Skip grab-and-go at La Boqueria, eat at Santa Caterina
- Barcelona, Spain
- Posted on
- 1 photo
Photo: Radiuk · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
About this trap
La Boqueria on the Rambla is the market everyone visits, but recent guides describe it as geared to visitors who graze and move on. Locals head to the Mercat de Santa Caterina in El Born, a working neighbourhood market where Catalan is the language over the seafood counters. It suits a sit-down breakfast or lunch rather than a walking snack, so go on a weekday mid-morning, eat at its counters and shop the stalls like a resident.
Where
Skip grab-and-go at La Boqueria, eat at Santa CaterinaMercat de Santa Caterina, El Born, Barcelona
Open in Google Maps(opens in a new tab)More Tips & Traps in Barcelona
22 posts from Local Friends and travelers who know the city.
TrapSleepCheck the licence number before booking a tourist flat
Barcelona, SpainBarcelona is phasing out tourist flats: licences for around ten thousand of them are due to end in November 2028, and the city says it will not renew them. A legal flat must show a HUTB licence number in its listing and on the building. Ask the host for it before you pay, look it up in the Generalitat's public tourism…
TipSleepSleep inside a modernista interior at Hotel España
Barcelona, SpainHotel España on Carrer de Sant Pau, near the Liceu, is a rare chance to sleep inside modernista decoration. Domènech i Montaner redecorated it in the early 1900s, with Eusebi Arnau's alabaster fireplace and Ramon Casas's marine sgraffito in the Mermaids Room. Even if you stay elsewhere, ask at reception about a guided…
TipEventsCatch a night at the Grec Festival in July
Barcelona, SpainEvery summer the Grec Festival fills Barcelona with theatre, dance, music and circus, centred on the open-air Teatre Grec on Montjuïc, which seats about 1,950. Its 50th edition ran shows across dozens of venues and drew almost 145,000 spectators. Look at the programme in spring, book popular nights early, and check…
TipEventsSpend Sant Jordi among book and rose stalls
Barcelona, SpainOn 23 April, Barcelona celebrates Sant Jordi, the Catalan day of books and roses. It is not a public holiday, so the city works around the crowds. Stalls line the Rambla and Passeig de Gràcia, authors sign copies, and florists and street sellers sell roses, with red the favourite. Go in the morning to browse, and buy…
TipMusic & NightlifeHear a concert inside the Palau de la Música
Barcelona, SpainThe Palau de la Música Catalana, designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner, is a working concert hall as well as a landmark, and hearing a performance is the best way to see it. The season runs with classical and opera dates, so look at the programme before you travel. The building also offers guided visits, and a premium…
JJ TipMusic & NightlifeJoin the Monday jam night at Jamboree
Barcelona, SpainJamboree, a jazz club on Plaça Reial since 1960 and reopened in 1992, runs two concerts a day. Its Monday night, WTF, has gone since 2001: an opening concert in the early evening, then a jam where jazz players mix with hip-hop, funk and electronic artists. Book ahead through the club's website because sessions sell…
TipShopBrowse the Encants flea market, and catch the early auction
Barcelona, SpainMercat dels Encants, near Glòries, is Barcelona's big flea market, now under a modern roof, with clothes and fabrics on the upper floors and antiques, furniture and electronics below. It opens only Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and closes on public holidays. Go early on a market day to catch the auctions that…
TipPhotography & ViewsWatch the port at sunset from Mirador del Migdia
Barcelona, SpainThe Mirador del Migdia on Montjuïc faces south, away from the usual postcard view, over the working port, the Mediterranean and the Llobregat delta, and on clear days the Garraf hills. It is a good sunset spot. Take the funicular, walk to the castle and follow the signed track down to the park. In the warm season La…
Know Barcelona well?
Share a tip, or warn travelers about a trap. It only takes a few minutes.