The best of Barcelona's neighbourhoods – Poble-sec

At Apolo you don’t have to wait until the weekend to have a great evening out, and it’s a temple where they organise the most glorious club sessions in the city: Nasty Mondays, which for ten years has successfully made the start of the week bearable, 1980s pop apocalypse Cupcake, and the hetero-friendly happiness of monthly parties SomosLas and Churros con Chocolate are just a few examples of what’s going on at Apolo. What’s more, as it’s the club that schedules the most and the best concerts in the city, there are more than enough reasons to declare it the best of its kind in Barcelona.

On a tiny stretch (about 20 metres) of C/Lleida are four eateries any true foodie must visit: Cañotas, Rías de Galicia, Pakta and El Camarote de Tomás (Lleida, 3).

It would be unfair to highlight just one Poble-sec terrace. I can recommend, without any hesitation, Bar Seco, a paradise of artisan food and tapas with a conscience, but it’s not possible to talk about this barri without mentioning that it was the Gran Bodega Saltó that paved the way for the unmissable hotspot for bars that is C/Blai, with such landmarks as La Tieta, Lia d’en Vicius (what amazing croquettes they have), Barramon and the abundance of everything for €1 in Blai Tonight. And it would also be profoundly unfair to not mention, even if just in passing, La Soleá, a place for good times and good food, in the marvellous Plaça del Sortidor.

In Poble-sec you’ll find many of the cultural venues that make BCN into the city that it aims to be. The Miró Foundation is the point of reference for one of the most influential 20th-century painters, and the MNAC houses one of the world’s most complete collections of Romanic and Gothic art as well as key works by masters such as Fortuny, Casas and Gargallo. Behind the pompous name of Ciutat del Teatre (Theatre City) are the Mercat de les Flors (dance), the Lliure de Montjuïc (theatre) and the Institut del Teatre. It’s also home to CaixaForum and the Archaeology Museum, not forgetting the annual comic and manga fairs at the Fira de Barcelona, which also hosts much of Sónar’s daytime programme.