Street Art Barcelona: Your Open Air Gallery in the Gaudí´s shadows

Read about Graffiti in Barcelona gallery or checkout the blog about how girls get down with graffiti in Graffiti Barcelona event: girls with cans!

In this blog, there is no need to talk much. Barcelona is a great place if you like any kind of art. You can visit galleries and museum with classic art, modern art or contemporary pieces. But you can also just enjoy walking down the street, keeping your eyes open and satisfying your urban art appetite with some Street art in Barcelona.
There are big names in the Street art Barcelona world, such as Pez (have you seen his smiling creatures, mostly fish, all over the city?) or Kram, Kenor, BToy, Uriginal and Blu. They all have their own unique styles.
We will bring you for a short tour, a little appetizer before the main course. It´s impossible to show everything, so look some pictures we took in Barcelona below, and venture off on your own to see more!

Barcelona Graffiti

Courtains in Barcelona

Stencils

Stickers and Posters

I hope you enjoyed this little Street art Barcelona showroom. If you have some great pictures that you want to share with us or your favourite Street artist that we didn´t mention in this blog, let me know!
Cans up Sharka!

Bruce Springsteen Concert Barcelona 2012

You may have not been “Born in the USA” but people worldwide know the song and the man who has been rocking for decades. As you might know “The Boss” is wildly popular in Spain and on May 17^th musical legend Bruce Springsteen will be playing in Barcelona’s Paseo Olimpico. Bruce is traveling around the world playing his “The Wrecking Ball” World Tour. “The Wrecking Ball” will spend two days in Barcelona May 17^th and May 18^th. If you miss either of these concerts Bruce will also be playing May 13^th in Seville, May 15^th at Las Palmas, and one more June 17^th in Madrid.

Springsteen has been playing his heartland rock since the 1970’s and continues to bring the world his personal style of poetic lyrics and musical stories. Springsteen has been awarded 21 Grammys, two Golden Globe Awards, and even an Oscar. He is  regarded by many as one of the most influential songwriters of the 20th century, and in 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him as the 23rd Greatest Artist of all time.

The concert starts at 21h so make sure to get there early. Tickets are on sale now. Check out Barcelona events at www.eventful.com/Barcelona for more information on the show. Don’t miss this historical musical icon when he is in one of the world’s most iconic cities.

Let us know if there are any events you are looking forward to this summer in Barcelona. Keep rocking.

Brett

All the Best Events in Barcelona, May 2012

Labour Day 1^st

The 1^st of May is a national holiday known as ‘Labour Day’ in many countries and Spain is one of them.  There will be some demonstrations in and marches led by trade unions in the city centre.  They will usually be around Placa de la universitat and passeig de Gracia.

Barcelona Poetry Week 8^th – 17^th may

Barcelona’s international poetry week is one of the many Cultural Barcelona events that take place each year.  There are poetry readings in many places around the city and most of the poetry is in Catalan or Spanish.   Check out the website for more details.

Website

Sports Film Festival FICTS (2012) 10^th – 12^th

This year is the 3^rd edition of the Barcelona international FICTS festival.  It is part of the world FICTS challenge, which is a collection of sport film festivals in countries all over the world.  There will be 70 films, based on a variety of different sports, competing in this year’s festival.  The main venue for the festival is in the heart of park de montjuic at the ‘The Museu Olímpic’ and ‘de l’Esport Joan Antoni Samaranch’.  For more information see the website.

Website

Spanish Gran Prix 11^th – 13^th

Formula 1 is coming to Barcelona! The Spanish Gran Prix is held just outside Barcelona each year at the Circuit de Catalunya, Montmelo.  28km North of the City.    There are many covered stands around the track and ticket prices for the weekend go from over €3,500 (paddock club ticket) down to just above €200.  So if you want to watch Alonso, Vettel, and Hamilton race round a track at unbelievable speeds then check the Gran Prix website for more info and tickets.

Website

Tibidabo Race, 19^th

La pujada al Tibidabo is an annual uphill race that goes all the way to the top of mount Tibidabo.  The race is 9km long and is part of the Up hill Series.  The race goes through the beautiful Collserola Park and throughout the route you get amazing views of the city.  So if you like running and a bit of a challenge then this is not to be missed.

Website

Route Map

Museum Night, 19^th

This is a great event each year in Barcelona where more than 50 museums throughout the city remain open during the night until 1 am and they are all free to visit.  Last year over 100,000 people took advantage of this great opportunity.  There will also be activities such as concerts and performances.  This is a night of fun you can’t miss.  For more information check the website.

Website

Spanish Cup Final (Copa del Rey) FC Barcelona Vs Athletic Bilbao, 25^th

FC Barcelona will compete in the Spanish Cup final in Madrid.  This means the city streets will be empty and the bars full as all the local football fans watch one of the most important games in Spanish football.  It’s always fun to watch Barcelona play in a local bar because the Barcelona fans get so into it, making the atmosphere electric.  Try watching the game in an Irish pub in Barcelona, which will be full of locals and expats all cheering and shouting.

Dilluns de Pasqua Granada (Public Holiday in Catalunya) 28^th May

It’s another Public Holiday in Barcelona. Why not go to the beach.  Read our free E-book all about Barcelona beaches to help you decide which one.

Primavera Sound, 30^th May – 3^rd June

Primavera Sound is one of Europe’s biggest and best Festivals.  With over 100,000 visitors last year and this year will be even bigger.  There is a great mix of genres such as, Rock, pop, indie, hip-hop, jazz, electro and more! There will be more than 150 artists and lots of big names too! For more information read our Primavera Sound 2012 Bolg.

If you have any questions or know of any other great Barcelona events, we would love to hear about them. Please leave a comment below.

Cheers

Matthew Rutter

Design Barcelona: Studiostore has got it all!

One of the hottest spots for design Barcelona that promotes culture, art and creativity is Studiostore, the lively multi-purpose open space in the heart of the Born area.

Calle Comerc was always one of my favorite streets. There is the Chocolate museum with the best chocolate pralines and probably the best hot chocolate in town and when you enter you feel as if you’re taking a tour of Charlie’s chocolate factory (only without Oumpaloompas, unfortunately). Then you cross the street and you have the Mutt Gallery and Iguapop (a cool clothing store) and the new and original concept store Studiostore.

We visited a few days ago and were lucky to be able to talk to its owner and idea maker Lafede, who told us some “behind the scenes” information about her interesting concept.
The Studiostore was born recently, but it has already won high praise in design Barcelona. Lafede and her team opened the doors of this store in January 2012 and by doing this she also opened the curtains of a cool space, which hadn’t been used in over 20 years. She told us it was all a lucky coincidence how she found the place; I would say the street called her, because Studiostore totally fits into the neighborhood. Studiostore is 300 m2 divided into studio space and the store, which has two floors. Big neon lightning saying TOGETHER all over one wall of the store represents one of the Studiostore mottos – being together and Back to basics.

Lafede is primarily dedicated to furniture design, lightning and retail spaces but as she said, she didn’ t want to be closed in her studio without the opportunity to meet her possible clients. By mixing her studio space with a 2 floor showroom she creates just that, the ability to meet with existing clients and the opportunity to turn window shoppers into new clients.

Studiostore collaborates with some well-known designers such as Woouf!, Sheriff & Cherry and Paco Rueda and together they release a collection of items that are sold in the front store. Besides all of this there are many events, conferences or pop-up stores happening in Studiostore as well. The lastest event that has recently finished was called The Gran Bazzar, where one can find original pieces from about 50 Barcelona artists including clothes, accessories, furniture, or design gadgets.
The next event will start in May and studiostore will open its walls to talented Barcelona photographers, so don’t miss it.

Lafede (Federica Sandretti), Italian designer and architect, specialized in retail design, came to Barcelona 12 years ago. She worked with Custo Barcelona, but had an idea of connecting her own studio with an open space that would bring and connect people interested in design and art. That´s how the idea of Studiostore was born and after 3 months of running this concept store we can already tell that it worked out well.

See you in Studiostore!

Sarka

Events in Barcelona April 2012:

Semana Santa in Barcelona

Semana Santa is the week leading up to Easter and is translated to “holy week”.  Semana Santa starts on palm Sunday, the 1^st of April, and lasts a week until Easter Sunday.  All the schools are closed for the week and there are public holidays on Friday the 6^th and Monday the 9^th.   There are processions on palm Sunday and good Friday (6^th) in Barcelona where thousands take to the streets to commemorate this “holy week”. The photo below is of an Easter ceremony in Plaza Real.

FC Barcelona Vs Ac Milan: Champions League Quarter finals.  Tuesday the 3^rd 20:45

Barcelona faces AC Milan for the second leg of the Champions league Quarter Final.  The first leg resulted in a draw 2 – 2.  The Match is at Camp Nou and Barcelona are the favourites.  This is sure to be an exciting match so be sure to get yourself down to a bar for a great atmosphere and lots of excited Barca fans.  When Barcelona plays the bars in the city are always fun.  Bayern Munich and Marseille also play their champions league Quarter Final second leg at the same time, with Munich leading 2 – 0.  You may struggle to find somewhere to watch this game in Barcelona Bars tho.  Irish Pubs are a great place to watch the footy.  Check out our Top 5 Irish Pubs in Barcelona blog to know where to find them.

Barcelona Restaurant week: Friday the 13^th to Sunday the 22^nd

This month there is a great thing called Barcelona restaurant week where some of the best restaurants offer fantastic meals for only €25, €24 for the restaurant and €1 for charity.   There are more than 30 restaurants taking part and on any normal day you could expect to pay on average between €40 and €80 for a meal at these assorted restaurants, so €25 is a great deal.  Follow the link below to see which restaurants are taking part and to reserve a table.

Barcelona Restaurant Week

Sant Jordi: Monday 23^rd

Sant Jordi is the patron saint of Catalonia and the whole of Barcelona comes alive with red and gold Catalan flags everywhere.  The bakeries even go patriotic by adding red sobrassada pate stripes to their bread.  Sant Jordi is also the Ctalan Valentines day. You can read all about it on our blog on Sant Jordi Day in Barcelona.

The Barcelona Tennis open (ATP world Tour): Saturday 21^st – Sunday the 29^th

Some of the worlds best tennis players come to Barcelona to play in the ATP Barcelona Open.  It’s the second biggest tennis tournament in Spain behind the Madrid Masters.  The tournament is staged at the real club de Tenis Barcelona, which is the oldest Spanish tennis club. Rafael Nadal has won it six times out of the last seven so don’t be surprised if he wins again.

Fira de la Terra: Saturday 21^st – Sunday 22^nd

The Barcelona Earth Fair takes part every year in conjunction with Earth Day, which is on the 22^nd.  This Event is meant to raise awareness about global warming and all environmental issues, to help teach people how they can help save the earth.  Earth day started in America and is now a global event.  On Earth Day famous landmarks across the world will have their lights turned off for one hour to raise awareness about climate change and promote a “greener lifestyle”.  The Fira de la Terra Barcelona is held in Park Ciutadella.

Website

FC Barcelona Vs Real Madrid: El Classico. Sunday the 22^nd

When Barcelona Plays Real Madrid the streets in Barcelona are empty and the bars are full.  It seems like almost everyone in Barcelona is watching the big game.  This El Classico is in Camp Nou, and if Barcelona beat real Madrid, there will be a gathering of Barca fans Celebrating and singing in or near Plaza Catalunya.  If you’re not lucky enough to go to the stadium you should go to a bar for a fun and exciting atmosphere.  A good place to go is one of Barcelona’s best Irish pubs.

If you have any questions or comments we would love to hear them.

Cheers

Matthew Rutter

Parks in Barcelona: Enjoy a Slice of Green in the Concrete Jungle (Aka BCN)

The beautiful Parks in Barcelona are something you could easily overlook on your first visit, but those in ‘the know’ worship these tucked-away green spaces as a way to escape the city, without actually leaving it. Here’s our guide to the best Barcelona parks around:

Park Ciutadella

If you haven’t been to Park Ciutadella, then you’re missing out on a magical little piece of Barcelona.  We’ve been going for years and it’s always the perfect lazy sunday alternative when you just don’t feel like the beach (If you are in a beach mood, download our free ebook here: The Barcelona Bible: Barcelona Beaches). I suppose the best way to describe it is… eclectic, and friendly, and otherworldly, and free. Bring your friends, or easily make some new ones.

Park Güell

Park Guell has a fascinating history, but if you don’t want a short synopsis then just skip down a paragraph.  Around the turn of the 1900′s, Count Eusebi Guell commissioned Antoni Gaudí to create the park. It was originally intended to be a posh gated community for the city’s elite, and consisting of only 60 properties, but there were only ever 2 houses actually built, neither by Gaudí himself, and it was deemed a commercial disaster (Interestingly enough, Guell convinced Gaudí to spend his life savings and buy the first model home. He moved in with his family in 1906 and spent the next 20 years living there). In 1969 it was designated a historical artistic monument of national interest. If you’re into Guadí, checkout our video: Las Ramblas Barcelona Part 4: Architecture.

Park Guell is best visited in off hours meaning the morning or around sunset and preferably not on weekends unless you want to wade through hords of tourists. You seem to be inspired to explore, like a giddy youngster, the architectural wonders it contains.  Some of them are easy to find like the park’s main terrace, with picturesque views and a long winding bench in the form of a psychedelic serpent wrapping around it.  Many of the nature-inspired works are hidden, and if you head out on the service roads and into the forrest you’ll discover all kinds of gems.

Read about it more in depth in Matt´s blog: Park güell: a personal guide to barcelona’s most famous park

Laberint d’Horta

Get lost in Parc del Laberint d’horta, literally. This is a fun place to come and be social, whether with some good friends or that special someone. The labyrinth even made it into our free ebook: The Barcelona Bible: Top 25 Place to Take a 1st Date. Make sure you find the outside bar and terrace. There’s nothing like kicking back for a few cañas after running around the labyrinth and the adjoining park.

Montjuic

Montjuic is truly incredible.  Go often, there’s so much to do and see.  The other day, and completely by happenstance, I stumbled upon a cactus garden and absolutely fell in love with it.

Gardens Mossen Costa i Llobera

The Jardins Mossen Costa i Llobera houses a collection that is considered by some botanists to be the plant world’s most important.  You will feel as if you are entering a different world, where you can admire an Alice in Wonderland like variety of cacti, all shapes and sizes and some in full bloom. This hidden cactus garden can be found heading down from Miramar, next to Pl. de l’Armada.

Gardens Mossèn Cinto Verdaguer

One of the most beautiful gardens in Barcelona has to be Mossèn Cinto Verdaguer. The designers took into account different plants’ flowering periods and weather conditions so there really isn’t a time of a year in which you could visit and be not struck by something. The landscape design of the park alone is something to marvel at. C. dels Tarongers, 1-5.

Tres Pins Nursery

I really love to watch things grow and hence this garden touched my heart. The Tres Pins Nursery is a more alternative green space, and quite a bit different from the many parks in Barcelona, and its beauty is hard to imagine before you enter. A tour through the nursery shows you how plants are grown and you’ll quickly discover that a nursery can be, at the same time, quite simply a beautiful garden. Again, the nursery can be found within my favourite Parc Montjuic – at Avinguda de Miramar.

Collserola

On a day when you’re crippled by a hangover, I don’t know another activity which helps clear your head that’s better than spending a day out in the forest. Collserola is perfect because it’s so easy to get there.  There are 5 different walking routes to choose from and the shortest is about 2km around a small lake.  The longest will take you several hours.  It’s hard to miss the spectacular views and picturesque fountains where you can drink the naturally purified water right from there spouts. To get there just hop on the FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya).  You’re looking to get off at the station “Baixador de Vallvidrera”. Then follow the signs directly to the park.

Cervantes park

Cervantes is one of the can’t-miss parks in Barcelona. In May it is especially beautiful and succulent.  Colours and scents overwhelm your senses and the vegetation is lush and inspiring. Rose lovers rejoice; the garden houses literally thousands of different species.  May and June is the main flowering period of the year, don’t miss it! Cervantes Park is in the Les Corts neighborhood on Avenida Diagonal, 708-716.

Hidden university garden

A little hidden oasis in the centre of the city.  Us SuiteLifers love to bring our lunch here because it’s quiet, green and peaceful.  It’s a nice place to disconnect and enjoy a relaxing moment.  It’s not huge, but because it’s hidden there is usually always a place to sit.  Sit by the fountain or under a big tree on the patio.  To find it just go to the university door (in Plaza Universitat) find the patio and turn left to find the garden.

Park Espanya industrial

A huge iron dragon reigns supreme over this interesting Barcelona Park. The park is centres around fire, water, and earth themes, has sunny grassy areas, a large pond, and great spots for setting up a picnic or relaxing in the sun with friends.

There are way more parks in Barcelona that we haven’t even mentioned here.  Did you know there are vegetable co-op gardens in the city too? One is close to the Sagrada Familia, but they say you have to wait till you’re 65 ir order to be able to buy a plot for your tomatos and I simply cannot wait that long!

Can you suggest any other great Barcelona parks that we can check out and add to our list?

Sharka

Barcelona Street Profile: Carrer Torrent de l’Olla

You can find all kind of streets in Barcelona, and you will probably find some of the nicest and most charming in Vila de Gracia. Torrent de l’Olla is located in Vila de Gracia (or the popular part of the Gracia neighbourhood), and it starts near the Diagonal metro at Carrer de Corsega, and it winds all the way up to Traverssera de Dalt, near Lesseps metro.

Let me tell you why you should definitely have a look at this street of Barcelona…

Shops on Torrent de L’Olla

This street is full of shops. You will find especially two kinds of shops: Vintage & second-hands clothes and designer shops that sell clothes and jewelry. Also, download our free ebook for in depth info on Shopping in Barcelona.

By the way, you can find out more about shopping and fashion in Barcelona on .

There are two really great vintage shops: Gallery Vintage (Torrent de l’Olla, 117) and Graceland.

Gallery Vintage is really popular and you can find amazing clothes. Prices are both high and low, it depends of the product, but you can find beautiful bags for around 20€ for example… They have a website and you can buy online, but I think it’s better to go there directly and to see their wares first hand and get a feel for the store.

Graceland sells second-hand clothes and accessories. The shop is very small and you can find the nicest dresses as well as the ugliest (well, at least it suits all tastes)! But it’s really nice and quite cheap. The clothes are good quality and if you like Camden Town in London, you will love Graceland too for sure!

Designer shops are more expensive and sell mostly products for you girls. Even if you’re not buying, walk through the door and have a look at their amazing pieces. Shops are very girly and pleasant, there is a lot of space and people are delighted to help you in anyway. If you’re looking for a birthday present, I am sure you can find something unique around there.

Have a look at Madam’ Pumpum (Torrent de l’Olla, 30bis) and Backstage (Torrent de l’Olla, 64), my two favorites!

Food, Food, Food and Drinks!

You will find a lot of restaurants or bar/restaurants that offer you really good food from everywhere! French Crepes at St Germain (Torrent de l’Olla, 113), Japanese food sushi at Wasabi (best value for money, Torrent de l’Olla, 8), Brazilian food and cocktails at Berimbau (Torrent de l’Olla, 129) or Greek food at Dionisos (Torrent de l’Olla, 144). And that is just a sample of what you can find in this street of Barcelona!

I highly recommend you to go to St Germain. This place is so nice, with panther style bench seating, great music and really good crepes! When I went there with my friend we had a great meal (and it wasn’t too expensive) while watching Mary Poppins. If you go, look for the numerous Barbie Dolls “hidden” in the bar and let us know how many you found! And it seems that they have a really great mojito… (Cocktails are only 4€ until 10pm)

All that to say that whatever your tastes or budget, you always find something in Carrer del Torrent de l’Olla! By the way, if you like bluegrass (or don’t know about it yet), go read this blog and then go to El Cine, a great bar with bluegrass jam sessions on Sundays! (El Cine, Torrent de l’Olla, 21)

Shabby Chic Cakes

If you like cupcakes then you have only one thing to do: GO THERE! The cupcakes are so beautiful that you don’t want to eat them… but you have to, because they are as good as they look! Colorful and stylish, they are not even so expensive (well, not if you get addicted and start buying half a dozen every day of course): around 2,50€ for one. It’s Torrent de l’Olla, 46, and here is their website.

Blue Cat Tattoo

Looking for a tattooist? No need to search further! Blue Cat Tattoo is the best in town! Manu and Trudy are true artists and their works are real pieces of art.
Carrer del Torrent de l’Olla, 178.

Check also the Budda Bag shop, on Carrer del Torrent de l’Olla, 46. Once you try them, you’ll want to stay there for ever!

This street of Barcelona is full of places to get lost and explore. It is impossible to talk about all the shops, restaurants and bars that make this street Torrent de l’Olla inescapable.

Generally speaking, this street of Barcelona in Vila de Gracia is not too crowded, but still quite alive! Most people are locals and that’s a great spot if you want to escape from masses of tourists in the center!

Now it’s your turn! Do you know any good places that I should have mentioned? Let us know if you go and if you find great deals in the vintages stores…

 

 

Cheers

Caroline

 

Bikes in Barcelona: Too Cool for School? Then you need a Fixed Gear Bike!

You might have noticed that Bikes in Barcelona are a very popular way to get around and as fashion is a top priority around here in all facets of life, Fixed gear bikes are becoming more and more common on the streets. The Fixie Barcelona movement is spreading its roots and all you have to do is look around and you’ll notice these special creations (part retro / part modern) zooming like the wind (and sans breaks!) through our urban  landscape.

What is a  Fixed Gear Bike?

Bikes in Barcelona come in all shapes and sizes.  A fixed gear bike (often referred to colloquially as a Fixie) is a bike with no breaks and with just one gear. Well… there is one way to slow down: with the pedals. You can pedal backward with a fixie so if you stop the pedals in a sharp hit, you’re going to skid from the rear wheel (you might remember this from the bikes of your childhood). You also can slow down regularly by forcing softly backwards on the pedals. As these bikes are literally made for speed, it seems slightly crazy that they do not have ‘normal’ breaks. Fixed bikes are also sometimes amazingly used as trial bikes. In Barcelona the craziest of the crazies doing Trial is Chris Akrigg. In this video, he flies threw the urban landscape like no other.

Fixed gear finds its roots in the track-bike, designed especially for racing on a velodrome. They were designed first for being light, aerodynamic and mechanically simple. After that, fixed gear bikes were quickly adopted by bicycle messengers in big cities in order to make extra quick deliveries. Today, these racing bikes have become very popular in urban atmospheres with cool designs and a hipster following and are the new generation of the Barcelona bikes.

A New Subculture is Born!

This exploding movement creates a subculture where riders are experiencing an alternative way of moving from point A to point B. Freedom, self-expression, risk, customization, even more customization, self identity and above all care-free good times, is more or less the embodiment of the Fixie subculture. Races or free rides  are organized in cities all over the world and, in Barcelona, there is a healthy and growing movement of fixed gear riders. You can’t get much better of a climate, and free rides can be extraordinarily beautiful and cathartic.

Barcelona Bikes & Fixed Gear Shops

With the Fixed gear movement, Barcelona fixed gear shops are more and more common in the city. Here are some great Barcelona bike shops. The shops also organize some races and free rides that garner a lot of passionate, talented and nice people from different countries.

• Barceloneta bikes: They organize some free rides on their facebook page. Atlantida 49, Barcelona

• Cream bikes and things: They  launched their own high end frame brand. They also organize Alleycats races in Barcelona city. You can checkout more details about these races on their blog. Bocabella 9, Barcelona

• My beautiful parking: They rent and sell fixed gear bikes. Plus, they have a parking for bikes in the Gotico district. Cervantes 5, Barcelona

Fixed gears are the new generation of Barcelona bikes as they are a mix between transportation, art and lifestyle. In Barcelona the movement is exploding. Fixed gear fiends move fast around the city, without breaks, rarely stopping at stop signs and locking up the back wheel and skidding when they need to stop quickly. Some of the people see that as dangerous and some see it as a new way of life…

What do you think about this? Are you a part of the Fixie movement? Would you like to try it?

Check these links if you want to rent a bike in Barcelona, or if you would prefer to use the Bicing Barcelona renting system.

Enjoy the ride!

Hugo

Barcelona Graffiti: Art or Vandalism?

Some people believe that street art in Barcelona and Barcelona graffiti is a real and true art form (like us!) where others see it as nothing but vandalism.  Base Elements Urban Art Gallery is a concept founded by Robert Burt and Monica Riu in hopes of creating a space for independent artists to showcase their talent and to be revered as true artists and not some kind of drain-on-society punks.

Street art in Barcelona has turned almost every wall of the city into a canvas and over the years Barcelona graffiti has become a term connected to this city almost as much as Gaudi and his famous architecture so don´t wait to visit the Base Elements Gallery!
Base Elements first opened its doors to visitors in 2003 and has since functioned as a gallery, workshop and studio with an artistic and individualistic, yet rebellious atmosphere. The gallery found its home in a narrow street in the Gothic Quarter, at c/Palau 6.
Amongst the featured graffiti artists are the well-known B-Toy, Pez, Kenor, Zosen, and Uri, and urban artists Juan Pajares, Pedro Cuevas, Pez Khamino, Robert and Monica (Monix), and numerous others.

I visited this bohemian corner of Barcelona and the walls are jam packed with cool frames, posters and pieces of urban art. If you know Barcelona graffiti and its street artists you will recognize the Pez´s work (his signature laughing fish and other creatures) or B-Toy´s face canvases or Zosen´s happy colorful creations. I personally love JMP´s urban collages that give you the impression of cutting out a piece of a Barcelona wall and placing it in your apartment and Kenor´s geometrical lines and colors that are the perfect fusion of chaos and order.

If you love Barcelona street art, but you thought that there were just classic art galleries and museums, you should visit the Base Elements Gallery. Even if you can´t afford to buy a frame for 2000€ you are always free to browse. The owners are very friendly and know what they are selling so don´t be shy to ask about anything.

If you love street art and urban art in Barcelona keep following our blog. There is more graffiti Barcelona insights coming soon!

Cans up
Sharka

Great line up for the Sonar 2012!

Electronic music, Multimedia Art, Hip Hop, Pop, and general hybridization of music is what you’ll find at the famous Barcelona Sonar Festival, which is one of the best European electro festivals since 1994 and attended by over 80 000 people each year. Sonar 2012 will be held the 14th, 15th and 16th of June in some great corners of the city, and will pretty much run day and night. During the days, you’ll be able to attend to some concerts, shows, exhibitions, and and during the night, the headlining names of the festivals will be on stage!

This year Sonar festival hits strong with the already-secured New York singer/sensation Lana del Rey with her famous album ‘Born To Die’ number one in United States and in Great Britain.

Other great bands and artists that will set the place on fire are Metronomy, Fatboy Slim, Friendly Fire, Nicolas Jaar, Massive Attack, Amon tobin, Hot Chip, Richie Hawtin etc…

Find here the Sonar 2012 program

How to Get to Sonar 2012?

Barcelona Sonar 2012 is organized into 2 different places: Sonar by day (MACBA) and Sonar by night (Fira Gran Via: Hospitalet). Moreover there are other parallel activities taking place in the Auditori (Barcelona Music Auditorium) or Cosmocaixa (Barcelona Science Museum) and some special collaborations with other main city events.

With the link below you will find information about the localisation, the metro, the buses and everything you need to get to the Sonar hot spots.

How to get to Sonar

How much to get in?

Entrances for one day / one night are still currently unavailable.

Sonar passes for the 3 days costs 155 €, and they grant you access to the Sonar day’s activities and the Sonar night concerts. Be careful, with the 3 days pass, you won’t be able to enter the parallel events like in the Auditori or Cosmocaixa. There is also a pass for 2 nights at 100 €. There should be more options released as the date arrives, but remember, the prices will continue to climb the closer it gets so if you want to get the best deal you should book now!

Another possibility for you is to buy the professional pass, which gets you access to great places like the Pulitzer Hotel rooftop where you can shmooze and make contacts contacts in the world of music, and digital technology. It’s a little bit more expensive, but you have a delicious pro restaurant, a private DJ, free transport to night site and the Sonar 2012 bag ! The pro pass costs 195€. After the 13th of June the price rises up to 220€.

Check this for more information on the prices

We would be pleased to hear about your Sonar experiences or other festivals in Barcelona!

Thanks, Hugo.