Tag Archives: tapas

Summer has settled down in Barcelona and here you have some tips to live together with it

June 28th, 2018

Some weeks ago, the temperature increased significantly in Barcelona and, in addition, the sweltering. This, sometimes, make us feel lazy, but, keep calm, the experience has given us some tips to fight against this laziness and riding again our bicycle.

Photo by Alex Blajan

The breeze from the beach and the calm shade in the parks

If you are going to move around Barcelona in the morning, maybe it’s better if you don’t go through the sunny spot of the Eixample. There are some shades, but the accumulated hot weather, especially from the motorized vehicles, are going to make you feel tired. Going to the beach or to some of the great parks in Barcelona will be a better option. With the breeze or the fresh air that comes from the plants, you are going to feel much better. Go to the Sagrada Familiar or to the great modernist works of Passeig de Gràcia in the afternoon, when the sun has gone down a little.

Take cover in a tapas bar or restaurant

The worst hours of the heat are at midday, so, at this hour, you should look for a bar or restaurant -especially if you are at the beach- where you could find refuge from the worst sun rays and taste some of the delicious food from the gastronomy of Barcelona.

You shouldn’t stop hydrating yourself

A continuous hydration, especially if we are moving around by bicycle, is essential in order to avoid sickness. Always take a bottle of water with you and put a little bit of lemon inside it. It will make you feel great!

In addition, you will always find an ice-cream parlor and you will be able to refresh yourself with your favorite flavor.

How can you feel better with the hot weather of these days? With some tapas, fresh drinks and, of course, going by bicycle

April 26th, 2018

These last days in Barcelona, the temperature has increased, so, here you have some tips about how you can take advantage of this moment pedaling a bicycle.

Appetizers, soft-drinks and a bicycle is our recipe for the warm days in Barcelona. Spring always invites us to carry out some activities and Barcelona is full of opportunities for enjoying every minute of a day. Today’s tip is that you should concentrate on the city’s gastronomy.

One referring to the sea and the mountain. There is a great variety of tours in Barcelona, but, if you feel like it, we can start by talking about beaches. An outing by bicycle through the promenade, stopping for a quick dip (this is only for the most courageous), has to be compensated by some tapas (Spanish appetizers) in more than one of the different bars and restaurants of this zone. In addition, by pedaling only 5 minutes, you can go to the center of the city, where you will not be disappointed.

And, from enjoying some fish and shellfish to the “pa amb tomàquet” (bread with tomatoes rubbed on it) with some home-made croquettes, some cold meat, olivada (an olive pure) or whatever you prefer. In Barcelona, the combination of flavors and textures is infinite, because, besides the local gastronomy, a lot of restaurants and bars bet on incorporating products from many other cultures.

So, now you know that, after some important pedaling, you have to recover energy!
And if you need more information, we, Born Bike Tours Barcelona, are going to be glad to help you 😉

The Easter Week, some perfect days to pedal through the streets of Barcelona

March 27th, 2018

Photo by Mari Carmen Díaz

This Easter Week say goodbye to the umbrella and prepare yourself for a tour through the activities in Barcelona with your bicycle. Here are some suggestions.

Park and garden tour

Barcelona is a beautiful city because of its beaches, its architecture, but, also because of its parks and gardens distributed through different points of the city. One of our favorite parks is the Parc de la Ciutadella. By bicycle or walking, this lovely and immense park, in the center of the city, is one of the most passed through parks.

But, if you feel more courageous, you can go to the Laribal’s Gardens by bicycle, in the district of Sants-Montjuïc, away from the center, but with incredible views.

And, in order to close the triangle, in the other extreme of Barcelona, we have the Horta’s Labyrinth, the oldest park of Barcelona.

One of beaches, please.

Pedaling through the Passeig Maritim, you will enjoy the tranquility of these days at the beach. Although you could think that this is a perfect destination for summer, these days the beach is also beautiful and very, very calm. So, it is one of the best moments to enjoy its breeze.

Gastronomic tour.

From the beach to the center is a nice pedaling experience by bicycle, without hills and full of bars and restaurants where you can rest, refresh yourself and eat some tapas –the typical Spanish appetizers-. But, if we are talking about eating during these days, above all, you shouldn’t miss the famous Easter “mona” cake. Although it is supposed that it has to be a present for our godsons and goddaughters, these cakes are delicious and this is a dessert that we should enjoy.

Haven’t you you decided yet? Come to Born Bike Barcelona Tours, we are going to help you 😉

These holidays, experience Barcelona like a local person

July 25th, 2017

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Fiestas, gastronomy and architecture are the three keys that will help you to enjoy Barcelona as though you had lived here all your life.

Barcelona keeps its high level of activities during the whole year, but, during summer, coinciding with the fiestas of some of its districts is much easier.

During these fiestas, all families in the neighborhood work in the organization and in the celebration. For this reason, if you are looking for typical elements of the popular Catalan culture -sardanes, grallers, giants, music…-, in these fiestas, you will find them.

During the next weeks we will announce them.

Gastronomy is another one of the essentials keys, in order to get to know the culture and, in addition, this is one of the best pleasures which we can access easily. In Barcelona, walking through the narrow streets in the center, at the Gòtic or the Born, at the port or, even, in other neighborhoods like Gracia or Sants-full of pedestrian streets and squares- we will be surrounded by restaurants and bars, where we will be able to eat some tapas -Spanish appetizers.

Finally, architecture, the one which we can find walking at the street level, is the key that has converted Barcelona into the most important modernist city. You shouldn’t miss that.

The best of all of this is that you can achieve all these key points while you are riding your bike placidly around the city.

When the warmth weather of summer arrives in Barcelona the best you can do is a tour through its beaches by bicycle

July 11th, 2017

Barcelona is a city with a Mediterranean weather, which means that its temperatures are not extreme, on the contrary, are perfect for moving around pedaling. Even so, during summer, the best we can do is ride the bike close to its beaches, just in cas the warm weather gets too hot and we need a swim.

During summer, in Barcelona, the temperatures can exceed 30ºC. For this reason, our tip is to keep yourselves hydrated at every moment and to look for fresh places. And, which is the best way of refreshing ourselves than with the fresh water of the beaches?

The different beaches of Barcelona are perfectly connected, and to ride from one to another by bicycle is very easy and safe. With a tour through the beaches you will be able to enjoy the sea breeze and stop to cool yourselves off whenever you want, because you will be able to park your bike easily.

In addition, this zone is full of bars and restaurants, where you can stop for drinking a beer -remember that a bicycle is also a means of transport, so it is better to drink in a moderate and responsible way- with its corresponding tapa -Spanish appetizers-. For making the best choice, let yourself be guided through the different aromas.

Without a doubt, for us, this is the best way to enjoy the summer holidays.

What should you eat if you are visiting Barcelona? The most popular gastronomy

May 16th, 2017

Photo by Javier Lastras

Barcelona gathers the most traditional food of the Catalan cuisine. The major part of the bars of Barcelona have menu which combines sea and mountain foods perfectly.

In order to get familiar with a city, its people and its culture, getting close to the bars and restaurants which offer us the popular gastronomy of the place is essential.

Barcelona is not different in this aspect, and all its tapas (Spanish appetizers) and menus are characterized by their perfect mixture of sea and mountain. So, in this case, bars, restaurants and markets are an obligatory visit.

You cannot only eat the “pa amb tomàquet” (tomato rubbed on bread). In spite of being one of the best inventions of our gastronomy, you shouldn’t miss combining it with some cold meat (fuet, llonganissa, cheese, ham…) or with fried squid or with some “seitons” (anchovies) in vinegar.

When you choose the menu, you should be guided by the seasonal food. During winter, you will be grateful for a good stew, a Catalan “escudella” or a fricassee. At the beginning of spring it should be some “calçots” with romesco sauce. During summer the “coca catalana” (Catalan tart) or the “escalivada” with cheese will help you renew energy. For autumn, a soupy rice with mushrooms. And the jack of all trades during the whole year is the Catalan sausage with beans.

Obviously, to base the typical Catalan gastronomy only on these dishes is miscalculate the Catalan food, but a list with all the typical Catalan dishes won’t fit into only one blog post. So, you should get a good gastronomic guide which will help you not to miss any of the delicious morsels that Barcelona offers.

Which are your plans for this long weekend during Easter?

April 11th, 2017

In Barcelona, you have a lot of offers related or not to this festivity that you shouldn’t miss.

From the Easter workshops for all ages in community centers and museums, to the long pedals through the beach and the mountain by bicycle. In Barcelona you can do almost everything during this weekend.

Are you the whole the family? Go to some of the workshops, such as the CosmoCaixa, or the Chocolate Museum, or the Fundació Suñol.

Maybe you are thinking about something for couples. A pedaling by bike from the beach to the Montjuïc Mountain, enjoying nature and landscape, could be the best plan for you.

And for the other ones that prefer going out with friends, the best you can do is enjoy some tapas (Spanish appetizers) in the center of the city.

With this kind of plans it is unavoidable to love Barcelona, but the part that we really love is that you can do every one of these three routes by bicycle. In this way we contribute to a more healthy tourism, in harmony with the city and the people who live here.

Experience Barcelona in the same way that we do!

A perfect week for a tour by bicycle through the activities in Barcelona

January 31st, 2017

The meteorological prediction advises us that this week are going to have a great opportunity to enjoy the city pedaling through all its streets

born bike tours - Barcelona - Ciutadella

Maximum temperatures of 16ºC and minimum temperatures of 7ºC will allow us to go from one side of the city to the other one with our bikes without getting cold or sweating at all.

From the Agbar Tower, going to Sagrada Família and the great modernist works at the Eixample -such as the Casa Batlló and La Pedrera-, stopping to shop and discover the most typical products in the markets of the city, for example, in the symbolic Boqueria, up to arriving at the relaxing parks and gardens, either in the Parc de la Ciutadella, closer to the sea, or in the Laberint d’Horta, close to Collserola. And you cannot forget to stop at some of the innumerable restaurants and/or bars where you will taste a piece of Catalan gastronomy.

You can experience all these things pedaling through the streets and don’t miss any detail. You can leave your bike close to the place where you want to relax -always assured with a good chain-. The bike lane connects the streets of Barcelona and is getting continuously longer, allowing us to enjoy this experience in a safe way.

Therefore, you cannot miss that! Come to pedal through Barcelona.

Pedaling through the activities in Barcelona during this weekend with the fiesta of Sant Antoni

January 24th, 2017

On the evening of this Saturday, the 28th of January, you will have work if you want to celebrate this fiesta of Sant Antoni with the best traditions.

On one hand, the streets of the lovely neighborhood of Gràcia will be full of life with this Majorcan fiesta: els Foguerons, which is reaching the 25 years of celebration in Barcelona. A tradition which comes directly from Sa Pobla and gathers its community with the people of this neighborhood around a bonfire.

Don’t arrive late. Music, gastronomy and dancing will start at 9.30 p.m.

On the other hand -and unfortunately, at a very similar hour-, the neighborhood of Clot will celebrate Sant Antoni too.

In this case, the theme will be focused on a very special pork: the capgròs del Pork del Clot, a large-figure of the head of a Pork- This fiesta, which has been celebrated during the last 3 years, doesn’t leave you hungry. Its main course? A degustation of delicious tapas -appetizers-, every one of them prepared, obviously, with pork meat.

This fiesta starts at 6 p.m. and finishes at 10 p.m. -and it only costs 5€-, so, if you are still hungry, at 9 p.m. you can go directly to Gràcia. The communication between these two neighborhoods is very simple. Go to Plaça de les Glòries, start to pedal there through Avinguda Diagonal until you arrive at Passeig Sant Joan, and there burn some fat with its ascent for arriving at Gràcia. All this journey is connected by a comfortable and safe bike line.

What should you keep in mind before doing a tour through Barcelona by bike during these summer’ holidays?

July 12th, 2016

During the summer, you can visit Barcelona in a thousand different ways. We want to give you some options, riding your bicycle, with which you will enjoy the hot weather.

30ºC of temperature (86ºF) can be a bit suffocating, especially if we are riding a bicycle. For this reason, there are two very interesting tours for these summer days, with which we can enjoy the landscapes and the culture of Barcelona (especially the gastronomic one) in a refreshing way.

Tour through the beaches of Barcelona

Barcelona has a long coast and with it a great diversity of beaches, which have been transformed throughout the years. Going through them by bicycle, discovering their history and breathing the sea breeze is something unique during the summer.

¡Now, of course! You should not forget a good sun-cream and wearing cool clothes.

Tapas Tour through the most symbolic neighborhoods

Close to the beaches, we can also find the most antique neighborhoods of Barcelona and they have a notable gastronomic variety, so you should not conform yourself with only one of them. The bicycle will allow us to go through these streets and stop at every one of the different terraces, in order to enjoy of a fresh drink with its respective tapa. You will get to know from the most traditional tastes to the most experimental ones. You or your stomach set the limit.

The best experiences for a refreshing Barcelona!

Experience Barcelona through a gastronomic tour

One of the best ways to learn about the culture of a place is tasting its more traditional products.

Taking a walk through city streets, we can learn about its history, its art and its architecture; we can observe some details of the daily life of the people who live in the place; and we can take nice mementos in the form of a photographic postcard, but if we really want to enjoy the city exploring it, it is basic to enjoy its gastronomy.

There are dishes which cannot taste the same in any other parts of the world. Barcelona is characterized (in addition to many other things) by its port zone, so it’s basic to save some time for sitting on one of its terraces to taste its fresh fish and shellfish appetizers.

Although, as a big city of the Mediterranean, the traditional and the new tastes are combined in appetizers and tidbits elaborated in bars and restaurants. We will find them as we pass through the streets of Ciutat Vella. There we can taste food from the most traditional Catalan cuisine tidbits, to the most experimental fusions.

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Without these appetizers, the experience in Barcelona would be incomplete. So, now that you know this, take the bicycle, go around the city pedalling in order to stimulate your appetite and go to taste part of the culture!