After more than 140 years, the completion of the Sagrada Família  is finally in sight. Last winter saw the installation of the Towers of the Four Evangelists – with their spectacular sculptures by Xavier Medina-Campeny soaring 135 metres high – and the spotlight is now back on the cathedral, Barcelona’s greatest icon. 

Architect Antoni Gaudí’s masterpiece is, above all, the basilica of the people, financed first by the city’s faithful and then also by visitors. But as much as the city owes to Gaudí, and as much as the locals are eager to see the work finished, you have to wonder: do Barcelona’s innumerable attractions now lie hidden in the shadow of this single church? 

I pose the question to my friend Jorge: he was born in Barcelona and spent 20 years in London, returning home only when he found a penthouse flat from which he could see the cathedral being built. To my surprise, Jorge says that this isn’t the case at all: “There’s time for everything.” And,
as if savouring my perplexity, he takes a sip of his vermouth. 

I suppose he’s right. But I want to do so many things today that, just in case, I decide to finish my drink and ask for the bill. We leave Superclàssic together. It’s another temple, but this time to the tradition of enjoying vermouth that has permeated Barcelona so thoroughly. 

Emerging into El Raval – the former Chinatown of Barcelona – we make our way through La Boquería, the market which offers up the best of Barcelonan cuisine. Its dizzying 300-plus stalls are more than worth queuing for – exquisite fruits and vegetables, cold cuts and cheeses, croquettes and cod, and artisan vermouths. Outside, La Rambla offers no relief. Every time I’m in Barcelona, I like to stroll along the city’s most famous boulevard to feel its unique pulse.

In the late afternoon, there is a throng of passers-by, flower sellers and visitors looking for the Canaletes Fountain, as legend has it that whoever drinks from it will return to Barcelona. I wait my turn and drink. Jorge, meanwhile, has picked up two bicycles in Plaza Cataluña. Much flatter than other Spanish cities such as Madrid, Barcelona has been investing in sustainable mobility for years. It now has more than 1,050 kilometres of road suitable for biking. Numerous apps allow you to easily rent bikes by the minute, with hundreds of pick-up and return stations.

This morning, I had arrived early in the Old City to wander the charming alleys of the Gothic Quarter, around the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Santa Eulalia. I had time to have breakfast in my favourite square, Sant Felip Neri, which was bombed in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39). Today, it serves as a playground for a school that closes it for an hour of break time. I even visited the Banksy Museum in El Born, which houses works by the British street artist, and other local hands. 

Now, pedalling towards my friend’s latest gastronomic discovery seems like the perfect idea. I follow Jorge along the elegant Passeig de Gràcia, past luxury boutiques and modernist facades. We leave Casa Batlló, on the right, and La Pedrera, on the left, and arrive at Ultramarinos Marín, a bar in Gràcia that exhibits a true devotion to product. 

We order some wonderful escabeches and salted fish, fire-grilled grouper and rabbit with homemade aioli. I ask where I can eat some calçots, those tender spring onions typical of Catalan cuisine that were born when a 19th-century peasant burned them on the coals and, peeling back the blackened layers, discovered how tender they were inside. They recommend the 40-year-old El Glop restaurant next door. But, they warn me, no one will serve me any until autumn. This is how demanding Catalan cuisine is, with its characteristics of proximity and seasonality taken to an extreme. Another reason to come back.

We head to the colourful Casa Vicens , the first modernist building designed by Gaudí and now a Unesco World Heritage Site. Much less known than those of the Passeig de Gràcia, but another treasure of design, it mixes the Orientalist style of its beginnings with Neo-Mudéjar details. Along with works by other artists such as Lluís Domènech i Montaner and his Hospital de la Santa Creu y de Sant Pau, it’s ideal for lovers of architecture who wish to avoid the crowds. In front of one of its three facades, Jorge and I say goodbye. 

I walk back to my hotel, Seventy Barcelona, whose environmental awareness has amazed me: they even preserved the nests of bird species that were in the building before they arrived. The vision fits very well in a neighbourhood with such sustainable initiatives as the Jardí del Silenci, an old convent turned into an outdoor civic centre with workshops, shows and gardens; the Taifa Llibres bookshop with new and used books; and vintage clothing and decorations stores such as Revolution and Antique Boutique . 

But the bars in the district beat them all. After dinner at Bar Bodega Quimet with tapas and a well-poured beer, I finish off the evening with a gin and tonic at Elephanta. In a city that – for the second year in a row – leads the list of the World’s 50 Best Bars (first Paradiso in 2022, then Sips in 2023), nothing draws me in more than a neighbourhood bar. Here everyone, no matter where they come from or why they’re here, feels at home.

The same could be said of Barcelona itself. As Cervantes said in his Don Quixote de la Mancha, the greatest Spanish novel of them all: Barcelona is an “archive of courtesy, shelter of foreigners, hospital of the poor, homeland of the brave, revenge of the offended and pleasant correspondence of firm friendships, and in place and in beauty, unique”. After all, there’s time for everything in Barcelona: far more than a single cathedral. 

Stay here 

The Seventy Barcelona sits just off the Passeig de Gràcia and puts sustainability first, with a multitude of certifications to that effect. Along with its no-plastic and no-paper philosophy and a spa with 100 per cent natural and vegan products, it also instils respect for the environment in its guests. But it’s not just about the certifications: the design is Mediterranean-chic, and the seven-metre-high windows in the lobby pull you into the life of the street.

Where to eat and drink 

1. Superclàssic


This bar and restaurant in El Raval has become a go-to for vermouth in just over a year. It makes its own version, perfect for pairing with tapas such as ensalada Rusa and patatas bravas. 

2. Ultramarinos Marín
 

Two years ago, Adrià Castró took over this bar and started offering honest cuisine free of affectations and very much based on the product. They serve gourmet tinned foods, escabeches, stews and charcoal-grilled options, along with tapas at the bar. Go early: it’s not open for dinner. 

3. Bar Bodega Quimet
 

In 2010, the Quimet family, who opened this tavern in 1954, left it in the hands of the Montero brothers. They have kept the decor intact, just as the traditional cuisine with mouth-watering cheeses and sausages, good wines, beers and vermouth. 

4. Elephanta
 

Núria Girós’s cocktail bar has been serving some of the city’s best gin and tonics for 15 years, long before the fashion for this drink arrived in Barcelona, to a mostly local clientele.