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You may have heard of Ferran Adrià, Spain’s most famous celebrity chef who has been accumulating so much kudos in the last number of years that the French became worried that Spain was stealing their culinary limelight. Ferran Adrià became famous for molecular gastronomy, the products of which he sold at his now shutdown restaurant, El Bulli. Just after closing due to the cost of keeping up such intricate chemistry-based cooking, Ferran and his brother Albert Adrià ,set up the modern tapas bar Tickets in the Eixample neighbourhood.  Albert Adrià, now head chef, offers a 33 course tasting menu of traditional tapas with a modern twist. The interior is designed in a playful, carnival type style featuring ice-cream carts and candy floss machines. This is a great place for a taste of some unpretentious haute cuisine with a traditional Catalan twist.

Tickets

Can Mano is a typical Barcelona style tapas bar that has been a long time favourite with locals for years and now draws in large crowds at peak times, particularly for lunch. If you arrive there at lunch time or at the later 8pm opening you could be waiting up to half an hour for a table. However, it is well worth the wait for some of the freshest and most authentic Catalan tapas in Barcelona. You can wait outside with a drink in hand and soak up the atmosphere and your name will be called when a table becomes available. The bar’s specialty is sea food freshly caught by local fisherman and you can eat really well here for very cheap.

O’Toxo Tres Hermanos is another highly popular tapas bar with a similar local feel but perhaps a little more up market, but only a little! It is still very reasonably priced and serves really good quality tapas. It’s a great place for big groups as well as couples, but can be quite loud and lively if you’re looking for intimacy. It’s located right in the heart of the Raval neighbourhood and like Can Mano, be prepared for a wait if arrive there at peak time. However, there is a bar inside where you can have a drink and wait and it shouldn’t be more than half an hour. The staff are super friendly and efficient as well.

Restaurante Puerto Plata: No matter where in the country you go, holidays in Spain will inevitably feature a large amount of tapas eating. If one night you get tapas overloud and fancy something a bit different to traditional Catalan then you could try Puerto Plata just off Via Laietana near the Jaume 1 metro stop. It’s a little hidden away Dominican-run food restaurant serving the best Caribbean/Dominican fusion food in Barcelona. The atmosphere here is always great, with random salsa dancing and impromptu drag acts performed by the restaurant owner. They cater for big groups too, in this way you can pay a fixed price per head to get plate after plate of delicious Caribbean dishes and glasses of various types of Caribbean rum.

 

Restaurants More recommended restaurants in Barcelona

Restaurants Other recommended restaurants in Spain

Casa Batlló Barcelona - Gaudi's work in Barcelona

1 – Sagrada Familia (1882-currently under construction): this is probably the most famous Gaudi’s building. The Project started in 1882, and Gaudí got involve one year later. The architect did not abandon the Project until his death in 1926. The building is still under construction and it is built from donations. Gaudí himself said: “The expiatory church of La Sagrada Família is made by the people and is mirrored in them. It is a work that is in the hands of God and the will of the people.” Learn more about it and tickets at: http://www.sagradafamilia.cat/sf-eng/?lang=0

2- La Casa Milà (1906-1912): it is known as La Pedrera (meaning “The Quarry” in Catalan). Casa Milà is the fourth and final work Gaudí did on Passeig de Gràcia, the main avenue of the city at the time. The building marked a break with the architectural language of Gaudí’s work in terms of innovation in both the functional aspects and the constructive and ornamental ones. Find more information about the history of the building and the tickets to visit it at: http://www.lapedrera.com/en/home

3 – Park Güell (1900-1914): Eusebi Guell bought a large farm in the “Muntaya Pelada”, Gracia. He wanted to build a Garden-city, the works were commissioned to Antonio Gaudí. It was opened to the public in 1926 as a park for its beauty. In 1984 it was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco. You can visit the park and find more information at: http://www.parkguell.es/en/index.php

Park Guell Barcelona - Gaudi's work in Barcelona

4- Casa Batlló (1904-1906): was commissioned by the textile industrialist Josep Batlló. Nowadays, is an iconic landmark in the city. The “Manzana de la Discordia”, or Block of Discord, is a series of buildings in Passeig de Gràcia. It is home to a collection of works by the most renowned architects, amongst which is Casa Batlló. The house, now a museum, is open to the public, both for cultural visits and for celebrating events in its splendid modernist function rooms. Learn more about Casa Batlló at: http://www.casabatllo.es/en/

5- Casa Vicens (1883-1888): is a family residence designed by Antoni Gaudí and built for industrialist Manuel Vicens. It was Gaudí’s first important work. It was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Works of Antoni Gaudí” in 2005.

It is located at Carrer de les Carolines 24, in the Gràcia district of Barcelona. This early work exhibits several influences, most notably the Moorish or Mudéjar influence. The house is constructed of undressed stone, rough red bricks, and colored ceramic tiles in checkerboard and floral patterns. The owner, Manuel Vicens, was the owner of a brick and tile factory, so the ceramic tiles pay tribute to his employment. It is not posible to visit the house inside, but it is wonderful to see it from the outside. It is currently on sale. Visit his web: http://www.casavicens.es/

If you want to know more about Gaudí and all his work, in the following link you will find all his projects: http://www.parkguell.es/en/hist_2.php

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