A Barcelona day in Gràcia's squares and independent shops
A morning coffee in a Gràcia plaça, independent design shops, a menu del día lunch in a local bar, an afternoon climb to the Turó del Rovira bunkers, and a long vermut evening back in the neighbourhood.
- 109:30
Plaça del Sol, Gràcia
The main square of Gràcia, surrounded by local bars and a single enormous plane tree at the centre. Breakfast at Bar Canigó or Cafè del Sol with a cortado and a tostada de tomate.
- 211:00
Verdi Street cinemas and independent shops
The pedestrian stretch of Carrer Verdi. Independent bookshops, concept stores selling Catalan ceramics, a four-screen art-house cinema (Cinemes Verdi). Walk both ways; the shops flip between morning and afternoon.
- 313:30
La Pepita
A Gràcia tapas bar with counter seating and a graffiti-covered back wall. The menu del día lunch — three courses plus wine for about 20 euros — is the value move. Order the croquetas, the morro asado, the flan.
- 415:30
Park Güell, free zone
Climb the stone steps through the back entrance from Gràcia — you enter the free zone directly. The famous mosaic-bench Monumental Zone needs a ticket booked ahead; the free zone has the colonnade walks and three viewpoints.
- 517:00
Turó de la Rovira bunkers
Twenty minutes' walk uphill from Park Güell to abandoned Spanish Civil War anti-aircraft gun platforms on the hilltop. The 360-degree view over Barcelona is the best in the city. Cyclists, picnickers, a few locals drinking beer.
- 620:30
La Vermu, Gràcia
A Gràcia vermutería with vermut on tap and tables spilling into Plaça de la Virreina. Order a vermut with a slice of orange, an anchovy on bread, a bomba. Stay until the square fills up at 22:00.