What You Need to Know about Barcelona⁠—From a Different Perspective

Barcelona, Catalonia

When we initially posted about Barcelona, we recognized that sharing a city such as Barcelona (or any city really) is almost impossible to do in just one post and from just one perspective. There are so many things to see, foods to eat, and adventures to be had. That is why we are bringing you a new series which focuses on seeing a city not from a ‘regular’ tourist perspective—while I must admit on many levels we are just that in most cities we visit—but from a different view. This week we are checking out Barcelona from the view of a self-defined magic artist, a beautiful person that I have recently met that has grown up around and studied in this wonderful city.

Note: If there is anything you want to know specifically, leave us a comment and we will try to figure out an answer using our six degrees of separation with most places!

 

One museum/cultural thing to check out

“I can’t decide which is my favorite museum, because I think that Barcelona itself is a outside museum. All the neighborhoods have something interesting to visit and during the weekends there’s a lot of activities to do.”

Pro-tip: If you are looking for things to do in the city check out the GuiaBCN and MetropolitanBarcelona for insights into weekly events!

 

One park/plaza to visit

“I really like a plaza called Plaça de Felip Neri. It’s a very hidden plaza. A few years ago, almost no one knew about this place. It’s a peculiar plaza, because on the façade you can still see the marks from bombs in the Spanish civil war.”

Pro-tip: Checking out places that have historical relevance can help connect you to cities in a new way.

 

One coffee shop you must try

“There was a coffee bar called Bracafe closed to Passeig de Gracia, and had the best coffee for the entire city. But, the owners closed the coffee shop, so we lost one of the best local places.”

Note: You can still see places called Bracafe in Barcelona, but our interviewee says that none of them are the same. A recommendation from another artistic friend of mine for great coffee would be Ugot (they also have delicious cakes).

 

One traditional dish

“Catalan cuisine has a lot of typical dishes, for example: calçots (type of onion made in the barbecue), cargols a la llauna (land snails that people collect during rainy days).”

Pro-tip: In Barcelona there is so much wonderful food you can eat, even if you don’t want grilled onions or snails, you will still find plenty of food to eat. Our magic artist also loves pan tomaca (toast rubbed with garlic and tomato) as a classic Catalan snack or side dish.

 

One classic drink

“One of the favorites at the moment for Catalan people is drink Vermut. Vermut is like the martini for Italian people.”

 

One must-stop

“Bunkers for sure. Bunkers has the best view for the entire Barcelona.”

Note: This is once again a historical reference (our artist is also an architect and appreciates many aspects of a city). Established during the Spanish Civil War, these bunkers were used for anti-aircraft guns.