I love showing people around Barcelona. Not only does it get me out from behind my desk but reminds why I first fell in love with the city in the first place: fancy pants art nouveau architecture, fabulous shops that looks like art installations, mind-boggling hotel foyers, dynamic street art and sculpture, and always a restful bar within a few metres.
I have guided Russian architects, International design journalists, American editors, Spanish students and plenty of travellers and tourists around Barcelona. Here is a taster of what they saw:
Eixample, modernist architecture
This stylish neighbourhood of the Barcelona’s 19th century shows the modernist architecture, with boutiques and sophisticated hotels. Visit the breathtaking hotel terraces, private contemporary art galleries and other secret spots of the bourgeoisie while you learn about the origins of the city’s sensibility towards good design and aesthetic richness.
Raval, multiculturalism and creative start-ups
Located in the Barcelona’s left-of-centre downtown, is an intense mix of multiculturalism. The MACBA and CCCB, both bastions of the contemporary art scene, thrives in the Raval’s narrow streets and plazas where street art and skate culture coexist with lots of bars, creative start-ups and innovative shops who feed off its sheer energy.
Poblenou, the creative future
High-tech buildings, digital start-ups and artist lofts are the main contrasts in Poblenou. This neighbourhood, which once was the city’s industrial periphery, its now the 22@, an active business district. We must highlight the DHUB, the new Barcelona’s Design Museum next to the semi-abandoned factories around.
Contact me directly (suzannewales{at}gmail.com) or take a look here for more information and lots of pretty pictures. .