Barcelona's best bodegas

In the early 20th century this was a soda water factory, so maybe it's no surprise that since 2013 it's been a bodega – the spirit of the drink was already there when the intrepid vermouth maker Eduard decided to convert it. Cal Marino has a stellar selection of wines, beers, croquettes in loads of flavours, cheeses and small dishes to sample. Try the cooked-to-perfection Spanish omelette ('truita'), the 'cecina' cured meat with artichokes, the wild boar stew, and the gin-and-tonic sorbet, and be on the lookout for new items on the menu to discover. The space itself is quite large, so it's a good option if you go with a group.

Wooden doors painted red. Rows of casks and barrels darkened by the passage of time. Stacks of colourful boxes of beer bottles. Bullfighting posters and a Football Club Espanyol T-shirt. Wood flooring and plenty of tradition. The 'J' in the name stands for Joaquina, the owner's mother. Johnny and his wife, Rosa, are a delightful couple who open their bodega in the morning and close around 4pm. They serve up the classic combination of anchovies with stuffed olives and vermouth, and every night they spend two or three hours cleaning and preparing anchovies so that the next day you can gobble them down: now that's dedication.

Time stopped here long before the Barrio Chino area was cleaned up and renamed the Raval. Montse's son, Javi, has taken on the job of serving drinks to whoever passes by with a few coins in their pockets, just as all his predecessors have done for more than 100 years. The clientele isn't the youngest or trendiest around, which is exactly why, if you listen, you'll hear fascinating stories, and learn life lessons. Cobwebs have taken over much of the ceiling, which is hung with bunches of dried herbs, the bullfight posters are the same nicotine brown as the walls. If you ask for it, they'll serve you wine in a 'porró' so you can learn to drink from the spout like a local.

In a narrow street in the neighbourhood of Horta there's a door with a flowering plum tree in front of it that opens onto a treasure of a bodega, an institution in Horta for more than 80 years: Bodega Massana. A dozen barrels of wines (including unusual varieties) with taps welcome you from behind the bar, where the staff seem to always be serving vermouths and draught beers, spicy escargot, 'botifarra' sausages with beans and all kinds of splendid delicacies at affordable prices. They have a small outdoor area for letting a bit of fresh air inside or for smoking; it gets quite popular at times. If you try Bodega Massana, you're sure to return.

Porta is a small Barcelona neighborhood in the district of Nou Barris where places have Mallorcan names and orange trees grow wild. For the last 50 years one of the neighbourhood's most popular centres for spontaneous social gatherings has stood next to the Llucmajor metro station: the Bodegueta d'en Miquel. This small, cosy spot is full of wine casks and bottles – as it should be! – and features tapas of all kinds plus plenty of house specialities to snack on. Head over on a Thursday for the offer of a tapa and a drink for €1.95. This may be the excuse you've been looking for to practise some real-world tourism outside the city centre, and learn just how large and varied Barcelona is.

Tucked away in the Born, the centuries-old Bodega Jané, whose walls could tell 1,001 stories, recently arose from its own ashes in a new venue with more space and light than the old version, but with the same wooden fridge that gave it such character. With its walls covered in bottles, liqueurs and cavas, craft beer on tap, and home-made vermouth, Bodega Jané is where you want to be when you're in the centre of town and you want a good glass of wine and a tasty snack to go with it.

Barcelona is full of surprises and places to discover, like this little corner deep within the Sants neighbourhood. The light that hits it at midday alone makes it worth a stop in, but when you consider that Salvat is one of the best bodegas in town, it becomes a must on any wine-lover's itinerary. With ancient trophies decorating the walls and casks that have been around since the dawn of time, the bodega serves up anchovies that have garnered deserved fame and will keep you thirsty for your draught beer or vermouth. And if you want wine from a barrel, order the Setze Vàlvules and you'll be more than content.