While plenty of tourist groups can be found crowding the narrow cava bar on any given sweltering afternoon, you’ll find locals in the back, catching up in Catalan over a bottle of brut and plate of croquettes.
You don’t have to be religious to appreciate the artistic sanctity or the incredible acoustics during Mass at Gaudí’s famed church.
Cheap cerveza is a staple at Barcelona’s crowded beaches. However, local youths take to the numerous plazas scattered across the city to socialize, participating in botellón, a Spanish term referring to drinking together in public.
Located on an offshoot street behind La Boquería, Mendizibal is a modest open-air bar offering delicious sandwiches and beer at a good price. Fair warning though, stay away if you’re allergic to cats: there’s a bizarre enclosed cat “playground” nearby.
A foreigner traveling to Barcelona in late September would be wise to ignore the lure of Ibiza’s late-summer club scene and partake in the native celebrations — parades, musical acts, sardana dancing, firework show — of the annual festival of La Mercé. 