the

BibleBCN

Contents

Introduction 3MEET THE TEAM 4SURVIVAL GUIDE 5UNDERSTANDING BARCELONA 6A Brief History of Barcelona 7

Catalan Independence 8

The Civil War Tour 9

Monument als Castellers 10

instagram worthy spots 11Barceloneta 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 22Bringing 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 30Camp Nou 31

City Skating 32

Legacy N3D Street Dance Group 33

Unnatural Space 34

shopping 35Arkham Comics 36

Flea Market Barcelona 37

Holala! Vintage 38

La Boqueria 39

La Rambla 40

Revolver 41

Food 42A Square Meal 43

Biocenter 44

Can Paixano 45

L’Havana 46

Xurreria Sagrada Família 47

Chivuo’s 48

Sex, Drugs & Rock n Roll 49Museu 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

Introductio

n¡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.

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meet the team

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

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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)

survival guide

Insider Tips

When coming to a new city for the fi rst time it always takes a while to fi nd 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 5pmBarcelona 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!

travelThere 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

understanding barcelo

na

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.

Understanding Barcelo

na

7

v

Understanding Barcelo

naCatalan 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

Understanding Barcelo

na

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

v

Understanding Barcelo

naMonument 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.

The event usually takes place around the end of September as part of Barcelona’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

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