Barcelona Nightlife

From cheap dives and Irish pubs to designer bars and enormous night clubs, Barcelona nightlife offers just about everything under the sun. You could easily make a big night of it for under €20, or blow over €50 in one fell swoop. It all depends on the scene that suits your fancy and the budget you're working with.

Barcelona nightlife can basically be divided into two main categories: bars and night clubs. There is, however, quite a bit of gray area. Some night clubs serve a double function as concert venues, some bars include a small dance floor with DJs, and some restaurants become nocturnal hotspots.

"Xampanyerías" specialize in champagne and cava, "cerveserías" stock up on varieties of beer, "bodegas" serve up all kinds of wine, and "cotelerías" deliver swanky cocktails.

Confused yet? If you're simply looking for a drink, any Barcelona nightlife locale will to the trick.

Montjuïc

Montjuic is a hill that overlooks Barcelona from the southwest. The low-lying area around Plaça de Espanya just below Montjuïc is Poble Sec. Poble Sec is easily accessible at the metro stops Espanya and Poble Sec.

Getting to Montjuic is a little more complicated than arriving at other parts of the city. Due to its elevation, the metro does not run there. One option – by foot - is to use the series of escalators that run from the Palau Nacional at Plaça Espanya up the hill. A hike up to the top of Montjuic would take about an hour on a so-so trail.

Bus lines 50, 61 and 55 will also take you there.

Alternatively, at the metro stop Parallel, you can take the funicular railway to Estació Parc Montjuic.

When the "Teleférico de Montjuic" is running (it has been temporarly closed or working with limited schedules), you can take this cable car from the Torre de Sant Sebastià in the Barceloneta over the sea and up to Montjuic.

Montjuic (“Jewish Mountain”) is a must-see area of Barcelona. With beautiful views of the city, 2 of the city’s best museums and a vast park, this hill is definitely worth the hike. Northwest Montjuic is also home to the “Poble Espanyol,” a touristy, slightly cheesy but nonetheless attractive rendering of a “Spanish Village.”

Plaça de Espanya, at the foothills of Montjuic, is one of Barcelona's most emblematic sites and a logical starting point if exploring the area by foot. From the rotund Plaza extends Avingunda de la Reina Maria Cristina, leading to the slopes of Montjuic. This avenue is flanked by a beautiful series of fountains, its largest and first being la Font Magica. Nightly music and light shows during the summer bring these fountains to life, a free spectacle no seasonal visitor should miss.

Before ascending Montjuic, you might want to take a detour to Caixa Forum, a cultural center with its own contemporary art collection. Even further west, at about a 5 minute walk from here, is - Poble Espanyol ("Spanish Village"), one of the area's many vestiges from the 1929 World Exhibition. Poble Espanyol represents styles and buildings from all over Spain in an eclectic artificial rendering.

Now back at the fountains, glance up at the hill of Montjuic: you can't miss the Palau Nacional. A neobaroque palace also built for the 1929 World Exhibition, this stately edifice houses one of Barcelona's finest museums, the MNAC (Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalyuna) Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya. After marveling at the MNAC's amazing collection of Romanesque art, simply hop on the series of outdoor escalators connecting the Palau to the Avinguda de l'Estadi at the top of the mountain. And voila, you've made it up to Montjuic, Barcelona.

The escalators drop you in a great position to see the Montjuic Park with its Jardi Botanic ("Botanical Garden") and Olympic Stadium. Also inland, but futher east, is an excellent museum, the Fundació Joan Miró. Its spacious halls and sculpture garden house the most exhaustive singular collection of this Catalan master's works.

For great views of the Mediterranean, head southeast to the Castell de Montjüic, a 17th/18th century fortress.

Find an accommodation in this area of Barcelona.

Olympic Port

Port Olímpic was built up for the 1992 Olympic Games, so it now contains a fancy marina with some nice public sculptures, along with a number of posh bars and restaurants. Its dominant twin towers, visible from nearly any point on the beach, house the luxe Hotel Arts Barcelona.

The Port Olimpic tourism area offers little in the way of sightseeing, and is mostly worth visiting for its beaches: Platja de Nova Icaria, right in front of the Olympic Port, and Platja de Bogatell and Platja de Mar Bella futher north.

Port Olímpic is dominated by two towers - the Torre Mapfre and Hotel Arts Barcelona - and a large, shimmering sculture by Frank Gehry called the "Copper Fish" Gehry, a North American architect, also designed Bilbao's silvery Guggenheim museum. The marina holds beachside restaurants and bars pumping music into the early hours.

How to get to Barcelona Olympic Port

The nearest Metro stop is Ciutadella Vila Olimpica (Yellow Line, L4). You then have a 10 minute walk to the Barcelona Olympic Port and the beach areas.

Shopping

About Shopping in Barcelona

If you considered Madrid and Barcelona to be Spain’s sister fashion capitals, Barcelona would be the funkier, more stylish twin. In addition to the mega-fashion stores you’ll find in both cities (H&M, Zara, Mango, Adolfo Dominguez, etc.), the Barcelona shopping experience entails lots of quirky boutiques and unique designs.

Store Hours
Shops generally open at about 9am, close for lunch from 2-4pm and reopen until 8 or 9pm, Mon-Fri. Saturday schedules are generally the same, though many stores opt to only close at lunch time. Some shops open on Sundays and Holidays, but it is not the norm.

It’s also good to keep in mind that the low season for Barcelona shopping is August. Smaller stores make close for a week or more while the weather is scorching.

Sales

Sales usually run from the second week in January to the end of February, and during July and August. Don’t get in the way of the natives at the Cortes Inglés on the first day of "rebajas" ("sales" in Spanish). There are first "rebajas", then a bigger mark down for second "rebajas", and finally remate – final clearance sales in Barcelona.

Tombbus
This bus (T1) follows a circular route for shoppers from Plaça de Catalunya up the Passeig de Gràcia to Avinguda Diagonal and back again. The tombbus hits all the major Barcelona shopping spots, as these wide avenues are packed with a variety of international and local stores.

Do you plan to come to Barcelona to enjoy its amazing sales? Rent an apartment next to the main shopping streets of the city.

Barcelona Food

The region of Catalonia has a strong culinary reputation, both for its traditional staples and "nueva cocina española," a cutting-edge gastronomical deconstruction movement headed by native chef Ferrán Adrià. Adrià, arguably the most famous and imitated chef in the world, turns foods into foams, mixes unexpected flavors... he's essentially converted cooking into a grand experiment. The price, however, matches the innovation, so if you want to try any of his or his disciples' restaurants, book far in advance and dig deep into your pockets for this cult foodie experience.

On the other hand, classic, down-to-earth, Barcelona food would be impossible without a handful of essential ingredients. Olive oil, garlic and tomato are the top three without a doubt. Barcelona cuisine is characterized by an innate creativity that other Spanish regions lack. For example, raisins and nuts are often mixed into vegetable dishes; rabbit is combined with snails; poultry or meat is cooked with fruit.

Due to its proximity to the Mediterranean, Barcelona food includes great seafood dishes. You will also note neighboring influences from France and Valencia; the latter because Catalan cuisine includes a variety of rice dices, variations on the typical Spanish paella. Here are some essentials:

Pa amb tomàquet

Take a nice, thick slice of toasted rustic bread, rub some garlic and fresh tomato on top, drizzle a generous amount of olive oil to boot and add a pinch of salt. There you have it, pan amb tomàquet, a Catalan staple and breakfast favorite.

Sarsuela

Sarsuela is a seafood medley - it's the variety show of Catalan food. It can contain any combination of different types of white fish, prawns, shrimp, squid, mussels, clams, crayfish or lobster. All of these ingredients are combined in a casserole with olive oil, tomato, lemon, paprika, white wine, sherry and other spices. Yum.

Fideua

Like paella, fideua is cooked in a large, flat, circular pan with a combination of shellfish, poultry, meat and vegetables. Instead of rice, however, the base is fideus - short, skinny noodles.

Crema catalana
The most ubiquitous Catalan desert, crema catalana is a delicious cold custard with a crispy, caramelized sugar coating. CalçotadaCalçots are a local kind of baby onions charred over an open flame but tender on the inside. They're then braised with romesco, a special Catalan sauce of tomatoes, red peppers, garlic, almonds and olive oil.

Weather

As many other European regions, Barcelona has well defined seasons in which temperatures and general weather are fairly predictable. Being a coast city, the relative humidity level is very high, always around 70%.

The weather in Barcelona is pleasant most of the year round. However you'll experience the absolute best weather from May to the end of July. September is also a good month.

The warmest season is between June and August, with temperatures that sometimes can go higher than 30 degrees (Celsius), perfect for a holiday close to the sea, holding on to the beaches and pools, walk the city wearing light clothing or just relaxing and having a cold drink at the various terraces available in the city.

August can be hot during the day (sometimes peaking around 34°C, 95F ) so if you love saunas then this is the time of the year for you!

The weather in October and November is still pleasant but starting to get a little cooler (21°C down to 15°C, 69 to 59F). You won't find sunshine every day though, so be prepared for days when it could be overcast with a little rain.

Remember these are only guidelines and the weather can vary somewhat from year to year. Especially in the last few years there has been some fluctuations from the norm.

Climate in Winter
From November to February the temperatures are cooler averaging around 12°C or 53F. It doesn't tend to rain a lot here in Winter so even though it may be cooler, often times you'll have some sunny days too. But do be prepared for some overcast and rainy days. It's all the luck of the draw!

Gayxample

Gayxample is the gay area in Barcelona in the elegant neighbourhood of Eixample, one of the busiest areas in Barcelona with also an incomparable architecture.

Around the blocks between Calle Comte d'Urgell and Rambla Catalunya, Gran Via and Calle Provença, the Eixample stands out for its vibrant gay scene. It is full of fashionable clothes shop, bars, restaurants and cafés.

Gayxample also has a super selection of night clubs, hairdressers, saunas, etc., and all without having to set foot outside this diverse and cosmopolitan area.

You can rent a nice apartment with a lovely terrace just next to the Plaça Universitat where the Gayxample begins. The location of this gay welcome apartment is in a pedestrian street where there are many fashion shops and with the mix of tourists and Barcelona's own folk, gives a cosmopolitan and multicultural feeling, typical of the "old town" of Barcelona.

Interested? Book it now!