Barrio de Gracia

The people who live in Gracia don't say "I'm from Barcelona", they say very proudly "I'm from Gracia."

If there is something that has defined this lovely neighborhood is that at the end of the 19th century it was an independent village, this is why nowadays the community remains small and almost closed as if it could be self sustainable and independent.

Inhabited by artists and bohemians, the neighborhood, the center of which is Plaça de Sol, has recently seen many delicious restaurants of fusion and alternative food. The charm of Gracia lies in the 'modernity' that lives in its lifelong inhabitants, of very traditional customs. Old bookshops, old bars and typical grocery stores form the pleasant landscape where the 'moderns' with eccentric hairstyle and strange clothing walk.

Barrio de Gracia used to be a village in the outskirts of Barcelona, and now that it is completely part of the city it preserves the little popular village touch.

You get there with the Ferrocarril FCG (FCG Railway) in Gracia station (be careful not to mix it up with Passeig de Gracia), the neighborhood is at the end of Paseo de Gracia and goes until the Güell park. It is an artistic neighborhood and is famous for its festival in August. People decorate the streets and the houses, each of the streets has it own theme. For example last year one of the streets was Road 66 and there were motorbikes and all the American states the road crosses were represented along the street. Another theme was the submarine world, or the school with the streets decorated with folders and gigantic pencils.

What's special about Gracia is that it is a neighborhood full of lively streets and squares, , always with a good atmosphere for having a drink. The people of Barcelona say that it has recently been "invaded" by modern people and the prices have gone up quite a lot, but I guess it also gave something new to the neighborhood.

The best is the festival in August: the inhabitants take it very seriously and decorate every street according to a theme, the bars move outside on the squares, there are concert stages and the neighborhood gets livelier than ever.