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32 articles

Barcelona with kids, and what each plan actually costsPlans

Barcelona with kids, and what each plan actually costs

Under-16s get in free across half the city and Tibidabo charges by height, not age. The same family pays 16 euros one day and 140 the next.

11min readRead →
What to see in Barcelona in 3 days, in the order that worksPlans

What to see in Barcelona in 3 days, in the order that works

Three days are built around two timed tickets, not around a map. And since June the Sagrada Família has been the tallest church in the world.

12min readRead →
Where to stay in Barcelona, neighbourhood by neighbourhoodPlans

Where to stay in Barcelona, neighbourhood by neighbourhood

Sleeping here carries a surcharge of up to 12 euros per person per night that never shows in the search results, and there is a number to check before booking a flat.

12min readRead →
Barcelona in October, which weekend to pick and whyPlans

Barcelona in October, which weekend to pick and why

The 12th is a Monday and makes a long weekend, and on the 25th you gain an hour while 136 buildings open free. It is the fullest month and the wettest of the year.

11min readRead →
What to do in Barcelona when it rainsPlans

What to do in Barcelona when it rains

Rain here lasts two hours, not a day. Where I go while it passes, including a Gothic hall you can see for free and original-language cinema for 4 euros.

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The best time to visit Barcelona, month by monthPlans

The best time to visit Barcelona, month by month

It rains 53 days a year in Barcelona and six of them fall in October, the month everyone recommends. The official AEMET figures month by month, and the one I would book.

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Where to see castells in Barcelona and when the diades areCulture

Where to see castells in Barcelona and when the diades are

Barcelona has eight human tower teams and you do not need to wait for La Mercè. Rehearsals are open and free midweek, and the autumn calendar has four big dates.

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Barcelona in September, which week to pick and whyPlans

Barcelona in September, which week to pick and why

The 11th is a Friday and the 24th a Thursday, so September gives you two long weekends. And La Mercè's Piromusical moves to Bogatell beach for the first time.

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Barcelona in August, which week to pick and whyPlans

Barcelona in August, which week to pick and why

The 15th is a Saturday, Gràcia opens that day and Sants on the 22nd. Which August week I would fly into, and what really stays open while the city is away.

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Surviving the summer heat in Barcelona, a local's guideExperiences

Surviving the summer heat in Barcelona, a local's guide

How I get through summer in Barcelona without melting, hour by hour. Where to cool off for free, the pool with 1992 Olympic views, the neighbourhoods where the air moves, and the mistake that ruins your day.

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Permanent bracelets in Barcelona, where to go and pricesBrands

Permanent bracelets in Barcelona, where to go and prices

Six welded jewellery studios across Barcelona's old town, from 14 euros in steel to 120 in gold. Which ones take walk-ins, which metal survives daily swimming, and what happens the day you need an MRI.

10min readRead →
Barcelona neighbourhood bodegas, where locals drink vermouthGastronomy

Barcelona neighbourhood bodegas, where locals drink vermouth

The old wine bars where people who live here spend Saturday mornings, with vermouth on tap at 2 euros and homemade tapas from 3 to 6. How to spot a real bodega from a themed one, when to arrive and which I skip.

13min readRead →
Catalonia autumn forests, when to visit each oneExperiences

Catalonia autumn forests, when to visit each one

Six Catalan beech woods with the exact week each turns colour, how far you walk in every one and what the car park costs. From a forest growing on volcanic lava to 41-metre beeches planted in the 1750s.

11min readRead →
Where to eat calçots in Barcelona without leaving townGastronomy

Where to eat calçots in Barcelona without leaving town

Calçot season runs November to April, not January to March. The calçotades served inside Barcelona itself, what each set menu includes, the real price range and the technique for not ending up covered in soot.

12min readRead →
Underground Barcelona, what you can visit and bookPlans

Underground Barcelona, what you can visit and book

Four sites below Barcelona are genuinely open to visitors, with prices, depths and the detail nobody publishes, which organisation takes each booking. Three separate bodies, three unconnected systems, and that is where most people lose their place.

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Eating cheap in Barcelona, where locals actually goGastronomy

Eating cheap in Barcelona, where locals actually go

The average set lunch in Barcelona now runs 15,10 euros, so finding one at 12 is the whole game. Which neighbourhoods still have them, how to spot a tourist menu, and where seafood is worth it.

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Barcelona facts, the city that reinvented its own pastCulture

Barcelona facts, the city that reinvented its own past

The Gothic Quarter was rebuilt between 1908 and the 1930s, the beaches were created in 1992, and those Plaça Reial lamp posts are early Gaudí. What is genuinely old, what was built to look it, and which legends do not hold up.

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The best ramen in Barcelona, picked by a localGastronomy

The best ramen in Barcelona, picked by a local

Where I go for ramen in Barcelona, which broth to order at each place and what a bowl really costs. Ramen-Ya Hiro does take bookings, shuts for a month in summer, and serves no ramen at lunch.

12min readRead →
Free art galleries in Barcelona and how to walk themCulture

Free art galleries in Barcelona and how to walk them

Over a hundred galleries with free entry, grouped by district so you can see four or five on foot. What each area shows, the opening hours nobody checks, and the September weekend when everything opens at once.

11min readRead →
Simorra, the Catalan fashion label founded in 1978Brands

Simorra, the Catalan fashion label founded in 1978

From a women's shirtmaking workshop to 17 million in revenue and 30 stores. The four Barcelona addresses, what separates the clothes from chain retail, and which parts of the sustainability pitch need qualifying.

10min readRead →
Secret gardens of Catalonia for escaping the noiseExperiences

Secret gardens of Catalonia for escaping the noise

The hidden gardens where I go to switch off, sorted by how far they are and what they cost. From the Laberint d'Horta at 2.23 € to clifftop gardens on the Costa Brava, with the maze closed until 2027.

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