If you are not sure about what to do this weekend, we suggest you to (re) discover La Rambla, the most famous and, at the same time, unknown street in Barcelona.
How much you know about La Rambla? Whether if you live in Barcelona or not, the answer will be similar. It is known for being a long and crowded street in the heart of Barcelona, its flowers stands and important buildings as Palau Moja or Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barça celebrations, la Boquería, the Miró mosaic or for being the street that’ll always yell not tinc for.
However, there is more in La Rambla than meets the eye; information that does not appear in the first page of Google or in Barcelona tourist guides. Here are some of these secret spots to (re) discover the street where life begins in this city.
1. Zara flagship store at Plaça de Catalunya. It is located in an old building from the 1930s with a stunning inside. The perfect mix between fashion and architecture.
2. Rambla Café, the foodie area of Palau Moja, the house of Catalan heritage. Once or twice a month they organize the Paint Nites, an event inspired by a New Yorker initiative that fusions artistic workshops with wine tasting.
3. Plaça del Pi: if you turn off Cardenal Casañas street to get away from Las Ramblas hustle and bustle, you’ll find this quiet square, in which Santa María del Pi Basilic stands out. Both this square and Sant Josep Oriol hold the Mostra d’art de pintors del Pi (Pi painters showing exhibition), where local artists show their artwork every weekend.
4. El Mariatchi clandestine bar : the most important thing about La Rambla is not what is shown to the public, but what is hidden from them. If you wander a bit through Josep Pijuan street and d’en Rull street, you’ll come across with El Mariatchi, singer Manu Chao unknown business in Barcelona.
5. Petritxol street: only locals know that this is the best smelling street in Barcelona. The perfect place to shelter from the cold and have chocolate with melindros in one of their ancient bars, called granjas.
6. Casa Beethoven: is an old music store opened in 1880 that has a special charm. In it you can find sheet music, instruments, specialized books and curious gadgets, like a pentagram drawer.
7. Restaurante Amaya: built on the rubble of a questionable dance floor, this Basque food restaurant has grown up among “dating” houses, bad name establishments converted into Olympic spaces and the anecdotes of the celebrities who have drunk in their bar.
8. Polaroid Bar: not far from La Rambla, at l’Est street, is the favorite place for those who don’t want to move on the eighties and Stranger Things fans. If you see Marty McFly drinking a glass of coke, don’t get surprised.
9. Arts Santa Monica centre: from nostalgia we travel to the future, specifically to the one in which art and culture are developed in an entirely digital context. Arts Santa Mónica is an innovation space where you can enjoy next decade’s architecture, scenic and visual arts, music or literature.
10. Christopher Columbus monument viewpoint to enjoy Barcelona’s skyline from an unique position.