We’ve steered away insipid reviews and given a truthful insight to the classic tourist spots and leaving behind the trendy nightclubs in favour of small shops and hidden beaches. All we hope is that the fun you experience following the suggestions held within this book is equal to the fun we had in creating it. Team CTR Barcelona

1. the
Bible
BCN

2. Contents
Introduction 3
MEET THE TEAM 4
SURVIVAL GUIDE 5
UNDERSTANDING BARCELONA 6
A Brief History of Barcelona 7
Catalan Independence 8
The Civil War Tour 9
Monument als Castellers 10
instagram worthy spots 11
Barceloneta Beach 12
Catedral de Barcelona 13
La Sagrada Familia 14
Montgat Beach 15
Font Màgica de Montjuïc 16
Park Güell 17
Santa Maria del Pi 18
Tibidabo 19
Turó de la Rovira 20
La Pedrera 21
Art & cinema 22
Bringing Hollywood to Barcelona 23
Museu Picasso 24
El Millor Cine a la Fresca 25
Barcelona Street Style Tour 26
CCCB 27
La Cobra Negra Tattoo Art Galleryvv 28
Arxiu Xcèntric 29
Recreation 30
Camp Nou 31
City Skating 32
Legacy N3D Street Dance Group 33
Unnatural Space 34
shopping 35
Arkham Comics 36
Flea Market Barcelona 37
Holala! Vintage 38
La Boqueria 39
La Rambla 40
Revolver 41
Food 42
A Square Meal 43
Biocenter 44
Can Paixano 45
L’Havana 46
Xurreria Sagrada Família 47
Chivuo’s 48
Sex, Drugs & Rock n Roll 49
Museu de L’Eròtica 50
Hash Marihuana Canamo & Hemp Museum 51
Club de Fumadores la Mesa 52
Sidecar 53
First Bar 54
23 Robadors 55 2

3. Introduction
¡Hola, dear travellers!
In your hands (or on your screen in this case) is the culmination of weeks worth of blood, sweat and beers poured into creating this unique
guide. We’ve steered away insipid reviews and given a truthful insight to the classic tourist spots and leaving behind the trendy nightclubs
in favour of small shops and hidden beaches.
In putting this together we decided to eschew the rote neighborhood-by-neighborhood rundown template for a more holistic approach,
less a list of major attractions and more of a cultural survey of Barcelona. This book is broken down into categories like Art and Cinema,
Instagram-worthy spots, Sex, Drugs, and Rock n Roll, and more.
Are you a film junkie curious about Barcelona’s cinematic offerings? Rhian has cultivated a wide-ranging cinema section just for you.
History buff hoping to brush up on the Spanish Civil War? Ben endured a four-hour civil war tour as part of his exhaustive research on the
subject. Want to splurge and shop but feel daunted by the H&Ms crowding every corner? Hattie scoured the back alleys and bazaars to
find the best quality vintage clothing stores (and stalls) in the city. To paraphrase Johnny Cash, we’ve been everywhere man.
All we hope is that the fun you experience following the suggestions held within this book is equal to the fun we had in creating it.
3

4. meettheteam
Jamie Navarrete, 19 Layout
Andrew Garcia, 32 Editor
Ben Hogg, 25 Editor
Yunan Lin, 21 Photography
Rhian Higgins, 23 Editor
Hattie Jordan, 20 Layout
Helen Early, 24 Layout
4

5. English Spanish/Catalan Pronunciation
Hello
Hola or Buenos dias/
Bon dia
(Ola or Bwenos
deeyas/Bon deeya)
Bye Adiós/Adéu
(Add-ee-yos/Add-ey-
yoo)
Please Por favor/Si us plau
(Pour favor/See oos
plow)
Thank you (very
much)
(Muchas) grácias/
(Moltes) grácies
(Moochass grah-
seeyas/Moll-tess
grah-seeyez)
You’re welcome De nada/De res (Deh nadda/Deh rez)
Where is...
¿Dónde está.../On
está?
(Donn-deh esstah/On
esstah)
How do you say ...
in Spanish/Catalan
¿Cómo se dice ... en
español?/ Com es diu
... en catalá?
(Kommo say dithay…
en esspanyol/ Kom
ess deeyu…en kata-
lah)
How much is it?
¿Cuánto
cuesta?/¿Quant costa?
(Kwanto kwesta/
Kwant kosta)
Could I get the bill?
¿La cuenta (or la nota)
por favor?/¿El compte
si us plau?
(La kwenta (or la not-
ta)/El comp-teh)
Help me Me ayudas/Auxili
(Meh eye-yu-das/
Owk-silli)
Water Agua/Aigua (Ah-wah/I-guwah)
Food Comida/Menjar (Komida/Men-zyar)
survivalguide
Insider Tips
When coming to a new city for
the first time it always takes
a while to find your feet, so
to save you some time (and
money!) here are some insider
tips from the team to help your
trip run smoothly:
Buy a fan!
If you hadn’t already
realized, it’s pretty hot here!
You can grab a hand fan from
pretty much anywhere going for
the cheap price of 2€. You won’t
regret it!
Buy an Art
Passport
Perfect for art conoisseurs
who love gliding through the
galleries. You can buy them at
most museums and galleries
for only 30€ which allows you
entry into 6 of the main ones.
They also let you skip the
queues!
Pre-book
tickets online
For a lot of the must see
attractions you can buy tickets
online, which will save you the
hassle of queuing for ages in the
heat and will guarantee you
entry. Don’t just wing it!
Keep an
eye on your
belongings!
Pick-pocketing is quite a
regular occurrence around town,
especially down ‘La Rambla’, so
keep hold of your bag and be
wary of what’s going on.
Cathedral
entrance is
free after 5pm
Barcelona has many beautiful
cathedrals and churches. During
the day there is a small price to
pay to have a wander inside, but
after 5pm most of these are
free to go in if you want
to save yourself some
pennies!
travel
There are many different travel cards for the BCN metro and buses,
but the T-10 is the most popular by far.
The T-10 ticket, which only cost 9.95€, saves you the trouble of
buying individual tickets and will entitle you to 10 journeys on the
metro, buses and Renfe trains (better than one-way tickets which
cost 2.15€ per journey).
Useful phrases
5

6. understandingbarcelona

7. A Brief History
Of Barcelona
1640 After the governments of King Felipe IV
demand Catalonia contribute more to the Thirty
Years War, Catalans rise in revolt in the War of the
Reapers.
1702–14 Barcelona sides with the Habsburg
Archduke Charles in the War of the Spanish
Succession, against the French. French and Spanish
troops take the city after a year-long siege on 11
September 1714.
1715–16 Victorious Felipe V issues his decrees of
Nova Planta, abolishing the remaining Catalan
institutions and establishing Spain as a centralised
state.
1808–14 Napoleon’s troops occupy most of Spain,
including Barcelona. Catalans rise up against the
French.
1901–9 Radicalisation and anarchist influence in
the workers’ movement. Churches are destroyed in
riots after the government tries to conscript extra
troops for its colonial war in Morocco.
1914 The Mancomunitat, a joint administration
of the Catalan provinces, is set up. Industry
flourishes during World War I.
1931 Second Spanish Republic proclaimed:
Catalonia is given autonomy.
1936–9 Spanish Civil War: right-wing generals
revolt against the Republic, but in Barcelona are
initially defeated by the people in the streets. After
three years of war, bitter fighting and destruction,
Barcelona falls to Franco’s troops on 26 January
1939.
1975 Franco dies.
700 BC Iberians settle in the fertile area between
the Rivers Llobregat and Besòs.
300 BC Carthaginians occupy parts of Catalonia.
264–200 BC Romans capture the area around the
future Barcelona in about 200 BC.
15 BC Roman soldiers found Barcelona as a small
town; its full name is Julia Augusta Faventia Paterna
Barcino.
415 Visigoths enter Spain and capture Barcelona.
711 Moors invade Spain and capture Barcelona in
713.
880 Wilfred the Hairy unifies the Catalan counties
and establishes the House of Barcelona, a dynasty
that lasts 500 years.
1274 Barcelona’s city government, the Consell de
Cent, is established.
1357 Corts Catalanes or Catalan Parliament
established, with a council, the Generalitat de
Catalunya, to administer finances.
1462–73 Catalan civil war.
1469 Fernando II of Aragón marries Queen Isabel
I of Castile, uniting all the Spanish Christian
kingdoms in one inheritance.
1492 Granada falls, Columbus discovers America,
and all Jews are expelled from the Spanish
kingdoms.
1977–8 First democratic general elections since
1936. Catalan autonomy statute granted and
Catalan recognised as official language.
1992 Barcelona Olympic Games: beginning of a
period of gentrification which continues to this day.
UnderstandingBarcelona
7

8. UnderstandingBarcelona
Catalan Independence
Stroll around Barcelona and you will notice an abundance of flags flying. Enough
to confuse a colour-blind Cuban perhaps. The standard of the traditional
Catalan red and yellow stripes, infused with the Cuban star denotes a nod
towards Cuba’s beligerence in the face of the Spanish crown, dating from their
War of Independence with the imperial kingdom and, today, represents the
call for Catalonian independence.
Peaceful and democratic means have been employed to illustrate the popularity
of the independence cause in recent times through anual mass demonstrations
which regularly attract over 1 million separatist supporters. These rallies are
held on 11th September to coincide with both the National Day of Catalonia
and the anniversary of the end of the Siege of Barcelona, an emotive day for
Catalan’s throughout the region.
Enthused by those bonny Scots, the cries for independence have grown ever
louder in recent years, now with a clear majority of the Catalan parliament
supporting the people’s right to a referendum and 55% of parliament made up
of overtly separtist parties. Numerous local referenda have been held across
the municipalities of Catalonia, with an overwhelming majority voting “Yes”
for independence, however, as referenda are deemed unconstitutional by the
central authorities, none of these are officially recognised.
The struggle continues...
By Ben Hogg
Som una nació. Nosaltres decidim.
(We are a nation. We decide.)
8

9. UnderstandingBarcelona
Civil War City Tour
At 9am the tour begins by being individually questioned as to why we had
arisen so early to brave the sun. After the introductions, the first stop is just
over the road in ‘Plaça de Catalunya’. If there’s a spare seat, take advantage!
The lesson begins.
First off you are given a brief history of the build up to the war, events around
Spain and the major players. Even the four hours it takes aren’t adequate to
tell the whole story of the war, so from here on in the focus is on Barcelona.
You also get a booklet containing info on the many anti-fascist organisations
involved, a chronology of major events and a reading list.
Thoroughly researched and emblazoned with personal tales of key figures, the
facts are diversified for the purpose of flow. If you are dedicated then bring
your thinking-cap, though. The tour guide is happy to answer any questions, in
fact he is frustrated when they don’t come. This is most evident at the end of
the tour, sat in a bar decorated with the women of the war. After the applause,
comes muted contemplation.
By Ben Hogg
Meeting point: Outside Cafe Zurich in Plaça
Catalunya
20€
9

10. UnderstandingBarcelona
Monument als Castellers
Catalonia has many unique traditions, which is part of what makes the region,
and Barcelona in particular, such an exciting place to be. One of these traditions
is known as ‘Castellers’. The word ‘Castell’ is Catalan for ‘castle’, and the event
involves people from all over Catalonia building a human tower, each year
challenging themselves to beat the previous years’ records for the tallest
human tower.
The tower is formed of different levels usually finishing with a child climbing
to the top and holding up four fingers in the air to symbolize the four stripes
on the Catalan flag.
The tradition of Castellers dates back to the 1700s, although has only really
became popular within Barcelona over the last 50 years, with a monument of
the tallest tower made to date in Plaça de Sant Miquel, just behind the town
hall, which is worth the visit just to be in awe over the people of Catalonia’s
dedication, strength and teamwork.
TheeventusuallytakesplacearoundtheendofSeptemberaspartofBarcelona’s
La Mercé Festival. If you go, try not to stand too close to the tower, as you may
end up part of one huge pile-on if it all falls down!
By Rhian Higgins
Watch them in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgQZUAoVQv0
Plaça de Sant Miquel
10