Houses in Carrer Campoamor, Horta-Guinardó

Being born and raised in Barcelona has given me the chance to enjoy this wonderful city in many ways. Now that I live abroad, I still regularly come back to Barcelona, to see my family and friends, to enjoy Barcelona’s culinary and cultural hotspots, and of course, the nice weather and the sun! For my perfect day in Barcelona I’ve made a summary of my favourite places and local spots, which I always enjoy visiting.

Morning

My perfect day would begin in Horta, which is the neighbourhood where I grew up and where my family lives. At one of the terraces in Plaça Eivissa I would start my day with a café con leche (a cup of coffee with milk) and some sweet pastry. At Plaça Eivissa there’s also a churrería. Pick a handful of churros and eat them while you discover Horta! Carrer del Tajo is the main shopping street with a local market you cannot miss. A bit further you can discover Carrer d’Aiguafreda, where in the past century clothes from Barcelona’s upper-class members were cleaned. Read the rest of this article…

I have been living in Barcelona for three years now and, while here, I’ve had a lot of days that have gone perfectly. For this article, I am going to combine a few of these perfect days to make one really unforgettable day in Barcelona.

As many of my friends and family often come by to visit us in Barcelona, I need to come up with a variety of ideas regarding how to entertain them. Since they come more often now, I have to show them some unique places that are far from the touristic parts of Barcelona.

I am currently living in Eixample, so the majority will take place here, but I am also stepping out of my comfort zone to go to El Born, Horta and El Raval. Read the rest of this article…

Eixample, Barcelona from the air

“It was around 7-8 years ago when I first stepped into the world that is Barcelona. I didn’t exactly choose a great time of year to visit (it was December) and I wasn’t staying in a particularly touristy area (Gràcia), but nevertheless I ended up falling in love with the city, making it my eventual home.

It’s funny, because over the past 7 years the city has seen the economy go from an all time high to a low. The first restaurant I ever ate at in Barcelona is now closed, many new shops have replaced old ones that just couldn’t make it… A lot has changed… Yet the city is always the same as I remembered it the first time I came here. I call this effect the Barcelona Charm.

So how can you experience Barcelona Charm; a memory of the city that carries on like a flowing story, as if you never left, each time you visit? Maybe if you experience the city the way I have, you’ll see what I mean. Read the rest of this article…

Rainy streets in Barcelona’s old town

“Blessed with a generally bright and sunny disposition, Barcelona is cursed with an excess of fair-weather friends with no appreciation for precipitation. Read: the doom and gloom of backlit cumulonimbus are not welcome here. While no one enjoys a drought (heaven forbid someone can’t fill their swimming pool), grousing about even mildly inclement weather is par for the course, said inclement weather including an overcast sky, and even the lightest of rains. Guiris and Catalans alike seem to prefer ultraviolet heat and sand in uncomfortable places to a spot of rain. But after seven years here, I can claim my perfect day in Barcelona as “pasado por lluvias”. Read the rest of this article…

JC (aka Jean-Claude, when he’s naughty)

“Well, my perfect day would start by waking up slowly – I’m normally woken up by my cat, JC, (stands for Jean-Claude. Not Jesus Christ) treading on my head (which I don’t really mind). From my bed all I can see is blue sky and lovely verdant tree tops which is very relaxing. I’d then have breakfast sitting on the terrace in the sun. Fortunately I have a big terrace so it’s a great way to start the day. Read the rest of this article…