Barceloneta is Barcelona's seafaring quarter, a triangular peninsula between the old port and the sea. For many visitors it is their first taste of the city's beaches; for its residents it is a small village with its own identity.
An eighteenth-century quarter
Barceloneta was built in the mid-eighteenth century to house residents of La Ribera, demolished after 1714 to build the Ciutadella fortress. Military engineers laid it out as a grid of long, narrow streets and blocks of low houses, later raised in the nineteenth century, which give it its unmistakable look, with washing hanging from balconies. For centuries it was home to fishermen, sailors and shipyard workers.
What to see and do
- Sant Sebastià and Barceloneta beaches, with the promenade (passeig marítim) full of kiosks, cyclists and skaters; at the southern end the sail-shaped W hotel.
- Rebecca Horn's sculpture L'Estel Ferit, four stacked iron cubes on the beach, recalling the old beach-shack restaurants.
- The renovated Barceloneta market and the square of the church of Sant Miquel del Port.
- The Palau de Mar and the Museum of the History of Catalonia, in old port warehouses, with a rooftop terrace.
- The port cable car, crossing from the Torre de Sant Sebastià over the harbour to Montjuïc (see Montjuïc).
Other beaches
North-east along the coast come Nova Icària, near the Olympic port, Bogatell, Mar Bella, with a naturist area, and Nova Mar Bella, quieter and popular with locals. The city beaches are clean and well equipped but very crowded in summer: keep an eye on bags and phones left on the sand.
Where to eat
Barceloneta is the place for a rice dish: paella, arròs negre with squid ink, arròs a la marinera and fideuà, or seafood tapas. The quarter's typical dish is the bomba, a big potato-and-meat croquette with spicy sauce and allioli, said to have been born at the La Cova Fumada bar. For rice, choose restaurants full of Spaniards and be wary of those with photos of dishes at the door. See also Spanish cuisine.