Try the classic tapas of Barceloneta, “La Bomba" - a yummy ball of potato filled with spicy meat and aioli.
Set on a triangular spit of land just south of Barcelona’s Parc de la Ciutadella, Barceloneta wasn’t always the golden-beached go-to city hotspot that it is today. For centuries after the city was founded, its beachfront was almost entirely ignored, except by the occasional day-trippers venturing out from the centre, and Miguel de Cervantes, who included the beach as the setting for Don Quixote’s fight against the Knight of the White Moon. In the late 1980s, suddenly faced with the prospect of hosting the 1992 Summer Olympics, the city council decided that it was time to shake things up.
Beach Life
Now the former fishing district is alive with activity, and is the perfect place to unwind in the sun. There are seven kilometres of beaches in all, starting at the thriving, similarly-renovated Port Vell, and stretching all the way down past the Port Olímpic to the Fòrum. However, the first two kilometres belong to Barceloneta, and these are invariably the most lively at all times of day and night.
Keeping it Fresh
Barceloneta is without doubt one of the finest areas in the city for fresh seafood. Eateries vary from plush five-course restaurants to tiny bistros serving the catch of the day. Can Solé has perhaps the most extensive fish menu in the city, and the food is exquisite, but it is a little on the pricey side, while at the other end of the scale Can Maño is a bustling tavern where you can see fresh fish coming through the door as yours is being prepared in the kitchen.
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