Destination Barcelona

On 2nd March, over 8,000 people will take to the streets of Barcelona as participants in the 2008 Marató Barcelona – or the Barcelona Marathon: running, jogging, perhaps sometimes even walking 42km around the city’s striking streets and passing by some staggering sights on their way. Not surprisingly, over half the runners will be guiris, or visitors to Spain – athletic tourists making the most of an opportunity to tour the city at marathon pace.

Since the 1992 Olympics, Barcelona’s profile as a chic and fashionable city has been gathering speed. The bold and often bizarre architecture of the city is set off dramatically against the spectacular Collserola mountain range, which herds the city in toward the Mediterranean, and Catalonia’s beautiful coastline, where evidence of Barcelona’s make over is perhaps most palpable. It’s the Olympics that helped to create Barcelona’s modern reputation, and it’s the marathon that will again be drawing in the world’s media in a few weeks’ time. However, aside from being host to the world’s sporting events, there are many reasons why Barcelona continues to draw the crowds, and participants in the marathon will witness the majority of these as they tour the city.

The route starts and finishes in front of the opulent Magic Fountain, at the foot of Montjuïc Park. Designed by Carles Buigas, the fountain’s impressive display of light, sound and water acrobatics can be witnessed every weekend evening throughout the summer, lighting up the park’s steep hills behind. From here, the runners continue along the Catalonian streets to witness some of the city’s most impressive architecture. Home to the celebrated architect Antoni Gaudí, it is hard for any tourist to miss the impact he had on his hometown, and the marathon course is punctuated by Gaudí’s masterpieces, including the distinctive La Pedrera – more a sculpture than a residential building – and the unmistakable Sagrada Familia. Gaudí dedicated the last 15 years of his life to the as yet unfinished Roman Catholic church, due to be completed in 2026, and although the site is masked in places by scaffolding, it is a truly awesome building. Other landmarks on the course include the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau – a UNESCO World Heritage Site although still a working hospital – and Camp Nou, home to FC Barcelona. 

The final stages of the marathon take in the city’s revitalised coastline. The area around the dockland – Port Vell – benefited enormously from urban renewal in the lead up to the Olympics and is now a peaceful escape from the main city. Previously an obsolete harbour made up of industrial warehouses, it now offers promenades, man-made beaches, marinas and restaurants, as well as a glimpse into the lifestyle of the rich and famous, with glinting yachts pulling into port. The distinctive Rambla de Mar pedestrian bridge connects Port Vell’s Maremàgnum shopping centre with the iconic Ramblas, where street performers, market stalls and cafés help create a lively and crowded atmosphere.

The marathon can only cover 42km within the city, but for a truly breathtaking experience, take advantage of Barcelona’s inexpensive and relatively straightforward public transport and travel out of the city to Montserrat. Here, a long-standing cable car defies gravity to take you into the mountains and to the home to the Benedictine Abbey, Santa Maria de Montserrat. As impressive as any of the Cambridge Chapels, perhaps even more so given the staggering backdrop, the haunting sound of the Escolania will lift your soul, and prepare you for the equally overwhelming journey back down the mountain.

Aside from sight-seeing, the siesta and tapas lifestyle combine to create a uniquely relaxing way of life that can be enjoyed in style in Barcelona. Eating late, and eating well are both standard. For a typically Catalan experience, head to El Born, in the heart of La Ribera district, where the bars and restaurants clearly thrive on local custom, echoing with laughter, and the roads turn into a complicated array of cobbled alleys and passageways. Here, you will find Golfo de Bizkaia – a traditional pintxos restaurant serving locally inspired tapas, with seafood, cured hams, local cheeses, olives and marinated vegetables – and Origen 99.9% - a restaurant specialising in serving and selling local, organic dishes.

Barcelona is within easy reach of our region, with regular low-cost return flights from Stansted to Girona, one hour north and a short bus or train ride into Barcelona, or Reus, 80km further south of the city; and with so much worth seeing, why wait for a marathon to take you there.