This friendly little bar, a vermuteria, is the size of a lock-up or small garage.

It’s a cute place, almost a shrine to the Costa Brava, its walls decorated with early 1970s photos and maps, and shelves packed with canned seafood, sauces and wines.

The specialties here are draft vermut and anchovies from L’Escala, and they serve a good range of cold tapas – sea-snails, prawns, ham etc. Football fans should know that the owner is a ‘periquito‘ – little parrot – a supporter of Espanyol, so it may not be the brightest thing to do to go there wearing a Barça shirt!

The bar’s big sister – a restaurant where you can sit down and enjoy a larger meal – also called Cala del Vermut – is just 100 meters along the street. And the bar’s little brother, which has a fabulous range of hot tapas and quesos (cheeses), and also called Cala del Vermut, is 200 meters up the street, heading back up towards Urquinaona.

I really like this spot, a really good place for a stop-off when en route to Urquinaona metro station after a downtown shopping expedition.

7 Portes (7 Doors) has been in business, first as a café, and since 1929 as a restaurant, for 175 years. In 2011 the restaurant celebrated this achievement by commissioning Milton Glaser, the well-known graphic designer who devised the I Love NY logo, and who is a frequent customer, to re-design the labels of its house wines and cava.

In addition Vinçon (See the article), the design-lifestyle store, staged an exhibition of the designs and preparatory drawings and sketches.

What do Woody Allen, Lou Reed, Che Guevara, the King of Spain, John Wayne, Ava Gardner, Catherine Deneuve, Pelé, Miró, Antonio Banderas, Harrison Ford, Mikhail Gorbachev, Martin & Donna Towell, Bo Derek and myself all have in common? We’ve all dined here, and we all enjoyed the experience.

So, what makes this spot so special? The food – rich and incredibly tasty paellas and arrossos (rice dishes), fantastic seafood and traditional meat dishes. The art – paintings, lithographs, photographs, drawings and sculpture by some of the 20th century’s best-known artists. The ambiance – the classically tiled, wood panelled and mirrored rooms hum with the sounds of happy eating merged with the tuneful tinkling of a live pianist (after 10pm) as the experienced staff seemingly glide between tables.

It’s not cheap – but compared with restaurants of a similar reputation – it’s not expensive.

If you enjoy paella try their legendary Paella Parellada, with skinless, boneless chicken, pork, fish, prawns, mussels and clams and other seafood.

You’ll need a reservation, otherwise expect at least a half-hour wait.

I love El Jardì not so much for what it is, but for where it is – right at the heart of the tourist maelstrom. Yes, just a few yards from the thick of the throb, you can enjoy a quiet, relaxing, reasonably priced, drink and snack in chiringuito (beach bar) like surroundings.

The affable owner, Artur, is an expert windsurfer, and you’ll see old windsurfing boards hanging on the walls.

The trees provide welcome shade. It’s a good cooling off point when running errands in the city centre – especially in the summer. And it’s a good spot to meet up with friends for a chinwag; unlike a lot of city centre bars you can hear yourself and your friends speak. It’s often so quiet you can hear birdsong. And it’s a good place to situate yourself with your laptop. Ask the friendly bar staff for the wi-fi key.

Sandwiches (€3) are available through the day, as well as light snacks such as olives and potato crisps. And they serve draft Moritz and Moritz Epidor (always a sign of a good bar) as well as a good selection of bottled beers. And they’ll mash you a reasonable mojito for €5.

To find this cool, tree-frocked oasis look for a white camel stood in the doorway to El Mercadillo – a clothes and accessories market. Head straight through the market to a set of steps which will take you up onto the terrace.

Situated on one of the most interesting streets in Barrio Gotico, Sala Parés is probably the oldest privately owned commercial art gallery in the world.

Though the nameplate in the photo above says 1877 the gallery has been in business since 1840.

The gallery has the distinction of being the first gallery to publicly exhibit Picasso’s work.

The gallery has three public showing spaces and a private salon for clients to buy and sell work and have work they own valued.

The gallery represents a strong stable of international artists and has an impressive collection of 19th and 20th century Catalan and Spanish work.

At the start of the 20th century Parés played a significant role in launching the careers of many significant fine artists.

It would be unfair to singularly characterize the range of artwork you’ll encounter here — except to say it’s of consistently excellent quality. Well worth a visit.

And, have in mind that the gallery is just a few short steps from La Pallaresa (see the Pallaresa article), so you won’t have far to walk to find a good cup of tea, coffee or chocolate.

If you want to push the boat out a little during your visit to Barcelona – and be sure, before you sit down, what the bill (check) will likely be when you finish –  then I recommend you check out Flo Brasserie.

This is my kind of place.

Why? Firstly, its location – on Via Laietana, just around the corner and up the street from the Palau Música Catalana, central and close to the metro; good for hooking up with visiting friends. Everyone can find it.

Secondly, the food is reliably very, very good, with delights such as grilled duck and arroz negro con bogavante (black rice with lobster).

Thirdly, the price of the evening menú is € 24, and includes a half bottle of wine per person – and the red wine is a good rioja – not a rough vino de la mesa, or table wine.

The service, décor, ambience and attention to detail are all well above average.

And, what I like about the place – situated in what was once a silk warehouse – is that it is equally suitable for couples, colleagues, families and large parties of friends.

And, a bonus, the oysters here are fantastic. I know of restaurants in Barcelona where they serve the exact same large French oysters I had during my most recent visit for € 4.00 each; I enjoyed six oysters as a starter as part of the menú alternativa, which costs € 29.70 (plus a supplement of € 1.18) in total.

¡Bon profit!