Last Updated on 29 April 2024 by gerry

After a very pleasant excursion just a short distance up the coast yesterday to Sant Pol and Calella, it was time today for us to venture again into the big city. Today’s Barcelona objective was to get off at Arc de Triomf and walk down to Ciutadella Park and then maybe explore the Barceloneta district.

The Arc de Triomf is very iconic and I remember it well from when I came here for La Diada in both 2018 and 2019. However I have never walked through the Arc and down its pedestrian avenue all the way to the Ciutadella Park. Both the area around the Arc and the park are very touristy, though the park seems to be a place for all and sundry to come and relax. There are quite a lot of important places there including the Catalan parliament, the zoo and various museums. On our city bus tour we had heard about an homage to Picasso. This is actually just outside the park on one side and is easy to miss because it is not all that impressive to be honest.

To get to Barceloneta we had to follow the railway tracks for a bit beyond the park and then cross over the Parc de Carles I. The beach was pretty mobbed when we got there – quite a different scene to what we find in Maresme. Although the sun was strong today it was extremely windy. Nevertheless we fancied lunch in one of the busy restaurant terraces with a view of the beach. The staff were fighting an ongoing battle with the wind and smaller glasses and plates were in danger to being thrown to the ground. We shared an arros de verduras and a bottle of cava.