Cinema

If you don’t feel like hitting the city but want to watch a DVD in your rental apartment, this is where all your dreams come true. Ciclic is an apparently small video club store in the best tradition: maybe you don’t want to have them all at home, but it’s nice to know where to find the series, documentary or funny movie that you where longing to see.

Yes, it’s “arty” and cinema lovers will be very fond of the collection organized by author, but they also have a great commercial cinema area and a big space devoted to children’s movies.

Recent additions to the catalog are for 24 hours rent only. Other movies, documentaries and tv series are for a 48 hour period. You can also ask for flat rates or season specials… they change constantly.

I have many reasons to go there and one in particular: the people working at Ciclic love movies and like their job, thus are have to give you a good opinion on most of the movies displayed. Usually, they have great music playing, they sell ice cream and movie posters.

Their system warns you when you are renting a movie for the second time – great device for people who forget. The store is only open in the afternoons, but you can deposit your movies in a mailbox at anytime of the day.

My favourite cinema, Cinema Verdi in Gràcia, has two separate entrances (C/Verdi, 32 & C/Torrijos, 49), in effect it’s two cinemas (Verdi and Verdi Park), one with five screens and the other with four.Even though it has nine screens it doesn’t feel like a multiplex, it still has the feel of an independent cinema.

I used to programme a single-screen cinema in the UK so I appreciate the effort involved in running a nine-screen cinema.The picture and sound quality here is always very good and the seats comfortable.

The cinema is a member of the Europa network so there’s always a good choice of quality films in the original language with subtitles, and free notes with every film. Every now and then they’ll screen a new film free of charge. And, by way of celebrating their 25th birthday recently, the cinema gave customers a free DVD.

And, when you come out after seeing a film, you’re surrounded by dozens of really good nearby bars, cafés and restaurants where you can go with friends and swap opinions.

Seven months after first publishing the above Time Out Barcelona magazine voted Verdi as the BEST CINEMA IN THE CITY.

The recent hike in IVA (VAT) from 8% to 21% has obliged the cinema to increase its standard ticket price from € 7 to € 9.

For just € 30 a year you can become a Friend of the cinema and enjoy generous discounts and free special events – such as talks with well known film directors.