Artsy, funky, unpretentious. Great expat scene, cool cafes, great plazas, diverse and quality restaurant scene… great metro connections and close to Parc Guell too!
Beyond the center of Barcelona
Beyond Ciutat Vella there’s, of course, The Extension of Barcelona, the big donut block neighbourhood known as L’Eixample…
Eixample
In Spanish, "El Ensanche," I believe. No, it doesn’t mean The Example as we expats commonly believe for years on end (or was it only me?). Pronounced, “ey-sham-pla”. It’s a massive suburb in the centre of the city. Yep, imagine America’s perfectly planned gated communities, and then make all the roads octagonal, 20x the density, dash some Catalan modernism throughout the whole thing, put the buildings in the middle of the blocks out like donuts (reminds me of Sim City) with park in the middle of the donut and, BOOM. You have the perfect example of how to enlarge a city 1890’s style. Does this make any sense? It does to me. Regarding living here, it’s very downtown New York or London. Big-ass buildings, no community feel (it feels very cosmopolitan), some good shopping and places to go no doubt and quite safe: much less drugs, etc. The tourist spots are real mecas of tourism though. This is where you find all the Gaudi stuff. Eixample is divided into the left and right, “izquierda” and “derecha” respectively, and it’s commonly held that the izquierda is higher end. But alas the Eixample is boring for me, so let’s move on…
Poble Sec
(“Dry Town” I believe) or the Montjuic area is really nice actually. Enough character, good metro connections, the Montjuic area is amazing for running and events and stuff, all around quite safe, not too expensive… the only problem is the total lack of good restaurants! I know that sounds lame but Barcelona has amazing cuisine and if you’re not around that good cuisine you’re going to be subjected to TOTAL CRAP. I mean, churros? WTF? Have you had a Spanish bocadillo before? The roof of your mouth will hate you for the first few months as you alternate between burning it on overheated cafes con leche and jamon y queso bocadillos. Anyway, Poble Sec rocks, and will be a big hit for anyone needing some good nature and a little more quiet. Please note the presence of great exaggeration in the above bitch fest.
Sants and Les Corts
are both cheaper areas with higher crime but may be the new hot areas. I don’t know them all that well but people I’ve met from Sants are nice. Does that help? The main train station is right there people, you can imagine what that does to the area.
Poble Nou
AKA New Town (just call it “pob-la no”), is a real mixed bag. This is a zone that perhaps only The Cheat could love… and other expats I suppose. This is an old industrial district so it carries all of those hallmarks: big old brick buildings with huge frosted windows (now lofts), smoke stacks (not-in-use), wider streets, etc. Poble Nou has seen the most new construction of any barrio in Barcelona though. Tons of new high-rise condos line the highway that runs next to the many beaches. If you go straight south from Poble Nou metro station about 10 min (walking), then at the beach turn right and go around the big grassy knob you’ll be at Mar Bella and Bogatell (another fun Catalan word, “bo-ga-teyy”) which are total nude beaches. If you like looking at schlong and boobs then this is your spot. Other highlights of Poble Nou include the big penis building, known as Monumental (coincidence?)
Also, the only real “mall” in Barcelona is here in Poble Nou, called Diagonal. If you’re a runner then you’ll probably appreciate Poble Nou. I did when I lived there. The proximity to the beaches is great. Big downside: the metro line sucks. The yellow line running through the barrio is old and rickety. Higher crime here too, avoid the parks and beaches at night (pickpockets, scams, and, well, late-night predators looking for a hook up in the bushes (true)). If you’re into the loft thing then this is your barrio though.
Sarria and Sant Gervasi
At the diagonally opposite side of Barcelona from Poble Nou. Literally, it’s on the other end of (avenue) Diagonal. All apartments start at a million euros. Very nice, very safe, some might say beautiful, with tons of trees and parks. Sarria used to be its own little town so it’s got a cool pueblo feel to it. Very few tourists out here. Kinda snobby though. No good metro connections, but if you have the money to live out here then you’ll own a car anyway, plus there are the Ferro Carrils which are more like a regional metro, but they go downtown and connect to the metros pretty well. Did I mention how snooty these barrios are?
Gracia
I’ve saved my favourite for last. Gracia. Oh Gracia how I adore thee, let me count the ways. Artsy, funky, unpretentious. Great expat scene, cool cafes, great plazas, diverse and quality restaurant scene… great metro connections and close to Parc Guell too! It’s super urban and hipster but beware of the anarkistas and okupas! No, just kidding, kinda. It’s a diverse mix of people though, a great soup of cultures like I’ve never seen anywhere else in the world. The one problem is the distance to the beaches, but you’ll be partying on roof-tops and sipping cafes at Plaça Vierreina so who cares? I won’t go on because I don’t want to send too many of the wrong kind of people there. No, it’s not for everyone, but nearly everyone finds something to like in Gracia. This is where your second apartment will be and then when you leave it you will long for it again and again.
Last updated 23 01 2021
