Barcelona Guide
The waterfront
Perhaps the greatest recent transformation in Barcelona has been along the waterfront, where harbour and Mediterranean have once again been placed at the heart of the city. Dramatic changes here over the last two decades have shifted the cargo and container trade away to the south, opened up the old docksides as promenades and entertainment areas, and landscaped the city's beaches to the north – it's as if a theatre curtain has been lifted to reveal that, all along, Barcelona had an urban waterfront of which it could be proud.
Reaching the bottom of the Ramblas puts you within strolling distance of some heavyweight tourist attractions, including the Mirador de Colón (Columbus statue), Museu Marítim, the sightseeing harbour boat trips, and the boardwalks and promenades of the inner harbour, known as Port Vell. The old wharves and warehouses have been replaced by an entertainment zone that encompasses the Maremàgnum shopping and nightlife centre, the city's high-profile aquarium and IMAX screens and, across the marina, the impressive Museu d'Història de Catalunya. The wedge of land backing the marina is Barceloneta, an eighteenth-century fishing quarter that's the most popular place to come and sample the fish and seafood dishes of which Barcelona is most proud.
From Barceloneta, six interlinked beaches stretch up the coast, backed by an attractive promenade. The city's inhabitants have taken to these in a big way, strolling, jogging and skating their length and descending in force at the weekend for a leisurely lunch at a nearby restaurant. The main development is around the Port Olímpic, filled with places to eat, drink and shop, and although fewer tourists keep on as far as the old working-class neighbourhood of Poble Nou, its beaches, historic cemetery and pretty rambla make for an interesting diversion.
The cross-harbour cable car
Telephone: 932 252 718
Opening time: Daily: June– Sept 10.30am–8pm, Oct– May 10.30am–7pm
Price: €9 one-way, €12.50 return
The most thrilling ride in the city centre is across the inner harbour on the cable car, the Trasbordador Aeri , which sweeps right across the water from the Torre de Sant Sebastiá, at the foot of Barceloneta, to Montjuïc, with a stop in the middle at Torre de Jaume I, in front of the World Trade Centre on the Moll de Barcelona. The views are stunning, and you can pick out with ease the familiar towers of La Seu (the cathedral) and Sagrada Família, while the trees lining the Ramblas look like the forked tongue of a serpent.
Departures are every fifteen minutes, though in summer and at weekends you may have to wait for a while at the top of the towers as the cars only carry about twenty people at a time.