The terrace at Cafè del Born Nou, Plaça Comercial, 10

Choosing a neighborhood in Barcelona wasn’t easy at first. I was moving on after years of living in Madrid, what many call the most genuine Spanish city out there, and I had been warned that my experience in Barcelona might not be the same in that aspect. People told me that its authenticity wouldn’t be as palpable, and that I might have a hard time truly immersing myself into the culture. And this was something important for me.

After much debate and seeing at least thirty different apartments, it so happened that the one I fell in love with was in the Born. This had its pros and cons… the Born is a beautiful neighborhood with an awesome location, it’s lively and bustling yet safe and pleasant… but on the other hand, after the very diverse Raval, the Born is arguably the least “Catalan” neighborhood in the city. Having undergone a recent gentrification, the once seedy neighborhood has become one of the trendiest around, and its population has evolved into a cosmopolitan melting pot of bohemian expats, replanted immigrants, wandering tourists and the like. Read the rest of this article…

Facebook Pages are a great way to keep up to date with what’s happening at your favourite places without going to their website all the time. Events, offers, photos. Just ‘like’ the page and their latest news appears in your news feed. If they keep their pages up to date that is!

Below is a list of Facebook Pages (and a few Groups) relating to Barcelona. I realise there are hundreds out there. But these are the ones I’ve come across during my time here (and some friends pages). I hope you find something of interest.

Guides

• Barcelona Metropolitan – The mummy and daddy of Barcelona Guides. It has articles on all sorts of topics. Great restaurant posts from the annoying (only because she has such a fab job) Tara Stevens.
• Barcelona Miniguide – The slightly wayward child of Barcelona Guides. So therefore my preferred guide.
• Hidden Treasures BCN – A Facebook only endeavour. It’s all in the title.
• Le Cool Barcelona – Want to know what’s really going on in Barcelona? Le Cool has the low-down on some of the quirkier events.
• Me Encanta Barcelona – I love Barcelona too!
• Videos from Barcelona – A video only city guide. The 80 or more videos are hosted by the irrepressible Gina Tost.

Check out more Facebook Pages for the arts, music, bars, food and… a butifarra private members club?!… Read the rest of this article…