And here’s a neat trick you may have not heard about: the library card of Barcelona.

Not only does it grant you access to more than 228 libraries, but it also gives you free entry and discounts to a wealth of attractions across the city. This includes some pretty special Gaudi buildings (Casa Batlló, Torre Bellesguard, etc), some rather special museums (the Picasso Museum and the National Art Museum) and even a trip to the iconic Montjuic Castle.

And, providing that you are a registered resident of Barcelona, getting the card is totally free!

In praise of libraries

Libraries in Barcelona are a great place to study. They are usually heated in winter and cooled in summer. They have silent reading rooms and fast internet access.

With a library card, you can borrow books, music and movies for both adults and children. The library card also allows you to take part in reading clubs and specific courses that are offered in multimedia rooms.

You can pick up books in one location and return them in another. You can also reserve books online.

Apply for a card

Library cards are free, personal and non-transferrable. If you need additional copies of the card, these will be charged at one euro each. The library car will expire five years after its last use.

To apply for a library card simply fill in and submit this form. You will need to indicate from which library you wish to pick up the card once it is ready. You will need to be able to produce your Spanish national ID or resident-foreigner ID number in order to pick up the library card.

Children under the age of 14 will also need to show authorisation from their parents or legal guardians that they have permission to use all library services including internet.

The free stuff

In addition to all the regular benefits of libraries, noted above, the library card offers a range of other benefits.

It gives you free or discounted admission to museums, including:

• El Born Cultural and Memorial Centre
• CaixaForum (cultural museum
• Casa Batlló (Gaudi architecture)
• Casa Vicens (Gaudi architecture)
• Montjuïc Castle
• National Museum of Art
• Olympics and Sport Museum
• Picasso Museum
• Palau Güell (Gaudi architecture)
• Sant Pau (art nouveau complex)
• Torre Bellesguard (Gaudi architecture)
• Besòs water tower

The card also offers discounts for these theatres:

• Antic Theatre
• Catalonian Ballet
• El Maldà
• Joan Brossa Foundation
• Golem’S
• La Caldera
• La Perla
• La Puntual (puppet theatre)
• L’Autèntica
• Teatre del Raval
• Teatre Eòlia
• Teatre Gaudí

It offers discounts at cinemas:

• Filmoteca
• Cinemes Verd

And at musical events:

• Liceu
• L’Auditori
• Tradicionàrius
• Franz Schubert’s philharmonic orchestre
• Jamboree Jazz
• Palau de la Música (including the Orfeó choir)
• Los Tarantos (live flamenco)

It even gives discounts for classes at the following venues:

• Ama l’Italiano (Italian language and culture_
• Association for the Study of Furniture
• Cursiva
• El Desbande (tango classes)
• Eòlia (drama school)
• Ateneu (writing school)
• School of Modern Languages
• Gaudir UB
• Els Juliols de la UB
• Laboratori de Lletres

The post How to unlock cheap sightseeing with Barcelona’s library card appeared first on Barcelona.

But which pizzerias are really worth the visit?

Everyone of course has their favourite style of pizzas. But being Neapolitan, and having lived in a number of countries around the world, I have eaten a fair shares of good pizzas in my life!

Here are some of the favourite ones that I have come across in Barcelona.

Spaccanapoli

This is a truly Neapolitan pizzeria. You can tell the moment that you walk in the place – from the Maradona and Troisi pictures on the walls to the warm friendliness of the staff.

Pizzas are not only really good but also extremely reasonably priced. You will find mostly classic and authentic Neapolitans pizzas here The frittatina and crocche antipasti are delicious and authentic, too.

The restaurant has a large selection of classic Neapolitan desserts, such as tiramisu (you can get a traditional one, but also a delicious pistachio version and one made with pan di stelle), babá au rhum, pastiera, delizia al limone.

There are two branches, one near Arc de Triomf and the other in Gracia. The one in the centre is almost always open, but it is advisable to book in advance especially during weekends.

There is no outdoor sitting in either place.

Click here to go website.

Grosso Napoletano

This restaurant chain has several branches around Barcelona, one of which is gluten-free (the one in Eixample, at Carrer de València, 234). Most pizzas are fairly traditional, although some are a bit more inventive.

They offer an excellent lunch deal, although this is not valid on bank holidays or days just before bank holidays.

The tiramisu here is great, too, but this isn’t part of the lunch menu. There is some outdoor seating at some of the branches.

Click here to go website.

Sartoria Panieri

This restaurant has won several a number of awards for its pizzas and because of this it can be really difficult to book. Since the place is often very busy, if you go alone or as a couple you might be asked to sit on a big table with other guests.

Pizzas are definitely good, but not so much better than in many other places and they don’t really justify the hype surrounding this place. The tiramisu is very disappointing, both for presentation and for taste. Decor is simple and waiters are mostly Spanish.

The restaurant has two branches: one in the centre of Barcelona and one in Gracia.

Click here to go website.

Murivecchi

This is more a restaurant that serves pizzas as well as other food, rather than a traditional pizzeria, but the pizzas are very good. Definitely try their house specialty, Pizza Alba, which is loaded with truffle and burrata.

The restaurant is located in the centre of the city, Baceloneta and Born. There is some outdoor seating available.

This is a good spot to come when you are with a group and not everyone wants a pizza. Waiters are mainly Italians.

Click here to go website.

Trafalgar Pizza Club

While the name doesn’t hold the promise of a good authentic Italian pizzas, the pizza-makers are from Naples and the pizzas they prepare are therefore delicious.

This is not really a typical Italian pizzeria. Both classic and some less-classic pizzas are on the menu.

The restaurant is located fairly centrally, near Urquinaona, and has plenty of dining space. Their opening times are also very convenient, and they remain open at times when other pizzerias are closed.

Click here to go website.

Sports Bar

This is an iconic spot in Barcelona for a eating good pizza while watching a game or sport on the large TV. You don’t need to be a sports fan to come here, though; simply enjoy the good food and friendly atmosphere. There’s nothing fancy or pretentious about this place.

Click here to go website.

Pummarola

An authentic and friendly traditional Neapolitan  pizzeria in the Sant Antoni neighbourhood of the city. Prices are extremely reasonable and opening hours are convenient (non-stop from 1pm to midnight throughout the week, slightly later druing the weekend).

The restaurant also serves Panuozzi, a typical delicious panini from Campania region. Pizzas are all traditional, as are the desserts that they serve. Simple decor with a few seats outside.

Nap

This is a chain of pizzerias. The first opened its doors in Barcelona, and because of its success the chain has rapidly spread to other parts of Spain and in Mallorca too.

This is an authentic Neapolitan pizza place, serving almost exclusively pizzas. Bruschette, salads, parmigiana and over-baked provolone are also available.

The restaurant is open daily from 1pm to midnight. In Barcelona there are three branches: in Barceloneta, in El Born and in Paral-lel. Home delivery is also available.

Click here to go website.

Maurizio 2.0

This pizzeria is located near the Ferrocarril station in Provenca.

Besides pizzas, the restaurant also serves a number of delicious starters, such as

It closes between lunch and dinner (4 to 8), closed on Monday and Sunday only opens for dinner. It does a number of delicious starters, such as montanara with pistachios and ricotta and montanara topped with tomato and baked provolone.

The restaurant has a number of gourmet pizzas that are worth to try.

Madre Lievito

This restaurant has several branches located in: Sants, Poblenou, Exaimple, San Marti and El-Born (although this latter place is for sliced pizza to take away only).

The restaurant serves other dishes apart from pizza, and offers take away and delivery options too.

The branch in Eixample also serves simple breakfast, such as croissants and coffee, during the week. Because of this it is open much earlier than the others (from 8am). The branch in Eixample also has a set lunch menu during the week.

The one in San Marti offers aperitivo, a small italian style tapa with every drink.

Pizzas are tasty!

Now for some good sliced pizza…

Kitchen

Again not a name I would really have chosen for an authentic pizzeria but it is an excellent place, serving fresh sliced pizzas in the heart of Barceloneta. There are no tables in the place; only a few stools perched against the counter where you can eat. This is a good option if you want to munch a pizza while you soak up the sun on the nearby beach. Perfect for those lazy summer months.

Staff are friendly, too.

Click here to go website.

Pizza d’Autore

The sliced pizzas from this place are more Roman in style: square with a slightly thicker crust and sold by weight.

Ingredients are fresh and delicious. There are many vegetarian options and inventive cheese-free options, too.

Since everything is fresh, there is the chance that a certain topping might have sold out; but this is always a good excuse to try a new one!

The restaurant is mainly takeaway, but there are a few tables that you can eat at as well.

Click here to go website.

Pizza Mitica

This is a take-away only pizza place in Sarria, selling mini round pizzas with soft dough. They also sell delicious panzarotti, filled with mozzarella and tomatoes. Prices are not the lowest in town, but the quality is good.

The place run by Italians. During the week the place opens from 1pm to 11pm. At the weekend, it is only open in the evenings (from 7pm to 11pm).

This is quite a good place to come if you are already in the area and have the munchies, but might not be somewhere you explicitly travel across town for.

Click here to go website.

The post Top pizzerias in Barcelona appeared first on Barcelona.

Monday 25th September

Today was a bank holiday and we decided we would go for a walk in the Pantà de Vallvidrera. We started from Vallvidrera itself and followed the well laid-out paths down to Baixador de Vallvidrera. Even here, in the middle of the woods there are statues, like the one of the monk offering a blessing, or a promise of comfort.

It was a hot day so we were happy to stop in Baixador for a beer at the other restaurant there, El N9U. Refreshed we headed back, one of us taking the obvious path and the other what looked like an obvious more direct route. Don’t need to guess who got back first.

With more family coming round for supper we did not go down into Barcelona.

Tuesday 26th September

After a rather rushed breakfast we took Flavio to school, had coffee and croissants at Vivari and then headed out without our guide, Violetta, to try to discover interesting parts of Barcelona on our own. That is not difficult to do when there is so much stunning stuff to see.

We decided to go first to one of the districts that the train passes through before going on to the centre. We stopped at Gràcia and wandered around for a bit, but not really doing it justice. We did go to the covered market where there were many stalls mainly selling, fruit and vegetables, meats, fish, cheeses or bakery items. It was well-used by the local residents but the prices were not particularly cheap.

Getting ready to leave Gràcia station we came across one of the potential problems with the T-usual travel card. Because this has no limit to the number of journeys you take it does mean you cannot go through the same entrance or exit place within a certain time, probably 10 to 15 minutes.

Having put the card in the wrong slot I could not then get entrance and had to find someone to allow me in, at which point they asked to see my passport as its number had been used to buy the card and was printed on it. After some time explaining why I did not carry my passport around with me I was finally let in. I fully understand why this is done because otherwise one could simply pass the card over the barrier for someone else to use.

From Plaça de Catalunya we headed northeast to somewhere we had not visited before. One of the first places we found was the remains of the Covent de Sant Agusti.

It was here, in part, that the Baró Istardipé (The Great Gypsy Round-up) took place in 1749. On the night of July 30, King Ferdinand VI ordered the arrest and imprisonment of the entire Romani population and the confiscation of their lands and property. Between 7,000 and 12,000 were imprisoned. The men did slave labour in the arsenals or mines, women and girls were forced into convents or houses of mercy, children under the age of four were interned in religious institutions.

It is clear there is still anti-gypsy feeling here and conferences are held regularly to try to foster resistance to these feelings, the latest being on the 30th July 2023. Within the convent there is a courtyard where there is a very peaceful feeling and there is also a café in a
remaining part of the building.

A short distance from the convent is the pedestrianised Passeig de Lluís Companys.

At one end is the Arc de Triomf and at the other the Parc de la Ciutadella. The Arc was built in 1888 as the gateway to the Barcelona World Fair held in the Parc itself. The architect was Josep Vilaseca I Casanovas. The two pillars of the arch have bats carved into the stone, bats being the emblem of King Jaume I.

Lluís Companys, whom the street is named after, was head of the Catalan government during the Spanish Civil War and remained loyal to the Republican faction. Exiled to France after the civil war, he was captured by Germany’s secret police, handed over to Franco’s regime and executed by them in 1940.

On the side of the Passeig, like in so many streets in Barcelona, there are huge ornate streetlamps and at the end the monument to Francesc de Paula Rius with his bust and flanked by statues of a worker and a crowned female symbolising art and on the other side a winged figure with a torch symbolising fame and a naked child with book, globe and battery symbolising science. It’s all there and also then reflected in the Parc itself.

The citadel of the Parc de la Ciutadella was built by Philip V of Spain to control the Catalans. It was once the largest fortress in Europe. Today the Parc has many attractions including a zoo, the Catalan Parliament, the Museu d’Art Modern, the Castell dels Tres Dragons (containing zoology and geology collection), Hivernacle (winter garden), Umbracle (tropical greenhouse and shade loving plants) and a great many different statues and sculptures. We only walked round part of the Parc which included going to sit next to the boating lake.

Two of the sculptures we looked at were The Lion Hunter and The Stork and the Fox. ‘El Caçador de Lleons’ was placed in the Parc on the 21 st September 1883. White marble on limestone it was sculptured by Agapit Vallmitjana I Abarca. It is also described as an African
who seizes the cubs of a lioness fearful of being surprised by the mother.

The other sculpture is the ‘Font de la Cigonya i la Guineu’ by Edward Bastiste Alentorn, and depicts part of the Aesop fable of the stork and the fox where, as a joke, the fox serves up soup in a shallow dish and the stork cannot eat it with his long beak. In revenge the stork
invites the fox to dinner and serves up a fish dinner with a very appetising smell, but in tall jars that only he can get his beak into, so the fox goes hungry. Moral – Do not play tricks on your neighbours unless you can stand the same treatment yourself.

We walked back to Plaça de Catalunya in a rather round-about way, first to the edge of the port and then to Columbus’ statue before going all the way up La Rambla, walking very rapidly so that we would be in time to pick up Flavio. We should have used the metro!

Wednesday 27th September

We took the train in as far as Proveça so that we could walk across, with Violetta as guide, to the start of Passeig de Gràcia. As well as the famous buildings by renowned architects there are also more streetlights designed by Pere Falqués i Urpí, in this case 32 in total, built in 1906.

Each of the lampposts has a bench structure at the base with small ceramic pieces which glisten in the sunshine. On the street side there are metal doors into which hot coals would have been placed to keep the seats warm in winter as people waited for the trams.

Passeig de Gràcia is home to a mixture of upmarket stores and boutiques and what were the residential homes of rich traders, designed by the famous architects of the time who often competed to show that their building designs were better, or possibly more outrageous, than those of their fellow architects, and perhaps the most daring was Gaudi.

The first of Gaudi’s that we looked at was Casa Milà (La Pedrera – the Stone Quarry), commissioned by Pere Milà and his wife Roser Segimon (the wealthy widow of Joseph Guardiola, who had made his fortune with a coffee plantation in Guadeloupe).

The building was unique with the façade not being structural but acting almost as a curtain, blocks of stone fastened to the structure by metal components. The wrought-iron grills round the 32 balconies, in the shape of plants, leaves and animals, were all created from scrap-iron sheets, bars and chains. On the roof, which we could not see much of, are ornate ventilation shafts and chimneys.

Further down the Passeig there are five ornately designed residential buildings.

The first we came to was another Gaudi building, Casa Batlló. This has been nicknamed the ‘House of Bones’. This building was originally built in 1877 by Emilio Sala Cortés with a very ordinary façade. It was purchased by Josep Batlló y Casanovas, a textile industrialist, in 1903 and it being next to the ornate Casa Amatller, (who made his fortune out of chocolate), Batlló decided to give Gaudi a free hand in designing a new building.

Initially the original building was going to be knocked down but instead Gaudi decide to completely redesign the façade and create a totally new top. Gaudi’s façade has three distinct sections and, on the roof, what looks like the back of a dragon. What resembles a cross raised in the air could be the hilt of a sword that is being thrust into the dragon by St George.

The competition between designers is obvious when one looks at the four buildings next to Casa Batlló.

First is Casa Amatller (by the architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch) inspired by Netherlands architecture. The second is Casa Josefina Bonet (designer Marcel-li Coquillat in an eclectic neo-baroque style). The third is Casa Mulleras (another textile industrialist) and was designed by Enric Sagnier. This is the only one of the five building that met official regulations and did not incur a fine. And, at the end, on the corner, is Casa Lleó Morera (by Lluís Domènech i Montaner), here with a hint of mulberry trees.

While looking at Casa Batlló and taking pictures someone had moved behind us and was quietly unzipping Violetta’s rucksack. Luckily, we noticed the person behind us acting strangely and nothing was taken.

Pickpockets are very common in Barcelona so one needs to be alert. The reason for this is partly due to Spanish Law. Non-violent theft of money or items worth less than €400 is not a crime, so very few people are prosecuted. Theft above €400 value can result in up to 6 months prison sentence. If there is violence during a robbery, the perpetrator can face between one and three years in gaol – so if a pickpockets are confronted they tend to run away, not wanting to be involved in any violence.

On our way to meet up with the rest of the family we went to a complex (El Nacional) where there were half a dozen bars/cafés under one roof all trying to outdo each other in their elaborate designs. The toilets were also elaborate, having been converted from what was once a garage and repair site. On the way out there was a line of mirrors that one might have found in a posh upmarket theatre.

Walking on we came across a sign on Carrer del Pi for a shop selling nothing but Rubik’s cubes. This was in the Galerias Maldà where there were many shops dedicated to specific types of product including a Harry Potter shop (best selling wands being Harry Potter’s and, strangely, Voldemort’s), a boardgame store, miniature dolls shop, a costume shop (currently Halloween) and a sweet shop with Willy Wonka candies and chocolates.

Now having met up with Blake and Flavio we had beers and smack plates of meat balls and other dishes before we went on to The Comedy Clubhouse on Carrer del Canvis Nous (a street where money changers used to do business).

The Comedy Clubhouse also does ‘improv’ nights, when anyone who wishes to can join in. Improv is short for improvisation, a spontaneous ensemble theatre where the performers make up the theatre on the spot. Here it was done with scenarios given by the organisers.

Home fairly late, trains and funicular still running, but no bus in Vallvidrera so we had to walk from the top of the funicular home. Next day was mainly packing and getting ready for an early start back to the UK after a very enjoyable week+ in Barcelona.

We will return.

The post A week in Barcelona: Part 3 appeared first on Barcelona.

Saturday 23rd Sept

We took the train into the centre and then the metro to Sant Pau, Dos de Maig.

While waiting for Violetta to join us, we walked with our son, Blake, up to Sant Pau Art Nouveau Site, an impressive building. Built at the start of the 20th century the site now comprises a total of 27 Art Nouveau buildings. It was actually a working hospital until 2009.

The Hospital de la Santa Creu was founded in 1401. Pau Gil Sarra died in 1896 and left 3,060,000 pesetas for the construction of a new hospital. Between 1902 and 1930 the new hospital was built, designed by architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner, but it subsequently fell into neglect. The major renovations turned it into the Art Nouveau site that it now is, once the hospital had closed.

Once our party was at full strength, we walked down the Avinguda de Gaudi, which goes straight to the Sagrada Familia – now Gaudi’s most famous building.

Barcelona must be the city in the world with the most sculptures, statues, unique buildings, decorations on buildings, ornaments of one kind or another that festoon the streets, plazas and parks. Avinguda de Gaudi is no exception. Within a few metres we came across the sculpture by Apelles Fenosa created in 1878, ‘El buen tiempo persiguiendo a la tempestad’ (A fine day chasing the storm).

The Avinguda also has  in 1909. They originally stood at the crossroads between the Passeig de Gràcia and the Avinguda de Diagonal but were removed from this site in 1957 because they were a hindrance to traffic. They were placed along the Avinguda de Gaudí in 1985, after being stored for many years in a local warehouse. Other Falqués lampposts are on the Passeig de Gràcia.

Down the Avinguda lies what many tourists clearly consider is the main attraction of Barcelona: the Basilica I Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia, consecrated as a ‘minor basilica’ by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010.

This basilica was started by Francisco de Paula del Villar in 1882 but Antoni Gaudi took over the design in 1883 when Villar resigned. When Gaudi died in 1926, after being hit by a tram, less than a quarter of the Sagrada Familia had been built.

Slow progress since then was not helped by the Spanish Civil War and the FAI setting fire to the crypt, breaking into the workshop and destroying some of Gaudi’s plans. Even so, the planned completion keeps being extended – now to 2030 or 2032.

The structure is so complex and detailed that one needs days rather than hours to take it in. We started at the east entrance, which is the only facade finished while Gaudi was alive.

The façade depicts the birth of Christ, with three major portals: the portal of hope, portal of mercy and the portal of faith. There is so much detail that one can only really take in small parts of it, such as on the Nativity façade where Mary and Joseph are by the crib and arched around them are figures playing musical instruments, including a harp.

We then went round to the Passion Façade, again filled with a myriad of sculptures, and finally completed in 2018. Gaudi wanted this façade to depict misery and death, including the brutality of Jesus’ execution. Central features are the carrying of the cross and the crucifixion.

And finally, we went to the Glory Façade, which is still under construction and will be the tallest part of the basilica. The Glory Façade will form the main entrance to Sagrada Familia when it is completed, but there is a major obstacle to this.

Dedicated to the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, the Glory Façade comes in direct conflict with hundreds of homeowners living on the other side of narrow Mallorca Street. The planned staircase that would serve as the main entrance to the basilica could mean demolishing several buildings on the other side of Mallorca Street, leading to thousands being evicted and forced to move elsewhere. The residents dispute the assertion that their properties were only under temporary residency contracts and say that the planned staircase was never on Gaudi’s original plans. A major court case is underway.

On the way back to the station we stopped at one of Barcelona’s many tapas bars, serving very good home-made vermouth (Violetta’s recommendation!) We also had patatas bravas and croquettes.

Sunday 24th Sept

The day started with a visit to a restaurant, El Raco de Collserola, in Baixador de Vallvidrera, which Blake insisted did very good breakfasts. Sited at the Parc de Santa Maria de Vallvidrera, the restaurant is very popular with walkers, cyclists and locals.

We had outdoor seating and it was already fairly crowded. We were persuaded to try the local sausage in a baguette, with a touch of tomato flavouring on the baguette and peppers and tomatoes. Very good, but also very filling.

We left the car near the restaurant and took the train in to Barcelona to see some of the Mercè Festival. This is held every September for four days. The festival includes many events, parades, music, a fire run and, on the day that we went to see it, a parade of giants and human towers! The festival is held in honour of Mare de Déu de la Mercè, the patron saint, and bids a farewell to summer, welcoming the cooler months of autumn.

From Plaça de Catalunya we went down La Rambla to Calle de Ferran.

On the Rambla there were suddenly many police motorcycles and then ambulances. A lady had been hit by a bus as she crossed the street without looking. With the huge number of people that are often on La Rambla, and other streets, this is a very real danger.

As we walked up Calle de Ferran the street was already crowded with people getting the best places from which to watch the parade of giants.

The parade and dancing of the giants started in Plaça de Sant Jaume and by the time we got there it was packed so full that it was difficult to find a place where we could see what was going, a particular problem for our grandson.

The giants were displayed all around the Plaça and took turns to dance in front of Palau de la Generalitat, an historic palace that now houses the Presidency of the Generalitat de Catalunya.

Some dignitaries appeared on the balcony, one looking remarkably like Pere Aragonès, the current President of Catalunya.

This year Ukraine was invited to take part and presented two giants, Olga and Volodymyr, who represent their princely saints.

As the giants started their parade, they all passed just in front of us and we could see just how heavy they were, each held by one man lifting up the heavy wooden frame. They needed to periodically replace the person doing the carrying, who also had to move the giant in a dance.

After all the giants had gone down Calle de Ferran the acrobats for the human castles, the Castellers, came in and the crowd was pushed back even further with no space for us to go.

We watched the first part where a human castle of three was held up by five or six below, the top person being a child.

The person at the top now wears a helmet because a 12-year-old girl, without a helmet, was killed falling from a nine-storey tower in Mataró in 2006. The smaller towers were constructed with no incidents, but when one of the larger towers was being built it did collapse. Luckily only bruises!

The post A week in Barcelona: Part 2 appeared first on Barcelona.

Whenever we go on holiday, we keep a journal of where we have been and what we have seen, one of us doing the writing and the other the illustrations.

Our latest trip was to Barcelona for a week in September, staying with family just outside of the city itself, in Vallvidrera. We were privileged to be staying with our son and daughter-in-law who have written a number of travel guides and who already have a good knowledge of Barcelona. It was Violetta who acted as our guide.

As we were staying a little outside the city centre it was an important first step to get hold of a travel pass. Various passes are available and, because there are so many fascinating things to see and do in Barcelona, a travel card which allows you to hav unlimited journeys on trams, buses, suburban trains, the metro, and other transports seemed the best option.

The Hola Barcelona Travel Card can be purchased for 2, 3, 4 or 5 days. We went for the T-usual Card which gave us unlimited travel for a month and cost only €20. (Pic 1).

Before we went into Barcelona to experience just a fraction of what is there, we would take our grandson, Flavio, to school. This involved using a bus, the funicular railway and one stop on the S1 or S2 train, then a reverse journey.

Before we had even started to go into Barcelona, we had chalked up six journeys using our T-usual Card. During the week we must have made 60 journeys at least. Not bad for just €20!

Taking Flavio to school also gave us a chance to stop off at a recommended café/bakery, ‘Vivari’, in the Sarrià district. A coffee and croissant there cost us just €2/per person – which was why I often had more than one helping! The café was also well-attended, both inside and with people taking away a very wide range of bakery items.

Thursday 21st Sept

Our first exploration of sites was Vallvidrera itself as we were staying there.

We walked up and over the steep hill to get there from where we were staying, hoping to find a coffee shop. Plaça de Vallvidrera has two coffee shops/restaurants which seem to alternate in terms of being open.

The one that was open had all of the outside seats occupied, and inside it was very hot and stuffy, so we went up to Plaça de Pep Ventura. Just at the top of the square there is a take-away café from which we purchased a very good-value omelette baguette, freshly cooked as we waited.

Returning home, Violetta took us on our first real experience, opening our eyes as to just how much there is to see everywhere one goes.

Taking the bus, we went up to Tibidabo where there is both the amusement park and the Temple Expiatori del Sagrat Cor de Jesús (Church of the Sacred Heart).

The church is located 512 metres above sea level and offers great views over Barcelona, as does the bus trip up to Tibidabo.

The main entrance to the church is through a baroque-style doorway beneath a mosaic arch that depicts Jesus surrounded by angels and Spanish saints. The top of the amusement park is free to enter and one can see some of the attractions. There are in fact many others, including a rather scary roller-coaster ride through the wood on the side of the hill. These are out of sight from the top.

On the way up to Tibidabo one can see the Observatori Fabra, also providing great views over the city. Two observatories were originally built on La Rambla in the centre of the city. However too much pollution made them difficult to use, so Observatori Fabra was built between 1894 and 1904. It is one of the oldest still-active observatories in the world. As well as providing scientific studies it is also possible to have ‘dinner with the stars’ in the summer months; booking is essential – and the place is not cheap!

Friday 22nd Sept

Having taken Flavio to school, and enjoyed Vivari coffee and croissants, we returned home for lunch before Violetta took us into Barcelona, this time to the end of the train line at Plaça de Catalunya.

From there we walked down La Rambla and then into the Gothic Quarter, passing Els Quatre Gats on the narrow Carrer de Montsió. The restaurant was the idea of Pere Romeu who copied it from the Le Chat Noir in Paris. ‘The Four Cats’ has a significantly different meaning for the Catalonians as it is also a phrase that means ‘only a few people’.

It became a place frequented by many prominent modernist figures including Picasso and Gaudi. Closed in 1903 it has been restored in 1989 to its original condition, with many paintings and prints on the walls.

A couple of streets away from Els Quatre Gats is Plaça d’Isidre Nonell, where Joan Fontcuberta has created a mosaic of tiles, each showing one of 6,000 photographs of people, places, moments and events that were sent to him by Barcelona residents within four days of him asking for them.

What he created with them is really very clever and painstaking. The tiles have been laid out on the wall at the side of the Plaça to show two people kissing and is titled ‘El Món Nei xen Casa Besada’ – ‘The World Begins with Every Kiss’.

It was created as part of Barcelona’s tricentenary celebrations commemorating the fall of Barcelona during The War of Spanish Succession. Initially it is difficult to see what the tiles are showing but then the picture kind of comes into focus. It is inevitably a place where many people take selfies kissing their partners.

A very short walk took us to Plaça Nova where, on the front and sides of the promontory of the Col·Legi d’Arquitectes de Catalunya there is some of the street art commissioned from Pablo Picasso.

Here one finds the ‘Esgrafiat de dibuixos de Picasso de tema popular’, each side made with a technique known as ‘sgraffito‘. Originally the artwork would have been created by scratching through a surface with a stiletto to leave a pattern, although on this particular building it was done with sandblasting.

The original designs were made by Picasso on a napkin, then sent to Barcelona and actually reproduced by Carl Nesjar. The front image is the frieze of joy, with folk dancers and the palms and palmons of Palm Sunday. The other two friezes are: the frieze of the children and the frieze of the Senyera (the national flag of Catalan Estelada).

Across from Plaça Nova is Casa de L’Ardiaca (The Archdeacon’s House). Built in the 12th century using part of the Roman wall, it underwent a major renovation at the start of the 16th century under Archdeacon Lluίs Desplà with renaissance elements. We went up the steps into the elaborate entrance hallway, tiled and with an ornate fountain. Very relaxing in the afternoon heat. One noteworthy feature is the stone letterbox on the façade, the work of sculptor Alfons Juyol, showing five swifts, seven leaves and a turtle.

From the Archdeacon’s house we went across to the Cathedral, stopping on the way to listen to a group of school children singing. Some songs sounded like religious chants, others were very similar to the Medieval Babes.

As well as the impressive gothic architecture of the front of the Cathedral de la Santa Crue i Eulàlia (Holy Cross and Saint Eulàlia), there are the less ornate sides but with many gargoyles and sculptures. One of these sculptures is of Saint George (Sant Jordi) who is the patron saint of Catalonia.

He was adopted as the patron saint in 1456, supposedly, in part, because it was in this region that he killed the dragon. The sculpture of him killing the dragon is facing outwards, but on the side of the pillar is another sculpture of someone else killing a dragon, Guifré el Pilos’ father.

Unable to defeat the Barcelona counts the Saracens captured a young dragon in Northern Africa, then released it near Barcelona. As it grew it went from eating sheep and other animals, to young children, peasants and even knights. Guifré’s father attacked the dragon many times and eventually wounded it so gravely that it crashed into a mountain and died.

The Cathedral also has two other patron saints. Eulàlia was a 13th century virgin, martyred for protesting against the way Governor Dacian was persecuting the Christians. She refused to end her protests and was stripped, flagellated, beaten, tortured and eventually died from her wounds. In the Cathedral there is a well around which 13 geese are kept, symbolising Eulàlia’s age and the number of tortures she suffered. The other patron saint of the Cathedral is ‘La Mercé’ (Mare de Deó de la Mercé – Our Lady of Mercy).

Violetta also showed us where a door high up on the side of the Cathedral seemed to go nowhere. There used to be a bridge across to the next building which allowed the king to get into the Cathedral unseen and away from the hoi polloi.

A little south of the Cathedral, and on a slightly circuitous route back to La Rambla, we passed the El Caganer shop on the corner of Baixada de la Llibreteria and Carrer de les Trompetes de Jaume I.

A caganer is a figurine in the act of defecating, ‘El Caganer’ – ‘The Pooper’. It is a traditional Christmas decoration and symbolises fertilization of the earth, bringing health of body and peace of mind.

In Catalonia, the caganer is traditionally seen wearing a red Catalonian cap and a white peasant shirt. But now shops stock a huge range of different characters including well-know sportsmen, musicians and even politicians. This shop had Trump, the Queen and even the Pope.

We walked back to La Rambla which is probably the best-known street in Barcelona: 1.2 kilometres long and stretching from Plaça de Catalunya to the Monument a Colom (monument to Colombus) down by the port. Then up to the train and on to meet Flavio before a beer in a plaza near his school as he played with his friends.

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The singing monks of Boqueria Market

The music seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, at the very same time. It seeped out of the woodwork, stole mysteriously across the ancient stone floor, and seeped unbidden into the veins of the old monk that stood listening in the shadow of the doorway. It was past midnight and all the other monks had retired to their chambers, for meditation and prayer and to repose themselves before the morning ablutions.

It was this monk and this monk alone that heard the earie music, and he didn’t like what he heard. There was no one in the monastery that could be making this music – no one living, at least – and the music itself did not sound of this world. Or was that only his sleep-addled brain playing tricks? The words sounded too old. The music that should have been soothing grated too harshly.

A chill raced up the old monk’s spine. Fearfully the monk took one tentative step forwards and then another. On his third step he moved out of the shadows and that is where he saw the most frightening sight of his life, framed in a single shaft of moonlight.

The two front pews of the small chapel were full, but not with the living and breathing monks of this monastery. The pews were taken up entirely of men devoid of flesh and sinew, where only bones clattered together in some grotesque charade of animated life. The fleshless jaws of these skeletal worshippers moved in unison as the eerie echoes of a strangely familiar song reverberated around the chamber.

The old monk stood there, mesmerised, rooted to the spot, seemingly unable to move his feet, even though he badly wanting to. It was only when one of the singers in the front row looked up from its hymn sheet, and turned a gaunt face towards the onlooker, that the monk was roused from his revery. This skeletal figure raised a boney hand and pointed a trembling digit, mouthing a single word.

What that word was, however, has been lost in the chasms of history. For no sooner had the skeleton raised its single hand than the monk fled. He fled back to his chambers and roused his religious brothers. He didn’t know what to do. He was terribly afraid for he thought he knew why this spectral crew might have paid the monastery a visit. These were the disembodied spirits of the monks that had lived within the walls of this holy place in bygone days. Pious men. Devoted men. Men that would have gladly sacrificed themselves for the Heavenly Father. Men, in other words, quite unlike those that now occupied the Discalced Carmelite Monastery of Sant Josep.

Silently all of the living monks returned to the chapel to watch their ghostly ancestors finish their hymn, and the same sense of foreboding and fear fell upon them as upon the first monk that had stumbled into the macabre scene.

Over the years these monks had become lax in their ways of worship, even going so far as to say that praying was not necessary on the date of their patron saint, Our Lady of Carmen. They were now about to pay the price.

When the singing was over and the skeleton choir stood up, the living monks silently stepped forwards to lead these undead entities back to the crypt from which they had risen. All but one of the tombs was open. With no noise whatsoever the skeletons slid back into their stone beds, which should have been their final resting place.

The following morning, one of the monks was found dead. This was the only monk to have remained devoted to the old ways, the only monk that had fought to keep the religious tradition of the monastery alive. His brothers buried him in the customary way… and thought no more about what had transpired.

Ten days later the monastery went up in flames, caused by a riot that had consumed this part of the city.

All of the surviving monks died in the blaze – and the memories of the past were swept away. The Boqueria Market was extended to cover where the monastery had stood. But the wondering souls of the monks have never been fully laid to rest. Every year, on the evening of July 15, which is the Eve of Our Lady of Carmen, you can hear ghostly singing creep through the dark passages – if you listen hard enough. You may even be able to catch a glimpse of one of the decaying bodies of the tormented monks, who have been unable to secure passage out of this world.

The curse of Liceu Theatre

The grounds upon which the Liceu Theatre now stands are steeped in blood. Blood and suffering and torture. For this is the place that, long before the present building was constructed, many-a-man was led to his death at the swift hands of the King’s Justice.

Execution methods included being burned at the stake, decapitation and strangulation. These were methods that were certain to inflict upon the condemned man untold suffering, and a better-than-average chance that the soul would not be able to rest in the afterlife – especially if the soul in question was innocent of any crime.

These were the ethereal spirits condemned to remain behind within the mortal realm as all their loved ones left them – desperate to conclude whatever unfinished business they still have on this plane.

These are the restless spirits that continue to bring misery and tragedy to the Liceu Theatre, which was unwisely built upon the site of the old execution grounds.

In 1861, just fifteen years after the building was completely, it was consumed by fire.

In 1893, after it had been rebuilt, it suffered another tragedy when dozens of people were killed in an anarchist attack. The man that threw the two bombs – one of which failed to explode – was later hung.

In 1994, the theatre went up in flames yet again and was subsequently rebuilt.

This is not a lucky building, and one can only wonder what next grim tragedy will befall it.

The poltergeist at 43 Francesc Giner

The events that occurred in the early hours of February 10, 1935 would change the Montroig i Mendoza family forever – and serve as the first documented case of poltergeist activity in this city.

It can have been no more than 2 o’clock when the banging started. There were knocks and crashes coming from the very walls of the house itself, as though some furious demon was trying the prison in which it now found itself. This may, in hindsight, not have been too far from the truth.

Unsurprisingly this tremendous cacophony of otherworldly noises soon woke the sleeping family, who huddled together in terror as locked drawers were flung open, and wardrobe doors swung back on their hinges. The security guard, together with the night watchman, carried out an inspection of the building. The poltergeist activity, as journalists would subsequently label it, did not stop. If anything it became more frenzied. The men that investigated it were at a loss to come up with any kind of explanation.

The following day, on the night of February 11, the phenomena repeated itself – again with great force. The owner of the apartment reported the incident to the local police station, but officers who attended the scene were as stumped as those that had investigated during the previous night: no one seemed to be the orchestrator of these noises that were leaving everyone in the building so terrified.

This was when the press started becoming interested in the case and carried out their own investigations into what might have been causing the strange occurrences. Again no convincing explanation appeared forthcoming.

There are many testimonies to be found about what occurred during those perturbing days in 1935. Many of these were narrated by neighbours, who explained to the police that they very often observed white shadows drifting through the passageways, and chairs and clocks moving without anyone’s help.

People were quick to link this phenomenon to the presence of a distressed spirit that had been unable to leave this world when its mortal body died. Priests were consulted, exorcisms were attempted, but nothing seemed to calm the violent restlessness of this ghost.

At the time of the activity, the youngest child of the family was very sick. Some para-psychologists at the time suggested that many of these phenomena could have been linked to this teenager, with an unknown ‘psychomechanism’ that caused these strange events.

The disturbance all ended when the tenants of the building, including the Montroig family, wisely chose to find a quieter (and presumably less haunted) place to live.

So was the poltergeist simply haunting one of the tenants of the building – perhaps someone that had caused its harm when it was alive? Or is the poltergeist still there, forever attached to number 43 Francesc Giner, awaiting other victims that are ripe for terrorising?

The witchcraft school of La Ribera

Being a witch in medieval Catalunya was dangerous, and throwing one’s lot in the Devil could come at a heavy price. Burning at the stake was not an uncommon practice for those that were suspected on witchcraft, although many of these poor individuals may well have been innocent.

A sinister young man by the name of Seca chose to walk this path, becoming a devoted disciple of the Devil himself in pursuit of greater power and wealth – and untold rewards beyond the grave.

So as to fully dedicate himself to the ways of dark magic and occult power, Seca chose to establish a secret school of witchcraft in a secluded alleyway that wends its way through the La Ribera neighbourhood of Barcelona. Here, on Carrer de la Neu de Sant Cugat, the charismatic Devil-worshipper was able to preach to his followers about the seductive lure of black magic.

One of the chilling activities of these acolytes was to steal the bones of criminals, once they had been executed and buried. These macabre relics were then used in the school’s rituals and spells, imbuing them with powers that would have been denied to them had they trod a more righteous path.

The tale of the school of witchcraft in Barcelona does not have a happy ending. As the Spanish Inquisition tightened its grip on the city, the authorities became increasingly vigilant in their hunt for suspected witches. Many were captured, subjected to brutal interrogations and ultimately burnt at the stake.

Such was the fate that awaited the witches of Carrer de la Neu de Sant Cugat. But the spectre of evil that Seca once stirred to life still hangs broodingly over this dark and lonely street.

The haunting of Barcelona’s most famous church

The year was 1936. Francisco Franco’s Fascist militia was advancing on Barcelona. And those opposing them desperately needed weapons.

One evening that year, the FAI, one of the groups at the forefront of the fight against the dictator-in-the-making, launched an attack on the Sagrada Familia. They set fire to Gaudí’s former workshop and then headed to the crypt where he was buried, presumably in search of weapons that may have been stored there. Gaudí himself had died 13 years earlier, after being hit by a tram.

The crypt was a disconcerting place, but the members of the FAI paid no heed. Their fear of Franco gaining power was much greater than their fear of what the dead could do to them.

That night the FAI desecrated many of the tombs, including that of Gaudí’s patron, Josep Maria Bocabella. Interestingly Gaudí’s tomb was spared from such a dehumanising fate, and members of the FAI did not touch it at all. Was this out of respect for Gaudí’s undisputed prowess as an architect? Or was it because, like them, he was a socialist who had spoken out against Barcelona’s downtrodden.

Either way Gaudí’s tomb had been left untouched, but members of the FAI had stirred something within the others.

Following the desecration of these tombs, there were several reports of mysterious blue lights hovering above the church. The police were even called to investigate on a number of occasions, but they could offer no explanation for the lights.

Was this a warning from beyond the grave – or a sign of displeasure from those whose eternal sleep had been disturbed?

Or was it simply a reminder that Gaudí’s work is still not done and Sagrada Familia remains unfinished?

The most recent date set for completion of the church is 2036, although many are skeptical that this deadline will now be met. Those spectral blue lights that gather above the building, embodying the ghostly spirits of those entombed within, may very well know the answer.

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To get from Barcelona El Prat Airport to the city center, you have several transportation options available. Here are the most common ways to make the journey.

Aerobus

The Aerobus is a dedicated shuttle service that connects the airport terminals with key locations in the city center. They are big busses, light blue in colour.

The A1 line runs between the city centre and Terminal 1 while the A2  runs between the city centre and Terminal 2. Both lines pass through Plaça de Catalunya and Plaça de Espanya (plus two other stops).

The buses run 24-hours a day, 365 days per year. They are comfortable and equipped with ample luggage storage. They also have free WiFi and USB charging plugs – although these plugs aren’t always working, so don’t count on them 100%

The journey from the airport to the city center takes between 30 and 40 minutes, depending on traffic conditions.

Tickets

Tickets cost €6.75 one-way or €11.65 return. The return is valid for 90 days. Children under four years old travel free.

Discounts for single parents and big families are also available. To benefit from this you need to be registered as living in Spain, and apply for a single parent or big family discount card. This card entitles you to discounts not only on the Aerobus but for other services in Spain.

You can purchase tickets directly at the bus stops, at the airport terminals or online. They can also be bought on the bus from the driver. You can pay with cash or card, although the driver may not except notes of a particularly high denomination.

For those who need to travel further by metro or bus after they have taken the Aerobus, there is a convenient combi ticket that you can purchase for €7.90. This includes a one-way journey on the Aerobus, followed by a single journey on public transport (ordinarily a single ticket without the combi would cost €2.40).

To buy tickets and to check if there is any planned disruption to the route, you can consult the Aerobus website.

Departure points

At the airport, the Aerobus stop is easy to find; simply follow the bus signs from the arrival hall. Once you get outside the terminal, just look for the big blue bus with 'Aerobus' written across the side.

In Plaça de Catalunya, the Aerobus stop is located in front of the big Corte Inglés shopping centre.

Be very vigilant about your luggage, especially when buying tickets but also on the bus. Thieves frequently target tourists arriving in the city!

Metro

Barcelona's metro connects the airport with Line L9, which runs from the airport until Zona Universitaria, passing from Fira (exibition centre) and Collblanc (connected to Line L5) and Torrassa (connected to Line L1).

There are a few things to think about before deciding to travel by metro:

• You can’t use a regular metro ticket to get to the airport (see link below)
• Unless your final destination is on Line L9, you are going to have to change - and you will not always find lifts to help you with your luggage.
• Unless you take the metro at the first station of the line is unlikely you will get a seat.
• The metro can become very crowed during peak hours.
• You should watch your belongings like a hawk, particularly when the trains are crowded. Pickpockets between the airport and the city centre are common.
• Unlike Aerobus, the metro doesn’t run throughout the night..

To travel from Barcelona El Prat Airport to the city center using the metro, you can follow these steps:

• Terminal Information: Determine which terminal you are arriving at: Terminal 1 (T1) or Terminal 2 (T2).
• Access the Metro: Both terminals have metro stations. If you arrive at T1, you'll find the metro station within the terminal building. If you arrive at T2, follow the signs to the metro station located near the terminal.
• Choose the right line: The L9 Sud metro line connects the airport to the city center. This line has two branches: L9S1 and L9S2. L9S1 goes to Zona Universitària, while L9S2 goes to Can Tries - Gornal. Make sure that you are on the correct branch depending on your destination.
• Buy a ticket: Purchase a single metro ticket at the airport station. Note that a regular metro ticket can’t be used to reach the airport; you need a special ticket that costs €5.15. You can buy it online or at the machines located in metro stations. Many - though not all - of these machines accept cash. They all accept major credit and debit cards, although some machines might not process cards that do not have PIN numbers.

Renfe Train

The R2 Nord line of the Renfe train network connects the airport to the city center. The train stops at major stations, including Sants Estació and Passeig de Gràcia. Trains are generally efficient and provide a direct route to the city.

The main benefit of using the Renfe train system is the cost. You can purchase a book of 10 tickets for €13. This works out as €1.30 per journey, and can take you anywhere on the public transport network.

Unfortunately, only Terminal 2 is served by this train. Therefore, if you arrive at Terminal 1, you may find it more convenient and quicker to take alternative transportation, such as the metro or Aerobus - although there is a free shuttle bus that runs between the two terminals (ever 5-10 minutes, apart from between 8pm and midnight when the buses run every hour).

The Renfe train also only runs every 30 minutes from the airport, which is not as frequently as other modes of public transport. Trains are not 24 hours; they run from 5.20am to 11pm.

Taxi

Taxis are a convenient and widely used mode of transportation in Barcelona. They offer a flexible way to get around the city, especially when traveling with luggage or in groups.

The exact fare will obviously depend on your final destination and traffic conditions. Most rides from the airport into Barcelona will cost between €20 and €40. There is a fixed supplement from the airport of €4.30, on top of the regular meter cost. There are also some additional costs that you may incur, as highlighted below.

Taxis are readily available throughout the city, and you can easily find them at taxi stands, major transportation hubs, hotels and in popular tourist areas. Look for licensed taxis with an official taxi sign on the roof. These taxis are metered and regulated by the city. Taxis in Barcelona are typically black and yellow, making them easy to spot.

Taxis in Barcelona are equipped with meters that calculate fares based on distance traveled and time spent in the taxi. The starting fare and subsequent per-kilometer rate are regulated by the city.

Taxi-hailing apps such Free Now are available in Barcelona, allowing you to book and track taxis using your smartphone.

Most taxis in Barcelona accept both cash and credit or debit cards for payment. However, it is a good idea to carry some cash on you in case card payment is not possible - or ask before you get in.

Tipping is optional, but it is fairly common to round up the fare or add a little extra for good service.

The most popular ride-sharing service in Barcelona is Cabify. Uber is not operational in the city at the moment.

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In all of fairness, we were expecting to be disappointed. The tickets aren’t cheap. The place is slap bang in the middle of Barcelona’s number one tourist district. And the place has the audacity to call itself “Big Fun Museum”.

But actually the place is a lot better than we had expected. Still a little pricey, as of course might be expected for the area, but really rather fun. Kids will certainly enjoy it, and most adults will find it quite interesting too.

So what is the place all about?

The Big Fun Museum actually consists of eight separate attractions spread across three floors. There’s the Sweet Museum, for example, or the somewhat disturbing Museum of Madness. Each area consists of a series of well-designed displays, according to the theme, as well as some very interesting explanations. Learn, for example, all about the legend of the Moth-Man or the smallest woman that ever lift.

From what age can I take my kids?

Much of the museum is suitable for children from the around the age of four. However, you should bare in mind that parts of the museum are quite scary for very young kids.

Giant’s House, Topsy-Turvy House, the Sweet Museum and Alice Through the Looking Glass can all be enjoyed by the younger members of your family.

Parts of Records and Wonders and the Madness Museum are quite scary and only recommended for older children from the age of seven or eight. The Madness Museum has an age recommendation of 12. Some of the animations in the Magic Room – such as the dancing skeletons – could be a little frightening, too.

How much does it cost?

Tickets aren’t cheap: €25 for a single ticket, or €30 if you want to also include a visit to the Big Fun Museums of Illusions, which is just round the corner.

However, you can get a fairly significant discount by purchasing online: €15 for a single ticket or €18.75 for a combo ticket.

How do you get there?

The museum is a 10-minute walk from Plaça de Catalunya down La Rambla: very easy to find!

How long do you need?

The woman on the ticket desk said that we’d probably need around 45 minutes to see all the museum, but in actual fact we stayed for twice this amount of time. We could easily have stayed for longer, too, had our stomachs not got the better of us – there’s quite a lot to take in!

The different zones

Records and Wonders

This is where you’ll learn about some record-breaking phenomenons (the shortest woman that ever lived, the tallest man or the longest finger nails that have ever been grown) and other astonishing wonders (such as the Moth-Man; a legend, presumably, for no evidence of it was ever produced).

Giant’s House

This is where everything is extra-large. Have fun sitting on a chair that is waaaay too large, or trying on a Mexican sombrero that just isn’t the right fit.

Topsy-Turvy House

Everything is upside-down! It’s totally disorientating as you enter on the ceiling and look upwards to the floor. Take some great trick photos… like the shot of a motorbike where you appear to be hanging off the handlebars.

Sweet Museum

Say no more, say no more! A kid’s paradise where all the sweets are super-sized. Unfortunately none of them are real.

Museum of Madness

This is a rather disturbing part of the overall, where you learn about people that have gone insane… and the rather dubious treatments that were once meted out to them. Screeching models of deranged men and women, which come to live when buttons are pressed, make the experience somewhat sinister. There is an notice at the start of the museum, suggesting that this zone might not be suitable for children younger than 12… and for good reason.

Food Art

A fairly small area where famous paintings – Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, Van Gogh’s Sunflowers – are recreated using plastic food models.

Alice Through The Looking Glass

A particularly fun part of the museum where visitors are guided through a hall of mirrors, full of colourful models taken from Lewis Carol’s magical book.

Magic Room

One of my personal favourite zones, and great as a last stop after visiting all the other areas. Come here to chill out on the comfy beanbags, listening to music and watching the animated video all around you. The video playing changes every few minutes: the bottom of the sea, the cosmos, a wildlife safari park, dancing skeletons. It’s magical. And thoroughly relaxing!

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Here is a break down of the most important things that you need to be aware of.

Compulsory training for dog owners

Anyone that wants to own a dog will have to undergo an online training course to prove that they are able to take care of the animal. This course will be online and once completed the certification will be valid indefinitely.

For the time being little is known about what the course will involve or how dog owners can apply to take it. The regulations governing the course are still being developed.

Once the regulation is finalised, however, anyone who does not successfully pass the course will be unable to take ownership of a dog. Those that already own a dog will have to successfully pass this course within a set period of time or risk incurring a fine

Compulsory steralisation for cats under six months

Sterilization is only mandatory for cats, except for those registered as breeder.

The obligation, as set out by the regulation, is to sterilize the cat before the age of six months. If this is not done, cat-owners could face a fine.

However, this does not mean that cats older than six months should not be steralised. For example, if you find an adult cat abandoned in the street and you want to adopt it, the first thing you must do is to take it to the vet to check its health, vaccinate it, sterilize it and tag it with a microchip.

Liability insurance for dogs

Liability insurance is only mandatory for dogs. A different matter is the law that regulates potentially dangerous animals (including some breeds of dogs and other animals), which also requires insurance and other requirements.

Limited alone time

The new law sets out the maximum period that a pet can be left on its own.

Dogs may not be left alone for more than 24 hours, whereas cats may not be left alone for more than three days. Dogs may not be left alone inside a car.

All animals must be allowed to rest indoors. They cannot be kept in courtyards, gardens, terraces, balconies and the like on a permanent basis.

The law also says that the enclosures in which pets live must “be such as to enable them to develop their basic physiological, ethological and ecological needs adequately”. This would mainly affect animals that are usually kept in closed or semi-closed containers, such as aquariums and terrariums, but also typical pets such as dogs and cats, which must be provided with sufficient and adequate space.

Limited number of pets

Individuals may no longer own more than five pets. Any more than this and a special permit is required.

Registering pets

All pets must now be registered. Anyone that does not registered a pet within 30 days of acquiring it risks a fine. Those that already have a pet should make sure that it is registered within 30 days of the new law coming into force, or risk a fine.

Each Comunidad Autónoma has its own pet registry where the data must be recorded. The new law contemplates a national registry, but this will depend on new legislation being developed.

To register your pets in Barcelona, follow this link. Registration costs €38,

Pet shops

Dogs, cats and ferrets may only be sold from registered breeders – not pet shops.

Pet shops may continue to sell other animals – such as rodents, fish, birds and insects – as well as food and supplies for the animals.

Legal pets

There will be a definitive list of animals that can be kept as pets.

This list has not yet been created. The only animals that will definitely be allowed are dogs, cats and ferrets – although other common household pets are likely to make it on to the list as well. More exotic pets are likely to be disallowed.

In principle the law will not be applied retroactively and those who have animals not included in the list will be able to keep them. They will simply not be able to acquire others from now on.

Deregestration / burial

If your pet dies or you get rid of it, you must notify the city council where the animal is registered within 30 days.

The cancellation of a pet animal due to death must be accompanied by a document certifying that it was cremated or buried by a company officially recognised as being able to carry out such activities. In anticipation of this new law, a number of pet burial services have started springing up in Barcelona.

Huge thanks to DOBLE A Abogacia Animal in preparing this article. They helped drill into the finer details of some of the legislation. DOBLE A is a Malaga-based law firm that was created for the defence of animal rights.

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