We are about to enter in the last week of Carnival which as usual brings many parties and celebrations in town. Spain is pretty active by this time of the year and Barcelona takes part of the colourful mood of these days, with their fancy dress processions, floats pared and jokes.

Barcelona gay and lesbian scene has always been well known for its vibrant and integrated character. In these last few years, the city is getting more and more popular and it seems that soon it will be the new “Europe gay and lesbian capital”, steeling the title to Amsterdam. And Barcelona has the nice weather and the beach on its side!

The whole city is pretty much gay-friendly and open-minded, anyway the most of the scene is located in the Eixample esquerra or Gaixample (the left side of the Eixample quarter), which is exactly in the city centre, near Universitat Metro stop. The main streets are C/Aribau, C/Casanova C/Sepúlveda and C/Consell de Cent. This area has been created around the end of the ‘80s and here you will find restaurants, bars and clubs for the night, next to hairdressers, flower shops, travel agencies and trendy clothes shops for gay and lesbian customers.

Barcelona also offers other great options. For example, in summer you can go to the gay and lesbian San Sebastian beach or to the nudist Mar Bella beach.
If you feel in the mood for a little trip out of town, at only half an hour by train you will find Sitges, another very popular place within the international homosexual scene. And if you like cinema, each October Barcelona hosts the Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.

Here below you will find some suggestions for restaurants, bars and clubs:

RESTAURANTS –
-Castro
C/Casanova, 85
Mediterranean food and original dishes

-dDivine
C/Balmes, 24
Good food with Drag Queen Divine show

-Domestic
C/Diputació, 215
Creative food and good atmosphere

-La Diva
C/Diputació, 172
Mediterranean food with excellent Drag Queen show

-Miranda
C/Casanova, 30
‘40s Cabaret style, Mediterranean food with Drag Queen show, dancers and acrobats

BARS –
-Bar Lola
C/Bruc, 121
-Dietrich
C/Consell de Cent, 255
Drag artists, singers, trapeze artists, acrobats and dancers

-Punto Bcn
C/Muntaner, 63

-Quizas
C/Diputació, 161
All day opened

-Sweet Café
C/Casanova, 75

-Zeltas
C/Casanova, 75

CLUBS -
-Aire
C/Valencia, 236
House music

-Arena Classic
C/Diputació, 233
Cheese, pop and retro music

-Arena Dandy & Arena VIP
C/Gran Vía, 593
House, garage and trance music

-Arena Madre
C/Balmes, 32
Handbag and house music

-Atame
C/Consell de Cent, 257
Live show, Spanish music

- Metro
C/Sepúlveda, 185
Dance, house, cheese music

-Salvation
Ronda Sant Pere, 19-21
House and commercial music

-Space Ibiza
C/Tarragona, 141
Summer time.

GENERAL INFORMATION FOR BACKOPACKERS STAYING AT THE BARCELONA URBANY HOSTELS –

To the Gaixample: red metro line from Clot station to Universitat
To Mar Bella nudist beach: bus #41 from Marina Metro Station
To Sitges: Cercania Train #2 from Clot station to Passeig de Gracia
                     Cercania Train #2SUD to Sitges.

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If you are spending at least a couple of days in Barcleona you can’t miss the Park Guell. This is probable one of the most impressive places to visit in town, together with the Sagrada Familia, where you will be able to walk around in an incredible garden fill of peculiar architectonical elements.

The Park has been projected by Gaudi and has been commissioned by Eusebi Guell with the original idea of being a residential and aristocratic area. The construction took place between 1900 and 1914 but the original project was abandoned; the place became part of the city property and about 10 years later it was changed to a public park.

In here are quite visible political, religious and mythological elements, amazingly integrated in the landscape. In fact the park has been projected in Gaudi’s naturalistic stage during which the architect defines his own style, getting inspiration from Nature itself and using a lot his geometric studies. All this is pretty visible in each corner of the park: from the columns, to the paths, the vegetation, the materials used and the shapes.

The best way to reach the park is taking the green line of the metro and getting of at Vallcarca. There you need to follow the signs to the escalators which bring to the entrance. After a good walk through the different paths of the park, you will reach the main square, surrounded by the famous mosaics balcony. The technique used for this decoration is called “trencadis” and it’s has been invented by Guadi himself. From here you will have a wonderful view of the city and of the seafront, especially if it is a sunny day. Underneath the square there is a colonnade where buskers always perform, creating a very suggesting atmosphere.  Just in front of the colonnade there is a double stair, always full of tourists taking pictures to the dragon, one of the main symbols of Barcelona.

Inside the park there is also Gaudi’s home, where he lived from 1906 to 1925, just 2 years before passing away. Nowadays the building hosts an interesting exhibition of furniture designed by the architect.

If you are planning to visit the park you should count about half a day to enjoy the atmosphere of the place and maybe take it as an opportunity to have a picnic just a few minutes away from the crowd of the city. And of course this is also a good way for backpackers to have a very cheap day as the entrance is completely free.

INFORMATION:
Timetable – November to February: 10-18hrs
            March and October: 10-19hrs
            April and September: 10-20hrs
           May to August: 10-21hrs
Transport: - from the Barcelona Urbany Hostel: Red Metro Line (L1) to Plaza Catalunya + Green Metro Line (L3) to Vallcarca.

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Barcelona nightlife is probably worldwide famous for its richness and variety. Here you can find every kind of atmosphere, drinks and food.

The Barcelona Urbany Hostel website now has a new section: Urbany People .

Here you will find all you need to be part of our community through the following social networks and follow our news, blogs, get useful information for backpackers about Barcelona and Seville, watch the new pictures uploaded and join our contests.

During the years, Barcelona has been chosen by different writers as set of their novels, inventing their own stories about the city and their own characters. All the characters that walked in its streets left their marks and are still talking to us whenever we pass by some of the spots they were in.

The detective Pepe Carvahlo is surely one of the most emblematic ones, created by Manuel Vázquez Montalbán who passed away in 2003. Through this character the writer described and sometimes criticised the social and political changes Barcelona went through the second end of the 20th century.
All the books are centred in the Raval and in the Ribera quarters, with particularly importance given to the Mercat de la Boquería (Boquería Market), where both the author and the detective used to spend a lot of time, expecially in the bar Pinocho. This is actually a very good place also for backpackers, to have a look at a very eclectic Spanish market, where you can find popular and exotic products at a time.
Others sets of these books are Plaça Reial (down la Rambla), and the Rivera quarter, where you will find Carvahlo’s favourite restaurant: Casa Leopoldo, in C/Sant Rafael, 23.