We are back with the second article about Barcelona and today we are talking about 5 non touristy places in Barcelona. They are all very beautiful places, but not as popular as the famous attractions recommended everywhere. We discovered them either on other blogs or by chance, when we were walking through the streets.
1. The first place is Nau Bostik/Bostik Murals. We love graffiti and in every city we visit, we go to urban art areas. We read about this place on a blog and we knew from the first second that we want to visit it after seeing the colorful pictures.
From star portraits, messages to the government to murals of nature, you’ll find everything here. Although it’s an abandoned area (although we saw 2-3 people in the old abandoned factory and we think there are some office spaces now), we really liked the courtyard where they are graffiti are.
The area is an industrial one and it’s on the edge of town, there are no other attractions near, so we advise you to take public transportation to get here. Because we had to walk around the city, we opted for the Hola Barcelona card for 5 days and it was very helpful because we used it both on the road from the airport to the city but also to reach further places from our list, such as Nau Bostik.
2. Second place on the list is Raval neighborhood. Well, we can’t say we had the Raval district on our list when we decided to go to Barcelona, but it happened to stay in this neighborhood. It’s in the heart of Barcelona and we think it’s the coolest neighborhood in the whole city. It’s got Berlin vibes, there’s a lot of hipsters, everywhere you see only young people with skateboards, graffiti on all the store doors and there’s a continuous buzz in this neighborhood. Here is also the Museum of Contemporary Art where many young people gather both day and night to skate, but also to consume various legal and less legal substances (there are many immigrants from Pakistan and Morocco in the neighborhood and among them are many drug dealers). We also had a tour scheduled in Raval, but unfortunately the guide got sick and cancelled, but we tried to explore as much as we could on our own. In this neighborhood you can also find the Cat of Raval, a statue carved by Fernando Botero in 1987, who „walked” through several parks in Barcelona, but since 2003 has been „fixed” here.
3. Casa Vicens is not as famous as Casa Battlo or Casa Mila, but in our opinion it’s the most beautiful of them all. It is one of the first Art Nouveau-style buildings and the first building designed by Antoni Gaudi in Barcelona, when he was only 31 years old, originally built as a holiday home for a local entrepreneur. Unfortunately, the house is now flanked by blocks and houses, but a super nice old man we met when we took pictures in front of the house, told us that decades ago the house was surrounded by a beautiful garden, of which there is only „a shadow” left today.
4. Casa Padua– a „treasure” hidden from the eyes of tourists on a side street- if you do not know the exact address (Carrer de Pàdua, 75), you can’t find it. The origins of the building are not known, but until 1970 it functioned as a headquarters for a perfume factory, which fits perfectly with its saucy and colorful design. We don’t know much about this house, but what we know for sure- is the perfect place for an Instagram photo 🙂
5. Casa de l’Ardiaca/ Archdeacon’s House is located in the Gothic Quarter, one of the oldest and most beautiful districts in Barcelona. We loved walking through the narrow streets of this neighborhood and we even had a guided tour here. The house is like a little secret oasis in the middle of the city. Secret for tourists because the locals know it quite well, because here no longer live the archdeacons of the Catholic Church as in the old days, but now The Municipal Archives (Arxiu Municipal de Barcelona) have their headquarters here. They offer free admission, so you can enjoy the shady and cool courtyard without being disturbed by anyone 🙂
Have you visited any of these places in Barcelona?
RO:
Am revenit cu al doilea articol despre Barcelona, astazi vorbim despre 5 locuri mai putin faimoase din Barcelona pe care va recomandam sa le vizitati. Sunt locuri foarte frumoase toate, insa nu la fel de populare precum faimoasele obiective recomandate peste tot. Noi le-am descoperit fie pe alte bloguri, fie din intamplare, cand ne plimbam pe stradute.
1. Primul loc cu care o sa incepem e Nau Bostik/Bostik Murals. Ne place mult graffiti si in fiecare oras pe care il vizitam avem in plan sa mergem si in zonele cu arta urbana. L-am gasit recomandat pe un singur blog, insa am stiut din prima secunda ca o sa mergem si aici dupa ce am vazut pozele, iar la fata locului ne-au placut si mai mult desenele, sunt minunate.
De la portrete ale vedetelor, mesaje la adresa guvernului si pana la picturi murale cu natura, gasesti tot ce vrei. Desi e o zona abandonata si foarte urata (am vazut 2-3 oameni in vechea fabrica abandonata si credem ca sunt niste spatii de birouri acum), curtea in care sunt grafitti ne-a placut, e altceva fata de obiectivele obisnuite.
Zona e una industriala si e la marginea orasului, nu sunt alte obiective pe langa, asa ca va sfatuim sa luati mijloacele de transport in comun pentru a ajunge aici. Pentru ca noi am tot avut de mers prin oras, am optat pentru cardul Hola Barcelona pe 5 zile si ne-a fost de mare ajutor pentru ca l-am folosit atat pe drumul de la aeroport spre oras, cat si pentru a ajunge la obiectivele mai indeparte, precum Nau Bostik.
2. Al doilea loc de pe lista e cartierul Raval. Ei bine, nu putem spune ca aveam cartierul Raval pe lista de obiective cand am decis sa vizitam Barcelona, dar intamplarea a facut sa locuim chiar in acest cartier. E in inima Barcelonei si ni s-a parut cel mai cool cartier din tot orasul. Are vibe de Berlin, sunt foarte multi hipsteri, peste tot vezi numai tineri cu skateboard-uri, grafitti pe toate usile de magazine si e un zumzet continuu in acest cartier. Aici e si Muzeul de Arta Contemporana unde foarte multi tineri se strang atat ziua, cat si noaptea pentru a se da cu skate-urile, dar si pentru a consuma diverse substante legale si mai putin legale (sunt foarte multi emigranti din Pakistan si Maroc in cartier si printre acestia se afla si multi traficanti de droguri).
Noi aveam programat si un tur in Raval, insa, din pacate, ghidul s-a imbolnavit si a fost anulat, insa am incercat sa exploram cat am putut de mult pe cont propriu. In acest cartier gasiti si Pisica din Raval, o statuie sculptata de Fernando Botero in 1987, care s-a „plimbat” prin mai multe parcuri din Barcelona, insa din 2003 a fost „fixata” aici.
3. Casa Vicens nu e la fel de faimoasa ca si casa Battlo sau Casa Mila, insa noua ni s-a parut cea mai frumoasa dintre toate. E una dintre primele cladiri in stil Art Nouveau si prima cladire proiectata de Antoni Gaudi in Barcelona, pe cand avea doar 31 de ani, fiind initial construita ca o casa de vacanta pentru un antreprenor local. Din pacate, casa e flancata acum de blocuri si case obisnuite, insa un batranel super simpatic pe care l-am intalnit cand ne faceam poze in fata casei, ne-a povestit ca acum zeci de ani casa era inconjurata de o gradina superba, din care a mai ramas doar „o umbra” astazi.
4. Casa Padua– e o „comoara” ascunsa de ochii turistilor pe o straduta laturalnica si daca nu stii adresa exacta (Carrer de Pàdua, 75), nu prea ai cum sa o gasesti. Nu se stiu originile cladirii, insa pana in anii 1970 a functionat ca sediu pentru o fabrica de parfumuri, ceea ce se potriveste perfect cu design-ul ei cochet si colorat.
Nu stim prea multe informatii despre aceasta casa, insa ce stim sigur- e locul perfect pentru o poza Instagramabila 🙂
5. Casa de l’Ardiaca/ Archdeacon’s House se afla in Cartierul Gotic, unul dintre cele mai vechi si mai frumoase cartiere din Barcelona. Ne-a placut extrem de mult sa strabatem stradutele inguste din acest cartier si am avut chiar si un tur ghidat in acest cartier. Casa de l’Ardiaca e ca o mica oaza secreta in mijlocul orasului. Secreta pentru turisti pentru ca localnicii o stiu destul de bine, deoarece aici nu mai locuiesc arhidiaconii Bisericii Catolice ca pe vremuri, ci isi au sediu Arhivele Municipale (Arxiu Municipal de Barcelona). Intrarea e gratuita, asa ca va puteti bucura de curtea umbroasa si racoroasa cat vreti, fara sa fiti deranjati de nimeni 🙂
Ati vizitat vreunul din aceste locuri din Barcelona?
Nau Bostik /Bostik Murals
Raval
Barri Gotic
Casa Vicens
Casa Padua
Casa de l’Ardiaca/ Archdeacon’s House
