A 3-hour tour with 3 stops in Poble Sec with Context Travel
Poble Sec is one of Barcelona’s oldest neighborhoods. It dates back to Roman times. It is historically known for being one of its poorest. Numerous factories were built here in the 19th century which put a strain on the water supply. It is this which may have led to the name of Poble Sec or “Dry Town”.
These days the working class neighborhood of Poble Sec has an eating and nightlife scene to rival the rest of Barcelona. Particularly the tapas hopping.
Local guide with good knowledge of Catalan tradition of Pica-Pica
If you are new to Barcelona or on a visit, Context Travel Barcelona offers a Pica-Pica tour here. I was invited to one recently. Esther, our guide for the evening, took us to 4 bars over 3 hours. At each stop, she told us the background on tapas or the Catalan tradition of picar.
We enjoyed the revolutionary bomba in a small grotty bar much loved by locals. We drank a glass of sticky vermouth to start off the evening with plates of cheese and grilled vegetables with romesco sauce. The highlight of the evening came when Esther managed to secure the four of us a much-coveted slot at the bar of Quimet y Quimet. I had not visited Quimet y Quimet in years, discouraged by a constant mob of people. It confirmed that despite being written about 100’s of times, Quimet y Quimet is worth the hype.
We finished off the evening at a Catalan / Andalusian restaurant and toasted with Cava over a truffled canelón.
Context Travel Barcelona runs small tours, no more than 8 people. By the end of the evening, my friend Magda and I got to know the couple visiting from New York. This led to Howard emailing me a list of his favourite restaurants the following day.
Context Travel
Pica-Pica in Poble Sec
www.contexttravel.com/cities/barcelona
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