Top food: Barcelona's best rooftops

The only terrace on Mount Tibidabo with views of Barcelona. It belongs to a full-scale restaurant, lounge and even a disco, where FC Barcelona football players allegedly hang out. The spot is set in front of the cable car stop. The outdoor summer terrace, which offers a magnificent view of the city, lies a bit further. After a couple of glasses of ice-cold cava, one might remember the story of the mountain's name. 'Tibi dabo' in Latin means 'I'll give you', for Catalans believe that at this very place Satan once tempted Christ, "Again, the devil took him up into an exceeding high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them; and said unto him, 'All these things will I give you ('tibi dabo' in Latin), if you will fall down and worship me".

Totally untouristy, this bar on Barcelona’s second-highest mountain is located at the observation deck near Montjuïc Castle boasting of a beautiful sea and port view. You can munch on local specials: chicken BBQ, “butifarra” sausages, corn on the cob and pancakes enjoying a diverse musical program: on Wednesdays it’s rumba, Thursdays – bossa nova and Sundays are flamenco time. If you come on Friday or Saturday, be ready for a surprise party, while Mondays the place is closed.

The café at the Museum of a Catalan sculptor and collector Frederic Marès is located in a small backyard, a 1-minute walk from the Catedral. Numerous flowers and gentle sounds of the fountain bring calmness while you enjoy great coffee and delicious homemade pastries. By the way, if you plan to go to the museum, visit the terrace first. When you pay at checkout, ask for a discount for the entrance – and you will get it!

A small theatre with varied plays is known for, amongst other things, by its bar terrace, one of the most beautiful in the city. It is in its inner yard with a huge tree growing in the middle, so tables and chairs stand right on its roots sticking from the ground. The place is always full of hippies, street musicians, actors and other local bohemians. The best thing to do is buy some home-made vermouth, a plate of olives and discuss philosophic matters – the setting is perfect for it.

It's absolutely impossible to come round to this place by chance. It'll never occur to anyone that if you walk along Portaferris, see in an arch to your right а large paper-mache camel figure, go through a shop full of murky T-shirts and piercing earrings, you will find yourself in front of a glass door leading to a quiet patio. El Jardi is a cafe started by a former windsurfer, and the décor shows it. There are boards standing along the walls, figs and palms growing from big pots, floor covered with small pebblestones, hammocks hanging, and cozy wicker chairs placed around coffee tables. The main advantage of this place is not even the welcoming price of drinks, it is the location. Those who have been to Barcelona during high season will get what I mean.

Although Sant-Felipe Neri Square got its broad fame thanks to Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barelona and Tom Tykwer's Perfume: the Story of a Murderer, for local people it commemorates tragic events of 1938, when a fascist bomb aimed at the government headquarters at Sant-Jaume Square fell short and exploded at Sant-Felipe Neri Square, claiming lives of 42 people, including 20 children. Besides, the baroque church situated on the square was the destination point for Gaudi, when accidentally he was run over by a tram. Nevertheless, this square is one of the most beautiful squares in Barcelona. You should definitely enjoy sitting in melancholic silence on the only terrace belonging to a hotel housed in the 18th-century palace.

You'll never be able to pass by Cafe Zurich without popping in. Yes, this is truly the most touristy place with ordinary croissants and other pastries bought at a neaby bakery. Still you will be served fine coffee with an ideal proportion of milk. On a cold day you can order hot chocolate with fresh whipped cream on request which is callaed Suizo. The café itself is very traditional. Traditional is the manner they serve coffee and so are the waiters who are in their late fifties or even older. However, they wear white coats and fashionable bowties and work very quickly. Take a coffee with milk saying 'Un directo, por favor' and you'll be taken for a local.

A unique Barcelona spot with panoramic view of the city. Just make yourself comfortable in cozy armchairs, benches or bar stools scattered around the roof of the hotel on Rambla del Raval. Guests and visitors are sipping expensive cocktails from plastic wine glasses and highballs listening to splashing sounds of a decorative pool and observing the city roofs. Take a stroll around – you will see all streets and squares of Barcelona, its major sights, beaches, the port, Tibidabo and Montjuïc, and peep at naked sun bathers on rooftop terraces of nearby houses.