Barcelona

If you want to see Barcelona but don’t fancy joining the nine million other tourists looking for a hotel room, why not go for one of these strolls when passing through? Note:If you want a really short leg stretch, you could wander around the Parc de l’Espanya Industrial which sits behind the station, but I haven’t found it hasn’t floated my boat yet…

Interactive Map

Setting an Eixample - Sants to El Clot 6km (orange)

If you are changing trains at Barcelona to/from Portbou and what to see some sights then why not walk part of the way?

This walk between Barcelona Sants and El Clot traverses Barcelona’s Eixample where we can see the scale of it for ourselves and learn a bit about Barcelona and the mark made by two inhabitants: Antoni Gaudí and Ildefons Cerdà. There’s also an early stop to get some grub both to each now and/or take for a picnic on the way to the Spanish border.

First let’s go for a wander to the Mercat del Ninot where there is an indoor market with a range kitchen/cafes that will cook what you fancy from the stalls.

Why was the Eixample built?

Barcelona’s industrialisation was quick and brutal. The city became even more overcrowded than Paris or London. It was also prone to revolt. Something needed to be done.

Ildefons Cerdà was part of a talented group of idealists. People needed light, ventilation, clean water, sewage disposal, traffic management, access to greenery and public facilities.

As well as expanding the city (Eixample means expansion), it was a chance to build a better society - rich and poor could live side-by-side and share their struggles for a better place for all.

All of this could be achieved by being systematic, practical and pragmatic which could be summed up in a Catalan word, seny.

He came up with a grid system where different blocks of the grid could be put to different uses. Some blocks would be dedicated to housing (with shops at ground level), others to schools, hospitals and parkland.

In his new expansion, there would be room for clean water, sewage, clean air, light and happyness.

So did everyone live happily ever after?

Let’s leave the market and head further into the Eixample and see how things turned out.

We see block after block of very comfortable apartments - some grander than others. Shops and other businesses at ground level all make sense.

However, because traffic can freely move around the grid, each street is dominated by the sound, sight and smell of cars.

Then there was another problem. It was very popular. As appartments were built, they were filled, fueling the need for more places. Space for parks got squeezed.

But not all problems led to unhappy outcomes. When there is such a large supply of buildings, how do you make something that will stand out?

For that, we need to learn another work of Catalan - rauxa. A sudden burst of impulsive creativity.

La Pedrera - Casa Milà was designed by Antoni Gaudí. He someone prone to bursts of creativity.

But he wasn’t the only one coming up with new ideas.

Continue past Casa Mila and take the first right onto Carrer del Rosselló which feeds into Avinguda Diagonal - guess how this avenue it got it’s name…

Just along here is a very different idea of what sort of thing could be built here, the Casa de les Punxes

Continue past Casa de les Punxes and one more block, then come off the diagonal avenue by taking a slight left down Carrer de Provença and back onto the grid.

Continue along this road until you arrive at Gaudi’s masterpice - the ultimate product of rauxa.

From here it’s a wander along the Carrer de Mallorca to El Clot and an ongoing train to Portbou and the Spanish border.

Mira Barca! 4km (red)

This circular walk takes you to a viewpoint over a city that has moulded and remoulded itself to challenges of the time. Crossing over the road from Sants station takes you to a nice green space, Parc de Joan Miró. It used to be an abattoir but now it’s a place to play games over a coffee and try and make sense of the Joan Miró sculptue - Dona i Ocell (Woman and space).

Beyond the park is another place where animals made their final journey - the Arenas de Barcelona. Bullfighting used to take place here and has been a dividing and defining issue of Spanish vs Catalan identity.

Catalans wanted something something going on here that represented them better, so they got a shopping mall.

While wandering around a mall might not be everyone’s, cup of tea, it could be a very practical and the roof top restaurants and the walkway running around them offer great views.

One of those places you can see is the imposing Montjuïc, which is where we are heading.

Leaving the Arenas de Barcelona, cross over the road aiming for the multi-columned and twin-towered entrance (Torres Venecianes) and head down Avinguda de la Reina Maria Cristina.

Take one of the walkways over the Av. de Rius i Taulet which is all that is between you and Montjuïc Park. Hiking up the top is rewarded by views, parkland and the top-notch Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya.