13 Secret Spots In Barcelona You Won't Read About In Guidebooks

In the age of Facebook and Instagram it seems everywhere that’s worth visiting is already in guide books before you’ve even had chance to visit. Fortunately, in a city like Barcelona, there’s so much on offer that it’s possible to find hidden gems before they become victims of their own success. Here are 13 of our favourite spots in Barcelona which you need to check out now.

Carrer Peu de la Creu

If El Born is known as the place to shop for independent designers and artisan boutiques, there is a handful of fantastic stores located around the Carrer Peu de la Creu in El Raval. Grey Street is an independently run boutique concept store which sells everything from jewellery to underwear, crockery and posters. While across the road at Antique Store you’ll find original vintage and retro furniture from the fifties, sixties and seventies.

1. Can Margarit

Restaurant, Spanish

Artichokes cooked on the grill © Joselu Blanco

Open only at night, Can Margarit is a Poble Sec institution that serves traditional Catalan food in a remarkable setting. Step through the door and you’ll first be invited to help yourself to a glass of local wine or an aperitif, before being showed through to the back which is reminiscient of an old cellar with its large wooden barrels and stone walls. This is the kind of place which serves snails in sauce and grilled rabbit in generous portions.

2. Bodega La General

Bar, Cafe, Bodega, Mediterranean, Spanish, Vegetarian

The reading room of the Arùs public library

A neighbourhood which has so far eluded the guidebooks is that of Sants, located past Plaça Espanya on the way out of the city. Here you’ll find authentic bodegas which draw the crowds during lunchtime every Saturday for vermouth or the mid-morning crowd after a café con leche and a chat with the barman. The Bodega La General is an altogether more recent addition to the scene, with a fresher, more stylised décor but all the warmth and familiarity of an old neighbourhood haunt.

3. Bar La Plata

Bar, Spanish, Tapas, Pub Grub

If you’re going to have only four tapas on your menu then you’re going to want to make sure they’re good. The fact that the likes of great catalan chef Ferran Adrià have patronised the Bar La Plata can only attest to the fact that they’re on to something good. Possibly one of the few remaining authentic tapas bars in the Gothic Quarter, the Bar La Plata may not be the best kept secret in town but does considerably well at retaining its authentic spirit and charm considering its location.