Barcelona's Best Outdoor Activities

There is a popular idea that in Spain, Italy and Portugal no matter where you buy coffee, it will be cheap and good. Barcelona is quite different, though. Coffee is cheap all right, and even the owner of Michelin restaurant would be ashamed to charge you more that 2 euros for a cup, but the basic cafe con leche (coffee with milk) in most places has a bitter taste to it and doesn't feel right. That's why you should always keep in mind a couple spots where coffee is taken proper care of. One of such spots is Nomad Coffee run by an already famous barrista Jordi. It's a pleasure just watching him work with all the equipment, and if you ask him a couple of questions, the performance will be accompanied by his reflections on the right temperature, sort and the geography of coffee beans. To sum up, it is pure art. Note that here they serve no food, and Jordi doesn't even have sugar, for real coffee maniacs consider adding it to the drink a serious offence.

For breakfast pop into this charming cafe with a terrace on one of the squares of Born district. It is mostly known for its brunches, but what makes it different from breakfast? This cafe is famous for Latin American yummies, such as empanadas (Argentinean variety of sandwiched pastry with fillings), tequenos (bread sticks with cheese and sour-sweet sauce), or a classic croissant with coffee that you can get every morning on promotion almost for free (2.5 euros).

The local zoo, situated in the Parc de la Ciutadella. The zoo is rather large: it has rest areas with benches, cafes, and even a dolphinarium. It has more than 300 animal species, and you can move around it in a small tram. If you have kids they will have the time of their life, but even without them staring at pink flamingos and funny monkeys will definitely make your day.

It offers a great view of the city, often hosts swimming and diving competitions and Sonar Off parties. What's more, Kylie Minogue's music video for her song "Slow" was filmed there. For the rest of the time the pool is open from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. for everyone. It is never overcrowded, the entrance costs 6.48 euro; there is no need to bring a swim cap or a medical certificate. Note that the ticket office closes at 05:30 p.m., and there are no lockers in the changing room, so you'll have to take your belongings to the pool.

On the days of movie screening, there is a big queue of people on the lane leading to the pop-up café at Mirador del Migdia viewpoint. They are all here to buy a ticket to the movies. To avoid the queue, you can buy your ticket online. Don’t pay attention to the crowd and go straight to the ticket inspectors, but don’t immediately take the places next to the fortress wall: from 8 to 10 p.m. there will be a Catalonian jazz performance or something of the kind. At this time it feels much nicer to eat chicken barbecue, corn, grilled on the open fire, drink wine to the rhythm of bossa nova or flamenco and enjoy the sunset with a view to the harbour. You can check the exact schedule in La Caseta on their website. If you chose a movie on Monday or Tuesday, La Caseta is not open then. In this case you can have an open air dinner on the premises of the cinema. They have eco burgers, veggie pies, wine and beer on the menu.

Sitges is thought to be one of the best beaches outside Barcelona. The waves here are rather small. Take a RENFE train and get off at Sitges station.

The best burger place in town, situated in Born district. It is a famous spot on the way to the beach of Barceloneta, and at dinnertime and at the weekends the queue stretches even outside on the street, so it can take you an hour to get your bun and a cutlet. But if you come at a different time, your burger will be ready a quarter of an hour after you choose from a large menu, where you can have bread of your choice and additional ingredients. The most popular burger, and rightfully so, is classic Spanish Manchego with cheese of the same name and caramelized onions.
There is something for vegetarians as well – a veggie burger with cutlet made from nut, sweet corn, spinach, red pepper, spicy tomato chutney and goat cream cheese. And trust us, this is one of the best vegetarian burgers ever, even if you can't imagine the words "vegetarian" and "burger" together in a sentence. You can have your meal inside or go to a nearby square. It's hard to explain why Kiosko is considered to have the best burgers in town – maybe it's their signature home-made sauce, or the quality of meat, but you simply can't miss this place. There is something for vegetarians as well – a veggie burger with cutlet made from nut, sweet corn, spinach, red pepper, spicy tomato chutney and goat cream cheese. And trust us, this is one of the best vegetarian burgers ever, even if you can't imagine the words "vegetarian" and "burger" together in a sentence. You can have your meal inside or go to a nearby square. It's hard to explain why Kiosko is considered to have the best burgers in town – maybe it's their signature home-made sauce, or the quality of meat, but you simply can't miss this place.

Great place to have a glass of great beer. We warn you that you probably won't be able to find a seat, while food will be all around you as well as heaps of people so it's hard to rest after a long day, but the vibe and the quality of beer make up for it big time. On the bar counter where you'll see traditional Spanish tapas you can order some dark non-filtered beer which will provide an excellent closure to a long and busy day.