Skateboarding in Barcelona

Skateboarding is a very popular leisure activity in Barcelona.  Barcelona has long been hailed as one of the best skate cities in the world.  Many professional skaters say this is due to its unique architecture, which allows them to be very creative by performing tricks in crazy spots that don't exist in any other city in the world.  I personally love to skateboard, so coming to Barcelona has been like a dream come true.  I will never forget the first time I saw people skateboarding in Barcelona in a video when I was about 10 years old.  The features they were hitting seemed to be especially built for skateboarding, but it was just the regular landscape of the city.

The "Big Four" at Macba

Many of the spots we pass every day in Barcelona are legendary skate spots.  Macba, where we took a field trip the other day, is known as being a great hangout for skaters both amateur and pro alike.  The reason it is so popular is because there is a large plaza for practicing flatland tricks, as well as a nice ledge to grind on.  Macba also boasts the "Big Four", a famous set of stairs that skaters like to pull tricks off of.  Macba has appeared in many famous American skateboarding movies.

A skater at Para-lel

Another very famous spot to skate in Barcelona is Para-lel.  There are many times when I have seen dozens of skaters all practicing their moves in that area.  It would probably have to be my favorite area to skate, but I also like skating down near the beach.  Other popular skate spots are the Parc d Joan Miro grass curbs, the Bonanova banks, Alfons X, Bellvitge and many curbs near the port.

 

The video above is of a very famous American skater named Paul Rodriguez.  He has been called one of the best skaters of his generation because he has flawless style and can perform many very technical tricks.  It is a very short and entertaining video, so if you have time I would advise watching it.  There are many spots in the video that are easy to recognize, like the beach, the bench rail near Sabadell, Para-lel and Macba.