Don´t stop at Parque Güell...

If you are adventurous and like to do some extra exercise, don´t stop at Parque Güell but take the bike into the park (push the bike, pedalling is not allowed) and exit the park towards Parc del Guinardó, where you will visit the so-called "Bunker" (officially the Centre d'Interpretació Histórica Turó de la Rovira), where once the artillery installations of the Spanish civil war were located. From there you have a very nice 360º panoramic view of Barcelona. There are also boards explaining the history of the site.

View from the bunker 

After exiting Parc Güell, you first have to push the bike a stretch of 100m uphill through a small residential area before entering Guinardó Park. Very soon you will come across a stairway which takes you towards the summit.

After visiting the Bunker you go through the Parc del Guinardó (biking is allowed here) and exit at the point where a series of 3 elevators and 1 escalator bring you down to Carrer del Telegraf. The elevators have space for 2 bikes.

Parc del Guinardó

From the Carrer del Telegraf you go to Hospital de Sant Pau and from there to Sagrada Familia.  

What you should bear in mind when biking in Barcelona

Barcelona and Catalunya have a wonderful infrastructure for bicycles, including bike lanes that will bring you almost everywhere, special traffic lights for bicycles, bike parkings everywhere to tie your bike, other road users that have become familiar with bicycles in the street, the possibility to take the bike on the train (usually in the front coach) if you decide to discover one of the many bike trails through Catalunya...

The bike lane of Passeig de Sant Joan 

In short, Barcelona has it all to make a visit by bike a great experience. However there are a number of things to bear in mind to turn your experience into the best experience:

• In general, you will see that the locals stick strictly to the traffic rules, they expect you to do so as well;
• for obvious reasons do not ever skip traffic lights;
• Prepare your route as much as possible according to the bike lanes (in our shop we sell the official Barcelona By Bike map);
• On the bike lanes, do not hinder users coming from the opposite direction;
• Where there are no bike lanes, it is allowed to go on the sidewalk, slowly and without hindering the pedestrians;
• When no bike lane brings you to where you want to go, bear in mind that almost all streets in Barcelona are one way only, do not go against the traffic, be sure not to hinder taxis, cars, motorcycles by going two or three persons along each other

Bike Parkings in Barcelona

We wish you a wonderful experience by bike in Barcelona!

Understanding the map, understanding the city

Before you start your visit of Barcelona by bike, just take a minute to look at the map of Barcelona: the street pattern tells you a lot about the history of the city.

When you decide to first visit Parc Güell, you will go meandering through the labyrinth of narrow streets and lively squares of early 19th century Gràcia, now a neighbourhood of Barcelona with its own, very special character and traditions. Other similar neighbourhoods, each with its own character, are Sant Andreu and Sants.

A street in Gràcia 

The layout of these neighbourhoods contrasts sharply with the uniform, geometrical layout of late 19th, early 20th Century Eixample, where the main modernista monuments, including Sagrada Familia and Casa Milà, are situated.

The explanation of this map layout of Barcelona is to be found in the outcome of the Spanish Succession War (1700-1714): the Catalans were defeated, Catalunya lost its historic privileges and Barcelona was punished, to the effect that it was not allowed to expand within a mile beyond its medieval city walls.

Therefore, when, during the Industrial Revolution, big production plants were needed for the textile industry, these had to be built a mile away from the old city. Gràcia, Sants and Sant Andreu were villages that grew according to no specific urbanistic plan, in accordance with the need of work force and craftsmen, hence their chaotic street pattern.

Plan Cerdà from Ildefonso Cerdà, 1859

But when mid 19th Century Barcelona was finally allowed to tear down its city walls and to build up the lands beyond, this was done according to a general Plan, designed by Ildefonso Cerdà, the so-called Plan Cerdà. This Plan conceived the new Barcelona as a geometrical grid of wide, comfortable streets where the wealthy built their houses and palaces.

Actual picture of  el Eixample 

And what if it rains?

A rainy day is an excellent opportunity to get a mountain bike and to go into Collserola hill ridge. When properly dressed (sport shorts, trainers and thin rain and windproof jacket) it will give you one of the best experiences to be had in Barcelona. You won't loose touch with the city, you will see it far below you, but at the same time you will sense nature releasing all its perfume with the rain, you will enjoy the effects of effort on body and spirit and you will scream out Barcelona, yeah !!!

View toward the tower of Collserola natural park

At Rentabike we will be happy to advise you on a number of nice routes with varying levels of difficulty, for half a day or for an entire day, routes that include nice places to visit, to have a picnic, restaurants to have lunch, etc. etc. There is even the option to take the train back...

So if the weather forecast for tomorrow is rain, consider doing something entirely different and turn a rainy day into the best of your experiences in Barcelona !

                                             

From Rentabike to the Parque Güell, through the Gràcia Quarter

Duration from 30 minutes to 1,5 hour

• Breakfast in Carrer Venus, at Italian Café Bicioci, this place breathes the history of the great names and moments of cycling.

Café Bicioci in carrer Venus

                                                

• The Plaça del “Gato Pérez” is named after one of the great names of the Rumba Catalana, the origins of which are to be found in the fifties in the local gipsy community.
• Plaça del Raspall, the place where the local gipsy community used to gather;

Plaça del Raspall

                                               

• The chimney in the Carrer de Siracusa is a remnant of the old textile plant “Vapor Nou”.
• In the Carrer de Milà i Fontanals take a vermouth in the old Bodega Marin.
• In the Carrer Puigmartí buy some fruit or some pastry at the colorful Abacería market (you can take the bike with you).
• Make a stop at the popular Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia, with the old town hall and the bell tower.

Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia

                                          

• Eat some tapas at "Sol Soler" at the Plaça del Sol, or at “Pepa Tomate” on the Plaça de la Revolució.
• Make a stroll through the Carrer de Verdi, one of the liveliest streets of Gràcia, full of boutiques, restaurants and tapas bars.

Carrer de Verdi

                                        

• On the Plaça del Diamant you will find the accesses to the anti air strike shelters of the Spanish Civil War. The sculpture is an  homage to the famous novel “La Plaça del Diamant”, by Mercedes Rodoreda. The texts on the accesses to the shelters are quotes from the book.
• Carrer Asturies is a very animated commercial street, full of little boutiques and ecologic food shops.
• The Plaça de la Virreina is one of the nicest squares of Barcelona, with the church of San Juan Bautista. On Sundays people gather here to dance swing.

Plaça de la Virreina

                                      

• Take a beer at the Café Flandes on the Plaça de Rovira i Trias, the bronze sitting on the bench is Antoni Rovira i Trias, promoter of the Plan Cerdà which shaped the Eixample.

Plaça de Rovira i Trias

                                     

• Now there remains no other option than to go uphill to get at Parque Güell, which we will do using Carrer Rabassa and Carrer Cardener. We park the bikes at the designated places.

Amazing view of the city in Parque Güell 

                         

Leaving the roar of the city... for a while

Barcelona is a city that, once you are under it's spell, you don´t get out so easily. That's fine if you you are here for a short stay. But if you have more than 3 days to spend, it is highly recommendable to make a few excursions around or even entirely out of the city, because there is so much beauty to experience...

Within reach of Barcelona

Collserola is the hilly ridge to the north of Barcelona, the highest point of which is Tibidabo hill (540 m), with the church on top of it (to be seen from almost everywhere in Barcelona). Collserola is a Natural Park with many routes to hike or bike to places of great beauty, some of which with overwhelming views of the big city down below. Collserola is spotted with very nice "masías", former farms, now refurbished as restaurants, where to take a break and to enjoy the catalan kitchen at noon.

View from the "Carretera de les Aigües"

"Carretera de les Aigües"

 When you plan to go to Collserola for the first time, the best thing is to take a bike to the "Carretera de les Aigües", the Water Route, so called because of the 100 water depots present on the highest points to give pessure to the Barcelona water system. The Carretera de les Aigües comprises some 25km of bikeable fine gravel path, almost level (so requiring very little effort) which can be done entirely from start (Plaça Mireia at Esplugues de Llobregat) to end (Trinitat Nova, at the rio Besós), or partially, taking the funicular at Peu del Funicular Ferrocarriles de la Generalitat train stop and get off at the first stop "Carretera de les Aigües", from where you can go left towards the Rio Besós, or right, towards Plaça Mireia (there is a restaurant and bbq area there).

Collserola 

There are plenty of alternative routes through Collserola, with varying degrees of difficulty. There is one that starts from La Floresta FGC train station and takes you all around Collserola to Les Planes train station. This one has a high degree of difficulty, you need a mountain bike, and it takes you a day to accomplish. Also you need a good description of the route as it has many bifurcations without any kind of indication where to go and you will get lost easily. Halfway you can have a break and a nice meal at Can Capmany.

Les planes 

There is another one that takes you from Tibidabo hill to the Sanctuary of Sant Medir and from there to Can Borrell where you can have lunch, and to Sant Cugat with its famous Monasterio. There you can take the train back to Barcelona. This route is very well indicated and you will hardly run the risk of getting lost. This route will take you half a day.

El Monasterio de Sant Cugat 

 Ronda verde, the green route around Barcelona, is a circumferential bike path that takes you all around Barcelona, some 90 km of bike road that includes the entire "Carretera de les Aigües", the Parc Fluvial del Besós (a very nice stretch of bike path along the Besós river), the sea front, the Montjuic Park, and Hospitalet. The Ronda Verde takes you through natural landscape, seascape, you will see incredible pieces of modern architecture, botanic gardens, lots of nices places to have a break and a meal... The Ronda Verde can be done with any good city bike with 24 gears but if you plan to include the Carretera de les Aigües or the Montjuic, a mountain bike will give you maximum of pleasure. When doing the Ronda Verde you have to pay attention the signs on the poles and also the signs on the pavement.

Ronda Verde

Going altogether out of Barcelona

Just for one day

El Maresme. You can also decide to leave the city entirely and make a ride along the mediterrannean along the Maresme area. This route takes you out of Barcelona, passes along the Forum area, to Badalona, Montgat, Masnou, Premià de Mar, Villasar de Mar, until Mataró and beyond. The route follows the train track along the Mediterrannean coast which makes it easy to take the train back if you are tired of biking. It is a very beautiful route along very nice villages with plenty of places to take a break and enjoy a nice paella at one of the many "chiringuitos" you will find along the route.

Bike map or Google Maps?

 For us there can be no doubt: the official "Barcelona By Bicycle Map" which includes all the bike lanes. At Rentabike we sell you this undestructible, plastified map for the official price of five euros (roughly the price of some patatas bravas). It is a great companion for getting te most out of your visit. We will help you to plan your route along the bike lanes, using this map: you will come across all must sees and more! And you will go safe without interfering with the cars. Google maps may come handy to tell you where you are when you get lost, but it doesn´t plan your route in a way that is interesting for tourists, and, worse, it makes you go with the cars, which is not comfortable, especially when you are with children !