On my last night in Barcelona I stayed in Poblenou, a part of the city I wasn’t familiar with, yet which is only a few Metro stops from the Ramblas, Placa de Catalunya and other areas that I & most tourists know well.
Formerly one of the city’s industrial hubs, and still littered with old factories, (apparently during the Industrial Revolution is was known as the Catalan Manchester) and a working class residential area, it’s now home to production companies, fashion ateliers and all manner of creative endeavours, and many of the old factories are now galleries, residential lofts and retail spaces.
Millions of regeneration Euros been pumped in and Poblenou is now an architect’s wet dream. Towering over it all is Jean Nouvel’s Torre Agbar (above, with Gaudi’s cathedral in the background), and there’s Herzog & de Meuron’s Forum Building, David Chipperfield’s Oficines Diagonal 197, the Complex de Cinemes-Plaça de les Arts by Zaha Hadid and Dominique Perrault’s lofty Hotel ME Barcelona, where I stayed.
There are some extraordinary major public spaces including the Parc de Diagonal Mar by Enric Miralles, the beachfront Parc del Poblenou, and the totally unexpected & somewhat mystifying Parc Central del Poblenou by Jean Nouvel (above, seem from the Hotel ME Barcelona).
The area runs right down to the sea, and the lovely tree-lined Rambla de Poblenou, full of little restaurants and promenading locals in the early evening, leads south from the commercial centre to the beach in about fifteen minutes.
Hotel ME Barcelona is a destination in its own right. Chanel were hosting a perfume launch the night I stayed, and the bar was full of Barcelona natives, as opposed to braying tourists. If you are looking for a different side to Barcelona, then I recommend basing yourself here, exploring the phenomenal architecture, and then hopping in an inexpensive cab or in the subway (5 mins) to the tourist & high end shopping areas.
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How lovely. I haven’t spent any time in Barcelona since I was 17 and passing through on my way to the south of Spain with my German exchange class. We saw salsa dancing on the street, and bought cheap souvenirs. I thought it was fabulous.
I’d love to go back now and see the place through different eyes.
Poppy xox
This is the quarter where I live. I foresee that it will soon become the first choice for staying in Barcelona due to the large number of new hotels around. I’m glad that you enjoyed it!