Image by AC Uribe

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 addition to the catalogue are for 24 hours rent only. Other movies, documentaries and tv series are for a 48 hour period. And they have a flat rate: you pay 30 euros and can always have one movie at home.

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.

And their system warns you when you are renting a movie for the second time – great device for people who forget – like me. They also have a great art store just two doors ahead, with books and magazines.

The store is only open in the afternoons, but you can deposit your movies in a mailbox at anytime of the day.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Ciclic video club | Art & culture, Cinemas | Blockbusters from € 4
Rec Comtal, 7 | El Borne | +34935013383
16:00 – 23:00 daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Barcelona

Image by Sonja Pöhlmann

The perfect match on your second date: dinner and cinema.

Imagine you spent a great day on the beach and you meet someone you really like. Next day you meet again, you talk all day long and you still really like each other.

You start to get hungry but the restaurants won’t open before 20.30, except for Laurel, a cosy and delicious Argentinean/Uruguayan restaurant in the Eixample district nearby Placa Universitat.

Although there are plenty of Argentinean restaurants all over the city, this place offers the best empanadas (Argentinean pies) in all kinds of funky colors and flavors as a starter. Then you should go for some goat cheese salad (€ 7.00), some homemade pumpkin-walnut-pasta (€ 9.00), or share a delicious pizza (about € 10.00).

Also try the Argentinean red wine (Malbec) and you will be surprised of its flavor and quality.

Last but not least try the world’s famous divine and unbeatable Havana alfajor (caramel fudge filled cookie covered with either white or dark chocolate or meringue).

Filled up and happy, you and your date should move over to the Cinema Renoir Floridablanca right in front of Laurel for the 20:15 session.

The cinema is one of the few in the city showing mostly independent movies in their original language with Spanish subtitles. On Mondays “dia del espectador” you get a special deal for only €4.20 Euros.

On Tuesdays, Laurel offers a special dinner including a ticket to the cinema for only 16 euros!

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Restaurant Laurel | Cinemas, Restaurants (Argentinian/Urugayan) | Empanadas from € 2.20
Calle Floridablanca 140, bajos | Eixample | +34933256292
15:00 – 01:00 daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Barcelona

Image by Cristofor Rosique

My favourite cinema, Cinema Verdi in Gràcia, has two separate entrances (C/Verdi, 32 & C/Torrijos, 49), in effect it’s two cinemas, 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.

Cines Verdi is not the place to go to see the latest Hollywood blockbuster. 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.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Cines Verdi | Cinemas | Ticket € 7.00
C/Verdi 32 | Gracia | +34932387990
Depends on play

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Barcelona

Image by Anna Boluda

Ok, first of all let me clarify this: I am not a big fan of shopping centers. And it is not the kind of place that I normally visit while being in another city -as I find they all so simmilar to each other. But this one has a couple of details that make it very special. 

First of all, this used to be a bullring! And it actually keeps the form and façade of the old place where people used to come and cheer while some animals where tortured to death (just in case you had any doubt about my feelings on bullfighting…). The activity stopped in  1977, and it has just recently reopened. 

The second great thing is the terrace. Get there by climbing several ‘flights’ of escalators that seem to be hanging from nowhere, or through an all-glass elevator that takes you directly to the 5th floor. The views are fantastic, and there are several restaurants and cafeterias  there. Walk all along it till you make the whole circle to get a perfect sense of Barcelona. 

In the inside there are some cinemas, a museum of rock that I haven’t dared to visit yet, more restaurants and the main Spanish and international brand stores: from Mango and Fnac to Benetton and Game. There are a couple of interesting ones though: Natura and Olokuti, both carrying a variety of clothes and nice little stuff for the house with nice design. Some of them are fair trade and ecological products too.  

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Arenas Shopping Center | Cinemas, Coffee & tea, Shopping, Restaurants | Free
Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes 385 | Montjuich
Mon – Sat 10:00 – 22:00 (stores) | 10:00 – 00:00 daily (restaurants)

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Barcelona

Image by Anna Boluda

In Barcelona, the majority of movie theaters offer the films with dubbing version. Getting to hear the real voices -subtitled versions- is only possible in the wonderful Cines Verdie (check the Cines Verdi article), the Yelmo Icaria multiplex and the Renoir cinemas.

The Renoir Floridablanca is one of my favorites because it’s just in the city center (metro: Universitat or Sant Atoni) and the selection of films is really good. I bet most of the Oscar winning films of the last decade have been shown here…, including the best foreign language film category!

If you speak some Spanish and/or Catalan, this is an interesting place for you too. They usually include one local film too. You can trust they selection: they -normally- run the best available one. 

The seats are comfy, the visibility is good… and the popcorn are way too salty and too expensive! So keep your hunger for after the movie: the Raval is just round the corner and you’ll find dozens of options there to eat great food!

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Renoir Floridablanca | Cinemas | film € 7
Floridablanca 135 | El Raval
16:00 – 00:00 daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Barcelona