Bustling BarcelonaBustling Barcelona
Intraurban Adventure

Bustling Barcelona

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Barcelona is a cosmopolitan city full of history and modernity. This Mediterranean character and its Olympic pride, its tolerance and open-air flair, its undeniable beauty that is underpinned by rich and eclectic urban planning and architecture make the Catalan capital a city with much to offer.

The city’s great advantage over other major cities is its ideal size, which makes it possible to explore on foot. Barcelona is a fantastic city for walking, especially because it goes downhill. For example, if you start in Gràcia’s neighbourhood, you can reach the sea with no effort at all. You can cross the Eixample and enjoy modernism, walk along Las Ramblas and discover the La Boqueria market, explore the Barri Gòtic – the oldest part of the city and its historic centre – and the remains of the old walled city and finally end up on the shores of the Mediterranean.   

One of the great attractions of all these walks will be to discover the architecture of Antoni Gaudí, who left a total of 14 works in the city, which were all completed except or one. That one, which has been under construction since it was started in 1882, is the famous Sagrada Familia. It is one of the landmarks of Catalan modernism, an icon of the city and a point of reference for people in Barcelona when they look upon the city.

In addition to Gaudí, Barcelona offers other great modernist architects, e.g. Domènech i Muntaner and the Palau de la Música Catalana or the Puig i Cadafalch and the Casa de les Punxes. Beyond modernism, the city also features buildings in other styles, created by new generations of renowned architects, e.g. Enric Miralles and the Mercat de Santa Caterina or Ricard Bofill and the Hotel W Barcelona.

A city for all tastes

One of the best-known sayings in the city is that ‘Barcelona és bona si la bossa sona’, which in English that ‘Barcelona is good if there’s a clink in your wallet’ (if you have money). This gives you a fair warning that a visit may be quite an extravagant indulgence. For example, you can shop in the best boutiques on Passeig de Gràcia, enjoy the opera at the Liceu, eat at of the 23 Michelin-starred restaurants or stay at one of the 19 luxury hotels.

However, the city offers options for all budgets and tastes: you can drink vermouth and swim at the beach, visit museums and markets, enjoy a varied cultural programme and a wide range of concerts, find quiet corners or experience the hustle and bustle of the big city.

Mediterranean logistics capital

Barcelona has good reason to be considered one of the major logistics centres in Europe and the Mediterranean. The city is in a privileged location: it is situated in the northeast of Spain and is the gateway to Europe for overland goods from the Iberian Peninsula, as well as for maritime transport from Asia. Thus, in recent decades, its port and airport have consolidated their position as two infrastructures of international importance. Barcelona airport ranks eighth in Europe in passenger traffic and the port, for its part, is in tenth position in terms of container traffic.

This logistical relevance combined with the strong manufacturing industry has historically positioned the city as one of the main economic engines of the Iberian Peninsula. Barcelona’s new challenge is to continue to exercise this leadership in Industry 4.0, and turn the city into a technological point of reference on the way towards digitalising the logistics industry.

Rhenus has its Spanish headquarters in Barcelona, very close to the port and the airport, and has direct access to mainland connections, making it an ideal site for a logistics service provider like Rhenus, offering services for all modes of transport.

What to visit in Barcelona if you love logistics?

What to visit next?

A small selection of good restaurants

With almost 7,500 bars and restaurants, deciding where to eat is always a difficult choice in Barcelona. We recommend five places to make it a little easier for you:

  • Pinotxo Bar: A small restaurant with Catalan cuisine that is legendary in the Mercat de la Boqueria. One of its specialities is the ‘capipota’. In Catalan, this means ‘head and leg’. This dish is made from a base of offal or tripe, simmered until tender.
  • Terraza Martínez: On the mountain of Montjuïc and overlooking the port, this is one of the best choices for paella in Barcelona.
  • La Pubilla: A place where you can taste the famous ‘esmorzars amb forquilla’ (‘fork breakfast’, meaning a hearty breakfast), typical in Catalonia, with homemade dishes and cuisine fresh from the market to start the day off right.
  • Dos Pebrots: An innovative proposal for foodies to discover Catalan recipes.
  • Can Cargol: Escargots are one of the particular features of Catalan gastronomy and, in this restaurant, they are a great specialty.

Five songs to discover Barcelona

Allow us to suggest a few artists, from different periods and very different styles, to acquaint you with the sound of this city:

DISCOVER RHENUS SPAIN

We have 26 branches throughout Spain, with a presence in all the regions of the Iberian Peninsula, the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands. A complete network of cross-docking centres and transport-related warehousing to cover all the needs of the supply chain, whether by land, sea or air.

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Comments

For this article there are 2 comments

GwenDuenner

17/02/2022 - 20:23

Reading this makes me miss the city so much… time to visit our colleagues in Barcelona soon, I think! ;)

Deborah_Droste

17/02/2022 - 20:17

Barcelona - my absolute favourite city in Europe! Thanks for the great logistics insights!

Deborah_Droste

17/02/2022 - 19:34

This comment was deleted.

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