Getting to know the neighborhood with Sofia

What I like about Barcelona’s neighborhoods is, if you go to Barceloneta, it feels like a different city than Gràcia. If you go to Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia or Plaça de Sol in Gràcia, you can get great tapas and it’s more local, and less touristy.

Barcelona's skateboarders hang out in front of MACBA, Barcelona's museum of contemporary art.

There are other places that are also really cool, but maybe a little more touristic: Born and the Raval. There is a street called Carrer de Joaquín Costa? It’s a street with really cheap bars--you can get French fries for, like, one euro in the Raval. Afterward, you can go to MACBA. All the skaters gather there, and it’s really fun with all the bars around there.

You know, I don’t really know the names of any of the bars. Like for me, I’m gonna be honest, I just sit at the first place I see. Because I’ve never had bad food here in Barcelona. But maybe that’s just because I like food a lot, so it’s not fair. But I can’t tell.

I don’t live in a tourist place. I live in Gràcia. I love this place called Toyo. It’s maybe not the best sushi in town, but it’s local and it’s cheap. 15 euros, and you can eat whatever you want—it’s a buffet. I also eat a lot of hummus. It’s not Spanish, but I love it, I always order the hummus.

For me, Gràcia has a lot of spirit. It’s very local, and very…it’s different. During the night, in Plaça de Sol, everyone gathers and sits on the floor, just to hang out with friends, play music, drink something. For me, it’s more about the gastronomy and the little boutiques. You have Verdi Street, a pedestrian walk. You have any kind of food you want, a cinema, clothing stores.

A casual weeknight out at the cinema on Carrer de Verdi.

Gràcia is full of short, narrow streets that welcome pedestrians with restaurants and shops. Lively in the evening, totally asleep in the afternoon.

For me, Gràcia is all about promoting another side of Barcelona. You know? Sometimes you’re gonna want to spend 10 euros more for a jacket that’s not from H&M or Zara, and they do that here. It’s more cultural, and they really push the neighborhood. Everyone helps each other, the food is really good. Just, on Sundays a lot is closed, and everything closes for siesta from 2pm to 5pm.

The thing about Barcelona is that locals are really pushy about keeping the local culture. Las Ramblas is very touristic, but it’s like, in Barcelona, they are keeping their originality through different neighborhoods. For example, around Sagrada Familia, you can walk like the two blocks around it and you have all the craziness. But it’s still a local neighborhood outside of those two blocks. Barcelona people really want to fight to keep something, to just keep it like a little place. And that’s Gràcia. You can experience one day, a couple of hours in Gràcia, and take the bus to Las Ramblas, and you’ll feel like you’re in a different city. And that’s the charm. 

From park to park with Elias

Designed by Antoni Gaudí, Park Güell was meant to be part of a housing development in Barcelona's hills. Gaudí eventually ended up living there himself, and his home is today the Gaudí House Museum. Today the park is a municipal garden and a UNESCO World Heritage Site that attracts swarms of selfie stick-bearing tourists--but still offers pockets of quiet.

OK, the first thing that I would do is Park Güell. It’s by far the most crowded thing ever, but it’s so worth it. Of all the Gaudí things in Barcelona, and there are a lot, Park Güell is the one you should go to. It’s also the cheapest, like 10 euros, and you just get a sense of Gaudí's style and flavor. It’s really fantastical. Also, it’s nice to just be outside instead of in a building. I’m more outdoorsy, so I like the parks here.

Park Ciutadella is a relaxed open space full of jugglers, slack-liners, and the kids who love to watch them.

I’d rent a bike, also, and bike through Park Ciutadella. They have a fantastic fountain there that looks like it belongs in Vegas, but it’s here—which is awesome. It’s always busy there, but never too crowded. It’s a nice place to watch life and watch people.

From there, bike to the beach, and just see how well manicured the boardwalks are. During the summer, it’s a really nice place to swim.

Then I’d head to the Gothic Quarter or Gràcia to grab something to eat. Cal Pep is really good, but the wait is long. It’s Basque style pintos and tapas. I like the service there, because they’re really generous with recommendations. Last time I was there, the waiter was cheering us on when we were finishing our food.

There is also a place called Cervecería Catalana, one of the most popular places in the city. It’s always crowded, but if you’re OK sitting at the bar, you can generally get seated in ten minutes.

There’s another place called Gata Mala. You have to make a reservation, though. They’re one of the few places that still does the free tapas with beer thing. Best patatas bravas I’ve had in the city, by far. Anything on the menu is really good.

Most delicious thing you’ve eaten in Barcelona?

Navajas are really good. Razor clams. It’s like a clam that has a more buttery texture. I never saw them in the States, but it’s pretty common here.

Barcelona's new wave of coffee with Antonio

True Artisan

So, I can tell you where I get coffee. I usually do a small tour when my friends come to the city, and I like to show them the coffee places—and I like to drink the best coffees. At the same time that I do the coffee tour, we can visit the rest of the city. 

In Barcelona, there are maybe six places that do coffee. And this movement is really about having a new mentality about coffee. In Spain, there’s not a big coffee culture. There was not a high quality of beans, people didn’t know the taste. But it’s starting to change. 

Nømad Coffee

The culture started to change a year and a half ago, when the first specialty coffee shops started opening. The thing is, in Spain, people drink a lot of coffee…but it’s not important. The barista pushes a button, the coffee goes fast, like water, and they just drink it like a shot, like “Ugh,” and move on. But the taste of the coffee is, you know carbon? It tastes burned. For sure, if you try the coffees around Spain, you will understand. People burn the milk, so it just isn’t good to drink, and then when the big commercial roasters do the roasting, it’s dark dark dark roasting, and people put so much sugar in. Here, people don’t know V60 or Aeropress. They see it and they ask, what is this? So we have to teach them, and give them a taste.

Satan's Coffee Corner

I like to get coffee at True Artisan. It’s near Arc de Triompf. And Nømad is also nearby, in the Gothic Area. I also recommend you go to Satan’s Coffee Corner. There are a few more places. Animal Coffee Bar. Skye Coffee. Skye Coffee is really curious because they’re a—you know co-working? Under the co-working is an old silver bus, and the barista is inside the bus. It’s a cool concept. But the barista probably feels like they’re in a prison, right?

In London, there are a hundred coffee shops. But in Barcelona, we are five or six places, and we know that. So everyone works hard to be the best. It’s a good time to do a tour. I would also visit Cafés El Magnífico. This is the oldest coffee roaster in Barcelona. Oldest, but not the best—but if you do the tour, you have to go see them.