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.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Cala del Vermut | Bars, Snacks | Vermut € 2.00
C/Magdalenes 6 | El Barrio Gotico | +34933179623
Mon – Sat 11:00 – 16:00 & 18:00 – 23:00

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.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
7 Portes | Restaurants (Catalan-Spanish) | Dinner + house wine € 35.00
Passeig Isabel II, 14 | El Barrio Gotico | +34933193033
13:00 – 01:00 daily

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.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
El Jardí | Bars, Coffee & tea, Relaxing, Snacks | Draft beer € 2.40
Portaferrissa, 17 | El Barrio Gotico | +34934856923
Mon – Sat 09:30 – 21:00

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.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Sala Parés | Art & culture | Free
Carrer Petritxol 5 | El Barrio Gotico | +34933187020
Mon 16:00 – 20:00, Tue – Sat 10:30 – 14:00 & 16:00 – 20:30, Sun (Sep – May) 11:30 – 14:00

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!

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Flo – Brasserie | Restaurants (Intern.) | 3 courses & wine € 24.95
C/Jonqueres,10 | El Barrio Gotico | +34933193102
Sun – Mon 13:00 – 16:00 & 20:00 – 23:30, Tue – Thu 13:00 – 16:00 & 20:00 – 00:00, Fri – Sat 13:00 – 16:00 & 20:00 – 00:30

If you haven’t visited Barcelona before then you’ll almost certainly want to take a stroll along the Ramblas – but keep strolling if you can – do not succumb to the temptation to stop at one of the dozens of café-bar-restaurant terraces.

If you really do have to have a drink and a bite then there is only one café-bar-restaurant on the Ramblas you should consider stopping at – Café de l’Opera – you’ll likely pay one euro more per item than you would elsewhere in the city, but it’s HONEST. You get what you pay for at the the price they tell you. Simple.

Negotiating the other café-bar-restaurants on the Ramblas is not so straightforward – you’ll pay inflated prices, and you may end up paying a supplement for the table, or your seat, a supplement for stuff you never ordered, a supplement on the local tax they never mentioned (and doesn’t exist) and a supplement for the air you and the waiter breathes.

Trust me – the café-bar-restaurants on the Ramblas do not take prisoners – they go for the kill every time.

Avoid being scalped and chill your heels in the Modernista (Catalan Art Nouveau) surroundings of Café de l’Opera. It’s a good spot for people watching, scribbling notes, and reading the newspaper over a cup of coffee or hot chocolate and churros, or a beer. And, a good spot for both morning coffee and a post-midnight nightcap. Extensive range of bottled beers, including cannabis beer, available.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Café de l’Opera | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks | Bottle of beer € 2.40
La Rambla, 74 | El Barrio Gotico | +34933177585
08:30 – 02:30 daily

On a good night La Pipa can be a haven of calm amid the madness that can be Plaza Reial, just off Las Ramblas.

The HQ for Barcelona’s pipe smokers’ club is discreetly tucked away in the corner of the square.

After you’ve found the buzzer, and walked up three flights of stairs, you’ll find the English-style ‘Sherlock Holmes’ pub, decked with portraits, film stills and posters of the great eccentric detective, and you’ll find a cabaret stage and dance space, a pool-table room, and a members-only lounge for pipe smokers.

Wander the linking corridors and view a quirky collection of pipes in various stages of manufacture, including a pipe that once belonged to Dalí, and a collection of old tins, pots and packets of tobacco. You’ll also see a league table of local pipe smokers. Yes, pipe smokers meet here to charge their pipes and puff away, hoping to be the one whose bowl lasts longest and score the points that will put them at the top of the table.

But it’s not just pipe smokers who meet here – the club hosts milonga and tango classes and there’s a regular program of jazz gigs. Several well-known TV and movie actors, and well-known writers, often call in to chill out.

if you’re looking for a cool, friendly, comfortable atmosphere to meet up with friends for a drink, a smoke and a chat get there before 11pm, and avoid Friday and Saturday nights when the place gets packed out with drunken thrill seekers.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Pipa Club | Bars, Music | Beer € 4.00
Plaza Reial 3 | El Barrio Gotico | +34933024732
Mon – Thu 20:00 – 02:00, Fri – Sat 22:00 – 05:00; Sun 20:00 – 01:00

I’ve been visiting this place since 1987 and I still can’t decide whether I love it or hate it. Why would I hate it? Well, with its regimented rows of glass cases, broken pots and coins, and very little interpretation – it reminds me of compulsory school museum visits.

And why do I love it? It has a fascinating, very extensive, collection of everyday bits and pieces and paper ephemera from the late 19th century – early 20th century.

Frederic Marès was a sculptor and an eccentric, avid collector of things – crucifixes, walking-sticks, fans, dolls, toy theatres, pipes, cigar-bands, cigarette papers, printers’ handbills, business cards, tram tickets, it goes on and on and on.

As you wander through the galleries you’ll build a fairly strong picture of the leisure preoccupations of the moneyed classes of early 20th century Barcelona.

Through the museum’s omission of any mention of working-class existence you’ll begin to understand the simmering resentments which fuelled the class struggle that climaxed with the Spanish Civil War.

I feature this spot as a location in my novel, After Goya.

Another good reason to visit this curious museum is the courtyard and café – a lovely spot to chill out with an iced-coffee and a good book.

On a budget? Go there on Wednesday after 14:00, or after 15:00 on Sunday, when it’s FREE admission, though one of the galleries will likely be closed.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Frederic Marès museum | Art & culture, Coffee & tea, Relaxing | Admission € 4.20
Plaça Sant Iu 5-6 | El Barrio Gotico | +34932563500
Tue – Sat 10:00 – 19:00, Sun 10:00 – 20:00

Bun Bo has a real rickshaw inside the restaurant, but that is not what makes it so cozy. It could also be the lights (tens of light paper globes hanging over your head) or the magnificent terrace in a small and quiet placa, hidden away just a few steps far from the cathedral. On top of it, the food is quite good.

To be completely honest, I would mostly only eat starters at Bun Bo – Vietnamese rolls and fresh rolls. In a way, I feel they have mastered the Vietnamese cuisine better in those. Seconds are also good, but don’t expect very spicy or full flavored food – it is just nice.

Another great thing is the cheap and nice lunch menu – € 10 including dessert or coffee (I would go for coconut ice cream, if it is in the daily specials). In weekends, a normal meal for two with coffee will be around € 15. Mojitos and sangría are on perpetual sale and reasonably good.

No reservations, so be early and be patient. The service is ok, depending on the day and the amount of people waiting for a table. After some public works in the last months, the terrace is back and lovely. The interior is as nice (and as fresh) as always.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Bun Bo | Restaurants (Vietnamese) | Lunch menu € 12
Sagristans 3 | El Barrio Gotico | +34933011378
13:00 – 00:00 daily

Not a big fan of opera, I found myself absolutely absorbed by one performance I saw some years ago at the Liceu – it might very well be THE place, which is full of the city’s history. The Liceu, in the middle of Las Ramblas, completely burned down more that 20 years ago. The Barcelonians are proud that Liceu has been rebuilt, with the same look and a great sound.

It’s true to say that the “best” seats are very expensive, but the wonder of the Liceu is that no matter where you are located, you can get a great view. This picture, taken from my seat in the back row of the fifth floor shows it – just be careful with seats too much on the sides.

Every year they have a good selection of pieces both contemporary and classic. There are also some dance performances and special concerts with other kinds of musicians. If you are a student, you can go to the box office the same day of the show and try to get some tickets off-price.

So, as for some coming to Barcelona definitely means visiting the football stadium, for some others the visit to the magnificent theater can be a great option for one evening. Check the website for both the shows and for some special visits to the “insides” of the theater – for general public and some even for architects that want to know the back-part of operations.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Liceu | Art & culture, Theaters | 5th floor +/- € 25
La Rambla 59 | El Barrio Gotico
Ticket office Mon – Fri 13:30 – 20:00 (or 30 minutes before start show)