My Corner of Barcelona: Poblenou

Standing on the roof of our apartment building on Pere IV the day we moved in

When I first arrived in Barcelona, I had no idea where in the city I would be living.  I didn’t even know how big the city was, nor did I understand how different and unique each neighborhood was.  So when we got on the CEA bus and pulled away from the hotel, I was very unsure of what my living arrangements would be like.  We arrived in Poblenou after a short drive from the hotel, and unloaded our bags into the apartment.  My roommates chose our beds, and then immediately went out to explore the neighborhood that would be our home for the next few months. 

The area around my apartment is situated right near two preschools, so there are always a lot of little kids running around yelling and playing games with each other.  I walk past the Pere IV preschool everyday on my way to classes at CEA, and I always smile when I hear the little kids speaking much better Spanish than I know.  Poblenou was not always filled with young families though.  In the 19^th century when Poblenou was first built, it consisted of many textile factories.  There are still many remnants around today that remind people what it used to look like.  In fact, they have preserved many of the old smoke stacks that used to be attached to the factories where laborers worked.

Walking down the street near the preschool

Today Poblenou is much different.  Many of the old factories have been torn down, but a good amount of them still remain.  Some of them have been converted into studios for artists and young people to live and party inside of.  One old factory that everyone knows about is the famous club, Razzmatazz.  My roommates and I have enjoyed many nights on the dance floor of Razzmatazz with both fellow CEA students and local Spanish girls.

A church in Poblenou

Poblenou is one of my favorite locations in the city because it is pretty quiet.  I like Jaume Prime and Las Ramblas, but those areas are packed with tourists and are always very congested and busy with people.  I enjoy spending time in those areas of the city, but it is nice at the end of the day to come home to a setting that allows me to relax.  Another great part about my apartment in Poblenou is how close we are located to the beach.  We are only a five minute walk from the ocean, which is great to hang out at when the weather is warm enough.  My friends and I have even been challenged to games of beach volleyball by some of the locals.  Most of the time we win, but we have also suffered some bad losses.

One of the old smokestacks in Poblenou

Poblenou is located very close to a ramblas as well.  There are many different shops and places to get food on the Ramblas.  When the weather is warm enough, many old people sit, people watch and talk on the benches that line the Ramblas to pass the time.  There is a large circular plaza in front of the Supermercado that is always very crowded with people doing all sorts of different things.  There is a man that lives in the square who is always very drunk when we walk by, and harasses everyone who passes by him.  

The skatepark near the beach

The dining around our apartment is great.  We have dozens of small cafes and tapas restaurants with outside table seating.  There is also a Doner Kebab, as well as some upscale restaurants like La Braseria De Poblenou which we can not afford to go to often.  There seems to be a large Indian population in our area, and a lot of the shops cater to Indian tastes by offering dishes like Chicken Tiki Marsala.

My roommates messing around in our apartment

Overall, I am very pleased that I got to live in Poblenou.  It is by far my favorite area of the city, and I find its location to be ideal.  I love long boarding on the streets around my neighborhood.  We live close enough to a large mall that has everything you could ever need, which is nice.  We also live only a fifteen minute walk from Opium Mar and Shoko, which has come in handy because cabs can be quite expensive.  If I ever came back to Barcelona to live for another extended period of time, I would definitely like to live in Poblenou.

Poblenou is well-known for how much graffiti is around