Wandering around Barcelona's Barri Gothic and Eixample neighborhoods

July 3, 2011

NINA The Eixample is a great district in Barcelona that boasts great examples of Modernista architecture. After going to Casa Mila, we had lunch outside at El Glop on Rambla de Catalunya. We finally had paella after all these days in Spain. It was okay, but not better than mine, which is always what I am looking for -- and these days that's what makes a restaurant meal stand out for me -- a meal that I can't make on my own. It was nice to have a Sunday lunch out, which looks like something the locals do as all the restaurants were packed around 2pm, which is when they eat lunch. After lunch we stopped by Fundacio Antoni Tapies, which was just around the corner from the restaurant. I really liked that museum last time I was in Barcelona, but it was a bit underwhelming for the rest of the family, who didn't know much about the artist. 

Around the corner from there was Casa Batlo, another Gaudi creation. We didn't go in but admired the facade, which was out of this world. We then drove to the Barri Gothic district, with a plan to visit the Picasso Museum, which I've been talking about the whole trip. Unfortunately the line to get in was ridiculous, and given there's a Picasso show in SF right now, we decided to bag it. It was fun walking around the old neighborhood, which has changed a lot since I last visited in 2003. There are fun and funky shops in all the streets and alleys, and I suspect this is now a very gentrified neighborhood.

 We decided to bite the bullet and go to La Rambla, anticipating the crazy hoards of tourists but wanting to see what the fuss is about anyway. Barcelona is now in the top 3 tourist destinations in Western Europe, probably because it's a port that drops off and picks up people for cruises. And La Rambla is the first and last for many getting on and off the boats. It was fun, especially for the kids, and we just meandered in and out of the main drag and found a lot of interesting things to see.

Just around the corner from La Rambla was the Richard Meier-designed Museu d'Art Comtemporani de Barcelona. We didn't go inside but it turned out that the plaza right in front is skateboard central. So you can imagine that Cy was very excited to be here.

 
Time to eat (again!). We headed for Placa Reial, which is right next to La Rambla. It's a beautiful square and surrounded by restaurants with outdoor seating, and loads of street entertainers. We opted for seafood again and got some really yummy dishes.

 

 
Some practical notes: Most museums are closed on Mondays so always check museum hours to avoid disappointment. There's also a great program called articketBCN, which gives you access to seven museums in Barcelona for the price of 2 to 3, and is good for 6 months. If you have internet access while you're traveling, it's also good to check the websites for the museums to see if you can get advanced tickets. This was a wise thing to do for the Sagrada Familia, which we visited the next day, and we skipped a major line to get in.