some real gems and is just the place for you if your style is cool and urban. The staff are helpful and unpretentious.
C. Del Pi, 16; tel: 93 318 25 31
Recently Barcelona has become crammed with apartment rentals for short stays. Despite this increase it is still difficult to find a nice place to stay with character, different from the standard Ikea grub you see offered everywhere.
The apartment rental company DestinationBCN seems to be offering an interesting alternative with a touch of class for reasonable prices.
Tel: 687 914 566; www.destinationbcn.com
A restaurant above the world-famous cookery school where the waiters are chef's in waiting and the food is spectacular. You have to order your dessert as you order your starter and mains to give them time to construct the little pieces of art. It's a cracking little restaurant in the coolest area of Barcelona. Ignore the photo's of celebs on the wall and enjoy modern catalan cuisine with an artistic edge. Approx £50-60 per head.
Argenteria 74-78, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Phone: 93-319-5889
Tucked away in a square in the Born area (near the seafront) is this wonderful little tapas bar. Expect to queue ... in fact the queue is half the fun as it snakes up and down and around the bar. You can drink while you queue and enjoy the atmosphere. When you come to order, if you don't speak Spanish, just indicate that you want it all. The food will keep coming until you signal you've had enough! All food is cooked fresh in front of you and the staff are a lot of fun.
Plaça les Olles, 8 08003 - Barcelona www.calpep.net
Ferran Adria’s a fan – you will be too. This tiny restaurant in the trendy El Borne dishes up delicious little portions of imaginative food at reasonable prices. No bookings taken, so come early or be prepared to wait.
Comerç 17, 08003; tel: 93 315 1227
This is a place you must go to if you are in Barcelona for a short break. The tapas are fabulous, and the restaurants are in fantastic locations. It's not expensive either.
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