From Montgrí, it's a fantastic ride down along the small past roads past the Catalan coastal towns of Begur, Calella de Palafrugell, Tamariu, Palamós, Lloret de Mar, Blanes, Mataró, Badalona to.........

BARCELONA!!

There are a million things to do and see in this mind-blowing city, and it's hard to know just where to start, but one way, is to just throw yourself out into it, and see what happens...

Start by taking a ride up to Montjuïc castle to get an overview of the vast expanse of cultural enlightenment that is Barcelona. To the southwest of Barcelona’s center lies Montjuïc Mountain with its breathtaking views of the city. On your way up from Avenida Gaudí, you’ll pass the picturesque Plaza España and Montjuïc Park. Alternatively, if you want to explore the area on foot, you can take a cablecar ride up to Montjuïc castle from the tower down at the port.

Supersculptures along the Barcelona beachfront

As you ride back into Barcelona Centro you can't help but notice Gambrinus, the giant lobster statue on Passeig Colom and Moll de la Fusta quay, near Port Vell. The 10m long fibreglass sculpture was designed and built by Spanish artist Javier Mariscal, and when the Gambrinus restaurant closed, the statue was bought by Barcelona city council, restored and now sits menacingly on the roadside, waiting to catch passing motorcyclists to devour them. Karma! But this isn't the only mad landmark you're going to remember for ever and ever.. keep riding along the coast road and you'll find a few more!

Next along the roadside is Wounded Star, also known as The Cubes. A mysterious work due to its strange name, it was installed by the German artist Rebecca Horn on the beach of La Barceloneta, and takes a few curious looks from different angles to figure out what's actually going on, there. And you probably still won't work it out. Keep riding along the beachfront and at Sant Martí you'll find Long Voyage, Torres i Monsó, another conceptual and eccentric sculpture with an ambiguous name.

As you continue along the seafront, you see something reflecting in the distance.. a giant goldfish 56 metres long and 35 metres high, which has become one of the symbols of post-Olympic Barcelona and looks as if it is floating on the waters of the Mediterranean. The sunlight is reflected in the scales of this sculpture by Frank Gehry that presides over the waterfront of the Olympic Marina and guards Barcelona's beaches. In 1992, the pristine Olympic Barcelona was transforming its seafront, a new Olympic Marina was taking shape, dominated by its twin towers. On one side stood the Mapfre Tower, on the other was the Hotel Arts. Frank Gehry placed his fish sculpture at the foot of the hotel, to just to be sure we couldn't miss it!

Carabela Cafè and the Columbus column

Walking back towards land through the park at Plaça de l'Ictineo, it's time for lunch, or breakfast, depending on the wavelengths of your circadian rhythms... After a quick round of Mexican Nachos and a beer at Carabela Cafè, it's time to take a close look at the Columbus Column again. Take a stroll back down Passeig de Colom, walking beneath Gambrinus again (trying not to get eaten) and Monument a Colom rises up ahead of you, a 40m Corinthian column with a 7.2m bronze statue balancing on the top. The statue was sculpted by Rafael Atché and is said to depict Columbus pointing towards the New World with his right hand, while holding a scroll in the left.

It was constructed for the Exposición Universal de Barcelona (1888) in honor of Columbus' first voyage to the Americas. The monument serves as a reminder that Christopher Columbus reported to Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand V in Barcelona after his first trip to the new continent to commit genocide on the tribes and peoples of The New World, bringing a legacy of disease, death and destruction to their ethnic way of life, and pave the way for unfettered exploitation and larceny, stealing whatever gold and other elements and metals the white man attached monetary or social standing value to.

In 2020, there were calls to pull down Barcelona's most iconic statue. 250 people took to the streets on June 14, 2020, to protest in favor of removing the statue. Columbus himself was not a slave trader, but he represents the colonial era and his arrival in the New World gave birth to Spain's overseas empire, the empire that decimated Indigenous populations through disease and war, bloodshed, exploitation, torture and slavery. Not the best legacy to bring to a new place.

Arc de Triomf

If you need to rinse your mind from all the atrocities, head on over to Ciutadella Park and float around there for a while. From there, walk up along Promenade Passeig de Lluís Companys to Arc de Triomf. Built by architect Josep Vilaseca i Casanovas as the main access gate for the 1888 Barcelona World Fair. The arch crosses over the wide central promenade of the Passeig de Lluís Companys, leading to/from the Ciutadella Park that now occupies the site of the world fair. It is located at the northern end of the promenade, facing the Passeig de Sant Joan. Just keep walking!

Park Güell

Designed by the main man of Catalan Modernism, Antoni Gaudí, Park Güell is a series of public parks opened in 1926, later named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Access to the park is free, and you can see some of the most famous pieces of architectural art, such as the Dragon Stairway, among many other experimental and sometimes seemingly insane pieces of 'desarchisculptitecture'. You'll understand when you see it.

Casa Batlló, Passeig de Gràcia

Antoni Gaudí undertook a radical refurbishment of a building in Barcelona's Passeig de Gràcia dating from 1875 to create one of his boldest works. Gaudí's imaginative efforts were key to the development of the project, as was the decorative work of the artisans who collaborated with him between 1904 and 1906. A simple glance gives rise to myriad interpretations. The discs of multicoloured glazed-ceramics and broken shards of stained glass, placed with precision, depict flowers and water lilies and play with the reflections of the sunlight. This vast impressionist painting is often interpreted as the surface of the rolling sea in the heart of Passeig de Gràcia.Another magnificent UNESCO World Heritage Site to have voraciously consumed!

Barcelona in the evening time

Treat yourself to one of the walking tours available in the city at night. Barcelona Turisme offers an intimate, sensorial tour where architecture converges with the phenomenon of the city and intertwines with history, art, sociology and culture in general. Experience Barcino, the charm and mystery of the city by night. See the old town when it's quiet, when it reveals its history by evoking the Roman city and medieval era. Explore the main landmarks in the Gothic Quarter and the historic districts of the oldest, and most beautiful, part of town… a truly meaningful place.
Along the way, you'll find plenty of nice foods, wines and beers and endless gastronomic magnificence to keep you rolling through the night!