by Emily Mcbride

Created on: February 10, 2009   Last Updated: February 11, 2009

Barcelona is charming, noisy, mixed, full of Europeans, South Americans, Africans, Asians, American students, English teachers, and oh, let us not forget, the resident Catalans. Activities in Barcelona include dancing, swimming in the Mediterranean sea, drinking in small eclectic bars and on the sides of fountains, trailing the streets with your eyes cast permanently upwards at the beautiful gothic or modernist buildings, and of course, eating the Catalan national dish, pa amb tomaquet, or bread with olive oil and tomato rubbed into it.

With so much to see, do and experience, and often in the heat and humidity of the summer tourist season, Barcelona can be hectic as much as anything, and therefore I will focus on two places I find to be synonymous with peace in the city. This being Barcelona, it is still frequently a noisy, and always vibrant peace, but peace nonetheless.

The first is in Plaa dels Angels in the central neighbourhood of Raval. Raval is, if you like, the poorer cousin of the tourist-mobbed Gothic Quarter. The architecture is not quite so old or grand, but the feeling of walking down the street is infinitely more authentic: many of the passers-by actually live in the neighbourhood, though they may originally come from such diverse places as Argentina and Pakistan. Plaa dels Angels is the shining bright white center of the Raval, and open space filled with practicing skateboarders against the backdrop of a stunning white museum of modern art. The MACBA, as it is called, was built to infuse some new hope and life into the then poor and desperate neighbourhood, and it fulfils this role admirably. It gleams like a friendly beacon in the sun, and is a study in authentic contrast, stationed across from a small stone convent that sometimes houses some of the extra exhibitions. Over to one side of the MACBA, just before the square suddenly narrows again into another charming cobbled alley, there are a few cafes with outdoor tables, which are perhaps the city's most perfect places to sit, on a sunny afternoon, and enjoy a small beer or a coffee, under a beautiful outdoor work of art by the famous Basque artist Eduardo Chillida.

On the other side of the Gothic Quarter and the up-and-coming Born district is a beautiful red brick Arc de Triomf, similar in style to its famous Parisian cousin, but weightier and more detailed. At the bottom of the long avenue leading away from the Arc is Parc Ciutadella, one of the most delightful and quirky places in Barcelona. There is a statue of Venus and a raging horse and carriage in the midst of an enormous, explosive fountain, which, in true Barcelona style, is usually either being repaired or switched off to save water, but is nonetheless impressive. Nearby is a delightfully random statue of a woolly mammoth, and a small lake where rowboats can be rented by the hour. But the true delight of the park is simply to sit on the grass and drink a glass of sparkling wine, or have a picnic, feel the sun play on your skin, and listen to the distant but ever-present beat of practicing drums, and look across the sea of relaxed locals and leisurely turning batons.

Come to Barcelona, see the sights, but experience too the elusive peace of the Catalan capital, and leave with a different perspective on this warm and wonderful corner of the Mediterranean.

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