AS YOU STAND IN THE
CENTRE OF RAMBLA,
YOU’ll SPOT PEOPLE
STANDING CHATTING, AND
CATCH AROMATIC WAFTS
OF COOKED MEAT AS
NEIGHBOURS HANG THEIR
CLOTHES from above
in the neighborhood. See if you can spot
the Argentinian parrots flying overhead,
always a startling sight for tourists.
As you stand in the centre of the
Rambla, you’ll spot people standing
chatting, and catch aromatic wafts of
cooked meat, as neighbours hang their
clothes from above. Now, let’s walk for
some 10 minutes to the blinding-white
MACBA museum, the Museud’Art
Contemporani de Barcelona (Plaça dels
Àngels, 1). Locally, it’s also known as the
‘skaters paradise’. The skateboarders
have set up permanent camp in the
18 AS COTT LIVING
front square, and you’ll will find them
training day and night. If you’re into
contemporary art, it’s definitely your place
too, as is the CCCB, or Centre de Cultura
Contemporania de Barcelona (Carrer
Montalegre, 5), which hosts some great
temporary exhibitions.
After a good dose of art, walk
five minutes westwards to hit Plaça
Universitat, or University Square. Leaving
behind the winding narrow streets, you’ve
now reached the limit between the old
town, and the city’s expansion from the
late 19th century, l’Eixample. A masterplan
designed by Ildefons Cerdà, this vast
expanse of wide, tree-lined streets was
once home to the industrial bourgeois,
and people fleeing a then-unbearable life
behind the city walls. Take a look inside the
University building (Gran Via de les Corts
Catalanes, 585) across the square and the
Gran Via. It dates back to the last quarter
of the 19th century, and for both students
and passers-by, its cloisters and back
garden provide a lovely oasis from the day’s
hustle and bustle.
Speaking of which, it’s a good time to
have a rest — how about some sweet stuff?
La Orxateria Valenciana (Carrer d’Aribau,
16) offers a 100 per cent local temptation in
the form of a glass of cold orxata (a typical
cold drink from Valencia made from tiger
nuts, the edible tubers which come from
a sedge like plant) with fartons, a type
of long brioche you dip into the drink.
Alternatively, dip into the ice-creams,
almond pastries and sandwiches instead.
Out again with a rush of sugar-fuelled
energy, you can either take the touristtrail, to the Rambla de Catalunya and
Passeig de Gràcia. Instead, we’ll digress
and follow the Gran Via to the north,
to find the Passeig de Gracia, a former
muddy way. It used to link the walled city
with Gràcia Village, but it has now been
transformed into an elegant boulevard.
PHOTOs: corbis (plaza real, la pineda); agefostock (caixa forum); 4corners images (quimet & quimet)
Starting from the sea, you’ll come to Les
Drassanes Reials, the biggest remaining
medieval shipyard in the world. Started in
the 13th Century, it now hosts the Museu
Marítim (Av. de les Drassanes). Moving up
the street, you’ll find the unobtrusive La
Concha Bar (Carrer Guardia, 14) where
you can enjoy an Arabian shisha while
sipping a Cuban m ښ]ˈ]8