Valencia bakes in the sun by day, smells of oranges at night and burns entirely once a year, during the world-renowned Las Fallas Festival, the city’s most important holiday – when the noise of fireworks and the stink of gunpowder fills the air for several sleepless nights in March.

Monsters walk the streets every March

Valencia, the third biggest city of Spain, is sometimes perceived as the “ugly sister” of Madrid and Barcelona. A grossly inaccurate comparison, but one at least that has helped it stave off the invading crowds who prefer to visit her aforementioned siblings. In fact Valencia is undeniably picturesque, the wriggling streets of its Old Town betraying both Roman and Arabian influences and punctuated with meticulously maintained orange gardens and open squares full of outdoor cafes that bustle until 3am. Girding the Old Town is the dried bed of the river Turia, a beautiful green belt of attractions including the amazing Bioparc immersion zoo and La Ciudad de las Artes y Las Ciencias. The latter is one of Valencia’s most recognisable symbols, a futuristic white city designed by avant garde local architect, Santiago Calatrava.

If that wasn’t enough, the city’s never-failing weather (with an average of 15 degrees on Christmas Day!) and long stretch of Mediterranean beaches make Valencia even easier to fall in love with.

Best of the Beaten Track

Valencia’s heart remains in its medieval Old Town, and the best spot to start any walk is at its central point, the huge gothic Cathedral of Our Lady (you can find it located between two cosy, medieval squares: La Plaza de la Reina and La Plaza de la Virgen). Remarkably the Cathedral holds the very chalice which many historians believe to be the true Holy Grail (someone really should have told Indiana Jones), and after you’ve paid your homage you can enjoy some of the best views in the city by climbing the Cathedral’s highest tower, El Micalet. Casting an eye over the medieval architecture of the Old Town it doesn’t take much imagination to picture the city’s greatest hero, the Moor-fighting knight El Cid Campeador, being hoisted triumphantly through the city streets.

Take a walk in the Old Town

From La Plaza de la Virgen it’s good to take a slow stroll down Knights’ Street (Calle de los Caballeros). Here’s where the famous El Carmen quarter starts. Strolling down the narrow streets, crossing La Plaza del Negrito and heading South, you will reach the stone building of La Lonja de Seda: the old silk market and one of the greatest examples of lay architecture from medieval Europe. In front of La Lonja you can see the huge art nouveau Mercado Central building, one of the largest indoor markets in Spain. Fresh seafood is delivered here every single day, although nota bene: the city’s speciality, paella valenciana, doesn’t in fact contain any seafood whatsoever – originating from the nearby marshes true paella consists of rice, saffron, garlic, chicken and rabbit. Entire rabbits with no skin and plucked roosters’ heads make some of the market’s stands look quite spooky.

For a true Spanish experience the strong-stomached might want to catch a bull fight at La Plaza de Toros, the second biggest bull ring in Spain (after Madrid), located next to La Plaza del Ayuntamiento and the Main Train Station (Estación del Norte).

Hipster’s Guide

Streetwise in El Carmen

Surprisingly, El Carmen, Valencia’s most famous district, has managed to retain its authentic feel, despite its location in the centre of the Old Town and being a firm favourite on the tourist track. The district is renowned for its quirky look and late opening hours of its tiny bars, whilst the liberal vibe has also made it a Mecca for hippies. Two of the best spots to start a Valencian night out are on La Plaza del Negrito and Baja Street; but if you really want to escape fellow foreigners head to the surroundings of Ruzafa Street instead. Here inconspicuous bars, scenic squares and gardens excude a chilled-out atmosphere and you can often find live music by street musicians. One recommended place is Cafe Ubik, a small bookshop-cafe where you can pop in to have breakfast or start to your day with a glass of red wine (yup, Spaniards do it!), meet up with friends or just swap some second-hand books.

Experience & Events

It would be a sin not to take advantage of the amazing weather conditions that the city has to offer. No wonder that most of the Valencian’s favourite activities take place outdoors. A bike ride along the dried out river Turia is a perfect way to see the best of the green side of the city. Colourful cascades of flowers, exotic trees and fountains line the route eastwards to the final destination of Santiago Calatrava’s La Ciudad de las Artes y Las Ciencias. At the far west end of the old Turia river’s bed, el Parque de la Cabecera is located. Nevermind the distance, because once you’re there, you will feel as if you were five again by taking a ride across the lake in a kitsch swan-shaped gondola.

Over the top? Never...

They say that every Valencia citizen is a fire freak, and this theory is certainly borne out by the city’s most important fiesta, the insane Las Fallas festival. Even though the festival itself lasts only around a week the preparations take place all year, so that, by the middle of March, the city is ready to turn into one vast, extremely noisy, street party. Every important square is adorned with its own Falla, a huge statue made of wood and plastic, often related to current political or social events. Between 15th and 19th of March no one works, children throw firecrackers in parks and public places, the streets are cut off from regular traffic and kiosks selling doughnuts and sweets appear all around the city. Some of the locals escape out of town, while others prepare for the upcoming sleepless nights, as the bars are allowed to stay open until 6am each morning. During the last night of Las Fallas, “la Nit de Foc”, the entire city burns as all the figures are set on fire at the same time. Only the winning statue is spared, and preserved in the Las Fallas Museum to be admired for all antiquity. Arguably the most impressive aspect of the festival is the impeccable state of the streets the very next day. Clean and empty, they confuse the visitor by giving the impression nothing happened at all and you just woke up after some crazy dream…

More festival madness takes place on the last Wednesday of August every year, just outside Valencia, in the village of Bunol, in the form of the world’s most famous food fight – La Tomatina. Armageddon with tomatoes.

Pillow Talk

Home Backpackers is located in the very centre of El Carmen district and, with its big kitchen and common room, is the perfect spot to make new friends and meet fellow backpackers. The only annoying thing is the lack of elevator (the building is 4-floor high), but in the end who cares when a huge sunny terrace greets you at the top of the roof? If you’re looking for a more intimate atmopshere you can go for Home Youth Hostel or Rooms Deluxe Hostel which offer nicely-designed customised private apartments and small shared rooms, instead of bunk beds and crowded dormitories. For the most demanding and sophisticated visitors, there’s nothing like the luxurious, Las Arenas Hotel, located at Malvarrosa beach. The hotel has become famous for its impressive gardens, terraces and almost one century old spa and swimming pool complex.

Fork Out

The Spanish equivalent of afternoon tea

The Spanish love food and the day’s rhythym is ruled by their eating schedule. A morning coffee with a sweet snack for breakfast, a solid bocadillo (baguette with plenty of yummy things inside) for lunch, then around 4pm (after their sacred siesta at 2pm) it’s time for delicious chocolate con churros (hot chocolate with a variety of a doughnut); and then finally a late, long and rather lazy dinner (most restaurants don’t open before 8pm) in the evening. Tapas is of course the famous food of Spain, and these small dishes can be served en masse as dinner or more often simply as snacks with beer. The best places for tapas in Valencia is La Tapeta del Carme (Calle Los Borja 4). The prices are very reasonable, the food is home-made and always fresh and the number of fully-booked tables tells its own story. Wednesday is the discount day at 100 Montaditos, another tapas bar (a bit more touristic, though), located at Plaza de la Reina. People start to queue for a table at 4-5pm, as you get any type of tapas you like for just one 1 euro (plus beer for the same price!). On the other side of the Square, La Taberna de la Reina offers an alternative way of having tapas. Pieces of bread with toppings of all kinds are displayed on the bar, skewered on cocktail sticks: you pick up the ones you like and pay once you’re done, counting the number of sticks left on your plate. If you’re searching for a more upmarket dining experience, the chic but friendly Ness restaurant is highly recommended, with Valencia-based, fusion cuisine at its best.

Drop In

Mojitos at Malvarrosa

The motto of Valencia people, “vivir sin dormir” leaves you in no doubt of their life outlook. The bars are open all day long and they are followed by the clubs, which open around 2am and don’t close until the break of dawn. The party style has changed over the decades though. In the early 90s, La Ruta de Bacalao (suburban, beach disco houses, offering a great deal of drugs mixed with techno and rave tunes) echoed all around Spain. Those days are gone. Today, in summertime, all the bars along Malvarrosa beach throng with people, often still partying when the first rays of sun creep over the horizon. Las Animas Puerto is the best spot on the strip with great views from its numerous terraces, although sadly the music is a weak point. Outside summer the party is yet more raucous, partly because Valencia is the second biggest city in Europe when it comes to number of foreign exchange students (after Barcelona). The student club zone is Polo y Peyrolon Street and around here even a mid-week night can turn into a never-ending fiesta. For some alternative music seekers, Picaddilly Downtown club can be recommended. Previously a brothel, today it is a hidden club of the old town with some good indie rock music on. Located on Quart Street, Venial is a gay club that offers one of the best parties in town. On the same street a good electro spot can be found: 47 Social Club.

Getting There

The local airport Valencia-Manises is located just outside the city and it has been recently connected to a new, quick and comfortable suburban metro line, and now it takes only 20 minutes to get there for the price of 1,70 EUR. The airport offers cheap flights (Ryanair, EasyJet, Vueling) to most of the mayor cities of Spain and Europe (London, Milan, Paris, Oslo, Dublin, Rome, etc.) and regular airlines, such as Spanair or Iberia, that fly also outside Europe. The local train service is very reliable, yet the coaches tend to be cheaper. The coaches are the best way to visit the nearby cities, such as Alicante, for example. It takes about 5 hours to travel to Barcelona by train, and just 3,5 hour to get to Madrid by bus.

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Probably the best two sources of Valencia info online are Hola Valencia and Extra Valencia, whilst needless to say the bigs guns like Lonely Planet publish their content online.

Hard Copy

Published in 2010, the LP Valencia Encounter is a reliable companion for any rucksack or just-small-enough-to-count-as-hand-luggage trolley case. Valencia’s most famous son Vicente Blasco Ibanez is one of the most talented authors to put pen to paper, and his WWI epic The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse will be worth its weight in gold, while Blood and Sand is surely the best novel ever written about the art of bullfighting. Finally the first novel written in Spain was penned and published in Valencia – check out Tirant The White, for the kind of chivalrous romp which Cervantes went on to parody.

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If there’s one thing Madrid won’t tolerate, it’s being second best. Situated in the heart of the country, the city prides itself on being the pinnacle of Spanish culture, art and style. Madrid’s buzzing atmosphere, diverse cultural events and resplendent architecture – even the Post Office building is a work of art here – more than justify its status as Spain’s capital. Yet this beautiful, land-locked city is often shunned in favour of Barcelona’s coastal charms.

Gay parade on Madrid

But Madrid isn’t the kind of city to take this lying down. In true Spanish defiance, Madrid has refused to pander to the mainstream tourist trail and instead celebrates its understated, authentic atmosphere. From its glorious Art Deco buildings, such as the Edificio Metropolis, to its picturesque cobbled streets, Madrid oozes an effortless style. There’s no need to boast about the capital’s world-class shopping, rich culture or relentlessly energetic nightlife, you’ll discover them when you get here. An easy-going and friendly city, Madrid casually invites visitors rather than demanding their attention. The Madrileños don’t feel the need to talk up their city: they prefer to sit back, enjoy the sun-soaked atmosphere and pity those who are missing out.

Best of the Beaten Track

The buzzing Gran Vía area is a Mecca for fun-loving residents and tourists alike. Madrid’s answer to Oxford Street, Piccadilly Circus and Broadway all rolled in to one, this is where you find the city’s main entertainment. Enjoy a grandiose musical at Plaza de Callao, treat yourself to a cocktail on the rooftop of the Círculo de Bellas Artes, or simply browse the shopping haven of Gran Vía and Sol.

Dancing in the park

If all this leaves you thirsty for culture, then head to the Prado and Reina Sofía museums. Art-lovers flock to both in droves to ponder some of Europe’s most famous artwork. While the Prado showcases earlier artists such as El Greco and Goya, the Reina Sofía houses more contemporary work. Picasso’s Guernica is the museum’s top crowd-puller and visitors stop in their tracks to stare at this mind-boggling interpretation of the Spanish Civil War.

When your energy starts to flag, the Parque del Buen Retiro provides the perfect playground for a lazy afternoon in the sun. An oasis of greenery in Madrid’s hectic core, visitors come here to soak up the rays among the park’s balmy trees and landscape gardens. But the Retiro isn’t just a pretty face – cutting-edge artwork is always on display here and Madrid’s performers regularly grace the park’s picturesque paths. Although if it’s pure piece and quiet you’re after, the lake area is best avoided – a zealous drummer will usually spring to life here around lunchtime, with energetic sun-worshippers dancing to the beat.

Hipsters’ Guide

Malasaña is the district of choice among the young and trendy Madrid crowd. The eclectic mix of cluttered cafés, offbeat bars and boutique shops is a haven for those seeking to escape the McDonald’s and Starbucks chains of the city centre. While the area may not be picture perfect – graffiti adorns many of Malasaña’s walls and shutters – its cobbled streets exude a quirky charm.

The colourful and quirky Malasana district

Calle Fuencarral is best for designer boutiques and independent outlets, while chic bars and cafés lie on the neighbouring side streets. Mexican bar La Botica de la Condesa is always home to a lively atmosphere, with plenty of unusual cocktails and authentic light bites on the menu. And if you’re in the mood for a more tranquil setting, the artistic Café Manuela invites passers-by to while away the afternoon – board games are even on hand for when the conversation runs dry.

Experience and Events

Nowhere knows how to throw a fiesta like Madrid, and every local holiday invites a hedonistic mix of celebratory events, processions and revelry. San Isidro is perhaps the best time to experience Madrid in full party mode, marking the annual homage to Madrid’s rural patron saint. Celebrations start on May 15th, as Madrileños don ceremonial dress and open air performances take place in every corner of the city. The Plaza Mayor is always particularly lively, often playing host to traditional dance and theatre productions.

Two for a euro...

The bustling El Rastro market is also a great way to experience a colourful slice of Madrid while picking up a thrifty deal. Traders have set up their stalls here every Sunday for nearly five centuries, attracting tourists and bargain hunters alike. Granted, it may take a while to find a gem among the maze of market stalls, but you’ll soon find haggling can get you everywhere.

Of course, no football fan comes to Madrid without paying a visit to Real Madrid’s legendary stadium. Football is a sacred sport here, but take care if you expect every local bar to be backing Real Madrid all the way. There’s a bitter rivalry between Madrid’s flagship team and the underdog Atlético club, said to be supported by the ‘real Madrileños’. Proudly displaying a Cristiano Ronaldo shirt can attract more abuse than you may expect.

Pillow Talk

The Hotel de las Letras is one of Madrid’s most stylish haunts, designed around the unusual combination of luxury and literacy. While guests are treated to five-star surroundings, including a sleek rooftop bar overlooking Gran Vía, there’s also a relaxing library for when the jet-set lifestyle becomes too much. Despite the cheesy ‘Room mate’ gimmick – each hotel in the chain is named after an attractive slumber partner – the Mario hotel is perfect for reasonably-priced rooms in the central district. With a rooftop bar, modern decor and complimentary fruit at reception, you’ll still feel like you’re in the lap of luxury. And if you’re on a budget, Cat’s Hostel offers cheap and cheerful accommodation, with the best value bar in the city.

Fork Out

Top tapas in the El Tigre cider house

Eating ham is practically a religion here in Madrid, with many tapas bars choosing to devote themselves to various types of jamón iberico. For a taste of authentic tapas without splashing the cash, head down to El Tigre, where every drink is served with a selection of the day’s dishes. This is best visited during the week though – weekends can see crowds rushing in for the prospect of free chorizo and patatas bravas. Meanwhile, Casa Lucio delivers top class Castillian food, serving traditional dishes such as cocido (Madrid-style stew). And fear not if you’re vegetarian – Malasaña’s restaurants offer plenty of delicious alternatives to ham. Check out the extravagant Isla del Tesoro (’Treasure Island’) for the best meat-free cuisine Madrid has to offer.

Drop In

Madrid’s nightlife is famously energetic and continues well into the morning, when revellers hungrily grab a breakfast remedy of chocolate and churros. The central district of Sol is a hub of nocturnal activity, with many frequenting lively, no-frills hotspots such as El Sol. Alternatively, stroll around Malasaña’s bars for a more chilled-out experience – the oriental Areia and authentically Spanish El 2 De are both local favourites. And if it’s pure luxury you’re after, take a trip to the Lolita Lounge for extravagant cocktails, or Kapital for a bling-filled dancefloor and R’n’B beats.

Getting There

Easyjet and Ryanair fly to Madrid from a number of UK airports and other major cities around Europe, with traditional carriers such as BA, Iberia, Air Europa, Vueling and Spanair also operating routes. Trenhotel also run overnight trains from Lisbon and Paris; whilst fast, if not cheap, trains will also get you to and from the likes of Barcelona, Valencia and Sevilla within Spain if Madrid is part of a grander tour.

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The Time Out website is packed full of ways to enjoy the city, from the most authentic flamenco bars to the best way to spot a local bargain. What Madrid gives travellers a useful area by area guide to the city, while About Madrid has a number of practical tips and links.

Hard Copy & Silver Screen

Guidebooks-wise, Lonely Planet and Eyewitness guides give a great picture of the city, while Frommer’s Madrid Day by Day has plenty of ideas in a handy, pocket-sized format. Depending on your nationality, a story about a Spanish mercenary out to kill two Englishmen in Madrid may or may not be comfortable reading – however the swashbuckling adventures of Captain Alatriste by Pérez-Reverte is the kind of romp Dumas would be proud to pen. Another hugely enjoyable epic is the Manuscript Found in Saragossa, a bizarre series of stories within stories set in Spain by the eccentric Polish Count Potocki. For films set in Madrid, look no further than Abre Los Ojos, the original Spanish (and needless to say infinitely better) version of Vanilla Sky.

Soundtrack to the City

Te Dejo Madrid – Shakira
Desde Madrid – Nika
Madrid – Thalia
Puedes Contar Conmigo – La Oreja de Van Gogh
Barrio – Javier Álvarez

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Ibiza in the off-season is so quiet you can grow a beard and pretend to be Tom Hanks...

The catch of the day

The South is where we stayed and is characterized by a perfect mélange of long, sandy beaches and hidden away coves to be discovered at the end of winding country roads, surrounded by pine trees and lemon groves. With public transport to Ibiza’s quieter areas pretty much non-existent, it’s an absolute must to hire a car if you want to explore the island. Alternatively, like the hippy and dog we gave a lift to one day, you could try your luck hitch-hiking. (I only hope that if you do take advantage of a free ride, you’ll exercise better bladder control than they did).

Rockin' not ravin' at Es Vedra

In terms of beaches you will be spoilt for choice on the South of the island, with variety and quality enough to warm the cockles of even the fussiest of aficionados. Most of them are smallish coves and nearly every one of them has a beach bar (known locally as chiringuitos) where you can sample the catch of the day, invariably served with bread (that ranges from freshly-baked to hardly edible) and lashings of aioli (garlic mayonnaise).

A sandy siesta beckons...

Other noteworthy beaches are Las Salinas, where the rich and famous strut their tanned torsos, and Cala Vedalla, a small cove with diving and boating nestled within a picture-perfect Ibizan village. One to avoid if you are looking for Balearic bliss is Playa del Bossa. Although Del Bossa is the most famous beach on the island, and decent enough in its own right, it is too busy in the high-season for some ‘me-and-you’ time, and the deserted shabby bars in the off season make it feel like an apocalyptic Mad Max scenario, minus Tina Turner and a small hairy wolf-boy.

The happy couple frolic on yet another deserted beach

A word of warning, before you book yourself a flight, Ibiza is not one for the tight-fisted Don Juan. With meals ranging from 60 – 120 euros for two, drinks and club entrance fees occasionally eye-popping and taxis meters whirring upwards as they whizz up and down the winding roads, you will need a fair bit of dinero to enjoy the best the island has to offer. However, your money will be well spent, though you could soon be forking out again for ring-finger accessories if the holiday goes exceptionally well…

Getting There

There are a host of cheap flights to Ibiza from the UK with operators including Easyjet, Ryanair and Jet2. German Wings, Air Berlin, Transavia and Smart Wings fly from other destinations in Europe. From mainland Spain you’re best trying Vueling. You can also catch a boat from Barcelona, although tickets are often more expensive than flying so don’t expect a cut price journey. (Ben flew return with Ryanair from London Stansted from around 80 GBP per person. He hired a car from Do You Spain).

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For more info on Ibiza try the detailed travel guide Ibiza Spotlight, or the rather hip blog and newzine White Ibiza.

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Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau

Ornamentation on the hospital pavilions

Palau de la Musica Catalana

Antoni Rigalt's inverted dome in the Palau's auditorium

Casa Terrades

A Gothic fairytale castle in Barcelona

Caixa Forum

Industrial-sized exhibition centre

Fundacio Tapies

A friendly building behind an intimidating facade

If you want to compare the styles of Barcelona’s great trio of Modernista architects, you can actually see the work of all three side-by-side on the so-called ‘Manzana de la Discordia’ or Apple of Dischord (a nice pun on the Greek saying, incorporating the Spanish use of the word apple, which also to mean block), on the Passeig de Gracia boulevard. Gaudi’s Casa Batllo sits next to Puig i Cadafalch’s Casa Amatller, which is next to Domenech i Montaner’s Casa Lleo Morera.

For more info on the Catalan capital in general and plenty of hip recommendations, check out Urban Travel Blog’s juicy city guide to Barcelona.

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If Barcelona were a woman she would be a ravishing but rebellious Miss World misfit, one who regularly neglects her beauty sleep for debauched nights out that can leave her looking distinctly worse for wear. The city’s best features, such as La Sagrada Familia, are perennially being patched up by unsightly cranes and scaffolding, graffiti (only some of which transcends to art) is splashed over shutters and walls and the household garbage of local residents and bodily excrements of fiesta people smear what might otherwise have been the picturesque streets of Barcelona’s Old Town.

Table for two?

Bizarre perhaps, but it’s the city’s rough edges that makes you love her even more. Barcelona is no too-good-to-be-true model tourist town, full of perfect paint jobs and picture postcard plazas. She is a real city who wears her fierce Catalan heart on her sleeve, dresses in the fading – but still beautiful – Modernista facades of yesteryear, and courts the company of dreadlocked hipsters, tattooed beatniks and other assorted counter-culture kids. Liberal, self-contented and loud-mouthed (especially after a caña or two), this is a city which never feels guilty about having a good time, and doesn’t care what she looks like in the morning.

Best of the Beaten Track…

Gaudi grabs the headlines when it comes to attractions in Barcelona, and it’s interesting to note that the very works once mocked for their OTT grandiosity and ‘superbly creative bad taste’ (Dali), have now become synoymous with the city’s aesthetic. La Sagrada Familia is of course his crowning glory and it really is worth braving the queues to get up close and personal with this towering cathedral, built along the architectural principles of Mother Nature which intrigued Gaudi as a boy. Gaudi’s foray into landscape gardening, Park Guell, is also well worth the metro ride north (take the green line from the centre up to Lesseps). The views over the city are tremendous and film buffs will enjoy deconstructing scenes from both L’Auberge Espagnole and Vicki Cristina Barcelona. It’s free to enter (for now!). For the rest of Gaudi’s masterpieces, including mansions Casa Battlo and Casa Mila (aka La Pedrera) on the grand Passeig de Gracia boulevard expect entry fees and long queues.

Other attractions worth dipping into are Las Ramblas (currently been cleaned up of drug dealers and prostitutes after some saucy shots of daylight ****ery made the front pages of the press). Aside from the theatrical street performers, this chaotic boulevard is also the gateway to the sensory overload of La Boqueria food market and palm-tree serenity of Placa Reial, a good starting place for a jaunt deeper into the Gothic Quarter.

Cubism taken too far

Those with a bit more time to play with should get over to Montjuic (Jewish Mountain) home to an oddball selection of cultural greats such as MNAC Museum, Poble Espanyol, Joan Miro Foundation, Caixa Forum, Calatrava’s needle and by night the delightfully cheesy Magic Fountains light and sound show. If at some point you feel your ‘museum legs’ coming on, then there’s always Barcelona’s many beaches to check out. They have their critics, but any qualms about dirty water and overcrowding is offset by the sheer entertainment provided by unabashed nudists, bronzed volleyball players, bongo-bashers/banjo-strummers, Asian hawkers, South American surfers and many more colourful characters. If the heat gets too much an ice-cold mojito at one of the chiringuitos (beach bars) = time well spent.

Hipsters’ Guide

Whereas most cities have their very own Shoreditch, Friedrichshain or Kazimierz, virtually every district in Barcelona has Bohemian aspirations. El Born is the prettiest and home to a comfortable mix of tourists checking out the superb Picasso Museum and fitting in some boutique shopping, together with arty locals going about their business, slowly. I suggest picking up a Diana camera at the Lomography store, before heading to the Passeig del Born in the evening to capture the lively buzz of Barcelona’s barflies sticking into their cañas and conversation. Elswhere, a socially-excluded immigrant population, assorted waifs and strays, and the counter culture community, are normally enough to scare the average tourist away from Raval, leaving the likes of Rambla de Raval – one of the city’s prettiest streets – to be enjoyed by the brave. All in all the Raval area is full of surprise finds, such as El Jardi restaurant where tapas is accompanied by birdsong in the Gothic courtyard of the old Santa Creu hospital.

Experience & Events

You may have heard of a little-known soccer outfit by the name of FC Barcelona, held in great affection by the locals. The atmosphere at Camp Nou is electric for home games and sports fans should make the effort to partake in what is effectively Catalonia’s national religion.

Boozing and carousing at the Festa Major de Gracia

Year-round Barcelona is full of events and experiences that will linger long in the memory, such as the firework-laden all-nighter that is Sant Joan (Sant Juan in the rest of Spain) and the enthusiastically celebrated Festas Majores: week-long street parties held in each district throughout summer, culminating in La Merce, the city-wide celebration that comes with carnival-style processions and free concerts in every placa and park. If you really want to time your visit to perfection however come for the Sonar festival. Even if you can’t afford a ticket, scores if not hundreds of parties and concerts make up a formidable and much more affordable Off programme.

Pillow Talk

Ipod docks, pink neon lights and panoramic views make the pillows at Barcelo Raval some of the most progressive in the city. This sleek circular tower is a sign of the gentrification of Raval district, but a word of warning – it hasn’t happened yet! If you’re keen to go green Casa Camper’s total recycling policy and solar panels make for a eco-friendly stay, whilst for old school charm the family-run Hotel Grau is hard to beat. Overlooking a narrow street just off Las Ramblas, visitors are recommended to check out the accompanying bar next door for homemade Vermouth served since 1862.

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Fork Out

Gastronome’s are spoilt for choice in Barcelona, and whereas Michelin stars are few and far between even the crappiest neighbourhood gaff will serve up a decent bocadillo. For upscale modern Mediterranean cuisine, with a spot of posing, Noti doesn’t disappoint, whilst a bit more rough and ready experiences can be enjoyed at Cal Pep, where you’ll have to queue for seafood tapas, or local favourite Cafe de L’Academia, which with characteristic Catalan obstinacy doesn’t bother to open at weekends. Alternatively why not go straight to the source at La Boqueria market. If kiosk restaurants like El Quim and Organic are too hectic for you, pop out the back of the market and discover Ra Town’s delightful sun-kissed, ivy-bedecked terrace.

Drop In

Hearts attack at Razzmatazz

The key areas for Barcelona nightlife are Placa Reial, favourite with the backpacker crowd and home to several bars and clubs of dubious quality, and Port Olimpic where a string of plush lounge bars serve up cocktails by day turning into clubs at night. For some more authentic options warm up at Lost-tribute-bar Bharma or student-fave Dixies before hitting the five dancefloors of Razzmatazz. Alternatively bar crawl your way around Raval, via swanky Marmalade and gritty Ambar before ending at Apolo for some indie/electro dirty beats. Alternatively take a taxi to Sala BeCool (for minimal house in winter) or the open-air La Terrrazza (balearic house in summer).

Getting There

Cheap airlines include Easyjet, Vueling, BMI baby, Wizzair, Jet2 and Ryanair (to Girona and Reus, both 1.5 hours away). BA, Iberia, BMI, Continental, Delta are the old school carriers.

More Juice

Barcelona Life is the latest portal by the web travel gurus at Lifeboat Ltd, and is rapidly growing into a handy resource – good weather, culture and nightlife info, whilst the hopelessly unstylish Barcelona Tourist Guide does at least have every bit of practical info you could possibly need. For free events and nightlife info check out this worthy blog, and for a wide range of local tips by local people check out the aptly named Spotted by Locals – Barcelona section.

Hard Copy

Time Out, Lonely Planet and Rough Guide are all decent guidebooks worth packing. For some more insight Orwell’s Homage to Catalonia paints a fascinating picture of Spain during the civil war, including the Barcelona street fighting. Movies-wise best to rent out Vicki Cristina Barcelona, even if the film bears little resemblance to the realities of life in the city. For that you should watch the highly entertaining L’Auberge Espagnole about an Erasmus year in the Catalan capital.

Soundtrack to the City

La Rumba de Barcelona – Manu Chao
We’re from Barcelona – I’m From Barcelona
Cadillac Solitario – Loquillo y Los Trogloditas
Barcelona – Plasticines
Barcelona – D. Kay and Epsilon feat. MC Stamina
Barcelona Ciutat Gris – Joan Isaac

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