In the maze of narrow streets that make up the Gràcia neighbourhood, Plaça del Diamant is a modest, shaded square that would be easy to pass without a second glance — unless you know its story. The square gave its name to one of the greatest Catalan novels of the 20th century, Mercè Rodoreda’s La Plaça del Diamant (1962), and has since become a place of literary pilgrimage and quiet neighbourhood life.

Mercè Rodoreda’s Novel

Rodoreda’s novel — published in English as The Time of the Doves — follows the life of Natàlia, a young woman from Gràcia whose world is shattered by the Spanish Civil War. The square is where she meets her future husband at a dance, and it becomes the emotional anchor of her story. The novel is considered a masterpiece of 20th-century European literature, widely translated and still widely read, and the square has an intimate bronze sculpture of Natàlia (the Coloma) that marks the connection.

The Square Today

Today, Plaça del Diamant is a neighbourhood square in the truest sense: children play, elderly residents sit on benches, dogs are walked, and the terrace of a small bar provides coffee and shade. There are no tourist shops, no entrance fees, no crowds. The square’s charm is entirely in its ordinariness — and in the weight of memory that Rodoreda’s novel has given to every ordinary detail.

Getting There

Plaça del Diamant is in the Gràcia neighbourhood, a short walk from the Fontana metro station (L3). It’s best discovered on foot as part of a broader walk through Gràcia’s squares — Plaça de la Virreina and Plaça del Sol are both nearby.

After a decade-long renovation completed in 2015, the Mercat de Sant Antoni returned to Barcelona’s Eixample as one of the most spectacular market spaces in Spain. Built between 1876 and 1882 to designs by Antoni Rovira i Trias, the iron and glass structure occupies an entire city block and stands as one of the finest examples of 19th-century market architecture anywhere in Europe.

The Building: Iron Gothic at Its Finest

The market’s exterior is defined by four monumental iron corner pavilions connected by covered galleries — an elegant combination of Gothic revival ornament and functional industrial engineering. The restoration revealed the original polychrome ironwork in blues, greens, and ochres that had been painted over for decades. The result is genuinely breathtaking, and the building is now widely regarded as one of the most beautiful markets in the world.

Inside the Market

The interior is a working neighbourhood food market with stalls selling fresh produce, fish, meat, cheese, and prepared foods. The renovation integrated an archaeological discovery — Roman-era remains were found beneath the market and are now visible through glass panels set into the floor. The basement level contains a supermarket and parking, while the ground floor remains devoted to the traditional market.

The Sunday Book and Coin Market

Every Sunday morning, the covered galleries surrounding the market host one of Barcelona’s most beloved traditions: the Sant Antoni book and coin market. Hundreds of stalls sell second-hand books, comics, stamps, coins, and collectables. It’s a beloved local institution and a great place to browse for vintage finds.

Getting There

Mercat de Sant Antoni is at Carrer del Comte d’Urgell, 1, accessible from the Sant Antoni metro station (L2). Open Monday through Saturday for the food market; Sunday for the book and coin market.

While the Castell de Montjuïc and the MNAC terrace draw most visitors seeking hilltop views, there is a quieter, more intimate alternative just a short walk from the main Montjuïc sights. The Mirador de l’Alcalde — the Mayor’s Viewpoint — is a terraced garden with panoramic views of Barcelona, the port, and the sea, decorated with ceramic mosaics, fountains, and sculptural elements that give it a distinctly local character.

History of the Mirador

The mirador was created in 1963 during the tenure of Josep Maria de Porcioles as Mayor of Barcelona — hence the name. The terraced space features decorative elements typical of the period: geometric mosaic floors, ceramic-tiled benches, small ornamental fountains, and low stone walls that frame the views without obstructing them. The style might be described as municipal Mediterranean — unpretentious, warm-toned, and deeply pleasant to spend time in.

The Views

From the main terrace, the view encompasses the port of Barcelona, the Barceloneta waterfront, the city spreading northward, and on clear days, the distant hills of the Costa Daurada to the south. It’s a slightly different angle from the castle and MNAC viewpoints, and arguably less crowded for most of the year.

Getting There

The Mirador de l’Alcalde is on the Montjuïc hillside, accessible on foot from the castle, from the MNAC, or from the Montjuïc cable car. Entry is free and the space is open throughout the day. It’s a natural stop on any walking circuit of the Montjuïc gardens and viewpoints.

Halfway up the Tibidabo hill, looking out over the city through a stand of pines, the Observatori Fabra has been measuring the stars, the weather, and the seismic activity beneath Barcelona since 1904. It is one of the oldest continuously operating scientific observatories in the world — and one of the city’s most atmospheric and least-visited historic institutions.

A Century of Scientific Heritage

The observatory was built by the Real Academia de Ciencias y Artes de Barcelona with a grant from the Marquis of Alella, Camil Fabra, whose name it bears. The building itself — a Modernista structure in stone and brick designed by Josep Domènech i Estapà — is a beautiful example of scientific architecture from the period. Inside, the original astronomical instruments, including the large equatorial telescope installed at the observatory’s founding, remain operational.

The observatory continues its scientific work today, monitoring earthquake activity across Catalonia, tracking atmospheric conditions, and conducting astronomical research. It remains affiliated with the Real Academia de Ciencias y Artes, making it one of Barcelona’s longest-running scientific institutions.

Evening Visits and Stargazing

The Observatori Fabra runs evening visits that include a guided tour of the historic building and telescope, followed by a stargazing session. The Sopar amb les Estrelles (Dinner with the Stars) events combine a meal in the observatory’s terrace restaurant with an astronomical observation session — one of Barcelona’s most memorable and unusual dining experiences. Booking well in advance is essential.

Getting There

The observatory is at Camí de l’Observatori Fabra on the Tibidabo hillside. The most practical approach is by taxi or car; alternatively, walk up from the Avinguda del Tibidabo FGC station. Check the official website for the current visit programme and booking information.

From the summit of Montjuïc, the Castell de Montjuïc has watched over Barcelona’s port and coastline for centuries. Built in its current form in the 17th century on the site of an earlier fortification, the castle has played a complex and often brutal role in the city’s history — and today offers some of the most spectacular views of the city, sea, and surrounding landscape.

A Fortress Turned Against the City

The castle’s relationship with Barcelona is ambivalent. It was built not to defend the city from outside attack, but largely to control the city itself — its cannons pointed inward as much as outward. It was here that Catalan president Lluís Companys was executed by firing squad in 1940, and the castle served as a Francoist political prison until 1960. The city of Barcelona eventually acquired the castle in 2007, and it has since been managed as a public cultural and memorial space.

The Views

Whatever its dark history, the views from the castle’s ramparts are extraordinary. To the south and east, the sea stretches to the horizon; to the north, the city spreads across the plain; to the west, the Llobregat delta and the mountains beyond. The position is magnificent, and on clear winter days you can see as far as Mallorca.

Getting There

The castle is accessible by the Montjuïc cable car (Telefèric de Montjuïc) from the Paral·lel metro area, by the Montjuïc funicular and then a walk, or by a pleasant 30-minute walk from the MNAC. Entry is ticketed; check the Barcelona city website for current hours and prices.

Visible from almost every corner of Barcelona, the Temple Expiatori del Sagrat Cor crowns the summit of Tibidabo at 512 metres above sea level, its monumental Christ figure with arms outstretched above the neo-Gothic tower. Whatever your religious convictions, the temple is one of the most dramatic architectural landmarks in the region — and the views from its upper level are unsurpassed.

A Century in the Making

Construction of the temple began in 1902 to designs by Enric Sagnier and was not completed until 1961 — nearly six decades of work spread across some of the most turbulent years in Spanish history. The result is a building of considerable complexity and ambition: a lower neo-Romanesque crypt from the early decades, surmounted by a soaring neo-Gothic tower added later, all crowned by the bronze Christ figure that has watched over the city for generations.

The Interior and the Crypt

The interior of the temple is richly decorated with mosaics, stained glass, and sculptural programs. The lower crypt is dedicated to perpetual adoration and has a quiet intensity that contrasts with the panoramic spectacle outside. The bronze doors, the altarpiece, and the Via Crucis reliefs are all worth pausing over.

Getting to the Top

A lift inside the tower takes visitors up to the terrace at the base of the Christ statue — the highest publicly accessible viewpoint in Barcelona, with views extending on clear days to Mallorca. Access to the lift is ticketed. The temple is reached via the Tibidabo funicular from Peu del Funicular station (connected to the FGC Av. Tibidabo stop).

Few discoveries in Barcelona are as startling as turning into a medieval courtyard in the Gothic Quarter and finding yourself face to face with four enormous Roman columns, standing 9 metres tall, intact and in situ since the 1st century BCE. The Temple d’August is one of the city’s most atmospheric hidden treasures — and entry is free.

The Temple of the Imperial Cult

Built between the 1st century BCE and the 1st century CE, the temple was dedicated to the cult of Emperor Augustus and stood at the centre of the Roman forum of Barcino. It was a hexastyle temple (six columns across the front) built on a podium — the standard form for Roman imperial cult temples across the Empire.

The four surviving columns — Corinthian in style, with elaborately carved capitals — are part of the temple’s side colonnade. They survive because the medieval city literally built around and over them, preserving them inside what became a succession of private buildings. The current courtyard, part of the Centre Excursionista de Catalunya, allows visitors to see the columns in the context of the medieval structure that protected them.

The Experience

The effect of standing in front of these columns in their medieval courtyard setting is quietly extraordinary. The contrast of scales — the Roman columns towering above, the narrow Gothic courtyard around them, the medieval arches framing the view — creates a layered sense of historical time that is hard to find anywhere else.

How to Visit

The temple is accessed via Carrer del Paradís, 10, through the doorway of the Centre Excursionista de Catalunya. Free entry; open daily from 10am. The nearest metro is Jaume I (L4). Most visitors spend around 15–20 minutes here, though it pairs well with the nearby Cathedral and MUHBA.

Beneath the streets of the Poble-sec neighbourhood, a network of tunnels tells one of the most immediate and personal stories of the Spanish Civil War. Refugi 307 is the largest and best-preserved of the approximately 1,400 anti-aircraft shelters that the citizens of Barcelona built during the years of aerial bombardment between 1936 and 1939.

Barcelona Under the Bombs

Barcelona was one of the first cities in history to experience systematic aerial bombardment of its civilian population. Nationalist and Italian aircraft attacked the city repeatedly between 1937 and 1939, killing thousands of civilians. The city’s response was remarkable: residents organised themselves into neighbourhood committees and dug a vast network of shelters by hand, working at night by lamplight.

Refugi 307 was dug beneath Carrer Nou de la Rambla in 1936 and extended over the following years to accommodate up to 2,000 people. The tunnels — 200 metres long, with separate areas for men, women, children, a first aid station, and even a hairdresser — were sophisticated enough to filter out poison gas as well as provide blast protection.

The Guided Tour

Visits to Refugi 307 are by guided tour only, and the experience is genuinely affecting. Moving through the original tunnels — cold, lit only by period-appropriate lighting, with the original structure largely intact — brings the wartime experience into vivid proximity. Guides bring the shelter to life with personal testimonies and historical detail.

Getting There

Refugi 307 is at Carrer Nou de la Rambla, 169 in Poble-sec. The nearest metro is Paral·lel (L2/L3). Guided tours must be booked in advance via the MUHBA website. The tour lasts around 60 minutes. Not recommended for visitors with claustrophobia or serious mobility limitations.

Just off La Rambla, through a narrow archway, Plaça Reial opens up like a stage set: a vast neoclassical square lined with palm trees, arcaded buildings in uniform yellow ochre, and the central fountain surrounded by the lampposts that were Antoni Gaudí’s first public commission. It’s one of the most theatrically beautiful squares in Spain — and one of the most energetically alive.

Gaudí’s First Public Work

The two hexagonal lamp posts flanking the central fountain were designed by Gaudí in 1878, when he was just 26 years old and still a student. They’re topped with a winged helmet (the helmet of Hermes) and feature the caduceus motif — a nod to the square’s role as a commercial hub. Look carefully and you can already see the organic tendencies that would define his later career.

The Square Today: Restaurants and Nightlife

Plaça Reial is lined with restaurants, bars, and cafés at ground level under the arcades. In the evenings, the square fills with a mix of tourists and locals, and after midnight it becomes one of the focal points of Barcelona’s nightlife — several of the city’s most important music venues are in the streets immediately surrounding it, including the Jamboree jazz and flamenco club and the Tarantos flamenco bar.

Getting There

Plaça Reial is in the Gothic Quarter, accessed via a passage at La Rambla, 48. The nearest metro is Liceu (L3). The square is liveliest from early evening onward; arrive earlier in the day for the best light for photography and a quieter café experience.

A minute’s walk from La Rambla, through an archway and down a narrow street, stands one of the best-kept secrets in the Gothic Quarter. The Església de Santa Anna is a Romanesque church with a 12th-century cloister — a space of extraordinary quiet and antiquity that seems to exist in a different time from the tourist-thronged streets just a few metres away.

Barcelona’s Medieval Calm

The church was founded by the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre in the 12th century. The nave and cloister preserve their Romanesque character despite centuries of modification and the ravages of the Civil War. The cloister garden — with its stone arches, central well, and orange trees — is one of the most peaceful spaces in the entire old city. Sitting here for ten minutes, with only birdsong and the muted sounds of the city filtering in, is one of those rare experiences that genuinely restores the spirit.

What to See

Beyond the cloister, look for the Gothic chapel added in the 15th century, the carved stone capitals in the cloister arcade, and the simple but moving crucifix in the main nave. The church also holds occasional concerts — the acoustics in the medieval space are excellent.

Finding Santa Anna

The church is at Carrer de Santa Anna, 29, just off Carrer dels Arcs near Plaça de Catalunya. The nearest metro is Catalunya (L1/L3). Entry is free; donations welcome. The church is open most mornings for visitors. It’s an essential stop on any walk through the area, particularly for those who want to escape the La Rambla crowds.