Insider's Barcelona
The first neighbourhood to be built outside of Barcelona’s Roman walls, El Born sits pretty between the gloomy grandeur of the Gothic Quarter, the people-watching opportunities of Ciutadella Park and the busy harbour. El Born is the Catalan name for the street enclosures where jousting tournaments were once held, but these days it's the part of the city where historic meets hip without hindrance from mass tourism
– a medieval tangle where pensioners sit playing cards and young designers network beside cooling fountains.
The roads are mostly pedestrianised and very narrow: high-end boutiques jostle for space with violin and espadrille workshops on Argenteria and Flassaders, and the patrons of the tapas bars could reach across the street to clink Estrellas if they had a mind to.
Although shopping, eating and quaffing keep the locals busy, El Born also has plenty of cultural interest. Alongside Antoni Gaudí and Josep Puig, architect Lluis Domènech spearheaded the Catalan art nouveau movement, and his Palau de la Música Catalana is a modernist marvel. Continue the stained-glass theme at the Santa Maria del Mar Basilica – be sure to climb its tower for an excellent view of the colourful, shell-shaped roof of the Santa Caterina Market – then head inside for an amazing selection of jamón and other local delicacies.
To the south, the Museu Picasso offers a look at the artist’s early work from his years spent living in Barcelona. And, of course, the temptingly blue waters of Barceloneta Beach are just 15 sun-kissed minutes away by foot.
THE HISTORY
To wander along Passeig del Born is to experience 1,000 years of El Born’s history. These days, this leafy avenue hums
with samba from upmarket bars, but during medieval times it was the shriek of crowds and stampeding of horses’ hooves as Passeig del Born was the scene of many of those big historic jousting tournaments.
It remained important as a market and carnival site until the 18th century, when the paving stones ran red with the blood of ‘heretics’ executed by the Catholic church during the Spanish Inquisition. El Born remained mostly working class and residential until it was regenerated for the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 when it adopted the boho-glam cloak it wears so stylishly today.
WHERE TO EAT AND DRINK
Like everything in El Born, the restaurants are informal, intimate and buzzing at night. Cal Pep calpep.com treads the line between tapas and seafood restaurant to perfection and is a long-standing favourite with locals and visitors alike. Book a stool at the bar rather than the dining room to hear which dishes locals are calling for and to watch Pep and his team working the stoves. For a purer tapas experience, try the no-frills joint Bar Celta barcelta.com with its handful of pavement tables where you can tuck into delicious Galician tapas spreads – pulpo (octopus) is the house speciality. The menu at El Atril elatrilbarcelona.es is a little more world-wandering; it recently invested in a Himalayan salt block and now specialises in sizzling meats, including kangaroo steak. Its rough-walled dining room is a former convent, while the tables under the sun umbrellas on Plaça de Sant Cugat are a better pick for lunch (they offer a well-priced fixed option during the week).
For cocktails, head to Paradiso paradiso.cat – a cool speakeasy tucked behind a fridge inside Pastrami Bar – which, conveniently sells exactly the sort of salty, lip-smacking sandwiches one craves after a quality tipple.