On the 23rd of June, we celebrate Saint John’s Night in Barcelona!

Like every night from the 23rd to the 24^th of June, Saint John’s Night (Noche de San Juan in Spanish) will be celebrated in Barcelona! If you visit the city on these dates, don’t miss the festivities of the shortest night of the year!

Bonfires on Saint John's Night (Noche de San Juan) at Barceloneta Beach in Barcelona.

Where does Saint John’s Night come from?

Saint John’s Night is a celebration of pagan origin that was already celebrated in Europe in the Middle Ages. It was originally intended to celebrate the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. The night before, bonfires were lit in the fields and at street crossings to prevent evil spirits and witches from passing through, but also to ward off storms and tempests. It was hoped that this tradition would lead to a good harvest.

Later on, the festival was Christianized and dedicated to Saint John, set for the 24^th of June. Today, the summer solstice or Saint John’s Night is still celebrated in many countries, especially in Scandinavia and Spain.

How to celebrate Saint John’s Night in Barcelona?

Barcelona is no exception!

This year’s festivities will once again take place on the night of the 23rd to the 24^th of June, and you won’t be able to avoid them if you visit the city. Fireworks will be set off all night long, and bonfires will be lit all over the streets of Barcelona.

If you want to enjoy Saint John’s Night, we recommend you visit Barceloneta beach, where the locals like to gather during the Noche de San Juan.

Fireworks on Saint John's Night (noche de San Juan) at Barceloneta Beach in Barcelona.

You can find more articles about Barcelona traditions on our blog!

Want to discover Barcelona? Let us explain the advantages of cycling.

*Discover the Parc de la Ciutadella by bike.*

Born Bike Tours Barcelona is a Catalan cultural tours company created in 2009 with a clear objective: to take advantage of our roots and origins, to combine our knowledge of Barcelona’s history and our passion for the world of cycling and culture.

The human factor is one of our values and we consider it our responsibility to achieve our collective goals with empathy and fidelity.

With 240 kilometres of cycle path, visiting Barcelona by bike allows you to drive to unusual places, emblematic or not yet known, to discover its history or its milestones.

Through these authentic guided tours. Born Bike Tours Barcelona offers you a historical, cultural, economic and sociological point of view.

Why choose cycling as a means of transport ?

Cycling is the fastest means of transport in the city and will allow you to stop regularly without constraints in places where cars do not pass in order to admire the landscape.

In addition, visiting the city by bike will improve your physical and mental health while reducing the stress that road traffic could generate.

These days, we must also take into account the economic factor.

Indeed, a bike does not need fuel to move forward, just the strength of your legs. Thus, you will reduce your carbon footprint, and the planet will thank you!

*A group taking advantage of a sunny day to cycle the Montjuïc.*

The bike is ideal for families !

If you have children, this is the opportunity to offer them a holiday around a pleasant activity that will be perfect to create unforgettable memories.

Las fiestas de Gràcia : a fantastic journey through one of Barcelona’s typical neighbourhoods

Every year for more than 200 years, the Gracia Fiestas are back from the 15th to the 21st of August to take young and old on a journey through the streets of this emblematic district of Barcelona.

A little bit of history :

The history of Gracia’s fiestas dates to the 19th century when the Vila de Gràcia became a neighbourhood of small craftsmen, tradesmen and workers, and then, following its annexation to the city of Barcelona, fiestas began to be organised to celebrate the religious feast of the Assumption of Mary on 15 August. Although these popular festivals had a strong religious character, they now only have a festive and playful dimension.

And now ?

It is a popular festival that lasts for a week and includes many activities such as concerts, workshops, shows and, most famously, a traditional decoration competition, the guarnits, of the different streets of the district that compete for the first prize. You can see the famous processions of giants and cabezudos (big heads) or correfocs (running lights).

In addition to the street decorations, you will be able to dance, enjoy live music and gastronomy in the neighbourhood squares until 2am on August 21st.

Note: the eco-responsible dimension of the fiestas de Gracia. Indeed, the guarnits give a second life to a lot of waste of the inhabitants of the district. For example, last year the Calle Progrés used no less than 12,000 egg boxes to carry out its project!

So don’t hesitate and come and discover las fiestas de Gracia !

La Castanyada: the international chestnut festival

This traditional and popular festival, deeply rooted in Catalonia, is celebrated on All Saints’ Day (1 November), but also the day before (31 October).

The tradition of this festival is to eat chestnuts. Chestnuts are traditionally eaten on the day before and the day of Castanyada, but they can be found at street vendors in Barcelona at any time in late October.

What is it?

Chestnuts are roasted chestnuts on charcoal grills and often sold wrapped in newspaper, perfect for warming company when it is cold in Barcelona. Panellets are also very common in Barcelona at this time of year. They can be described as small almond-flavoured balls covered with pine nuts. These snacks are served in coconut, lemon or chocolate flavours. They are beautiful and traditional, and you can find them mainly in local bakeries. If you visit Barcelona during this period, this is a must-have dessert, which can also be used as a souvenir!

If you have a salty palate, you can also find sweet potatoes during the Castanyada. These little delicacies will warm you up from the inside out, often accompanied by a glass of sweet traditional muscatel wine.

chestnut, autumn, october, november, eating, food street, barcelona

Where does this festival come from?

Castanyada is a pagan tradition – like Magosto in Galicia or Asturias or Halloween in the Anglo-Saxon countries – whose origins date back to the 18th century. There are several legends that explain these beginnings. It is said that before All Saints’ Day, families gathered to watch over their dead. In order to survive, they stocked up on the first fruits of autumn, mainly chestnuts, legumes and sweet potatoes washed down with sweet wine (today’s Muscat). This custom gave rise to the emblematic figure of the “castanyera”, who prayed while the chestnuts were roasting.

Another theory is that the festival was for bell ringers, who rang the bells all night to remind the faithful of the need to pray for the souls of their dead. Whenever they rested, they regained their strength by eating what people brought them, in this case the fruits of autumn.

How is it celebrated?

Although most festivities in Catalonia include wild street parties, dancing, costumes and fireworks. The castanyada is more of a quiet celebration, with most families going to the cemetery to lay flowers and then spend time with their loved ones. If you are in Barcelona during this festival, do as the locals do and visit one of the city’s most beautiful cemeteries, the Poblenou Cemetery.

Tour in the botanical garden

A bike tour on the botanical garden

Ideal for the weekend plan!

The botanical garden is located on the mountain of Montjuïc, between the castle and the company of Olímpic Lluís.

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It has 14 hectares of surface and its shape recalls that of a large amphitheater. It retains the collections of Mediterranean plants around the world and offers a magnificent view of the Delta del Llobregat, the Olympic Ring and part of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area.

In the botanical garden you will find a large collection of plants, you will focus on the plants of the Mediterranean regions of the world, it is a vegetation linked to the Mediterranean climate that is characterized by a long summer, of mild winters and rains in spring and autumn.

The paths allow us to access the area of the region, from the Canary Islands at the entrance and rises to the west Mediterranean recognizable by the Botanical Institute, which stands out.

From the Northern Hemisphere, the region with a greater representation is the Mediterranean basin, following the way of a visit welcomed to the Californian coast of the Mediterranean climate.

Then there are the Mediterranean regions of the southern hemisphere where the Mediterranean region of Chile, South Africa and the two Mediterranean regions of South Australia are visited.

Are you ready for a bike tour and enjoy a day of plants?

Barcelona and photography

Many of the people who live in Barcelona are passionate about photography, but many tourists are too. We invite you to experience a photographic exhibition of the city where you will find all the magic that Barcelona hides.

Seventy photographs taken by women that explore the links between the history of the city and the images that women photographers have built.

The exhibition, which includes seventy images distributed chronologically, is a unique opportunity to vindicate the role that women have played in the history of photography in our city. Because, although the historical narrative has left them in the background, without them, without the photographers, it is impossible to know the real Barcelona.

The exhibition makes visible the line of continuity of the photographic practice of those women who placed the city at the center of their creative works, in a period ranging from the thirties to the early nineties.

You can visit this exhibition focused on women, photography and the city until June 6, 2021. In the Plaça Comercial, al savant d’El Born CCM (Plaça Comercial, 12 – Ciutat Vella – Barcelona)

Benefits of cycling

This is not a novelty that we are fanatics of bicycles. Go walking, take the air, see the city that surrounds us, the landscape, the sea. Mounted on the bike everything seems to have another perspective, we want to tell you the benefits it gives you a walk or to do Bike sport.

image of a blue bike, sea, boat, hotel W

1. A good way to exercise: the bike is a good exercise to work almost all our body and not just the legs. A bike ride makes us do cardio-cardio exercise and strength, especially legs, abdomen, back and arms.

2. Help our posture: Walk or pedal helps improve our posture. People passionate about yoga can go to their bike class. Adopt a sport routine!

3. A transport on time and available immediately: between bottling, pedestrians Parking, everything becomes a chaos and more if you go to the center of Barcelona, which is why the bike is a great allies that facilitates your daily life .

4. Take care of the environment and your leaflet: a car and public transport generate an additional expense per month. You simply move by bike: fast and good for health.

5. A much faster brain: The bike improves the functioning of your brain, influencing cognitive function, mental health and well-being, as has confirmed a study by the University of Oxford. The study, led by Dr. Leyland, investigated the impact of outdoor pedaling. The parameters, the cognitive function and the well-being, were measured before and after the period of use (for 8 weeks, at least three times a week and at least 30 minutes per session) and it was observed that not only The physical impact of cycling improves, but at the level of mental activity, the benefits are more important.

6. Sleeping more, the dream of all: exercise Every day helps to reconcile with sleep, about 20 to 30 minutes of pedal will help you better rest and eliminate the stress of everyday life.

7. Eternal Youth: The increase in blood circulation caused by the pedaling exercise transports the oxygen and nutrients required to epithelial cells more efficiently while eliminating toxins or other waste. Moderate exercise helps to optimize collagen production, reduce the appearance of wrinkles and accelerate the healing process.

8. Take care of your joints: the bike is a less risky sport than run for our joints, and the result is very similar.

9. Improve your performance in any type of sport: many athletes use cycling as a support sport to improve their muscle or respiratory performance. Objective 30 days of bike and see the difference!

10. And finally, the best advantage of cycling is that it will make you happy: Try it because it really works. Stroll, pedal, admire nature, city, beach, beaches, you will see how it changes ideas.

Do you already have your bike ready to travel Barcelona?

To reserve the Tour or rent a bike nothing simpler, contact us
Born Bike Tours Barcelona
📍Carrer de la Marquesa No. 1 08003 Barcelona
50 meters from Barceloneta metro station L (4) Yellow
✉️Info@bornbikebarcelona.com.
🔹www.bornbikebikebarcelona.com.
📲 (+34) 93 319 00 20

Barcelona on your mobile

When we went on vacation, we have all the information on our mobile phones: tickets, maps, recommendations, schedules and addresses. We will present the applications that you can download today so as not to miss anything in Barcelona.

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Barcelona A Butxaca is a mobile application of the Barcelona Municipal Council that offers information, services on culture. And in one click, you can store in a virtual bag all favorite acts or equipment. This allows you to have a quick access to everything.

Tibidabo is an application from the Tibidabo amusement park that allows you to experience many experiences and stay up to date with all the novelties of the park. A range of activities await you in Tibidabo! Check out all shows and entertainment scheduled per day and do not miss anything!

Zoo Barcelona is an application of the Barcelona Zoo allows visitors to know their location in the GPS enclosure.

Puntos de Interés de Barcelona: it is a complete application where you can discover the city and its neighborhoods, you can visit the natural and urban areas, museums and study centers and research and locate on the map of the city.

Literapoli BCN is a game that encourages reading and knowledge of the city. In which each player must locate various geographical points of the city where the action of a book takes place. Once it is geolocated at each location and after solving a test, each player is rewarded with new information and can continue to play.

Do not miss anything about Barcelona with these applications for your mobile.

If you want to know more about the history of Barcelona, follow our social links.
Born Bike Tours Barcelona
📍Carrer de la Marquesa No. 1 08003 Barcelona
50 meters from Barceloneta metro station L (4) Yellow
✉️Info@bornbikebarcelona.com.
🔹www.bornbikebikebarcelona.com.
📲 (+34) 93 319 00 20

House of the Punxes

The house of the Punxes stand out among the buildings that were created during the golden age of Barcelona, with Gothic inspiration and created in the modernist era of the early twentieth century, the work of architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch, this house was built at the request of Bartomeu Terradas Brutau for each of his three daughters, Angela, Josefa and Rosa, receiving the name Casa de los Punxes by the needles that crown the six towers that crown the building.

The architect’s intention was that structurally it would look like a single architectural ensemble, but also included features characteristic of each of the owners, a fact that indicated to which of the daughters the house belonged, as can be seen on the facade of the corner that belongs to number 420 of the Diagonal, there is an interesting sculptural panel in which an angel is represented, a figure that alludes to the sister Ángela Terradas. The preparatory drawing made by Monserdà is in the archives of the Royal Catalan Academy of Fine Arts of Sant Jordi in Barcelona. Other decorative details that refer us to this property are found in the anagrams that, distributed as if they were a border, repeat the letters ATB, in reference to Ángela Terradas Brutau.

Josefa’s property went from Diagonal to Rosselló street, in whose back front we can find another ceramic panel drawn by Monserdà himself, where St. George is represented killing the dragon and we can read: “Patron Saint of Catalonia give us back our freedom”.

Right in the frame of this panel, in a strategic situation for the meaning that the figure of ST. George could represent, we find a familiar face sculpted. The male figure, with round glasses, large receding hairline and full lips, represents the great author of the project, the architect Josep Puig I Cadafalch.

On the facades of Bruc street, we find two more ceramic panels. One depicts a vase full of roses, with the initials RTB, and the other, the figure of a girl surrounded by roses. This property belonged to the sister Rosa Terradas Brutau.

Historical bicycle tour

Today we will show you one of the most interesting place in Barcelona and what it behinds.

The archeological remains excavated and that can be seen today inside the old Born Market show us the history of Barcelona from medieval times until the beginning of the 18th century, when life in this part of the city was suddenly interrupted by the outcome of the War of Succession.

Not all the remains have the same entity nor have they been preserved in the same way. We must keep in mind that the remains preserved before the 13th century were not part of the urban core of Barcelona, although they were related. On the other hand, from the 13th century, the structures onwards the city, as a consequence of its growth.

Despite being an area far from the city of Barcino, the Born area preserves in its subsoil burial from medieval times.

The first archeological remains documented in areas close to the Born date from the low-Imperial period. In this period an extensive necropolis was located, the main nucleus of which was located in what, some centuries later, would be the subsoil of Santa Maria Del Mar. No burials from this period have been located inside the old market, but in the archeological intervention of the Commercial Square in 1991, fourteen were located.

The athletic tower in Barcelona

In our bike tours Barcelona we have climbed the Montjuic mountain where we find the athletic tower built by the architect Santiago Calatrava, between 1989 and 1992, it is one of the best known elements that are part of the so-called Olympic Ring, referring to the whole of facilities that were built and remodeled on the occasion of the Barcelona 92 Olympic Games.

An image containing sky, exterior, exterior object, windmill

Its enormous white and curved silhouette, reminiscent of an Olympic torch celebration, can be seen from many points of the city. Its avant-garde design and original shapes have made it a famous element of Montjuïc and a symbol of Barcelona.

The tower is a clear tribute to the modernist architect Antoni Gaudí. Its promoter was the Telefónica company, which is why it is also known as the Telefónica tower.

A curious fact is that, due to its shape, the tower is also designed to act as a sundial, as the shadow of its central spire is projected on the Plaza de Europa, which is next to it.

In addition to its functionality, its futuristic style of sloping lines and modern materials that evokes a moving image has made Torre Calatrava an architectural landmark in Barcelona.

If you want to discover Barcelona on wheels, don’t miss our tours
Born Bike Tours Barcelona
📍Carrer de la Marquesa Nº 1 08003 Barcelona
A 50 metros estación metro Barceloneta L (4) amarilla
✉️info@bornbikebarcelona.com
🔹www.bornbikebarcelona.com
📲(+34) 93 319 00 20

Live the Barcelona’s parks

The city of Barcelona is characterized by having large parks, full of nature and very beautiful structural designs, that is why we leave you a list of five parks, where you can enjoy a bike ride through Barcelona and beautiful sunny days in winter.

an image which contain a park, people, nature, born bike tours Barcelona

Ciutadella Park

Built at the end of the 19th century, it was the first park designed specifically as a public park, and it is a space widely used for all kinds of recreational and cultural activities. It has more than a hundred plant species, with many hundred-year-old trees and interesting sculptures.

-The address so you can visit it is passeig de picasso 21 of the Ciutat Vella district.

Guinardó Park

The Guinardó park has three well differentiated parts: an urban, which becomes the prelude to the great space that this green area occupies, another historical one and, in the highest part, the lush forest vegetation. Its landscaped terraces and pine forests make this place one of the most refreshing and placid green spaces in the city.

-This park is located in the district of Horta-Guinardó.

Botanical Garden

The current Botanical Garden houses the legacy of a long tradition of gardens designed with the aim of studying, maintaining and preserving plant species. A space specialized in showing the biodiversity of the flora of the Mediterranean climate. It allows locating, in the proper geographic context, dozens of species that can be found in all the gardens of the city. They are plants that have adapted perfectly to the temperate climate even though they are typical of other latitudes.

-To visit the botanical garden you should arrive at the Sants-Montjuïc district, carrer Doctor Font i Quer, 2.

Gardens of Mossèn Costa i Llobera

It is one of the most important gardens specialized in cacti and succulents in Europe. Facing the sea, sheltered by the Montjuïc mountain that welcomes them, they are located in a privileged viewpoint and a few minutes from the city center.

-The gardens are located at Ctra Miramar, 38.

Laberint d’Horta Park

The Laberint d’Horta park includes the oldest preserved garden in the city. Born as a neoclassical garden with a touch of Italian physiognomy, it ended up as a romantic garden.

The d’Horta labyrinth is located in the Horta-Guinardó district, in Passeig Castanyers, 1.

Gaudí’s Barcelona

If there is an architect associated with Barcelona, that is, without a doubt, Antoni Gaudí. His mature works, such as La Pedrera, Park Güell and the Sagrada Familia, are internationally known icons that attract thousands of visitors daily. However, in the city there are also several works by this great artist that are not so well known and that often, due to being far from the usual circuits, go unnoticed and make up a little-explored route, but no less spectacular.

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Like the ones we list here:

The Pavilions of Finca Güell
The gate of Finca Miralles
The pavement of Sant Pacià
The Bellesguard Tower
The Vicens House

If you want to know more about the architectural works of Antoni Gaudí you can do a bike tours with us.
Born Bike Tours Barcelona
📍Carrer de la Marquesa Nº 1 08003 Barcelona
50 meters away from the Barceloneta L (4) yellow metro station
✉️info@bornbikebarcelona.com
🔹www.bornbikebarcelona.com
📲 (+34) 93 319 00 20

Walk around the Arch of Triumph by bike

We started a new month and went out to walk the streets of Barcelona in search of new adventures.

Today we will make a tour by bicycle through the Arch of Triumph which was built on the occasion of the Universal Exhibition of 1888, the Arch of Triumph led the way to the main entrance of the fair, in the park of the Ciutadella, which had just opened.

During the last third of the 19th century, the universal expositions were events of enormous social impact, since they allowed everyone to get to know the city that hosted them, as well as the cultural, economic, scientific and industrial potential of each country. In this sense, the Arch of Triumph was not only the access to the Universal Exhibition of 1888, but also the symbolic entry of Barcelone into the modern era.

At the height of the modernist movement in much of Europe, constructions inspired by previous eras were very common: the Neo-Gothic, the Neo-Mudejar in Spain or the Neo-Romanesque were some of the predominant styles.

Following this trend, the architect Josep Vilaseca designed a monument 30 meters high and of classical proportions, but with a very colorful decoration and full of symbolism. Thus, the artists who sculpted the decorative friezes represented, on each of the faces, a theme related to the city: Barcelona welcomes the nations (on the side of Passeig de Sant Joan, work of Josep Reynés), the Distribution of rewards to the participants of the Exhibition (on the side of Passeig de Lluís Comanys, work of Josep Llimona) and the allegories of Industry, Agriculture and Trade, on one side, and of Science and Arts, on the other. The famas (the winged figures of the buttresses) were sculpted by Manuel Fuxà and Pere Carbonell.

Finally, in the curve of the arch, the coat of arms of Barcelona can be seen, flanked by the coats of arms of the remaining 48 Spanish provinces, 24 on each face of the monument.

In our tour in Spanish we arrive at Plaça Sant Felip Neri

Among the narrow walls of the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona, we are in the Plaza de Sant Felip Neri, where we see holes in the walls, which originate in 1938, caused by a bombardment by the Francoist side during the war, in the middle of the capture of Barcelona.

image of a building that contain door, lights, windows, born bike tours Barcelona, text

This event caused the death of forty-two people, as can be read on the plaque that commemorates the memory of the victims since 2007. At the time of the bombing, the grounds of the current square were occupied by a medieval cemetery. Little remained after the bomb, which devastated nearby houses and caused some damage, still present, in the church.

Ciutadella Park

We continue with our Tour in Spanish and now we find the Ciutadella Park, being the first park specifically designed as a public park and was built at the end of the 19th century. It is a space widely used for all kinds of recreational and cultural activities. It has more than one hundred plant species, with many hundred-year-old trees and interesting sculptures.

Full of hundred-year-old trees, the Ciutadella Park contains a great diversity of elements: the monumental waterfall, 19th-century buildings now converted into museums, a lake for rowing boats, walks and numerous sculptures. Share space with the zoo.

an image that contain park, nature, people, bikes, born bike tours Barcelona, text — Come and enjoy a memorable experience!

The Barceloneta Tour

We continue with our tours in Spanish and we tour Barcelona by Bike.

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Until the middle of the 18th century, La Barceloneta was a practically uninhabited area. In 1754 fishermen began to settle in this area of the city due to its proximity to the sea.

Despite having acquired a more modern look, currently La Barceloneta still retains its special charm. Its narrow streets and facades darkened by the salt of the sea have made this area one of the most appreciated in Barcelona, a place with a quiet, maritime and family atmosphere that remains foreign to the big city.

One of the main attractions of the neighborhood are its beaches, the largest, best known and busiest in the city. They have a great atmosphere and excellent services.

If you want to know more about our tours you can stop by our place
Born Bike Tours Barcelona
📍Carrer de la Marquesa Nº 1 08003 Barcelona
At 50 meters Barceloneta metro station L (4) yellow
✉️info@bornbikebarcelona.com
🔹www.bornbikebarcelona.com
📲 (+34) 93 319 00 20

Bicycle repairs and rental in Barcelona

Barcelona is one of the most beautiful cities to travel by bicycle with more than 200 kilometers of bike lanes, where you can enjoy a walk along the Mediterranean coast, through the Gothic streets or enjoy a day on the Collserolla mountain.

If you are still in doubt about repairing that old bicycle, or renting one to enjoy Barcelona on wheels, we leave you five tips that will help you make that decision.

Enjoy a safer ride

The bicycle is a safe vehicle, you will walk through the city of Barcelona enjoying great views and places, using the safety of the bike lanes.

Easier and simpler

Mobility by bicycle is easier than in other means of transport. Did you know that the bike is faster than the car in short and medium urban distances? Through several door-to-door competitions, with the city center as the destination, it has been found that, in general, the bike is the fastest transport. in addition to being faster in short distances, it is ideal to combine with public transport

Be more sustainable and collaborate with the environment

The bicycle is a key factor in reducing the levels of environmental and noise pollution in cities. An, at the same time, it is the most energy efficient means of transport: it uses twelve times less energy than a car, even if it is full, to move a person over a kilometer, and fifty times less than a car occupied by only one person.

To enjoy more space

A cyclist occupies five times less space than a motorist, whether he is stationary or in motion. This data has very profound implications for the well-being of residents, who can enjoy peaceful, calmer, safer and noise-free spaces.

To always be on the move

Going by bike is one of the most beneficial exercises for health, since during the effort large muscle groups are mobilized. Of practiced regularly it can reduce resting heart and breathing rates.

If you want to know about bike rental or repair you can stop by our store Born Bike Tours Barcelona
📍Carrer de la Marquesa Nº 1 08003 Barcelona
50 meters away from the Barceloneta L (4) yellow metro station
✉️info@bornbikebarcelona.com
🔹www.bornbikebarcelona.com
📲(+34) 93 319 00 20

Spanish village in Barcelona

El Pueblo Español is a museum that offers contemporary art, architecture, crafts and gastronomy. The site is made up of 117 full-scale buildings, which make up a typically Spanish town with its streets, houses, squares, theater, school, restaurants and artisan workshops.

statue of a woman in blue clothes from Pueblo Espanyol, in Barcelona

It was built for the international exhibition that was held in Barcelona in 1929, an idea promoted by Joseo Puig I Cadafalch (Catalan architect) where they created a small town that brought together the main characteristics of all the towns in Spain. They also worked together with Joseo Puig, Francesc Folguera and Ramon Reventós, and the artists Xavier Nogués and Miquel Utrillo, in order to achieve this exhibition, they made various trips through Spain taking photographs, drawings, observing the styles and creating concepts of the different places. 

Today there are various activities, exhibitions or events.

Tourists can visit it by taking their ticket on the website  : www.poble-espanyol.com 

Our recommendation is to rent a bicycle and tour the mountains of Montjuic, where you will find various monuments, museums and historical buildings.

Free museums in Barcelona

Barcelona is a city full of life and culture, the good thing is that we have free museums so that we can all enjoy them, it is only a matter of knowing the hours and days.

image of a blue bike of Born Bike Tours Barcelona in front of the National Museum of Art of Catalunya

Picasso museum

The museum has a collection of 4,249 works by the Malaga painter Pablo Picasso in the multiple media that he addressed, which is the most complete in the world in works of his youth.

You can enter for free every Thursday from 5:00 p.m., the first Sunday of each month and on February 12 (Santa Eulàlia), May 18 (International Museum Day) and September 24 (La Mercè Day)

www.museupicasso.bcn.cat 

Museum of the History of Catalonia

The museum was created in 1996 by the Government of Catalonia, with the idea of narrating the history of Catalonia.

You can see it for free It can be visited for free during the Sant Jordi and Santa Eulalia festivities, the Museum Day, and the days of the Catalan and Mercè days.

 www.mhcat.cat 

Barcelona Center for Contemporary Culture (CCCB)

Located in the Raval, its main theme is the city and urban culture. It bases its success on quality, a certain eclecticism, attention to a wide range of audiences and a singularity in the way it treats things, and its function is to link the academic world with creation and citizenship.

You can visit it for free on Sundays

www.cccb.org 

Catalonia art museum

A must-see in the city with a tour of works of art from the 10th to the 20th century, highlighting above all its collection of Romanesque art, considered one of the most complete in the world.

It can be visited for free on Saturdays from 3 pm, the first Sunday of the month, Museum Day and Catalonia and Mercè Days. 

www.museunacional.cat

A bicycle, a companion

We cheer you to take out that stored bicycle and rediscover the city on wheels, with its more than 200km of bicycle lanes to safely enjoy your ride.

Barcelona is an incredible city for cycling, walking the streets of Barceloneta, getting closer to the Parc de la Ciutadella, walking the wide streets of the Eixample such as Paseo de Gracia or visiting the neighborhoods and meeting friends.

That is why in Born Bike Tours Barcelona we carry out bicycle repairs so that you can enjoy a summer full of adventure, do sports or simply visit Barcelona.

We do review and maintenance so you can go for a walk without worries

Wash and grease so your bike is always ready

We repair punctures and also perform wheel centering

SURPRISE!

Because we are very anxious we give you a preview of our next blog post and we show you some of the routes you can do by bicycle.

From the Barcelona coast to Badalona.

It is a route of approximately ten kilometers, where you can see the entire seafront of the city, very easy to navigate since the entire itinerary is flat and you can surely enjoy incredible views. Starting near the Colón monument, passing by the Wy Hotel through the Forum area where you will find the “Diagonal Mar” shopping center and we will continue passing through the coastline until we reach Badalona.

It is an ideal route to do in the afternoon and end up enjoying the colors of the sunset next to the Mediterranean.

Colors, debauchery and happiness during de 2019’s Carnival in Barcelona

February 27th, 2019

From Thursday, the 28^th, with the ‘Dijous Gras’, one of the fiestas which looks better on Barcelona will be started, are you going to miss that?

Photo by BenKerckx on Pixabay

One of the favorite celebrations of the city of Barcelona is Carnival or, at least, we love the colorful of this fiesta.

On Thursday, the 28^th of February, all the activities, that will continue during Friday, Saturday and Sunday, are going to start in Barcelona with the famous Catalan celebration ‘Dijous Gras’. During this Thursday is practically obligatory to taste the Catalan egg sausage sandwich and a walk through the Ramblas at the sunset, the perfect scenario for the arrival of the Carnival’s Emperors.

During Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the city and all its districts are going to be full of activities. So, take your bicycle and don’t miss anyone of them. You can check them on the official program (you can access clicking here).

And among all this mess, don’t forget your costume, because thanks to the magic of this weekend you can be who you most desire.

Ready for the Great Winter Fiesta in Barcelona?

February 7th, 2019

From the 8^th to the 12^th of February, one of the greatest fiesta of the city will be celebrated: Santa Eulàlia.

Photo by freestocks.org in Pexels.com

Castellers, correfocs, giants, sardanes, bastoners, concerts… and every kind od activities for elder and young people during the saint and the daughter of the city fiesta: Santa Eulàlia. You can consult all the activities in the official program clicking here.

The Great Winter Fiesta of the city is the perfect opportunity to get to know a great part of the popular culture and tradition of Barcelona, together with all the local people who make it possible.

In addition, most of the activities are going to be celebrated through the old and magic central streets of Barcelona: in Ciutat Vella and the Gótic -where, we can assure you, it is better to circulate by bicycle than by car or motorbike-.

As we always say, the fiestas are the best option to get to know the popular culture of a city. So, you shouldn’t miss that one!

Barcelona will welcome the Pig’s Year

February 1st, 2019

This is a wonderful city, and it is due mostly because of its interculturality. In this sense, this Saturday you shouldn’t miss the Chinese New Year’s celebration.

Photo by Miguel Á. Padriñán

This year, the 2019, as the Chinese lunar calendar says, is the Pig’s Year and it is going to start on the 5th of February. Because of that, taking advantage of the weekend, the Chinese community in Barcelona has decided to celebrate it this Sunday, the 2nd of February.

This fiesta, every year, has more and more followers and that’s because it offers a lot of performances and activities to the most elderly and to the youngest people. This year, in addition, they have a honorable Catalan guest: la Porca de Sant Antoni.

It is said that the personality of the pigs is characterized by their diligence, their indulgence and their generosity. It is an animal that when it starts something, then it has to finish that. Although it’s really easy to it to let itself be fooled. So, you should try to apply these qualities in order to resolve your daily challenges and let yourself be fooled every now and then, as long as it is for taking yourself to a great party, such as this one.

In Born Bike Barcelona, we are very happy, because this fiesta will be celebrated very close to us. The opening show will start at 11.30 a.m. in the Parc de l’Estació del Nord and the fiesta will continue the whole day in the Passeig Lluís Companys.

‘Interculturalize’ yourself enjoying this great fiesta in Barcelona!

Experience the culture and the tradition of Barcelona while you are pedaling through La Mercè 2018 festivity

September 20th, 2018

Photo by Feradz

From the 21st to the 24th of September, you have a very important date with Barcelona, in order to enjoy the cultural activities that the city has prepared only for you -well, and for other miles of people too-.

As we always say, the best way to get to know a city is introducing yourself in its festivities, because popular celebrations are the best show of the local’s environment, their culture, their tradition and their gastronomy. In Barcelona, the most remarked festivity -because each neighbourhood has each own festivities- is La Mercè celebration. And this year it will be celebrated from the 21st to the 24th of September.

From expositions, “cercaviles”, castellers, giants, sardanes to the night concerts and light shows.

You should be fit riding the bicycle, if you want to arrive at everything!

Take a look to the daily activities programming in https://www.barcelona.cat/lamerce/en and take the most advantage of this celebration. You only can enjoy it once a year.

The Great Fiestas time is here, the best way to enjoy Barcelona

August 16th, 2018

If this summer you are ridding a bicycle though the streets of Barcelona, you shouldn’t miss to get to the Great Fiestas, the best show of culture and tradition in the city.

During summer, Barcelona doesn’t stop, on the contrary, that’s really strange to find a week without any Great Fiesta. Next, a brief calendar with which you can check if your trip to Barcelona coincides with a neighborhood’s festivity.

Festes de Sant Roc from the 14th-18th of August.

Festes de Gràcia from the 15th-21st of August.

Festes de Sants from the 20th-28th of August.

Festa Major de la Bordeta from the 28th of August to the 15th of September.

Festes de Vallcarca coincides with the first two weeks of September.

Festa Major del Farró from the 7th-11th of September.

Festa Major de la Barceloneta, coinciding with the Sant Miquel festivity, around the 29th of September.

Festes de la Mercè from the 21st to the 24th of September.

Try to confirm this calendar in the City Hall web site, when the date comes closer. Some variations could be possible.

And, above all, enjoy this amazing fiestas!

Integrate yourself in Barcelona by bicycle

June 14th, 2018

One of the best ways to grade our trip experience is through the integration level. In order to reach the maximum grade in Barcelona -or anywhere- we suggest you to take a map of the bike lane and to get fit with your bicycle, the best means of transport to enjoy the city at street level.

Photography by Alejandro Lopez

June smells summer and, with the arriving of summer, we cannot avoid to start to think about our well-deserved holidays. For this reason, today we want to remember some ideas that we have set out in the blog, because we think that they are very important for achieving the best experience in Barcelona.

Bring us close tot the city people through their culture, their history and their social habits is a basic thing and, for achieving this, to move us at street level is very important, in order to don’t miss any detail.

When we know exactly our means of transport, the next more important thing is the destination. And for this part of the planning is very important to get informed before to leap to our trip. Be informed about the greatest monuments, to explore some more specialized corners and, above all, try to coincide with some popular celebration.

If you achieve getting into the plane, bus or train – whatever it is the means of transport that you use to come to Barcelona- knowing all the lessons, your trip will be incomparable. If you don’t have enough time for that, keep calm, the city is full of services where we can help you sharing all our knowledge.

Come to the Pi’s Fiesta in Barcelona by bicycle

March 14th, 2018

Photo by Rang Oza

We never stop in Barcelona. This weekend the Pi’s Fiesta, also called Sant Josep Oriol’s fiesta, are going to start. We offer you some information in order to whet your appetite…

This Saturday, the 17^th of March, the starting stroke, in this case, to the popular Pi’s Fiesta will take place at the center of Barcelona with a proclamation, sardanes -the traditional Catalan dance- and the popular four original Pi’s Giants dance. You shouldn’t miss that since it is only repeated once a year. Although the celebration beginning will not stop here. During the afternoon it will continue with the castellers and the theatre. And on Sunday, you shouldn’t miss the “Bestieses” event, a very original dance.

This fiesta is celebrated every year around the 23^rd of March, with the arrival of the Spring. For this reason, the 22^nd, 23^rd, 24^th and 25^th of March are going to be days full of activities for every one and for every age.

The fiesta is a tribute to Sant Josep Oriol, who was born and who lived in the district of Ciutat Vella of Barcelona, during the second half of the XVII century.

If you want to get to know things about this saint, his popular celebration and its traditions, don’t doubt about coming by bicycle and experiencing that personally.

The future of Christmas is already present in Barcelona

20 de desembre de 2017

The end of the year is closer and with that our reflections about Christmas in Barcelona, pedaling our bicycles, increase.

You can contact with the Three Wise Man by email. Girls can order race cars and boys can order kids’ play kitchens. An original present is the one which is related to sustainability, education… There are a lot of examples about what we can find nowadays at Christmas, which shows that we are making progresses for a more equal and sustainable future.

In Barcelona, we are maintaining the tradition, but we also make aware about that, because this is not based on consumerism nor discrimination. So, in order to don’t miss this tradition, it is important to maintain the basic values, either at Christmas, at Carnival or Halloween.

So, we couldn’t avoid to do that, we have related a good Christmas with a bicycle.

The bicycle is for everyone, without regard gender or economic level, because we can find it with a very affordable price. It can be adapted to any situation easily. It is completely sustainable, it doesn’t contaminate or waste. And the energy that moves it is ourselves.

If you are agreed with these values, make the exercise of comparing your Christmas with your bicycle, what else do you want for your celebrations?

¿Have you paid attention to the activities of these days in Barcelona? This week, we are preparing ourselves for the “Castanyada”

October 24th, 2017

Although the popular party is going to be celebrated at All Saints’ Day, the 1^st of November, during this week, we will be able to enjoy some of the activities which will be celebrated on the occasion of this festivity. And the most important, we can stuff ourselves with chestnuts and “panellets”.

Maybe some people don’t know it yet, but the chestnuts, the fruit of the chestnut tree, are very typical in Catalonia, in special during their harvest season, which coincides with October and the beginnings of November. For this reason, in the middle of some streets, we can find the typical stand with the “castanyera” (the person who sells chestnuts), roasting chestnuts and selling them in a cone, made by a sheet of newspaper, and accompanied by roasted sweet potatoes. And, as far as we are concerned, at home, we have never achieved ones as good as the ones we bought in these stands.

On the other hand, these days, the “panellets” are also very typical. They are little cakes, make by a sweet dough, which contains: sugar, ground raw almond, egg and potato or sweet potato. There are the chocolate ones, the coconut, the candied fruit and, for us the best ones: the pine nut ones.

If these days you are in Barcelona, you can enjoy all the organized activities and taste some of these culinary delicacies. And, then? Going to pedal in order to burn all these sweets and being able to repeat 😉

Do you already have the Sant Jordi’s book and rose? Get close to the culture by bike, pedaling through the streets of Barcelona

April 19th, 2017

This Sunday, 23^rd of April, Barcelona is going to relive the Sant Jordi’s legend with hundreds of books, roses and activities distributed through the whole city.

Bookshops, florists and, also, all kinds of entities are going to take the stands out to the streets this 23^rd of April, adorning the sidewalks of Barcelona with their decorated roses and the best sellers of the year. So, if you are nearby, you won’t be able to resist the temptation of stopping there and buying some of the literary wonders which are hidden among the piles of books, and you will leave taking away roses for all your loved ones.

On the other hand, remember that the Sant Jordi’s tradition has progressed. Now, it isn’t a rose for the lady and a book for the gentleman. Luckily, these differences have been left behind, but not the spirit. Culture and beauty are now joined together, in order to create one of the best presents of the year among the people who really want to participate.

If you want to enjoy this day 100%, you also need to leave the car behind. The streets of the center in Barcelona, with a complex access for motor vehicles, are going to be fuller of people this day. Our tip? Take a bike and also enjoy the pedaling to the center.

Bike tours through the popular fiestas in Barcelona

March 14th, 2017

From the 16^th to the 26^th of March, the fiesta of Sant Josep Oriol will be celebrated in the center of Barcelona. Catalan tradition and culture.

Photo by Chris Lawton

This week, the streets around the Basílica de Santa Maria del Pi are preparing themselves to celebrate the famous Father’s Day, a fiesta which is going to be concentrated between the 18^th and the 23^rd of March.

Giants, grallers, cercavida, popular music and a lot of activities offer the opportunity of enjoying this great fiesta of the Barri del Pi in Barcelona as an authentic local. Couples, young and elderly people, families… everybody can find the most suitable activity and enjoy them with everybody.

Again, remember that the streets of the center, in addition to be closed to the motor vehicles, are narrow streets due to their historic structure. So, the best means of transport for these days is the bicycle, with which you will be able to move around with complete freedom, going to places very fast and avoiding yourselves the parking problems.

Enjoy the fiestas of Sant Josep Oriol with the people from Barcelona!

Barcelona is going to be dressed up by the Carnival this week

February 21st, 2017

From the 23^rd of February to the 1^st of March, this fiesta of the popular culture is going to be present in the city, with a great number of performances and activities for all ages.

Carnival is a great date for going to visit other cities, because it is a fiesta which is enjoyed and, at the same time organized, by a lot of entities of the local society. A fact that turns that into a unique piece of popular culture.

From costumes, your Most Gracious Highness the King of the Carnival, to the Catalan sausage -made with egg, which is typical of the “fatty Thursday”, because gastronomy also enjoys this fiesta. All in all, it’s a combination that you will not be able to resist.

Take your bike and take a ride through the different activities of the neighborhoods. Go into the markets and taste the diverse varieties of the Catalan sausages. And, specially, go to one of the two great events of this Thursday: at 6 p.m. at the Palau de la Virreina, the Seven Ambassadors. At the same time, at the Plaça Sant Jaume, the arrival of the King of the Carnival with animation will take place.

Take your bike and pedal through the dressed-up streets of Barcelona!

Why you should visit Barcelona by bike this weekend? Because it is going to celebrate Santa Eulàlia’s fiesta

February 7th, 2017

Photo by José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro (CC BY-SA 3.0)

This Friday, the narrow streets of the city center are going to be full of life with the co-patron of Barcelona, Santa Eulàlia. This is the second great fiesta of Barcelona and it will light up its streets in the middle of the winter.

If you are thinking about visiting Barcelona, again, it brings you a great opportunity during this weekend. With Santa Eulalia’s fiesta, from kids to the most elderly will find activities which are adapted to them and which are spread out in the city center.

Giants, cabezudos, colles de castellers, sardanes, correfoc… a little of everything to taste Catalan culture in its entirety.

All the information and the map of the activities are in the event web page. You can visit that clicking here.

Now, of course, although it is not emphasized in the web, we advise you to go to the fiesta with the best means of transport: the bicycle. The streets in the center of Barcelona are very beautiful and full of history, but, they are also very narrow. Forget the car or the motorbike for going to the activities, they will only cause you a headache, especially if you want to park close by.

As we always say, fiestas are the best way to get to know the popular culture of a city; so, you shouldn’t miss that!

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 28^th 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.

‘La Mercè’, the great fiesta in Barcelona, is coming

September 20th, 2016

Tradition, culture, music, gastronomy… everything you want to know about Barcelona is summed up from the 22^nd to the 25^th of September.

Photo by: Feradz

One more year, Barcelona will celebrate its great fiesta, La Mercè, which, this year, is going to be celebrated from the 22^nd to the 25^th of September. And we will never get tired of repeating that: if you really want to experience the city the same as an authentic local person, a celebration like this one is the best opportunity for achieving this. So, if you are visiting Barcelona this days, you shouldn’t miss this.

During the day, you will enjoy all the activities that you can imagine for all the family in the streets of the city. During the night, you will have the best local and international music concerts. A lot of people are going to come these days in order to enjoy and keep this amazing fiesta alive, are you going to be one of them?

Remember, the 22^nd is going to be celebrated as the Day Without Cars in Barcelona and the bicycle will take over all the importance in this city, maintaining it clean of fumes during this first day of the festivity.

Are you going to come with us to pedal during the fiestas?

Have you taken a stroll around the surroundings of the streets of Gràcia in Barcelona?

August 17th, 2016

One more year the streets of the neighborhood of Gràcia dress themselves up thanks to the impetus and imagination of the neighbors.

Photo by Amaianos

If you haven’t yet taken a walk around the surroundings of the Villa of Gràcia, you have time until this Sunday, the 21st of August.

This year the winning street has been Fraternitat, enlivened within fishing and dressed up with naval details. It’s a refreshing point of the city that you should definitely not miss these days.

If you know the villa of Gràcia, this is a great opportunity to explore it. It’s a neighborhood that is practically pedestrian, full of squares, bars and restaurants. The good environment that is enjoyed is created by the neighbors who are an example of coexistence, cooperation and integration. There’s a clear reason why it has such an important role in the Catalan rumba.

If you’re in Barcelona this weekend, you have the perfect opportunity to discover Gràcia and its history. Of course, we advise you to go by bicycle since the streets are closed to car traffic.

Don’t miss this fiesta and go there by pedalling!

Experience Barcelona from one celebration to another

July 18th, 2016

As we always say from BornBike, there isn’t a better way to enjoy the city than introducing yourself directly into the traditions and the culture, and, where is a major concentration of these two ingredients? In the festivities. Summer is the season of the different celebrations in the neighborhoods of Barcelona per excellence.

Photo by: Feradz

The 16^th of July the Festa Major of Poble Sec, in the district of Sants-Montjuïc, was inaugurated, but if you haven’t had time to enjoy the activities, you have the opportunity to do it until the 24^th of this month of July. Coinciding with these dates, the Clota’s fiesta is also going to be celebrated, in the district of Horta-Guinardó, a place a bit further away from the center of the city.

From the 22^nd to the 16^th of August, Sant Roc, the Festa Major of the Gótic neighborhood in Ciutat Vella, is the most ancient celebration of Barcelona with more than four centuries of history. You can find it easily, because it is centered mainly in the Nova square.

And we love the Gracia fiesta, this year it will be celebrated from the 15^th to the 21^st of August. We love it for its activities, but, especially, because of its neighbors making works of art in every one of its streets. Although, if you want to avoid masses of people, the best for you is to wait for the Sants celebration, from the 20^th to the 28^th of August, it also is a great example of a good team work between neighbors.

If you are the kind of people who prefer to travel during September, you also have the opportunity to enjoy the celebrations of Vallcarca, Horta, Poblenou and the great fiesta per excellence: La Mercè.

Getting to know the Catalan culture, dancing ‘Sardanes’

June 14th, 2016

From the 15^th of June to the 3^rd of July, every Friday (except the 24^th of June) you can enjoy one of the most typical things of the Catalan Culture: Sardanes, with the people dancing to the rhythm of the ‘Les Cobles Rambles” and ‘Baix Llobregat’.

As we always say, one of the best things for getting to know a country’s culture is introducing ourselves in its history, its traditions and its festivities, because we will be able to talk easily with its people and we will feel like a citizen more of this land. So, following this premise, you should not miss the opportunity of experiencing the Sardanes’ dance and music.

sardana-1313942 This is a tradition with an unknown origin, danced and played around all Catalonia (it is its national dance) and, practically everyone who wants to dance it, can try it. Your age doesn’t matter, it is for elder and young people.

So if you would like to know more about it, you should take your bicycle and go to Vapor Vell Passage (number 2) in the district of Sants-Monjuïc any Friday (remember: there are no events on the 24^th of June) from now to the 3^rd of July at 7.30 p.m.

Enjoy it!